do i restore my bike to stock, or turn it into a cafe racer?

BiffTirkle

some of you know im working on a bobber. that is still going through as planned.

im talking about my stock xs650. its a 79 special. i'll post a picture later after ive taken one, but its a bit beat up, seen better days. seat cover is all split open, the guy i got it from spray painted the tank and side covers black and did a bad job. and put daytona bars on the bike too.

i want it to look nice, so what should i do? mikes doesnt sell new seats for that year, and the covers are kinda cheap.

the cheapest thing right now would be to strip the paint off the side covers, paint them.and put a mint tank i have in my basement on the bike. thats the side covers and tank. that would make it look a ton better, but its the seat that makes it look so bad.

it seems that either way is just as expensive, id be spending near 300 for the stuff i want/need to do.

new shocks, seat, handlebars, grips, mirrors. thats pretty much it.

i bought a parts bike from a guy who already had new badges unused. that saves some money too.

im not sure what direction i want to go. but any advice would be appreciated?

BeanerBiker · Full Member Joined: Apr 01, 2008 Posts: 103

BiffTirkle wrote:

some of you know im working on a bobber. that is still going through as planned.

im talking about my stock xs650. its a 79 special. i'll post a picture later after ive taken one, but its a bit beat up, seen better days. seat cover is all split open, the guy i got it from spray painted the tank and side covers black and did a bad job. and put daytona bars on the bike too.

i want it to look nice, so what should i do? mikes doesnt sell new seats for that year, and the covers are kinda cheap.

the cheapest thing right now would be to strip the paint off the side covers, paint them.and put a mint tank i have in my basement on the bike. thats the side covers and tank. that would make it look a ton better, but its the seat that makes it look so bad.

it seems that either way is just as expensive, id be spending near 300 for the stuff i want/need to do.

new shocks, seat, handlebars, grips, mirrors. thats pretty much it.

i bought a parts bike from a guy who already had new badges unused. that saves some money too.

im not sure what direction i want to go. but any advice would be appreciated?

I got some stuff for a 79 Special...but let me know..I'm gonna sell most of it to a guy who is chopping mine..

Retiredgentleman

Biff; I vote for the stock look. I think Yamaha produced a dam good looking bike, following in the British style. The stock looking bikes are now and will continue to be the "classic' look thats getting more popular all the time. One of the cycle magazines has just brought out a new magazine with the title "retro", all about 1970's bikes. There first edition only talked about Honda's and Kawasaki's, obviously an oversight that the XS650 was not in there. Smile

weekendrider

Retiregentleman the 79 Special was a cruiser look.

Biff I may have the seat and buckhorn style bars.

pumps

Just my two cents. I like the mostly stock look, for ME. But the thing I like about the XS is that there are a million things a guy can do to one to make it their individual bike. Fix up the stocker to ride, go as far as you want on the fix up and keep working on the bobber . If nothing else it will give you some good experience on the mechanical and electrical characteristics of the XS.
It drives me nuts NOT to have one to ride. So have a rider and one to work on.

BiffTirkle

nothing i would be doing to my stock bike would put it out of commission while i did my "upgrades"

and when i mean turn it into a cafe racer i really only mean new cafe style seat (from mikes) and clubman handlebars. and a stock tank (which i already have a couple of) it would be able to turned back to stock with very little effort.

i like what retiredgentleman had to say. the stock look is a great look.

but pumps had a great point too. making your bike yours. still stock form factor, but slight changes to enhance the look of the bike.

so would you consider a cafe style seat and clubman bars enhancing and mostly stock? or just a cafe racer?

im still torn. but leaning more towards restoring it to stock. i already have a set of stock handlebars too, thanks for the offer!

i suppose i will check out the cost of having my seat recovered here at a shop. then go from there.

pumps

I saw a NOS seat cover on ebay.....?? Want some ideas on how to customize these bikes, just look through the thousand or so member photos..its endless! Thats what I like!

cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotor...dZViewItem

Tomterrific

Is it a special or a Special II? The special II is particularly nice to resto-mod into a Roadster look. Very practical and very good looking.

The bike look changes are from the paint, pipes and the handle bars, something you wanted to change anyway.

Use header pipes with a kick up at the rear like the 2 into 2 Macs. On these install "real" Norton Comando Peashooter replicas. Real Peashooters are straight through. The Peashooters copies for Triumphs are 1 1/2". This kick up at the rear adds a particular rakish look that is so nice. it goes well with the forward canted shocks of the Special frame. Sport shocks add a touch of class also as the shocks now stand out with the style.

The Euro bend bars are popular and for a good reason. Bikes look good and feel good with these bars.

Dove gray painted fenders with a color stripe going down the center. Taillight changed to the Brit look alloy light.

The bike has a clean 70's sport look now, very Brit bike. The bike is both practical and a stunner in the looks dept, like a factory custom from 1975.

Tom Graham

weekendrider

Was renamed the Special II in 1980

xs1961

Over here in the UK that model was named the 'US Custom'..Ugliest of all the XS's...

nj1639

Tomterrific wrote:

Is it a special or a Special II? The special II is particularly nice to resto-mod into a Roadster look. Very practical and very good looking.

