Fong Brothers 1982 Yamaha XS650 1982 Yamaha XS650 Heritage Special bobber, chopper, tracker, cut-down, murder sickle or whatever you want to call it. This is a bike built by the legendary, internationally known (there is one guy in Holland who knows our bikes), award winning, Fong Brothers. We’ve been seriously altering vehicle since 1999 and chopping up XS650s for six years. We have built five of these in various designs and are about ready to start hacking on number six.
One of our bikes was in “The Horse” a year or so ago. This bike has won 2nd place in the Mid-Atlantic International Motorcycle show for the last three years. We’ve won third with another bike and this year won first with build #5. This bike is reliable and has only left me on the side of the road for about a half hour. I burned through an ignition wire, spliced it, and got back on the road. Of course I kicked it for about 15 minutes before I realized I wasn’t getting spark. Felt like an idiot until I fired her back up. It is the best ride of the bikes we have built. I never hard tailed it because of my back. We demo-derbied for seven years and after being in over 300 accidents my back likes to throw a tantrum from time to time.
It’s a firm ride, but easy on my back — it never hurts even after several hours of riding.
The only riders who know what it is have had them before. Guys are always asking, “What make is that thing?” No one believes it’s an 82 either. I was at a red light and the guy in a car next to me asked, “What year is that?” I said, “82”. He called me a dick. I laughed. People always think it’s from the 50s. The only thing on the bike that “says” 1982 Heritage is the laces on the rear wheel.
If my bike is sitting next to a shiny, chromed out, bike, people want to talk to me about my bike. People who don’t know anything about bikes or even like bikes ask questions and want to talk about it. You will get thumbs up when you ride. I was in a traffic circle and a guy almost wrecked his truck looking my bike over.
I want to sell her only because I have to fund my next build. Bill Gates may have a garage full of hover-bikes, but I don’t have the money for more than one ride at a time.
