The time has come for me to finally consider selling my Yamaha I put together. What you are looking at is a 1981 Yamaha XS650 that I built for myself to try out the whole “cruiser” thing, and it is just not my cup of tea. I have a CB350 twin Cafe styled bike and that machine just suits me better. There is very little on this bike that has not been gone through, save for the engine, which is internally stock, and pulls like a freight train. So let's do this first, here are the things that come to mind as I look at the bike in the garage and scan it front to back. Anything that says “new” before it, has around 50 miles on it, yes, that is as far as I've rode it after I put it together. So here goes.
New Firestone tires from Coker
New spokes/nipples front and rear
New front fork seals
New front brake pads
New needle bearings for steerer tube
New 5 3/4” headlight with highbeam
New speedometer(LED) with neutral and highbeam indicators
New handlebar mount bushings
New stainless brake line
New throttle cable
New clutch cable
New speedo cable
New master cylinder(slimline from MikesXS)
New Motion Pro throttle(best I've ever used)
New dual ouput coil
New plug wires and caps
New electronic ignition pickup(Pamco)
New gigantic air filter from MikesXS
New clutch springs
New single piece clutch pushrod
Lots of new gaskets in the motor(cam, tappet covers, intake, exhaust, side covers)
New brass swingarm bushings
New footpeg bracket rubber mount bushings
New footpegs(front)
New silencers
New fuse box(factory from MikesXS)
New battery(sealed lead)
New 11.5” shocks(rear)
New taillight(LED, bright, love it)
And there is probably some I have missed. And this is just the “new” list. Let me go onto what I have “done” to this machine.
Wheels and hubs cleaned up and respoked and trued.
Front forks cleaned up, lower sliders cleaned and repainted, also lowered the front end...probably about 2.5”, with spring spacers and coil removal.
Put together a simple headlight bracket.
Exhaust is factory headpipes with adapters to run a clamp on muffler, sounds very good, and has a nice, deep rumble, and looks simple, clean, and factory.
Shortened the side stand, AND the center stand, both function as they should.
Built a single carb intake manifold, simplicity, ease of tuning, still needs some tinkering but I continue to do this constantly, since hey, we're all gearheads right? Sounds amazing by the way.
Built a seat. Fiberglass pan, few layers of good solid foam, and made the cover. Comfortable, and looks the part.
Built a battery box, storing the battery, high beam switch, and the fuse box. This bike is kick only, the starter does NOT exist.
Cut, modified the rear fender, relocated, and you get what you see here. Still using the plastic inner fender to maintain a factory look.
Frame is cleaned of unneeded brackets, and smoothed out.
Wiring is cleaned out of what is not needed, and wrapped in fabric tape to replicate a classic look.
There is more I am sure, but this is what comes to mind.
Moving on, most everything on this bike has been cleaned, primed, and painted. Obviously, the tank and fender are not normal. There is one small, small dent in the tank next to the filler cap that I missed when I was doing the body work. Other than that, no dents.
Frame has been painted, along with probably every other bracket you could think of.
Fork sliders have been painted in a cast aluminum finish, looks brand new.
The engine is solid, not rebuilt, and not refinished, but runs great and pulls hard, transmission shifts fine, all the gears function as they should, and unlike a lot of XS's, neutral is not a four letter word, this bike can actually find it.
Basically, most everything on this bike has been gone through, cleaned, repainted, and then reinstalled. You'll note that perhaps it doesn't look wildly different than a factory bike.
That is the point. I set out to build something that resembles a bike you could buy off the showroom floor in the time period as a “Factory Custom”. I think it is fairly close to that. My CB350 has nothing really on it, no neutral light, no high beam, no rear fender, and no side stand. When I put this bike together, to continue with the factory custom idea, it has all of that, minus turn signals, but there was no real clean way to locate turn signals on this bike without killing the look. So you will notice that there are a lot of factory parts that are re-used, and it is because of this design premise. I didn't want crazy, I wanted folks who didn't know to just basically pass it off as a good looking old motorcycle. But for the people who do know, there are a lot of small minute changes once you begin to look deeper.