The bike look changes are from the paint, pipes and the handle bars, something you wanted to change anyway.

Use header pipes with a kick up at the rear like the 2 into 2 Macs. On these install "real" Norton Comando Peashooter replicas. Real Peashooters are straight through. The Peashooters copies for Triumphs are 1 1/2". This kick up at the rear adds a particular rakish look that is so nice. it goes well with the forward canted shocks of the Special frame. Sport shocks add a touch of class also as the shocks now stand out with the style.

The Euro bend bars are popular and for a good reason. Bikes look good and feel good with these bars.

Dove gray painted fenders with a color stripe going down the center. Taillight changed to the Brit look alloy light.

The bike has a clean 70's sport look now, very Brit bike. The bike is both practical and a stunner in the looks dept, like a factory custom from 1975.

Tom Graham

Tom,
You got a picture?

nj1639

Biff,
Stock is cool, especially at these bikes ages. Now I like a little lowered look to the rear, 11" shocks, but stock.

BiffTirkle

im not sure if it is a special or a special II. i traded a refrigerator for this bike. and this is the whole reason i got into the xs650's!! the guy i traded the fridge for really did get the better end of the deal monetarily speaking. fridge was new and retailed for 2700 bucks! the bike was a beater than ran. and the fridge was free to me, so it was just a matter of needing a bike over a fridge. good ole craigslist!!

you know, i think i will go back to stock. im not a good painter, so the side covers are going to be powder coated plain ole black.

but i will put the stock handlebars back on the bike, get a new seat cover.
i like the tail light behind the seat like in the picture weekendrider posted. thats my favorite style of xs650 in stock form. i would love to get my bike looking like that.

i now believe this bike was in a wreck of some sort, because when i got a couple of milk crates of parts with the bike, there were a few things like smashed head light bucket, mirror, etc that led me to believe this was in a wreck, or the guy had a wrecked bike he salvaged parts from. it doesnt really matter to me, the frame is straight, and the only major things i needed to do was fix the leaky petcock, install a new chain and sprockets. the guy i got it from already installed new bronze swing arm bushings.

i have a new chain and sprockets, and a mint gas tank. the other side covers i have from all the other parts bikes ive gathered over the year are all in pitiful condition. which is why i will strip the ones i have and powder coat them plain black to match the tank. and i dont really need new pipes, mine are just fine.

so can anyone tell me where to get a seat and brake light like in the picture weekendrider posted? will it even fit my year of bike?

pumps

For the tail light...maybe ebay?

BiffTirkle

i found this fender and light on ebay. will this fit my year of bike?

cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotor...enameZWD1V

nj1639

Too funny,
I know the '82 and'83 Heritage Specials have that type of tailight and seat.I recently sprang for a fender and tail light setup like yours'. More classic in appearance. Get that tail light back down where the license plate is.
Differant grabrail goes with the newer models.
That newer tail light has a bundle of wires going to it also. The seat is probably attached differantly, was looking to get the older style seat but I think I'll just stay where I'm at for now.
I do have a spare tail light and grab rail, but would they fit?

To convert to that tail light set up you would need....Rear fender with the lisence plate holder, grab rail with the plastic mount for the light and possibly a seat. Wiring could be a bit tricky.

weekendrider

Biff the seat on your bike is a side hinge or lift off?

xs1961

Yours is a 'special'. Any rear 650 guard/fender & light will fit,dont fit that ugly ol Ebay item though !

BiffTirkle

my seat is a hinge seat. and im sorry xs1961, i really like that light. if you have any suggestions, i am open. as you can see, i can go many directions with this restore.

xs1961

How about this one on mine? Click on it to enlarge

BiffTirkle

i may end up having to go that route. i like that better than my light. but first id have to try the other style. heres the fun part. if all the parts are interchangeable, then i can swap them out and have a slightly different bike anytime i feel like it. its not like it would take all that much effort.

BiffTirkle

i have decided to keep my bike stock, i ordered a seat cover. it helps, but looks ugly. ive decided to clean up the covers, pain them up, and keep it like it is. i love the look of the stock bike.

i did decide to build a soft tail bobber though. ha! i havent even finished my hard tail bobber.

i have been so busy working on my kitchen, that my hard tail bobber has taken a back seat. i need more time with it.
building a softail bobber, will be quick. ive got ALL the parts to build a second bike. so i ordered an extended swingarm, and im buying a titled frame. so ive spent just a little, and now im going to build a sweet ass soft tail bobber. ill be working on my welding skills with this one, since i dont have any structural welding to do. this is going to be fun.

nj1639

Was wondering how the kitchen was going, Ha!
Post some pics of your softail progress.

jimmythetrucker · Full Member Joined: Mar 12, 2008 Posts: 1283

Don't seem like a tough decision to me: You say you're already building a bobber, so you already got one to look at. Now if you want one to ride, you'd best restore the '79 to stock.

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