Not a KZ but smokin hot none the less

Since I agreed to buy an 81 Yamaha XS650 Special yesterday I spent a few hours looking at XS650 sites this morning and came across this. Not a Kaw, but man this guy has some serious skills. I'm not a huge fan of cafe style bikes because they are normally so poorly done but this is the exception to the rule.

Just in case everyone thinks I lost my mind buying a 650 twin, I better explain. It was close (2 streets over), low mileage (5700), has a title, runs, and is dirt cheap ($150). It is somewhat of a brillo pad special having sat in a metal shed rusting and corroding for the last several years. Some genius PO decided to make the paint look custom by drawing flames on it with what looks like a magic marker.:laugh: I'm hoping some acetone will take that off without ruining the paint, a pressure washing and some scrubbing along with a new battery is about all I plan on doing to it. I figure I should be able to flip it and make a few sheckels since they seem to have a big following. Also unlike the Kaws I'm always buying I doubt I'll be tempted to keep it.

Here is the cafe bike.

The other side and details of what he used for parts.

Hello XS fans on the other side of the world. A month ago I finished my XS cafe-fighter project. I've built some XSses before, mostly in the traditional cafe-racer style.
This project (named LynXS) combines old and modern. In technical and optional way. Frame is an original ´77 XS, only the seat section is about 2,5 inch higher. Front fork and wheels are taken from a Suzuki GSX 750 r (1993)while the swingarm is donated by a GSX 1100 (1984). I've made an offset front sprocket which put the chainline 1 cm. outside. Now the chain clears the tire and was I able to use a 170 rear tire. All the electrical components are hidden under the alloy seat. The exhaust system is handmade of 45 mm stainless steel. The engine has several improvements. I've covered almost 500 miles now, it's really a blast to ride. I'm member of the Dutch XS 650 club, a fanatic club with more then 600 members. Check our site at www.xs650.nl
You can find here a huge photo gallery with all sorts of XS650´s.
I'm also collecting XS 650 documentation for many years. Mostly brochures and articles from motorcycle mags. Maybe somebody can help me with this collection. Of course I will change XS documentation. XSee you!
Hans Prost, Zutphen, Holland.

cool bike...my first was an xs650....someday i'm gonna get one.....they are sooo cool...with a race history too..

Engine close up

Man, if I found a running XS650 for 150 bucks, I'd be all over it. Love those bikes. Not as much as my KZ, but I'd have to make me an old skool style bobber out of it. Maybe hardtail it, whitewalls, red spoked wheels, wrapped pipes, solo seat...
Well probably not hardtail it, but it would have to match the lines.

Here's some ideas for ya: www.xs650chopper.com/

Gotta agree w/riverroad...if I found an XS650 I also wouldn't hesitate to acquire it!

That's kind of what I figured, for a buck and a half, how wrong can I be? I don't see myself getting attached to this bike at all, too much vibration, too heavy and not enough power. This is the mag wheel version though, the gas tank looks clean inside and the tires look to be in good shape. $30.00 for a battery, $2.00 for a box of brillo, a few hours of scrubbing and I can see myself making $500.00 or so. That's the plan anyhow. From my research this morning it looks like Yamaha built about a quarter of a million of these and they seem to have an almost cult following. Parts look to be readily available and not too costly.

Gringo, not that a KZ rider would be particularly inclined to, but they were popular with the flat tracker crowd. Lots of grunt can be had from those motors. You might even be able to score a 750 kit and some cams and carbs for it.
Another thing I found kinda unique about those things is, if you put it up on it's center stand on smooth concrete, you can rev the engine and it'll vibrate backwards pretty quick. Almost like having reverse. That's because the crankshaft rotates backwards (opposite of wheel rotation). Also, the pistons move up and down simultanously, but they fire alternately.
But yeah, long trips with the thing will torture your throttle hand, so a throttle lock is mandatory.

Yeah looking at different sites people do all sorts of things with those bikes, big bore kits, rephased motors, bobbers, choppers, flat trackers and street trackers. I even saw a guy that made a trike out of one. Some are sort of cool but I've got enough nice KZ's I can ride to worry much about this bike. I figure I can always use the money I make off it to fund some KZ stuff. I still have enough unfinished KZ projects around here to get too involved with this one. If I can flip it and make a fast $500.00 I'll be pretty happy. I'm still waiting on the guy to get the title organised so I don't have it yet.

WOW! That 650 is NICE!


sorry :blush:

Haaaaaaaaaaa! Yeah, I agree w/ you guys...I'd hafta pop it...maybe not quite like Locozuna is 'popping' it, but still...

-KR

Haaaaa I just noticed the "animation" of the duck. Here is another bike built by the same guy. He really does some nice work too bad he doesn't build Kaws.