Arclight88
XS650 Member
Howdy, picked up this one recently. Several missing parts and in scrappy condition. Asking for ideas, in this condition, would you part it out, or go for a restomod? Dare I say it...chopper? I appreciate you thoughts.
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New To Me - 1976 XS650C
- Thread starter Arclight88
- Start date
Hi Arclight, that's an impossible question and you need to find the answer yourself. Because it depends on your history with bikes, if you have any experience tinkering with bikes or cars, what you enjoy doing with your time, what you want to end up with, what resources you have, like tools, workshop, money, and how long you have available for the build. That's probably not a full list of the imponderables.
The good news is anything can be fixed, or even if it can't be fixed it can be replaced. Looks like you have most of the bike there. It's filthy and corroded but I've seen worse that cleaned up to very good or at least serviceable.
I'd probably start by cleaning the bike, there not a lot of muck to wash off so you could go straight to using a rag with kerosene - we call it paraffin in the UK - and see how much wipes off. Good idea to soak all fasteners - frame, engine mounts, engine itself - with penetrating oil. I use '3 in 1', don't know if that's available where you are but any light oil meant for bicycles or garden tools would do. Leave it to soak, then see if things will loosen off.
Further good news - from a quick look at the photos, the fasteners look to be in quite good shape. Do you have any history? How long since the bike was run?
Does the engine turn over? Take the plugs out - might need to leave them soaking in penetrating oil for a few days if they're stuck. Then bung some oil in both cylinders and try turning it with the kick-starter. Obviously, you'll need to remove the carbs, strip and renovate and do a lot of other things before even thinking about starting it up.
And obviously , your gonna need a fuel tank, a new battery, etcetera. But before deciding to spend money, you hopefully have answered some of those questions about what you want. You will never make money out of rebuilding the bike. So if you don't enjoy the cleaning and stripping and renovating, best option is to part it out.
But if you decide to rebuild, restore or chop, good for you, another one saved, I'll watch with interest.
The good news is anything can be fixed, or even if it can't be fixed it can be replaced. Looks like you have most of the bike there. It's filthy and corroded but I've seen worse that cleaned up to very good or at least serviceable.
I'd probably start by cleaning the bike, there not a lot of muck to wash off so you could go straight to using a rag with kerosene - we call it paraffin in the UK - and see how much wipes off. Good idea to soak all fasteners - frame, engine mounts, engine itself - with penetrating oil. I use '3 in 1', don't know if that's available where you are but any light oil meant for bicycles or garden tools would do. Leave it to soak, then see if things will loosen off.
Further good news - from a quick look at the photos, the fasteners look to be in quite good shape. Do you have any history? How long since the bike was run?
Does the engine turn over? Take the plugs out - might need to leave them soaking in penetrating oil for a few days if they're stuck. Then bung some oil in both cylinders and try turning it with the kick-starter. Obviously, you'll need to remove the carbs, strip and renovate and do a lot of other things before even thinking about starting it up.
And obviously , your gonna need a fuel tank, a new battery, etcetera. But before deciding to spend money, you hopefully have answered some of those questions about what you want. You will never make money out of rebuilding the bike. So if you don't enjoy the cleaning and stripping and renovating, best option is to part it out.
But if you decide to rebuild, restore or chop, good for you, another one saved, I'll watch with interest.
Arclight88
XS650 Member
Good news, the motor turns over freely and makes compression!
Resto mod! I have a few in similar condition.
There are purists who would encourage a restoration. I have one XS that is a BBK750 Tracker and one that is a "Special" converted to a restomod "Standard" so you can see where I sit. If you are on this forum you have a vision of what "XS650" means to you. Pursue that vision.
Hello?
Trying to restore that to original isn't going to be economically viable.
Better to start with something more complete, better condition, and more original (I'm thinking that the clocks are off a TX500 maybe ?)
If you've got a viable engine I'd think save all the valuable rare cycle parts (well valuable in my eyes anyway), then maybe build a bobber or chop with the engine.
Better to start with something more complete, better condition, and more original (I'm thinking that the clocks are off a TX500 maybe ?)
If you've got a viable engine I'd think save all the valuable rare cycle parts (well valuable in my eyes anyway), then maybe build a bobber or chop with the engine.
I agree with all the members comments above.
That bike & frame are not worth restoring to factory condition.
It would be cheaper to go and buy a restored minter off someone else.
This would save you money and an exhausting amount of time.
But your bike could be made into any non standard version of an XS650 (Chopper / Bobber / tracker Etc..)
It would still cost a penny or two; but the satisfaction of creating a usable runner would still be rewarding.
That bike & frame are not worth restoring to factory condition.
It would be cheaper to go and buy a restored minter off someone else.
This would save you money and an exhausting amount of time.
But your bike could be made into any non standard version of an XS650 (Chopper / Bobber / tracker Etc..)
It would still cost a penny or two; but the satisfaction of creating a usable runner would still be rewarding.
