Cutting Weight...

[81xsproject]

My feelings on cafe... I actually don't have a problem with cafe. The reason is simple, cafe mods don't screw anything up. Usually, people just remove most of the un-necessary parts and add some aftermarket or other bike parts and the xs and its parts are still in tact.

[fredintoon]

Hi Fred--
I don't mean to imply that I endorse making a bike less safe. We already know that it is dangerous enough as it is. I just want to point out that just because someone wants to maybe hardtail their bike or try to make it faster, then there is no cause for anyone to rant about how evil they are - - - .

Hi t71,
hey, I'm the guy with the modified front fork, the standard tank and the orange sidecar on his Special so it can be seen that I ain't no purist.
It's been said that as a motorcycle is a dynamic art form it's best seen in motion but chopping a bike ensures that it don't move much.
The hard-tailing, forward-pegging and lowering mods that are the basis of the average chopper mean that, if it's rideable at all, it's best use is to haul yourself to the chiropractor's office.
OK, NOW those teensy chopper gas tanks begin to make sense, how far is it to the chiropractor's office anyway?

[T99Ford]

I hate to say it, and I really am not trying to hurt anyone's feeling, but the thought of all these 11's being 'chopped' really sickens me. If you want a V-what-ever, get one. I have seen all the different attempts and they just look like wanna-be, poor attempts at Harley's. There are thousands upon thousands of Harleys out there, I don't understand why people want to chop up these limited/rare bikes.

Stepping down from the soap box.

I am not a purest by any means, but no matter what you do, the XS will never look like the choppers these folks set out to build. Maybe the aluminum frame is a great idea after all. We'll need something to replace all the chopped up frames with soon.

Fred:
This is the kind of thing I am talking about, not safety. I didn't see any mention of not chopping for safety. I only saw condemning chopping to preserve the "value" and legacy of a bike that is of (arguably) marginal importance in the total history of bikes. There is even a "mad" face at the end of this post. This is the kind of thing I am against here, not safety issues.

On the lighter side, I have actually seen some pretty neat chopped bikes here. And no, they don't look like Harleys. They look more original. Take DaBubbles. Or JustJeff's. Or any of the bikes from Australia. Some of these are chopped substantially from original. But the look cool and perform well. Yeah a hardtail is tough to ride. So what. If you are young enough to take it, go for it. Then you really have something to complain about when you get old.

We all should keep safety in the back of our minds, and particularly the safety of others. I just think that if safety is our primary agenda, maybe we should express that a little more keenly, and keep the hatin' down.

[DGXSER]

Anti Hatin'!!

I got you T71, I am not into hatin' for sure. I just get a little excited when people talk about their rights to do whatever they want and forget to consider the ramifications on others, not that I felt you were going to that extreme or that you were throwing safety to the toilet.

[Da-Bubble]

First I think that a restored or good condition original XS is a nice looking bike. But as someone in my 20's, I grew up seeing much cooler looking bikes. It is only after owning one that I appreciate the XS. When I got mine it was a basket case that needed to be restored. I took the opportunity to customize mine and make it my definition of "Cool". I don't think that takes away from the original in any way. It actually brings more attention to them because at bike nights / get togethers people want to know what it is.

If you want a stock bike, fine but don't bash people for making theirs their own.