I made the right choice I think.

pumps · Last edited by pumps on February 22, 2009, 1:29 pm; edited 2 times in total

I like old bikes. American, Japanese, european etc. I like them because they are cool to me. Sort of classic. Like art I guess, on wheels. I like my old bikes because they are not so common. I think my XS is cool.
Sometimes though I think that having an old bike is beyond me. It takes time . Time finding parts and getting all the bugs worked out because after all it is a 1977 model. I'm not the best wrench either. I get frustrated. I see some of you guys posting pictures of your progress and I think, damn I wish I could get moving along like that. But family, making a living and all those other daily things tug at me, requiring my time. So I think, this project is going to take a couple years to get done and that bugs me. I get discouraged. Maybe I should just buy a newer bike.It rides and runs, well it will again after I get these parts and stuff put on but some stuff like paint will have to wait. Money and time again.
But when I read about things you guys do, look at your pictures etc I get motivated again.
Last Christmas I got a gift subscription to Motorcycle Classics mag and was reading the latest one last night. There is an article about Kaw KZ750 twins and there is a small sidebar article that talks about the XS and has a picture of my exact bike, 77 D maxi-maroon and it calls the XS "Cheap and reliable, the XS is possibly the perfect classic rider."

So I know I have made the right choice but it wouldn't be the right choice without all of you.
Here is a link to the article but the XS pic isn't in the online article.

www.motorcycleclassics...spx?page=2

oldbikenut

To me it all about personal choice. I really enjoy older bikes as it reminds me of my younger days, infact I remember very clearly in High school wanting an XS650, now 25 years later I have one(mid life crisis?). I also enjoy what the vintage bikes have to offer as far as uniqueness and there just not being as many as there used to be. I don't have my XS on the road yet but I know when I take my 71 Yamaha RT1 out I talk to so many people who had a bike like mine and have great memories about it and usually have some great conversation about there old bike. I don't use a motorcycle as my main means of transportation and if I did I would probably buy something a little newer as I'm definately not up to the mechanical abilities of others on this forum. I just take my time with things as I do actually really enjoy working on my bikes.

Anybody can drive a new bike and I see tons and to me most of the new ones all kind of look alike, though there are some I really like(European) but they are simply out of my price range.

I saw the article in Motorcycle classics as that's the only magazine I subscribe to, always cool when they mention an XS!

650rider · WebMaster Joined: Feb 09, 2005 Posts: 431

Hey Pumps,

You said my exact thoughts - exactly!

I think thats one reason I like doing the website it keeps me active in world XS's even if I can't get my all fixed up.

Retiredgentleman

pumps;
Don't get frustrated with the long time it takes to improve your bike. Your family and your job come first, and then you can spend some time on your hobby.

These bikes capture a period in transportation history that will not happen again. A time when 650 cc's was a full size bike. A time when fenders were made from steel, not plastic. A time when 50 HP was all you needed.

When I go out riding with friends on new bikes, and we stop at a restaurant, most often people come over to the group of parked bikes, and start asking me about my bike, they ignore the newer bikes.

These bikes require work to bring them up to a level that makes them reliable. Sometimes you are just repairing the mistakes the PO made. Once you get there, it will just be regular maintenance.

With me its a 50/50 hobby. I equally enjoy my time working on the bike a I do riding the bike.

650skull · Support Staff Joined: Jul 19, 2007 Posts: 1186

How much money would you spend on a new or newer bike? If you could afford that newer more reliable bike then take that money and work out how much it would take to get the XS up to the reliability, (or better), than the newer bike you would purchase, and spend it on the XS even if you have to pay someone to do some of the work...........With the nice bike you have i would bet you would have money left over and a well talked about and great ride able classic................Who cares if the bike costs 3-4 grand, (that could be spent on a newer bike, that is some one else's problem), you will have a bike that is reliable that you know inside out, and it will not go down in value, so a win win situation...............hang in there

pumps

All of you are echoing the thoughts I have had about why I like my XS. I do have a newer bike that in fair weather I use for transportation to work, my little 06' EX250 Ninja. It's the newest bike I have ever owned but I only paid $2250 for it , STILL no payment and 65 mpg. I ride it when the XS is in the pits and until it is reliable.
I really got my faith in my XS boosted when MC mag made that comment.

nj1639

After all I've done to my '83, I don't want another bike. We have this intimacy that only bringing something back to life can give. Weird, huh?
Well, maybe a speedmaster if someone gave it to me.

pumps

I was 17 in 77 but more interested in girls and my 69 Chevelle SS.

oldbikenut

pumps wrote:

I was 17 in 77 but more interested in girls and my 69 Chevelle SS.

