Where or how did you find your XS650 ?

[hamamatsu]

This may have been posted before on this site, but the question is "where or how did you find your XS650"?

I found my 81 XS650H at a garage sale about 15 or 16 years ago. I walked into the garage and there it was back in the corner being ignored by everyone except me. I asked the owner if it ran ok, he said he didn't know, it hadn't been started since last summer. Two kicks and it was up and running. The bike had 6,100 original miles on the clock and only needed a set of tires, it still had the original tires. The old XS650H was my only rider for ten years, I put many 400 mile days on it with my son-in-law and his bike. The only tools I carried with me was the original tool kit. Ain't that typical of the old bikes.

I paid $550.00 for the bike.

 

[Mattx2]

I got mine from a guy in arab, alabama. I was just searching day in and day out till I found a bike that had all the parts I wanted and for the right price. I found a perfect candidate on a weird auction site. For the price it looked to good to be true, so i emailed the man asking if it was still for sale. He replied "Yes $800 cash will take it." So I called him and arranged a meeting to check the ol' girl out. It was a 3 hour drive there and 3 hours back. After what seemed like a life time of driving and anticipation that this may be the one, I got to his front door. I talked to him and asked how he got it and shared some memories. I gave it a compression test and a pretty good walk around. After it passed my quality test, I handed him the cash and rolled the bike in the back of the hoopty and strapped her down. A few days later i had her running. No where strong but she was breathing. Fast forward to now I just putt around on it, having a blast.

 

[dwyatt]

Found mine on an XS650 website while I was working in Saudi Arabia. The ad listed Little Rock, AR, so I figured I could have my brother pick it up. Turns out it was in Houston, near my son, so had him get it for me until I could get back to Houston.

 

[xjwmx]

I got mine from a guy in arab, alabama.

Found mine on an XS650 website while I was working in Saudi Arabia.

What's going on here?

 

[BZNrider]

I found mine IN a gun shop in Deer Lodge, MT. Some guy had traded it towards a Beretta 9mm the day before. I think the shop owner really didn't know what he had and he let it go for $500.

 

[YOURADHERE]

I had been looking for one and found a guy with a 72 Hardtail with shifting trouble in Tyler, TX. Im in Lafayette, LA, about 200 miles away. I called him on the night of July 4th to see if he still had it, he did but informed me a guy from Houston was coming for it at about noon the next morning. I asked him if I beat the guy there could I have it, and he agreed, thinking I was full of it. Loaded up that night and got a room at about 1am and was sitting in his driveway before 7am. As we were loading it up the guy from Houston called to let him know he was about to leave. Needless to say he was a bit pissed when he was told it's sold. Picked 'er up for $1000. Currently spread out all over the shop floor but about to have some serious attention put back into it soon.


This is how it sat when I picked it up....should be done before 2011...I hope. Chopped the neck gussets for the tank to sit lower, ditched the sissy bar for struts, Gordon Scott exhaust, TC Bro's battery box and oil tank and going to send some stuff to powdercoat soon. Considering a springer front end.

 

[Grinder]

Found mine at the Yamaha dealer in 1977.

 

[XS650RR]

Both mine in a barn !!!. We were out riding ATV's and came across an old barn on some old farmers property and low and behold ... ... Gold I tell ya !!! ....

 

[CDNTX650]

Craigslist add said

Free 1974 XS650, complete but not running for xx years with a phone number..

His phone rang like 10 times as we were loading it. Glad i snagged a stock standard before some fuck chopped it.

picked it up at like 10:30 pm too that night.

It's a runner now, and half resto modded.

 

[killerb68]

Mine was advertised on Craigslist as a 1971 XJ 650.....I knew it was an XS and picked it up.....in boxes with a clean title for $50

 

[jurob]

I always wanted a cb750. I bought a 74 cb750 about 5 years ago. Sold it and decided I wanted another cb to hardtail. Was doing research and found the xs websites and had to have one.

None on craigslist that so posted a wtb ad in the evening and got a response the next day for a real nice 78. Bought it and rode around for about a month to make sure it was solid then did the chop.

In near stock form my old cb got a decent amount ot attention, my stock xs was ignored and my chop stops people in their tracks.

 

[gaps]

Last week on Craigs I found a one owner 1980 G that looks and runs well for $450. This is my second XS, I foolishly let one go about 15 years ago and am very happy to have another in my garage...and this is my first post, great resource you offer here, thank you.

 

[bdholsin]

Found mine on craiglist in early September. Traded a 10 gage shotgun for it.

 

[johnpagn]

Mine was on cl. as parts. Sold it to me for 150 in boxes as well.
Its still that way but I'v been working on it

 

[JasperLP]

Ran into an old friend back in early '08, we used to ride together back in the 70's. He rode a sportster and I rode a '73 TX650, but we were friends anyway! I told him I was retired and not really doing nothingand he told me I needed something to do. He said he had an old bike out in his barn and if I would come get it I could have it.
It was a '71 XS-1B
It had benn in his barn for twenty years and sat outside in another guys yard for ten years before that, it really looked lonely. Showed 11,000 miles, was rough as hell but wasn't frooze up. Got it home and started dismantling it, the left exhaust was full of peanuts all the way up to the head Mice? I bet he was pissed I got his stash!!!
There is no part that has gone untouched, it's much better than new.

 

[nj1639]

Pig in the poke Ebay buy. About a 5 hour round trip, auctioned at $701.65. Rat bastards lied on the mileage, got her for a hundred less...non running, and they were kicked off the site. Best thing to happen as I know this bike INTIMATLY now.

 

[Dennis]

Got mine from my dad about 5 years ago.
He got from someone in NJ sometime before that

 

[Dogger]

Mine was being sold in the Canadian Vintage Motorcycle Group. The owner had built this 79 special as a street tracker similar to something on OMAR's site. That year he was diagnosed with cancer, and passed away (RIP Karl). I bought it from his wife.
The creepy part is that the trip meter read 666 when I picked it up. I rode it that way for a few years, but got the itch to change it up to a more vintage style street tracker.
I love this bike and will probably own it for a long time!

 

[TwoJugs]

Craigslist and scan ebay. I am not a fan of buying on ebay unless I can see it. Seems that people don't mind screwing you if they don't have to see you. When hunting craigs you need to search with many different phrase combos including typos. I am good at using typos.

 

[Scary]

Got my '72 from a friend. He was out riding around in his pick-up one day and spotted a bike out in the weeds. he stopped and asked the guy what he wanted for it. the owner saw 2 pieces of 4x4 wafer-board in the back of his truck and said he trade the bike for the wafer-board. my friend only paid $4.53 for the wafer-board. he had it for 2 years without doing anything to it and finally gave it to me for free. 6300 miles on the odometer. But it had been used as a dirtbike and had sat outside for 20+ years. the damn thing still started up with a shot of gas.