Yamaharley project

Phyberoptic

Phyberoptic

XS650 Addict
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Hood River, OR
Picked up a project bike that the owner gave up on and had sitting for a few years. (last tagged in 2007). It's an 81 Heritage special xs650 (I believe), that he had put some Harley parts on... well kind of.

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Custom Zip Tie fasteners.... :yikes:

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And my favorite... the bungee cord seat latch. :doh:

Anyway, she had good compression so I gave the lowball offer in front of his wife who gave the nod.... :shrug:

Drained the gas.. put some fresh in, sprayed out the carbs with carb cleaner, and ran some jumper cables from my truck. Choke on, Some ether in the carbs and crank.... crank.... Blam. Blam, blam...

Ahhhh... then rode it up into the trailer. :thumbsup:

At home stripped her of the sillyness:

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Found that the gas tank was from a sporster and had been rattle-canned over the emblems... a wipe down with some MEK and it looked near new:

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And here I test fit a rear fender from an Ultra Classic. Will have to come up with some kind of mount as the frame was hacked to the shock mounts.

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-=Steve
 
I can see some interesting possibilities. After looking an xr1200 over I'm infatuated with Harleys at the moment. If it was 200 lbs lighter on the street instead of in my wallet I'd have to have one.

Good to find out that MEK can dissolve some finishes and not others. Might prove useful....hmmmmm...


Nice late-season tomatoes growing there too. I have a couple plants. Nothing like the taste of an old strain of homegrown tomato.
 
Yeah, MEK is a really strong solvent.. I use it for melting plastic parts together mostly. But in this case, there was obviously no prep on the paint that covered the factory paint, so I took a chance, put it on a paper towel and wiped off the cheap spray can paint like it was dirt.

MEK is great for cleaning off gums and adhesives especially on bare metal parts. but use gloves as it will dry out your hands immediatly.

The Ultra Classic fender is actually just a hair wide... may have to grind the inner welds a bit to fit it. tempted to grind most of the sloppy welds from the Jap factory. But I'm guesing that is not good idea?

May paint the fenders, frame and engine red with the tank remaining black and using a black, sprung solo seat.

-=Steve
 
I don't know if it's intentional at this point but I would keep the black and orange thing going with the bike.
 
That fender is actually red, although it does look orange to me also in the photo.
So, orange fenders, and engine (except for the sideplates which would be polished... maybe grinding off the Yamaha logo), and leave the tank and frame black?

Could also do orange and black on the wheels.... Hmmm.

Got to get rid of those handle bars however. They are the most uncomfortable I've ever used... even worst than Ape Hangers. Maybe some clubman, or straight drag bars.
 
Love it. How big were the rear cylinders? I am going to build a 62/3 someday. I would do a 64 for the right price. I want it to 3 wheel high.
 
Summer was late getting here so the tomatoes were sad. Had some nice heirloom tomatoes at my girfriends house. these were just home depot standards. :)

No comments on the Triumph? It's funny how much the xs650 copies the lines of the Triumph. The 69 Triumph's 650 is alot more gutsy out the hole. But I can buy two or three of the Yamahas for the same price.
 
'62 impalas are big bucks.... but really nice in convertible. I'm not sure of the cylinder size... maybe 12 inch? It is an old build and maybe can hop knee high. Still in all, it gets alot of attention at the local shows when I drag it out.
Got it to interest my son in getting his license a few years back. Now he rides the little Ninja 250 with me on weekends he's back from college.
 
Phyberoptic said:
...
Choke on, Some ether in the carbs and crank.... crank.... Blam. Blam, blam...

Ahhhh... then rode it up into the trailer. :thumbsup:
....
Click to expand...


Right in front of the guy? :laugh: Even if I think I can get it running, I wait until I get home to mess with it.
 
Well he was being a whiney jerk... so while his wife and I are filling out the paper work he goes off to get some smokes.
I waited a while for him to come back to help push it up the trailer ramp. :confused: Then just decided to see if I could run it....
Wife peeks out after I got it running, but I whish the dude had stumbled back as I drove it up the trailer ramp.:bike:
 
haha! In that case.. might as well. Can you image how pissed he probably was when his wife told him you drove it up onto the trailer? :D
 
I'm sure that she was smart enough not to bring that up. :D
She punished him enough making him sell it off. :banghead:
I'd guess her pile of honey doos is what kept him from riding the the bike. Well, that and his customizing that wouldn't have been safe to sit on.:yikes:

Anyway, I've got some fender struts comming that I'll have to customize to work on the xs. Also picked up a Guard Bar from a member here that I think will make it more Harleyish?

Going to the paint store to have them mix up some Harley Orange,and some deep black... then I'll clean up the engine and grind on the frame some this weekend before I squirt it all.

Might have to pick up a fuze block to replace all the inline fuzes that have been jellybeaned together.

Maybe I should throw some ape hangars on and then sell off the finished bike? Well, let's see how it looks first. :wink2:
 
Phyberoptic said:
Drained the gas.. put some fresh in, sprayed out the carbs with carb cleaner, and ran some jumper cables from my truck. Choke on, Some ether in the carbs and crank.... crank.... Blam. Blam, blam...
Click to expand...

I always love to hear these stories.....Cause I NEVER get that lucky.....
 
Phyberoptic said:
I'm sure that she was smart enough not to bring that up. :D
She punished him enough making him sell it off. :banghead:
I'd guess her pile of honey doos is what kept him from riding the the bike. Well, that and his customizing that wouldn't have been safe to sit on.:yikes:

Anyway, I've got some fender struts comming that I'll have to customize to work on the xs. Also picked up a Guard Bar from a member here that I think will make it more Harleyish?

Going to the paint store to have them mix up some Harley Orange,and some deep black... then I'll clean up the engine and grind on the frame some this weekend before I squirt it all.

Might have to pick up a fuze block to replace all the inline fuzes that have been jellybeaned together.

Maybe I should throw some ape hangars on and then sell off the finished bike? Well, let's see how it looks first. :wink2:
Click to expand...

Grinding off the Yamaha logo? Black and orange? Harleyish guard bar? lol dude just get a harley, why bastardize a yamaha?
 

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