ReverendJim
XS650 New Member
Hello all. Long time rider but new owner of an XS650.
My brother and I got our hands on 2 bikes, a 74 TX650 and a 78 XS650. His is the TX and mine is the XS. We got them from a local fella when we found out the bike we were trying to title (73 Triumph Bonneville 750) was stolen. We returned the bike to him and he felt bad that we got duped so he sold us his old Yamaha's he had acquired to replace the stolen Triumph at a great price. The TX is complete and ran but is being torn down to be restored. The XS wouldn't even kick over and got torn down as well.
At first we were both set on bobbing the Yamaha's. I do love the bobber look but after getting the bikes which are pretty much stock and unmolested I started feeling bad about cutting her up and the cafe style started to appeal to me more and more because I like sport bikes. Plus it's gonna cost a lot to bob them and I don't want to be in a project right now, it's July I'd rather be riding!
The bikes came with an entire truck bed full of extra parts. Handlebars, headlights, brackets, levers, engines, heads, jugs, pegs, just about enough stuff to build a third bike except a frame. I found a set of bars and put them on upside down and it made the bike look like it had clubman or clipons and instantly I knew I wanted to set it up more as a classic sport bike. With those bars and my feet resting on the passenger pegs it just feels right and reminds me of my first bike, a 93 Suzuki Bandit GSF400.
I have to rebuild the engine as unfortunately the engine that came in the XS is toast. The right piston skirts were in pieces, the piston top has a huge hole in it, the rod is bent and looking down inside shows that the crank has chew marks on it from whatever it is that happened. Luckily the parts came with a 81 bottom end in great shape, an extra jug that has already been cleaned and honed and a couple heads in great shape. The jugs that came off the XS were in great shape too except a crack that ran all the way down the outside. Makes me wonder what happened to that right cylinder as the left side is perfectly fine.
The TX was running in a matter of a few minutes. The wiring was old and brittle but we traced a few wires, hooked them up, checked spark and voila she fired. However the left cylinder wouldn't fire correctly. It was shooting gas out of the back of the carb and wasn't pushing much air out of the exhaust so it's been torn down and is being rebuilt.
I think my brother is going to ride the TX pretty much stock and then bob it this winter. I've entertained the same idea but I think once I fab some rearsets and find the right seat I want I'm going to like the bike just the way it is and not see any reason to cut her up. I know where a xs650 project is sitting right now with a hardtail frame and a motor that needs some new pistons that I can score for $500 so I may just buy that and keep this '78 pretty much stock. It's funny to me because a year ago I thought cafe xs650s were pretty ugly but they've grown on me.
Anyway I'm sure my brother and I will be popping up here and there asking questions and posting our progress. Just wanted to say hi and that we're excited to have these bikes. It's like my 7th bike but I'd say it's right up there on the cool list.
My brother and I got our hands on 2 bikes, a 74 TX650 and a 78 XS650. His is the TX and mine is the XS. We got them from a local fella when we found out the bike we were trying to title (73 Triumph Bonneville 750) was stolen. We returned the bike to him and he felt bad that we got duped so he sold us his old Yamaha's he had acquired to replace the stolen Triumph at a great price. The TX is complete and ran but is being torn down to be restored. The XS wouldn't even kick over and got torn down as well.
At first we were both set on bobbing the Yamaha's. I do love the bobber look but after getting the bikes which are pretty much stock and unmolested I started feeling bad about cutting her up and the cafe style started to appeal to me more and more because I like sport bikes. Plus it's gonna cost a lot to bob them and I don't want to be in a project right now, it's July I'd rather be riding!
The bikes came with an entire truck bed full of extra parts. Handlebars, headlights, brackets, levers, engines, heads, jugs, pegs, just about enough stuff to build a third bike except a frame. I found a set of bars and put them on upside down and it made the bike look like it had clubman or clipons and instantly I knew I wanted to set it up more as a classic sport bike. With those bars and my feet resting on the passenger pegs it just feels right and reminds me of my first bike, a 93 Suzuki Bandit GSF400.
I have to rebuild the engine as unfortunately the engine that came in the XS is toast. The right piston skirts were in pieces, the piston top has a huge hole in it, the rod is bent and looking down inside shows that the crank has chew marks on it from whatever it is that happened. Luckily the parts came with a 81 bottom end in great shape, an extra jug that has already been cleaned and honed and a couple heads in great shape. The jugs that came off the XS were in great shape too except a crack that ran all the way down the outside. Makes me wonder what happened to that right cylinder as the left side is perfectly fine.
The TX was running in a matter of a few minutes. The wiring was old and brittle but we traced a few wires, hooked them up, checked spark and voila she fired. However the left cylinder wouldn't fire correctly. It was shooting gas out of the back of the carb and wasn't pushing much air out of the exhaust so it's been torn down and is being rebuilt.
I think my brother is going to ride the TX pretty much stock and then bob it this winter. I've entertained the same idea but I think once I fab some rearsets and find the right seat I want I'm going to like the bike just the way it is and not see any reason to cut her up. I know where a xs650 project is sitting right now with a hardtail frame and a motor that needs some new pistons that I can score for $500 so I may just buy that and keep this '78 pretty much stock. It's funny to me because a year ago I thought cafe xs650s were pretty ugly but they've grown on me.
Anyway I'm sure my brother and I will be popping up here and there asking questions and posting our progress. Just wanted to say hi and that we're excited to have these bikes. It's like my 7th bike but I'd say it's right up there on the cool list.
