Jack Gilbert – This is my customized 1976 XS650C. I bought the bike last summer as a derelict with no front end. It was a rusty heap but I knew it had great potential. I used a TC Brothers weld-on hard tail to transform the frame and a lot of parts from Mike’s XS to build a bike that pays tribute to the early British bikes, like the 1948 Triumph Speed Twin.
It has a hand-built aluminum fuel tank that I bought second hand and hand fabricated aluminum side covers. I installed a big-fin cylinder kit to the top end and the frame and rims are powder coated. Custom paint is by Danny Bally, of Rio Rancho, NM. I added custom-machined badges to the polished engine cases and fabricated a totally hand-built wiring harness.
The bike is zero-timed from end-to-end and it rides and runs like a brand new machine. Ceramic-coated exhaust headers and muffflers from Mikes XS make her sound amazing. A Pamco ignition system fires the bike and totally re-built Mikuni carbs feed the engine. The rear fender and struts are also hand built. Brakes, tires, sprockets, chain, cables, are all new. No effort was spared to build this beauty.
