Maestro
XS650 New Member
I'm very new to motorcycles in general, and only recently acquainted with the XS650.
After playing exclusively with cars for the better part of my life, about a year ago I decided to finally allow myself to enter the world of bikes. I like old Japanese cars, so an old Japanese bike seemed like the logical place to begin. I don't like the sound of 4-cylinder bikes at all, so that helped to narrow the search down to twins.
I located a small shop which collaborated with me on a 6 month-long build of a '68 CB450. As with any project that starts with a basket-case, it took too long, was too expensive, and was fraught with frustrations. The bike was finally finished, and for all intents and purposes is pretty cool, but I just don't dig it... So, it's now for sale.
Back before we began our project, I met a '73 TX650 with just over 3k original miles on her that sat by in that shop during the entire build. She had a set of Brit-style sausage mufflers on her, and sounded fantastic. Once we finished the CB450, I realized it was the Yamaha that I had wanted all along. The '73 was unobtainable, so I hopped on Craigslist and located my '77D just a short walk from my apartment, and within the span of a weekend, I organized the purchase of her.
I've had her for about a month now, and I absolutely love her!
Since purchase, I've rewired and re-mounted the taillight, rewired the main battery connections and ground, changed the oil, and ridden her as much as possible with a big smile on my face. This bike is seriously fun! I have to admit that the drag pipes and the racket that they make on overrun and between shifts is one of my favorite things about her. The only issue I need to address fairly soon is to switch out those rear shocks... I guess it's because I only weigh ~160, but it's like riding with solid struts in the back! I need some softer springs, so if anyone has recommendations, I would appreciate it.
Below are the pics from the auction:
And this is an older pic taken by the previous owner when she still had a fender on the back; very LA:
After playing exclusively with cars for the better part of my life, about a year ago I decided to finally allow myself to enter the world of bikes. I like old Japanese cars, so an old Japanese bike seemed like the logical place to begin. I don't like the sound of 4-cylinder bikes at all, so that helped to narrow the search down to twins.
I located a small shop which collaborated with me on a 6 month-long build of a '68 CB450. As with any project that starts with a basket-case, it took too long, was too expensive, and was fraught with frustrations. The bike was finally finished, and for all intents and purposes is pretty cool, but I just don't dig it... So, it's now for sale.
Back before we began our project, I met a '73 TX650 with just over 3k original miles on her that sat by in that shop during the entire build. She had a set of Brit-style sausage mufflers on her, and sounded fantastic. Once we finished the CB450, I realized it was the Yamaha that I had wanted all along. The '73 was unobtainable, so I hopped on Craigslist and located my '77D just a short walk from my apartment, and within the span of a weekend, I organized the purchase of her.
I've had her for about a month now, and I absolutely love her!
Since purchase, I've rewired and re-mounted the taillight, rewired the main battery connections and ground, changed the oil, and ridden her as much as possible with a big smile on my face. This bike is seriously fun! I have to admit that the drag pipes and the racket that they make on overrun and between shifts is one of my favorite things about her. The only issue I need to address fairly soon is to switch out those rear shocks... I guess it's because I only weigh ~160, but it's like riding with solid struts in the back! I need some softer springs, so if anyone has recommendations, I would appreciate it.
Below are the pics from the auction:
And this is an older pic taken by the previous owner when she still had a fender on the back; very LA:
