After a year or so it lives : )

[esw1104]

After about a year of work i finished my xs late last year (8hrs before my road test)

I bought her from a scrap yard.

My friend and i bought a pair of them his a 79 mine a 81.


Two tranny repairs later (first and 5th)

home made seat and quite a few trips to the salvage yard it lives


my drive to work is 125km each way. the ride to work is soooo much more fun on my toy.

Many thanks to all the tech post here that helped make this rebuild / restore work for me.

how do i post a picture here?

[prometheus578]

"You post a picture just the way that you did it."

I like the blue/red paint scheme.
Put some black spray paint on the centerstand, and I'd say it's perfect!
Nice, clean garage, but...
Fix the lock on the door... you have better uses for that screwdriver.
Oh, and... re-tie the knot in the garage door rope. Needs to be more noose-like... a better effect.

Note to all members:
This photo shows an ideal set up.
A bike, a case of beer, and crutches ready for when you combine the first two in XS.

[mro]

Resurrection

bought her from a scrap yard

Looking very nice.
Do you guys have in-door scrap yards in the Great White North ?
Leave one out around here for very long and they turn a little red with the seasons...
Head light hoody is cool.


mro

[esw1104]

no indoor lots ....
just lots of elbow grease ..

and polish compounds .....

and a third spare parts bike....

Oh i do love to polish metal ...

Paid 500 for the first pair of xs's (250 each )


They needed a fork lift to get mine in my truck as no part were rolling at purchase time.


Working on a spare engine thi is my new motor i built for it

[mro]

lots of elbow grease

Back in the days when I had a little extra space in my shop I would aquire "junk" cast off by other shops now and then. Every time I had to move the shop (three times in 25 years ) I'd take a load or several to the scrap yards. About 8 months before I got my first XS I dumped the "BIG BROTHER" to this dreamal tool.



mro
WoW...red spark plugs

[esw1104]

That is a sweet buffer you got there!

I like the flex hose i use mostly a bench buffer and a drill with mini buffer wheels on it.

Some day ill move up the scale and get a nice one like your lol.

[trapper_492001]

It sure is nice to see a succesful resurection job. It takes a lot of work and sometime a lot of swearing to get the job done, but when it turns out like yours it is worth the time and effort to put one of these great bikes back on the road. Great Job

Trapper

[fredintoon]

Nostalgia

Hi mro,
Wow! a homebuilt Keller machine. I haven't seen a Keller since I was an apprentice and that was 50 years ago.
Yours has the motor on a swivel plate while the factory built ones had the motor mounted in gimbals so the flex drive could move more easily.

[Ken Talbot]

Re: "You post a picture just the way that you did it."

Originally posted by prometheus578
This photo shows an ideal set up.

You're letting me down, Prom, nothing to note about those handlebars, or that doily laying on top of the tank?

[prometheus578]

"Just wouldn't seem right"

Ken,
I poked fun at his screwdriver garage door lock... (I use a wooden stick)
In a roundabout way, I commented that he probably didn't get his Boy Scout Knot Tying badge...
He's a NEW Member, Ken.
Whaddya want me to do... Make him cry?
(Like you, he's a Canadian and that would be all too easy)

Give him some time to get used to the site.
Did you ever think...
Those crutches might explain the handlebars.
Maybe he got in a wreck and has trouble with his arms?
Maybe he wore a half-shell helmet, and the doily is on the tank to absorb the drool that drips from where his lower lip used to be?

I sort of like his red(or is it Chevy Orange)engine. Maybe that's why I cut him some slack.

Sometimes showing a little restraint is in order.
What would happen to our membership numbers if, everytime a new member showed up, I would chase after him with a club as if he were a baby seal... or a homeless pan-handler?

GURUs, on the other hand, are always fair game.

"Hey Fred, if you want to see more pics of an old relic... check out the photos of Ken on his home page."

[Ken Talbot]

Ya, you're probably right there, Prom, go easy on the new guy till he's comfortable. I'll really interested to see what he's going to do with that motor with the orange top end. Could be a very interesting theme - any more on the concept you're working on there, esw??

[Guy_b_g]

I esprcially like the orange sparkplugs!

[trbig]

Very nice restore! Just a word of caution though from someone that USED to have a back tire just like that. There will be a 4 digit number melted into the sidewall of the tire. The first 2 digits are the week in the year it was made. The other 2 are the YEAR it was made. Take a look. If it's more than 4 or 5 years old, I'd replace it. Mine had pretty new looking tread on it when it failed at 70mph.

Again... way to go. We love hearing stories like this where they are rescued from the grave.

Is your muffler just hanging there, or is it attached somehow?


Tod

P.S. Is your buddy's bike on the road too?

[prometheus578]

"Oooh.. points for TRBIG!"

You've got good eyes there, TRBIG, when they're not staring at each other.
Details, details, details... how I love photos!

I agree, Ken... I'm interested in what the plan is with the orange engine.

My bike has had that Walmart flame-job for way too long. Time for a new color scheme.
That orange got me thinkin'...

[trbig]

I was just wondering where he got the mufflers at. Somewhat like the original XJ's with the backslash ends. I wonder if you can trim some off the front slip-on side to make the mount holes line up? It looks like the center stand hits them... maybe add just a rubber bumber under the frame to rest against versus the pipe? I like the looks of these a lot better than the Sportsters mufflers.... just my opinion FWIW.


Tod