Well what can I say, I think he turned out looking pretty nice for my first build. Its a 1979 Yamaha XS650. Its taken 7 months to complete and I wish I wouldn’t have lost my cell phone right before finishing the bike, because it had all my before and after pictures on there. Well besides that, lets get into how I acquired the bike and my first build.
First off when I purchased the bike it already had The DNA springer mounted to it and a hardtail with a 4 inch stretch. Since I am 6’4″ I needed something with a little longer stretch with my long legs. G&L Choppers built a custom hardtail with a 5″ stretch for me and it worked out perfect.
Right after receiving the hardtail the work, stress, and more work began. The guy I purchased the bike from had most of the parts but building and ordering more parts were needed.
My brother is also building a XS650 but since he was laid up all summer due to a broken jaw, and soon after healing from that he broke his collar bone, I decided to rob a few parts off his bike to get mine running first.
With his help, we built the handlebars to accept my long arms. They are 1″ bars, a 8″ rise, and a 2″ pull back. I used a clutch off of a 1960 Harley. The gas tank has two 1/4 ball vales for petcocks. We covered the seat in black deer skin, so it definitely helps with not sliding around on that little springer seat. My brother made the saddle bag and every stitch on it was hand sewn. The bike has 16″ stock xs rear wheel with 130 tire, and the front has a Harley stock 16″ with a 130 tire.
I cant forget my helmet. My brother found 2 helmets sitting in this ladies front yard. He ended up purchasing both for $20 bucks, and one being a Fulmer. He added a little paint to mine with pearl white and lime green pinstripe. He changed out the liner to a black bandana.
Hey it keeps me safe, kinda. The first true test drive, I took a ride to the gas station. There stood this old man in a 70’s model Cadillac convertible. He had the biggest grin on his face, gave me a big thumbs up and said “Now thats old school”
1 down and 1 to go, I cant wait to get my brothers done, to go rip up the streets of Fort Worth Texas.
Kelsey