Now I hope you still have the Chevelle SS! Personally one of the sharpest and definately my favorite car from that era. That would surely fix my mid-life crisis Very Happy

.

xs1961

I was 17 in '77 , had dozens of older(brit ) bikes up til then (off-road of course ! Ahem..) ..I was sick of them so I bought a brand new XS650..never looked back. Owned many, many jap & brit bikes since & approx 40 XS's - they still tick all the boxes as far as I'm concerned...Simply not intrested in anything else now..
wouldnt mind another A10 or A65 Beeeza though if the prices dropped a hell of a lot !

Barbara

Hi Guys,

I got my '77 in 1978. It sat for years while I restored Brits--Nortons, BSA's, Triumphs, AJS singles, Matchless singles and twins, a truly horrible 1949 Bantam D-1 stroker...all wonderful bikes. But when I wanted to go someplace there were two bikes I chose: a Norton Commando Interstate and the XS650. I also remember like RG, when 650cc was big, and 50 hp was a lot of power--and I still feel that way. These bikes are meant to be used, worn out, repaired or restored, and ridden some more.

Basically, Yamaha got it right---it's the "Last British Twin", although now Triumph might claim that honor. But for looks, reliability, power and user-friendliness, you just can't beat a good XS650 twin. I have a piece of a the barbed-wire fence we went through in 1980, taped tot he handlebar, and we both remember to be cool and ride right, and yes, I talk to the bike all the time.

If the '79 is half the bike the '77 has always been, I'll be very, very happy!

pumps

oldbikenut- unfortunately the Super Sport is long gone. Still my favorite even now. About midlife crisis..my wife one time asked if I was having a mid life crisis. No I replied, 'it's just that I can afford it now.

Snake

These bikes are classics, as much for the bike as the people who ride them and maintain them, make parts for them and who still talk about them..like all of us...i suppose.....i went to a large bike race meet today...didn't see one other XS650......that says something doesn't it?..not sure what...but it says something....

wood-z

Pumps- I'm practically a neighbor, we'll have to mess up my garage (or yours) sometime,always helps to have xtra hands/eyes/brains...xs's ARE cool. I'm on my third, and with all these guys and their vast wealth of knowledge and encouragement, it virtually eliminates that "one thing" that always tries to stop whatever project is going on. My 80sg is low miles and runs well and is in decent shape. Am trying to "restify" as I can. What I can do-I do... some stuff(carbs-Hoo Boy) are a little beyond my ken and I farm it out...I'm certainly doing more wrenching than I used to. I am a little frustrated today tho. Took a space heater to the garage to try and keep my fingers moving( semi-successfully),put on mikes hp oil pump and filter kits + sump filter-fairly easy-even tho I had never had a case cover off before. After I was done(grin),I realized my kick starter was out of whack(oops).Should be easier the second time thru.It's supposed to be warm M/T/W,I'll finish then.My point is -it's a labor of love, it's art, it's cathartic, it's the Budda! Sometimes it's like I'm "restifying" myself at the same time- whether I'm wrenching OR wriding. "Grasshoppa, when you can snatch the carburetor from xsjohn's hand- it will be time to leave..."

whynot2

Pumps,
Some of us have been working on our XS650's for quite a while. Sure there are those who "got this last winter and here it is finished.." Then there is the rest of us. I bought my '81 in '97 because I like the wheels. It was a runner, but needed work. I did not get it the way I wanted it until last year. The '80SG, I've been playing with that since 1989. Take your time enjoy the work. Bikes are fun, but they are not the most important things in our lives.
WN2

5twins · Full Member Joined: Aug 05, 2006 Posts: 1616

It always takes me several seasons to sort a new old bike out. I like to get them up and running with a minimum of work and cash outlay, then "ride and wrench" to refine them. My 650 will be entering it's 5th season this year and is just about where I want it. A new coil is about the only thing I have planned so far for this year but that could change. There's just so much you can do to these machines to improve them and make them better. Since I've done most of that stuff to my current 650 over the past 4 years, I guess I'll just have to find another one Smile

I'm thinking a ratty Special I can do up in the Mad Max or street fighter style. A rolling test bed for all the extra parts I've acquired and the ideas I want to try.

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

I love my ol'beater. I was looking at a Triumph Scrambler, in the army green, when I realized: I already have a parallel twin with high (ish) pipes and a scrambler attitude, and with my new $120.00 Dunlop tire, the total investment so far is about $600.00. I don't have $9000.00 to buy the Triumph, and if I mess this one up, I can repair it.

Progress, my ass.

xs1961

Agree! Agree !

pumps

Yes I DO love that no payment thing! And if you do mess this one up , it's not such a huge deal.

What Happened to 650rider.com?

Yamaha xs650