Nuke
Born to be free. Break the chains
Hey everyone,
this is just a greeting post.
I only started riding 3-4ish years ago, but I bought my first bike early 2016 (which wasn't the best first experience one could have). I bought a 1983 KZ440, which wasn't stock it was poorly modded and needed lots of work, but because I was too excited and naive I was lead to believe otherwise and trusted his word. Anyway, I've made some mistakes, wish I did things more efficiently time/$$ wise, but I will say I've learned quite a bit along the way.
Haters can hate but I fell pretty hard for the Cafe Racer look at first, although I found out it wasn't recommended for new riders, similar to sportbikes (which im not into), but because i'm stubborn I stuck with it and I think we did a decent job making it into a beautiful sleek cafe. I will say that leaning forward kind of sucked for longer rides. I mostly ride inner city but enjoy the odd backroad/across city trips. This time I was thinking more of an upright riding position like a tracker/scrambler deal, but I have to bulk up my bikes fund before I do any heavy mods. I might just ride my new xs650 as is. It's mostly stock right now.
I never was the mechanically inclined type in my earlier years, but luckily I have met 2-3 motorbike enthusiasts and I credit them for showing me the ropes and guiding me. But the online biker communities are always great and insightful, which is why I joined this forum. In the relatively few years I've jumped into this scene /hobby I heard great things about the xs650 almost immediately. Before I bought my first bike a distant friend recommended I get the xs650 (he rides a chopped out hardtailed xs650).
Unfortunately I departed from my last bike in unfavorable circumstances. At some point I discovered I had an oil leak in my kz440 head gasket(?) and it was one of the more difficult job$ to do, so I intended to either run it into the ground or try selling it at the turn of this last riding season (I'm in southern Ontario, Canada). Long story short I got into a (thankfully) minor accident in October 2019 where some idiot cager decided to turn left in front of me - bike wasn't totally smashed but was a write off. Luckily insurance didn't try low balling me like I expected them to and I was adequately compensated.
So I just bought my XS650 a few weeks ago, its a 1978 (SE?) model. Needs some love and a bit of work, but Im looking forward to riding this by the spring this year.
Maybe the potential comments below can tell me how long you've been riding, how many bikes you've owned, their current XS650 style/set up?
That's all I have to share right now.
Thanks for having me and happy riding.
Cheers!,
Nuke
(p.s photo's from a quick shot of it earlier today, in my garage. Not the best shot but I took it hurried)
this is just a greeting post.
I only started riding 3-4ish years ago, but I bought my first bike early 2016 (which wasn't the best first experience one could have). I bought a 1983 KZ440, which wasn't stock it was poorly modded and needed lots of work, but because I was too excited and naive I was lead to believe otherwise and trusted his word. Anyway, I've made some mistakes, wish I did things more efficiently time/$$ wise, but I will say I've learned quite a bit along the way.
Haters can hate but I fell pretty hard for the Cafe Racer look at first, although I found out it wasn't recommended for new riders, similar to sportbikes (which im not into), but because i'm stubborn I stuck with it and I think we did a decent job making it into a beautiful sleek cafe. I will say that leaning forward kind of sucked for longer rides. I mostly ride inner city but enjoy the odd backroad/across city trips. This time I was thinking more of an upright riding position like a tracker/scrambler deal, but I have to bulk up my bikes fund before I do any heavy mods. I might just ride my new xs650 as is. It's mostly stock right now.
I never was the mechanically inclined type in my earlier years, but luckily I have met 2-3 motorbike enthusiasts and I credit them for showing me the ropes and guiding me. But the online biker communities are always great and insightful, which is why I joined this forum. In the relatively few years I've jumped into this scene /hobby I heard great things about the xs650 almost immediately. Before I bought my first bike a distant friend recommended I get the xs650 (he rides a chopped out hardtailed xs650).
Unfortunately I departed from my last bike in unfavorable circumstances. At some point I discovered I had an oil leak in my kz440 head gasket(?) and it was one of the more difficult job$ to do, so I intended to either run it into the ground or try selling it at the turn of this last riding season (I'm in southern Ontario, Canada). Long story short I got into a (thankfully) minor accident in October 2019 where some idiot cager decided to turn left in front of me - bike wasn't totally smashed but was a write off. Luckily insurance didn't try low balling me like I expected them to and I was adequately compensated.
So I just bought my XS650 a few weeks ago, its a 1978 (SE?) model. Needs some love and a bit of work, but Im looking forward to riding this by the spring this year.
Maybe the potential comments below can tell me how long you've been riding, how many bikes you've owned, their current XS650 style/set up?
That's all I have to share right now.
Thanks for having me and happy riding.
Cheers!,
Nuke
(p.s photo's from a quick shot of it earlier today, in my garage. Not the best shot but I took it hurried)