Adam's 1978 XS-650 "Special"

Restoration Project

Welcome to my 650 Project Page! I know this page probably wont ever be very professional, but I'd much rather devote my spare time to the project itself instead of the web page. In case you're not sure what this is all about, in the Summer of 2003 I became enamored with the idea of owning a motorcycle. Knowing next to nothing about them, I looked around at various makes, models, and especially prices. The key to the project was to keep everything as cheap as possible, my budget doesn't extend very far beyond my bills, so price was a driving factor. I wanted a bike that would be suitable for tooling around town and the occasional freeway jaunt. Something fairly reliable, easy to maintain, and with some classic styling. While researching in my price range, I discovered the Yamaha XS650. I was pleased to note there was an active online community, a reasonable parts market on Ebay, plus it just looked like a motorcycle should. 

Looking around my area turned up nothing but late model low mileage Harley Davidsons, or the occasional late 80's crotch rocket. I eventually found an out of date classified ad in an laundry mat advertising a  1977 650 in running condition for $500, a little steeper than I wanted to go, but within my reach. When I called, the bike had been sold since the ad was almost a month old. Like a lightning bolt of fate, the seller mentioned almost as an afterthought before hanging up that he had two Yamaha 650's, both 1978SE's, one with title that needed new fuel lines to be ride-able, and one parts bike with a seized engine. He asked only $300 for the pair, and that leads us up to this point.

My goal in this project is primarily to learn about motorcycles inside and out. Much of the theory, I'm familiar with, but I've never had a chance to get my hands on this kind of stuff before. My career as a network administrator has me immersed in the digital domain so often, it's a nice escape to get my hands greasy and wrench on the bike for a while. While I definitely don't intend to create a show piece bike, I would like something that looks as reasonably good as I could make it. I'd like to keep it as close to factory specs as possible, there will always be time to tweak later. Of course I'll make some upgrades and updates where newer technologies have provided better materials and parts. I want it to be a fairly reliable near daily rider as it would be ideal traveling to and from work or around town on errands. I'm slated to take the Motorcycle Rider's Safety Foundation's beginner's class this Spring. I'll update this site as time allows, check back for more pictures soon.

        And now, the pictures...

This page last edited on 05/03/2005