1982 Yamaha 650 XS2

Street Tracker Conversion

This bike was bought at a garage sale on April 1st. I remember the date for two reasons. It was April Fools Day, save the smart ass remarks, and it was the day after I got out of the hospital with a new steel plate and screws installed in my left wrist, due to a rather unfortunate low speed crash. I wouldn't have thought that dumping a bike at 14 MPH could break bones, but I am here to tell you it can. And of course all the doctors and nurses wanted to know if I was wearing a helmet, and, no, I usually don't wear one... on my left wrist. And. of course, having just smashed a motorcycle, my wife really started wondering just how stupid I was, buying yet another one when it would be a long time until I could ride the three I already owned.

One shouldn't be allowed to buy a motorcycle, even for 100 bucks, until all the morphine is completely out of your system.  Anyway, for a hundred bucks, how could I go wrong? Well the engine didn't run, as it turned out there was hole in a piston, the coil was cracked and the carbs were junk. A bunch of the stock parts like side covers, signals, fenders, seat and headlight were either missing or too badly damaged to be salvaged easily.

I've always like the 650 Yamaha, I've owned several over the years and wanted to do a full blown Street Tracker conversion on one. And this was a likely candidate. So out came the cutting torch and cut off wheels. The bike had dozens of tangs and mounts and brackets and doodads to cut off. I am not exaggerating when I say that 50 pounds of junk ended up in the dumpster, the stock tail light alone must have weighed 10 pounds. I hope the safety people ain't reading this, but the kickstand safety switch, the neutral safety switch, the clutch safety switch, the turn signals, the reflectors, the reserve lighting unit (whatever that is) and a whole bunch of relays and electrical doodads ended up getting junked. And guess what? The bike runs just fine without all that crap. Imagine that...

To appreciate this bike, you need to know that it was what I used to rehabilitate my left hand. Basically the bike was built by a guy with one good hand. I did need some help pulling the engine out but I managed to get the engine stuffed back in by myself.

This, then, is the finished project. Orange has been my favorite color lately, so the battery box, front fender, chain guard and front disc got powdercoated Chevy Engine Orange. All of the small parts like footpeg mounts, kick starter, kickstand, brake rod etc. were powder coated black. I did all the powder coating. The tank and rear fender are painted. The bike runs great. The alloy wheel rims came from eBay and are laced to the stock hubs with stainless steel spokes from Buchanans. The front brake line is now one piece braided steel. The rear seat and fender is from Omar's Dirt Track Racing. All in all this is a fun little bike to ride.

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