Now a very different XS.....on BikeExif

Wow! I was not expecting that!
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I personally think his friends were right.

Motor is pretty much hidden/surrounded within the lines of a modern bike. Kinda like a new sports car with a fairline motor in it. A step backwards so to speak.

I solute him on the effort and work done though.
 
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Aside from being ugly, how the devil would your feet reach the ground?
 
Incredible artistry. Would I own it, no but the art and time that it took to go into that is amazing. To me the take away is that it is incredible what can be done with these motors. I think the modern Yamaha 700cc parallel twin used in the MT-)7 and the Kawasaki 650 parallel twin used in the ER6N, Versys and 650R are the next iteration of these wonderful XS650 engines. So much potential.
 
It's a great looking bike. He has great fabrication skills. Better than I could ever dream of.
I do think it would look better without the funky black covers on the front and rear wheels. That might just be me.
Also to me it's just a show bike and would never be a practical rider.
First the front suspension looks like it has maybe 3 inches of travel, the rear 6+. Plus the wheel base has been stretched. Could make for some interesting handling issues.
Second the motor is a integral part of the frame. Yamaha built the 650 with a cradle frame. Early ones had problems. Cracks at the rear upper motor mount in the engine cases was not unheard of. It was also possible to break the frame. (My XS2 did both.) When they went to the 447 engine they beefed up the cases and frame.
He is using the engine cases as a stressed member of the frame. Not sure how that would hold up under real world riding conditions.
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To prove I'm not anti-custom, wild looking 650s I love the looks of rehar's bike. It has a hand made frame of his own design that he built himself. Also the bike is street legal.
He actually rides it. It may not be his daily rider but it does get ridden. Was not built just for shows.
Show bikes are ok, go bikes are better.

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