Homebuilt Budget XS650 Update

Griz – My first post was back in February 2012/02/homebuilt-budget-xs650 so I figured it was time for an update. While she wasn’t done by Spring, and isn’t done yet, she’s a few steps away from her maiden voyage. There just isn’t enough time to get the work done that we want to get done. My Dad and I held off on the foot clutch/hand-shift combo, again, due to lack of time to work on the bike. I plan on fabbing that up over winter when I’ll be tearing it down for paint and a motor rebuild anyways. Currently I’m really close to the $1000 budget and will be going over it a little for the sake of reliability. Still, not bad for a grand.

Not much left on the to-do list anymore. Need to wire up the taillight, find an electronics box that I like that fits where I want it to fit, install a smaller than stock battery, replace the carb boot gaskets, find a set of bars I like, clutch lever, grips, and then run over every nut and bolt with thread locker. That’s about it to get her on the road. It’s plated and insured so I’m itching to take her out. She runs now and vibrates like mad. We had to install some baffles in the pipes because she was LOUD. Too loud. I don’t want that kind of attention from the local police. The baffles toned it down a bit but I’ll probably end up installing actual mufflers eventually.

Here’s some pics from this past Saturday (08-18-12) that I took after we were done working on the bike for this round. My Dad is on it, trying out the riding position. Really comfortable but I’m debating adding 2″ risers to bring the bars up a little. That just depends on the bars I end up with. This has definitely been a learning experience. When I first started planning out the build I never could have imagined all of the small details that you have to get just right. I’m grateful for the time that my Dad and I have spent together on this. This is the first, and hopefully there will be a few more. I can’t wait to get her on the road.

-Thanks
-Griz