newbie -- bio and a question for thoughts and comments

kyd727

newbie here from se Pa.
name is Tom
just wanted to say "hello" to everyone and maybe pose a question to ponder....

little about me first
i was always a car guy, big on pontiacs. not really into bikes too much, but always liked the early yamaha 650. i just loved the look of those early bikes and i knew i would own one some day.

when i got into my mid 30s i got into bikes big time! and finally had a chance to buy a 72 xs2 about 3 yrs. ago and i love it .

i bought it off the original owner it was maintained well, always garaged, and it had 24k on the clock but previous owner said top end was freshed at 18k
the bike currently has almost 30k on it. if you saw it you wouldnt think it has that many miles on it. i ride it alot and it runs great. this past july i entered it in my first show and won first in my class.
ill try to attatch some pics if i can figure out how to upload them ...lol!
would love to go to a yamaha 650 rally some day.

so, here is the question and i would like some serious comments on this.
this past september i found another 72 xs2 for sale locally.
to make a long story short- what i ended up buying that day was an all original 13k beauty that had been neglected for about 9 yrs (indoors).

ive been bringing her back to life these past cpl months and my intention was to bring her right back to bone stock original and show both bikes together at local shows and what not.
now as work progresses and im close to a finish, i've been thinking of doing a mild cafe\rat rod look with the bike. i have a tank from a 1970 xs1 thats as clean as a whistle and cafe bars.

so my question is this,
do i go with the purist within and go back to original or,
do i let my mid-life crisis prevail and go with the cafe look for kicks and attention ????

no answer is right or wrong, i just want to put it out there for dicussion and have some fun.
please check out the attatchment for pics of both bikes.
ive included pics of the second xs2 as it looked the day i bought it and as a mock up of the cafe version im thinking of so,
tell me what you think.

oh and by the way hello everyone - Tom (KYD727)

metalredneck · Full Member Joined: Aug 04, 2008 Posts: 308

Hello, & welcome! My advice would be that it depends on what kind of riding you plan to do with it. Customizing can mean anything from chopper to cafe racer, with all the variants therein. These things work OK stock, too, so how do you wanna use it?

BigGeorge · Full Member Joined: Apr 13, 2008 Posts: 267

The earlier xs650 is becoming harder to find and more valuable. Since yours is almost pristine why not keep it that way and pick up a later xs for cheap to hot rod, cafe, rat rod, bob, etc. Just a suggestion.............BG

XSDAD · Full Member Joined: Sep 03, 2008 Posts: 176

If you have two, you can have one of each... Or, save up the 300$ and buy a third one.

xsjohn

If you have one and hack it up you may end up with none......

xsjohn

whynot2

Tom,
Welcome to the group. Two XS2's? Sounds like one to ride and one to polish. I had a XS2 bought it new in '72, painted it black before the summer was over, rode it seven years and sold it. If I had one or two XS2's now I would keep them as close to stock as I could. The old ones are getting too hard to find and are most valuable stock. Even the '80's are not showing up on ebay like they were a year ago. But that's just me. I have my two(80 & 81), down from seven, and neither are stock.
Greg

kyd727

thanks for all the input folks.

this is a really cool group and im glad i joined.

im definitly NOT hacking ANY bikes in my garage! no offense John, but i would consider it a crime to cut on any of those early 650s.

i tried to upload a few pics but i have to resize them i hope to do so in the next day or so.
i would love to get my hands on a 71 xs1b.
and my ultimate dream is to own each of the first three years of production. also i would love to have a cb350 four cyl.
im not asking alot am i???

some other bikes i own: 1968 cb450 K1
1973 cb750
1969 + 1970 cl350s
1972 cb350
2- 1972 xs2s
1974 tx500
I LOVE OLD JAP BIKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

JeffM

Sounds like we have similar tastes... Currently rejuvenating an XS2, but it was that gold 71 that caught my eye years ago. Been riding a 350F for close to ten years, really fun bike.

Glad to hear there's no cutting going on, I agree it can be a crime. I shudder to think how many half finished chops there are out there. I really believe you should live with a bike for a while before you tear into it.

y 350F is a 'mild cafe', simple bolt-on mods, and a few things removed or reduced, upgraded from stock as the need arises... although a bit of a purist as well. With the exception of tires I have kept to 70's era bits to keep it 'in the era'.

Nice collection! Do you think the Black Bomber may be the first jap cafe?

Jeff

kingwj

Leave them stock.

TeeCat

Tom, I agree that you should leave them as close to stock as possible, meaning that if you want to go the cafe route, you should do it without any cutting or permanent, defacing mods.

