John – In the past I have built cars and dragsters. I bought this bike from a friend for a very low price….it had been sitting in a garage for 5 years. When I started working on it I found there was still gas in the tank, it turned to varnish. I cleaned the tank and carbs and got the bike running. I drove it that summer all stock. I had to have open heart surgery so I was unable to race my dragster that year so I decided to chop the bike. The bike is a 1977 xs650…. has been stretched 5″, 200 mm tire on back, a 110 tire on front, Avon Cobra, the top end is all rebuilt, new rings, and a valve job.
It also has an offset sprocket to run the 200mm tire, and stock points ignition. I relocated the coils and made coil covers. It has a permanent magnet alternator and a 4 cell battery in electric tank. The air cleaners are made out of polished muffler pipe. The chain guard is handmade out of stainless. The exhaust is 2 into 1 that I cut and reworked, sounds great. The frame has custom plates that I cut out to reinforce neck and back area, the frame is all molded.
I built and painted the bike myself. All aluminum is polished by a friend of mine, John. It took about 8 months to build. The front fender is chopped, the tank is an old sportster tank, the license bracket is homemade.
I am now in the process of building another xs650 with an 8 degree rake & 250 mm tire, a jack shaft will be needed. I have attached some more pics of Tangerine Dream and the last one is my new build. Feel free to call me if more info is needed….cell 216 905 8153.
Thanks,
John Bartos
