Rich Thomas – Its a 74 xs650 that I got out of a barn a few summers back.
The motor was locked up as were the breaks, steering etc…. At some point I asked my Dad if i could use his garage (lots of tools i didn’t have to go buy). He got involved in the project and it ended up being some of the most fun i have had. We ended up doing a complete rebuild of the motor and tranny.
While it was apart i decided i wanted powder coat gloss black and i liked the gloss so well i figured to keep going with it. Then we polished all the covers , forks , wheels , and while i had the breaks apart for rebuilding i figured – what the hell I’ll polish them as well.
After that we did all the fab work and rounded up all the parts from Tcbros, Biltwell Inc, Mikes XS ( i think i helped him retire…), Road 6, and Lowbrow Customs.
Then it was on to the paint.
I picked the colors ( Kustom Shop Paint) we figured out how we wanted it to look and dad did his thing in the paint booth. And finally we started putting it together for the last time we realized the carbs , ignition and charging system were all toast so that all got rebuilt and replaced as well. With lots of fun , late nights, weekends, and some banging our heads off the wall….. We ended up with what you see.
Oh yea, I cant wait to do it all over again whit the next one!
Rich Thomas
Photo’s – Scully