TC (Tommy)

pumps

Hi Tom and Welcome Smile

Keep the ones you have in good stock condition that way. If you keep your eyes open I bet you can find a cut up one for you to work with for cheap.

gordo

H i KYD,welcome to the band!!Hey ,off the subject a little, how's that CB 750 go?My first street bike was a '73 also.Did alot of work to it,was workin' for a Honda dealer for that year,so I got it right out of the crate.First thing I did was pull the engie & proceeded to build a Yoshimura 900,4mm oversize sodium filled valves , forget what carb's I used,cam, too,But after porting the head ,cutting notches in it for the cam to pass,I dynowed out @180 bhp.Thing was SUPERFAST! So ,maybe you understand my affection for the CB,I ended up puttin' about $4500 in it .Tracy body,DID wheel's ,hub's,Tomiselli,Basanni.Really miss that ride.As far as your question goe's,what the hell,it's cheaper than a mistress,or worse a divorce.So whatever your choice,HAVE FUN!!!That's what I feel is important!!!

oldskoolcool · Full Member Joined: Sep 08, 2007 Posts: 372

welcome. The standard Xs's are real nice. I had a stock one and chopped it not knowing what i know now. Had i known, i would have found a Fugly Heritage special as i feel 80's japanese stock choppers with buckhorns and stepped seats are horrendously ugly. Laughing

kyd727

HEY EVERYONE, I ATTACHED SOME PICS FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE.

THANKS FOR ALL THE COMMENTS.

wow gordo,
sounds like you really went to town on your old cb. 180 bhp WTF!!
mine is all stock and in pretty good original condition just under 9K on it. runs great and man do i love that bike.

oldskool - i couldnt agree more about fugly 1980s bikes....lol!

sounds like most people think i should keep it stock......

GREAT COMMENTS EVERYBODY THANKS AND LETS KEEP IT GOING.

BY THE WAY I JUST UPLOADED MY FIRST PICTURE GALLERY SO CHECK OUT MY BIKES.

THE ONE WITH THE FAIRING ON IT IS THE SECOND BIKE I BOUGHT,THATS HOW IT LOOKED WHEN I BROUGHT IT HOME. THE TANK AND PETCOCKS WERE TOAST.

I REBUILT THE PETCOCKS NOW IM TRYING TO CLEAN THE TANK OUT.
THE PIC WITH THE GREEN XS1 TANK IS HOW THE BIKE LOOKS NOW AND THE DIRECTION I MIGHT GO WITH IT.

kyd727

SORRY FOLKS UPLOADED WRONG PIC

THIS IS HOW THE BIKE LOOKS NOW
PIC IN MY LAST POST WAS A TYPO.....LOL.

oldskoolcool · Full Member Joined: Sep 08, 2007 Posts: 372

BUT...you could do a nice cafe without ruining the bike, get the seat, some clubmans and rearsets and your gold!!

metalredneck · Full Member Joined: Aug 04, 2008 Posts: 308

That looks WAY too nice to go after with the sawzall. Enjoy!

thorshammer · Full Member Joined: Dec 12, 2008 Posts: 58

I have to agree I'm against cuting up the old ones but they can be made into beauty's as cafes. I have never seen a special where I did not think "needs" those are the ones to cut as all you can do is help them. My rides are xs1 build date 69, tx650 73, xs650 76, 79 special (for chopping) and last 2 76 honda xl350s. Parts bikes and non runners add another 8 I think I may have a problem if the wife ever sees them all at the same time.

kyd727

i hear you about the wife. i have eight complete bikes and probably enough parts to put two more together.....lol.
thanks for the input thor.
btw id love to see some pic of the xs1 (love those bikes)

kyd727

so it looks like most people think i should keep the bike stock.
so, thats what i plan on doing.
thanks for all the input and ill try to post some more pics soon

Barbara

Hi Tom,

After many years of riding cafe BSA's, Triumphs and Nortons, I would suggest that you do exactly what you want to do.

Personally, I would keep them stock, but having said that, the original cafe bikes were factory bikes that carefree kids modified for street racing--cafe bars, rearsets, big gas tank, swept-back exhaust pipes and hollow mufflers, perhaps a racing seat, but nothing that couldn't be returned to stock. so if you are of a mind to have a cafe bike, my suggestion would be to remove the stock bits, carefully store them away, and replace them with cafe parts to your heart's desire!

y '77"D" isn't stock--she has a fairing, and the tank, front fender and exhaust system are from a '75. Other than that, she is stock, and I have her old tank which will go on her after acid-dipping and painting. She is on her second seat, since I wore out the original, and she has 60,000 miles on her.

y main thing about my XS--or any bike--is that I am involved with it--I have an attachment all out of proportion to the reality of human/machine. I love the silly things, and talk to them as I work on them or as I ride. As long as the rider cares about the machine, I truly believe that the bike will do it's part.

Gee, that sounds silly when you read it, but I bet you know what I mean...

Welcome to the site, by the way. Watch out---it's addictive. Really. Wink

boneshaker

Hi , Tom Al from Bethlehem Pa. I have a 78e bone stock, and there are days I want to do something with it, its a daily driver . But today wasn't one of those days. I went for a short ride this morning , filled up the tank , you know just wanted to be on two wheels after all that crappy weather we,ve been having. And when I got back I looked at it at the top of the driveway when I went to open the garage door and its fine just the way it is. After tomorows ride (60 degrees maybe RT 32 to New Hope?) I'll probibley feel different. sorry for the text can't find spell checker

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