So there is the brief synopsis. Nothing I type here can represent the amount of time that went into putting this bike together. Making the little things work is what takes the most time, and that is what is going on with this bike. I must've take the forks totally apart at least five or six times before I was happy with the front ride height, things like that. I should also note, I have the other Mikuni VM36 to match the single that is on there, just in case one would want to go back to a dual carb setup, you'd just need another intake boot.
There is more I am sure, as mentioned, I cannot type it all here. But keep in mind, I want this to go to someone who can appreciate it, and I would rather not see it hacked up and turned into a hardtail. I understand that once it is out of my hands it is not my say, but I think you people can see where I am coming from. Before the typical garble at the end of for sale posts, few notes on how it rides:
It's low, really low, don't expect some corner carving machine, but that is not why you buy something like this. I can measure the seat height if you need me too. No your leg doesn't hit the air filter. Yes it is stiff, still has give, but it's still stiff, as you would expect. Yep it seats two people, note the rear foot pegs, it's a bit tight, but it works. Nope, you cannot have an electric starter, the battery is a sealed-lead and is in my opinion way too small to start this puppy, so I use my foot. It works, and I never run out of voltage.
The juicy details:
Location: East Orlando, FL
Price: 4000 or best offer. After some thought, this is where I will start, and I still do not feel this is enough. This bike is done, completed, get on it, ride, do burnouts, go to the coast, whatever the hell you want to do. If you have a problem with pricing, discuss it with me in an email. If you come to me and say “But you only spent $xxxx amount of dollars on parts!” I'll then ask you what your time is worth, and then perhaps suggest you find another similar machine.
Delivery: You have to arrange for it to be shipped/picked up/rode home, whatever your fancy. I drive a smaller car and while I have a hitch, it doesn't like being a tow truck much, however, depending on the details of the deal, I might be inclined to deliver.
Test rides: Sure, right after I see your MC license and the money. If you want to purchase this thing, but don't have an MC license, bring someone to test ride it who does. This may seem harsh, but look at it from my perspective, and ask if you would trust a stranger's word that “They've been riding for years man!”, and let them take your machine around the block.
Title status: Clean, clear, and in my name. Florida title.
Email with any questions, it is the best way to get a hold of me. It doesn't make me particularly happy to get rid of the bike, I like it, it's fun, but for my style of riding, it doesn't make sense for me to keep. Thanks for reading.
Steve
stevenclay115@yahoo.com
More:
http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y120/sclay115/XS650/
New Firestone tires from Coker
New spokes/nipples front and rear
New front fork seals
New front brake pads
New needle bearings for steerer tube
New 5 3/4” headlight with highbeam
New speedometer(LED) with neutral and highbeam indicators
New handlebar mount bushings
New stainless brake line
New throttle cable
New clutch cable
New speedo cable
New master cylinder(slimline from MikesXS)
New Motion Pro throttle(best I've ever used)
New dual ouput coil
New plug wires and caps
New electronic ignition pickup(Pamco)
New gigantic air filter from MikesXS
New clutch springs
New single piece clutch pushrod
Lots of new gaskets in the motor(cam, tappet covers, intake, exhaust, side covers)
New brass swingarm bushings
New footpeg bracket rubber mount bushings
New footpegs(front)
New silencers
New fuse box(factory from MikesXS)
New battery(sealed lead)
New 11.5” shocks(rear)
New taillight(LED, bright, love it)
And there is probably some I have missed. And this is just the “new” list. Let me go onto what I have “done” to this machine.
Wheels and hubs cleaned up and respoked and trued.
Front forks cleaned up, lower sliders cleaned and repainted, also lowered the front end...probably about 2.5”, with spring spacers and coil removal.
Put together a simple headlight bracket.
Exhaust is factory headpipes with adapters to run a clamp on muffler, sounds very good, and has a nice, deep rumble, and looks simple, clean, and factory.
Shortened the side stand, AND the center stand, both function as they should.
Built a single carb intake manifold, simplicity, ease of tuning, still needs some tinkering but I continue to do this constantly, since hey, we're all gearheads right? Sounds amazing by the way.
Built a seat. Fiberglass pan, few layers of good solid foam, and made the cover. Comfortable, and looks the part.
