It was a real ugly f#cker and the engine was scrap. So i decided to take the whole thing apart. It was going to be a short,narrow, low bike instead of the longer wheelbase ones I did before,just clean and with only parts that are absolutly neccesary ,just the way I like ‘em. I’ve been tinkering with xs650 chops for a while now so I got a LOT of parts laying around and the built was on! First step was deciding on “the flow”of the bike which is a big deal for me as I think it’s the most important thing in every good looking chop.

You can have a 5000 dollar paint job and all the right parts but if the stance isn’t good,you end up with an expenseve piece of shit. So i took the empty frame and put some wooden blocks beneath it for the right ground clearance,swapped the rear 16”wheel with a 18” which I had laying around.

Next on the list:front end ,I’ve been saving a perfect front end for a special project!

it’s a 34 mm. front end with 21” wheel with santee mini-drum which I bought a couple of years back from a very good friend and “xs650 nut” (tanx dennis/sinned) shortened the forks with 8 centimeters to get the perfect line! I took a strip of metal to secure the rear fork to the correct ride hight.

A buddy of mine owed me a favor so I delivered the frame to him for a hardtail job and I wanted a single down tube with speed holes in it it took a while but I got the frame back just the way I wanted it.

So I put it back on the wheels and hell yeah,a nice roller!! I had a very nice good running engine laying around in the corner of my garage,so I took that one and mounted it in the frame,it was a bit of a headache to figure out the front engine mounts because I wanted them to look nice,be functional and there was little room Next I spend a couple of hours searching in my parts storage and dug up a nice ribbed fender,a z-bar with speedholes,nice seat,a couple of moped gas tanks,a car fog light to be used as a headlight and a flat black little taillight thingy.

I mounted the rear fender with a couple of tabs and some home made struts from round bar,which I welded a bracket on for the taillight. I wanted to clean up the taillight a little so I decided to sand and paint it,but when I sanded the flat black of it it revealed a perfect brass taillight nice!! Next up: gas tank I did have 2 different tanks and had a hard time choosing the right one,but after some modifications this one looks the best.

I modified the tunnel a litle en welded a “fin” with speedholes on the rear to be used as a mount and mounted the z-bar. Did all the mechanical stuff as break linkage,footrests etc.. and took a oiltank which I cut open to put all electrics+a 4ah batterie in. But the whole time there was something not completely right with the bike but I couldn’t figure it out. Until a very good buddy of mine came to visit with a present:handle bars frome some old bike with internal throttle,so I ditched the z-bar and mounted the new one SPOT ON!! (tanx hardtailhenk!!)

Ready for my 5000 dollar paintjob!, I took the whole thing apart and rattle canned it flat silver,looks almost ghostlike! After that I got to busy with some other projects and stuff so it was in my storage until this summer I dug it up,reassembled it repaired some bugs it had and took it out for the first ride. It fired right up with 2 kicks!,that was a good start I rode for an hour with a big smile on my face,it runs right,steers like a dream and brakes right even with that little minidrum!!

Hell yeah! that’s what live is about! built ‘em and ride ‘em hard! It is a no nonsense vintage style xs650 chop,loud and low!

specs:

• modified frame with hardtail rear end and single downtube with speedholes
• 18″rear wheel with 4.00-18 firestone coker
• 21″front wheel with santee minidrum and 3.00-21 avon speedmaster
• modified moped gastank
• handlebar from unknown origin with internal throttle(gift from a friend!!)
• ribbed rearfender
• rattlecan painted in flat silver

Greetings The Chop, Holland!

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