This 1970 Yamaha XS650 is offered in impressive condition with a full race fairing that is removable with just a few Dzus fasteners. It has a hidden headlight just above the tire, and the vintage style Dunlop tires give it a very tough look. Find it here on Craigslist in Northridge, California for $5499. Special thanks to BaT reader Cliff T. for this submission!
With the fairing removed the bike has a cafe look with low bars and a custom Kott leather seat. It has a working brake and tail light, and the seller shows three types of mufflers that can be chosen from.
Not much is said of mechanical condition, only that the odometer reads 10k. The suspension is fresh and overall the bike is described as running great and immaculately clean.
Riding a full bodied bike like this on the street is aggressive, but we like it. Since the general Cafe look is pretty much mainstream now, this bike sets itself apart by not being all black and having multiple personalities. The cleanliness is also a plus. We dig this one.
Related Stories
Lots of variations on this build.
http://www.xs650chopper.com
Thanks for the link Calijags – hadn’t seen that before. There’s some (trying to be nice here…) “interesting” bikes on that site.
This example is nicely done, with a great stance and look. I guess I just never understood the fascination with the XS650 engine. It really wasn’t all that exciting, or powerful. Maybe because it was dead reliable and there were tons of ‘em out there.
I think I just answered my own question…
hmm, let’s see: 5,500 for a paint job, a seat and a way too high fairing? Oh yes, the rusty brake and suspension parts and the chopped subframe come with it, too.
Hmmm, I don’t think so.
But the Hipsters in California will love it!
I like the look both with and without the fairing.
It’s a pretty bike. I like the paint, or in this case, at least sometimes, the ‘livery’. I’d have added a loop on the frame stubs to mimic the shape of the seat, and put the brake light in a position where it would give you at least a token chance of not being rear ended. The fairing brace looks enough like ‘cruiser pegs’ that I’d be running the fairing full time. Needs more detail work on the cosmetics, and the phrase “10k odometer’, as opposed to “10k miles since new”, is worrying. A nice start for sure, but don’t think for me it’s 5500 nice, though it sounds like a fist full of cash might do some talking. Luck to all.
I like the look. Really, I have fond memories of my ’72 even with all the problems that go along with a Yamaha 650.
It ate chains for some reason, probably due to the low quality chains available for it at the time. I had to “re-ring” the engine at 39,000 miles to stop the smoke. But, and this was a BIG but, it was a consumate “head shaker” at anything above 70 mph. Very disconcerting. Changed to Girling shocks/coilovers and forks with Bel-Ray 20 for a drastic improvement. That, along with Michelin tires took the “headshake” up to about 90mph. Finally traded it for a Kawasaki KZ 650 Sport in 1977 after riding it for over five years and 50,000 miles. When the dealer went to remove the license plate……..it fell off in two parts. Did I mention that it tended to vibrate a bit?
I own a later one of these. If you don’t have the carbs balanced they, like all other vertical twins of this nature will vibrate. If you are good at tuning the carbs they don’t shake so bad. I can ride mine for a few hours and my hands don’t get numb. My brains numb all the time, riding an old bike is just a symptom.
Been tuning SU’s for a long time so tuning these is about the same.
Don’t know much about these, but it’s nice to look at.
Does anyone know where a fairing like this can be had? I’d love to pick one up!
evilincorporated@rogers.com
A little steep price wise, but one hell of a looker with and sans fairing…
this thing has been on and off local craigslist for months. The seller appears to be some kind of “customizer” who does mostly hack jobs on 80′s-90′s jap bikes, removing all the instruments, swapping out the seat and hanging a new headlight bucket on generic brakets. they are usually dubbed “rat rods” or “cafe racers” but i’m more inclined to call them frankenstinian monstrosities. This one is perhaps a bit better than most but seems to be more inclined to recreate a look than any kind of real performance.
This type of fairing can be found a Airtech-streamling.com or try Classic-motorcycle-fiberglass.com There are others that may be cheaper too. I just can’t remember where they are.
Seen thia bike in person. Fairing doesnt fit right and the pictures, well lets say i was dissapointed when i saw the real thing. Mutton dressed as lamb!