1979 Custom XS 650 Special II:

This is my 1979 XS 650 Special II. I was very inspired by your website and all of the creative people showcasing there bikes so I decided to give building my own a try. (my first bike actually). I found the bike on the side of the road on my way through a small town and bought it for $1100.00. It had belonged to a military man who had taken it apart and replaced the frame that was rotten, painted it and put it back together. However 5 years later the cheap restoration had seen better days. It showed me that a cheap job won't last. So How much to do a good job?  Things I Did: Completely disassembled the bike - had the frame, swingarm (which I reinforced), triples, brackets, battery box, brake master and calipers, gas tank, side covers and anything else that needed paint blasted  and powdercoated(semigloss black for all accept near chrome for the tank, sides and chain guard). Rebuilt motor with 1st over pistons, cam, cam chain guides, heavy-duty valve springs, heavy-duty clutch, double volume oil pump and spin on oil filter kit. Installed 34mm Mikuni carbs -Boyer ignition, New wiring harness and all other wiring. Tapered roller bearing in neck, Re-hardchromed the forks(before Mikes got new ones for half the price). Headlight ears from Mike's -new fork seals, progressive heavy-duty springs and cartridge fork emulators -fork gaitors, new old stock front fender and a fork brace(which came chrome but I had powdered black) -lowered front-end in trees by 3/4" -installed 13.5" progressives in the back - polished the rims and installed stainless spokes -installed dual disks with braided stainless lines - installed Omar's torozzi rearsets (expensive? yes. worth it?YES) P.S. I did have to modify mine because the frame on Specials is different where rear pegs go. Modified the kickstart to clear rearsets -Mac 1.5" headers(cut and reshaped to follow frame)and exhaust inserts to modify torque curve with tuned mufflers(not Mac I got them from Mike's) -520 O ring chain and sprockets -clearcoated polished aluminum with Por-15. Installed LED limp sausage taillight and rear turn signals(front signals match but are bulb to load the flashers into working). Napoleon bar end mirrors(which I LOVE!!). You can see everything in these mirrors. Made plate holder to attach Canadian size plate to taillight(Made with aluminum diamond plate and Yamaha new stock chrome plate cover and LED bolts to light it up). Yz clutch lever, ez pull cable, and higher ratio plunger(makes the clutch a lot lighter needed especially with heavy clutch springs). English visor for headlight -seat off Ebay -bronze bushings, rod and tube for swingarm -stainless pivot bolts for center stand with grease fittings (work amazing). I mostly use the center stand instead of the kickstand). Installed steering dampener -new tires -stainless and new chrome fasteners -added stock rear footpegs to bottom shock mount later(for when I have to take my girl for a ride). Working on solo seat to solve that problem. Did I over do it? Yes!! Am I glad? YESSSSS!!!!! It is a blast to ride especially in the new sporty seating position. The only bad thing is that because the rearsets are not rubbermounted my feet go numb after an hour on the highway. I can live with that. I would like to thank your site for inspiring me. Mike's and 650 Central, Omar's and Ebay and the wreckers for all the parts. I hope my bike will inspire someone else. Some new bikes are cool when new and some old bikes are cool forever but all old bikes need someone to make them new again. Do your part. Thanks J.