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troopthrowback

XS650 Addict
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Location
Grass Valley, CA
Okay, truth be told I'm really a Triumph guy. However, my first real road machine was a 1978 XS650E that had a 750 kit and dual discs up front. I had been bicycle commuting around Lake Tahoe during summer jobs between years of college and was tired of pedaling. Had to bump start everywhere and the electrics were a horror. Ran so lean the pipes glowed red at night. So bad in fact that on my way home down the hill on Hwy 20 to Grass Valley I had a complete failure at midnight and went off the road, eating it. Bike almost killed me! Took the bike back to the seller and got my money back. Bad story, happy ending.

Fast forward fifteen years, two combat tours in the Infantry, two more career changes, and four babies. I've been riding and rebuilding a 1966 Triumph 650 for the past 6 or so and having a great time with it. It's an early style short chopper (I hate the term "bobber" since it's so misused) with a rigid frame. Lovely on nice roads, but with so many fantastic fire roads and trails around I really wanted a second bike built as a Fire Road Scrambler of sorts.


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I happened upon this 1978 E in rough cosmetic shape but with only 9800 miles --solid mechanical condition (unbeknownst to the previous owner) through a friend of a coworker. It'd been in storage for a decade out of state and salt air corrosion wreaked havoc on anything metal. I don't want to tell you how much I paid because nobody needs more enemies... Let's put it this way. With four kids and a single income household I don't exactly have a budget for this stuff.

So my plan is very mild modifications in order to make it just a little more dirt worthy. Never mind I have just about zero formal dirt riding experience, save for bombing the gravel roads around the ranch on Triumph Cubs and Tigers in my youth.

Enter the "Yambler"...
Soooo, I got some Triumph Thruxton shocks from a friend who went with progressives on his bonneville, I swapped the huge tail light for a polished sparto unit I had. The seat is in great shape, pan has minimal surface only rust and the cover is impeccable. Also quite comfy so it'll stay. Got an ebay battery for $35 shipped, though it is heavy as hell. Going to run Shinko 705s on the stock alloy 18/19 wheels, unless I lace a 21 inch rim to the stock hub...

Maybe I'm stupid, but I've got big plans to run it in the Sheetiron 300 next year. That may necessitate further modifications. Going with a high pipe setup and building a proper skid plate. Swap the entire front end eventually to a 1974 YZ125 front end I've got in the garage. It's got the cool little magnesium front brake, too. With an extra 4 inches of travel and a 21 inch rim, it may be overkill. I'm interested in others who've done similar swaps, to see how involved I want to get. I've read one or two here so far while lurking.

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I pulled it apart for some sandblasting and powder coating, so as of now this is how she sits:

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So that's about it for now. My best buds and I have a small social organization here in the Grass Valley area. We throw a monthly vintage cycle ride-in (in our fifth year) and rides and events through the foothills. Check out our facebook page (link below) for the latest, and Keep the faith!

Some of the fun activities I get to do with the kids:

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Troop
Throwbacks
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Throwbacks/159697770713381
 
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sounds like a wicked plan, and that's a beautiful little trump chop you have.

I just finished my scrambler-esk style build and now I have my eyes on a beat down tr6 to chop!
 
Sorry I never replied. Thanks for the compliments, my triumph really is loads if fun. I was going to put the swing arm back on it for the fire roads around here but got the XS instead. Two is always better than one, right?

Do you have a link to some photos if your build or a thread?

Troop
 
Nice triumph! Been seeing alot of these on this site lately. I've been at Rabers in San Jose and toured the shop. Think about look for a triumph project. Love the look of the motor.
 
It's a gorgeous motor, loads of torque in a small package. Also simple to maintain if you're patient. I recommend a single carb motor, the power advantage if dual carb is only at high revs, and as you know these parallel twins are not much fun over 5-6k. That's my main gripe with the XS, not built for single carb. Also the triumph is so much lighter than the XS it isn't funny.
 
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