Built a battery box, storing the battery, high beam switch, and the fuse box. This bike is kick only, the starter does NOT exist.
Cut, modified the rear fender, relocated, and you get what you see here. Still using the plastic inner fender to maintain a factory look.
Frame is cleaned of unneeded brackets, and smoothed out.
Wiring is cleaned out of what is not needed, and wrapped in fabric tape to replicate a classic look.
There is more I am sure, but this is what comes to mind.
Moving on, most everything on this bike has been cleaned, primed, and painted. Obviously, the tank and fender are not normal. There is one small, small dent in the tank next to the filler cap that I missed when I was doing the body work. Other than that, no dents.
Frame has been painted, along with probably every other bracket you could think of.
Fork sliders have been painted in a cast aluminum finish, looks brand new.
The engine is solid, not rebuilt, and not refinished, but runs great and pulls hard, transmission shifts fine, all the gears function as they should, and unlike a lot of XS's, neutral is not a four letter word, this bike can actually find it.
Basically, most everything on this bike has been gone through, cleaned, repainted, and then reinstalled. You'll note that perhaps it doesn't look wildly different than a factory bike.
That is the point. I set out to build something that resembles a bike you could buy off the showroom floor in the time period as a “Factory Custom”. I think it is fairly close to that. My CB350 has nothing really on it, no neutral light, no high beam, no rear fender, and no side stand. When I put this bike together, to continue with the factory custom idea, it has all of that, minus turn signals, but there was no real clean way to locate turn signals on this bike without killing the look. So you will notice that there are a lot of factory parts that are re-used, and it is because of this design premise. I didn't want crazy, I wanted folks who didn't know to just basically pass it off as a good looking old motorcycle. But for the people who do know, there are a lot of small minute changes once you begin to look deeper.
So there is the brief synopsis. Nothing I type here can represent the amount of time that went into putting this bike together. Making the little things work is what takes the most time, and that is what is going on with this bike. I must've take the forks totally apart at least five or six times before I was happy with the front ride height, things like that. I should also note, I have the other Mikuni VM36 to match the single that is on there, just in case one would want to go back to a dual carb setup, you'd just need another intake boot.
There is more I am sure, as mentioned, I cannot type it all here. But keep in mind, I want this to go to someone who can appreciate it, and I would rather not see it hacked up and turned into a hardtail. I understand that once it is out of my hands it is not my say, but I think you people can see where I am coming from. Before the typical garble at the end of for sale posts, few notes on how it rides:
It's low, really low, don't expect some corner carving machine, but that is not why you buy something like this. I can measure the seat height if you need me too. No your leg doesn't hit the air filter. Yes it is stiff, still has give, but it's still stiff, as you would expect. Yep it seats two people, note the rear foot pegs, it's a bit tight, but it works. Nope, you cannot have an electric starter, the battery is a sealed-lead and is in my opinion way too small to start this puppy, so I use my foot. It works, and I never run out of voltage.
The juicy details:
Location: East Orlando, FL
Price: 4000 or best offer. After some thought, this is where I will start, and I still do not feel this is enough. This bike is done, completed, get on it, ride, do burnouts, go to the coast, whatever the hell you want to do. If you have a problem with pricing, discuss it with me in an email. If you come to me and say “But you only spent $xxxx amount of dollars on parts!” I'll then ask you what your time is worth, and then perhaps suggest you find another similar machine.
Delivery: You have to arrange for it to be shipped/picked up/rode home, whatever your fancy. I drive a smaller car and while I have a hitch, it doesn't like being a tow truck much, however, depending on the details of the deal, I might be inclined to deliver.
Test rides: Sure, right after I see your MC license and the money. If you want to purchase this thing, but don't have an MC license, bring someone to test ride it who does. This may seem harsh, but look at it from my perspective, and ask if you would trust a stranger's word that “They've been riding for years man!”, and let them take your machine around the block.
Title status: Clean, clear, and in my name. Florida title.
Email with any questions, it is the best way to get a hold of me. It doesn't make me particularly happy to get rid of the bike, I like it, it's fun, but for my style of riding, it doesn't make sense for me to keep. Thanks for reading.
Steve
stevenclay115@yahoo.com
More:
http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y120/sclay115/XS650/
