UH OH. XS 850 PROJECT BIKE!

It's been a bit since my last post, mostly because I finished the SL125 (dubbed the "Nazgul") and haven't had anything to do (except work 55 hours a week.) Lately, though, I've been itching for a bit more power and reliability than the Nazgul can deliver. This is probably the fault of my buddy who lets me take his 883 Sportster for a spin every now and then. I even started thinking about dropping an old 250cc motor in that little frame (which I have been told, categorically, is a bad idea.) But a few weeks ago I was helping my friend's dad clear out his garage and (cue singing angels) lo and behold, in the back, covered in spider webs (and, as it turned out, filled with wasp nests) was this 1980 Yamaha XS 850.

                                                                   




The bike had technically been for sale for a while, and had been sitting for about 3 years, so the owner was anxious to get rid of it. I payed $500, loaded it into the trailer, and that was that.

I got her home and took a quick ride around the block before the battery died, and the motor runs fine considering it hasn't been started for a long time. I'm used to the Nazgul (top speed, 55mph) so when I hit 60 in second gear I realized... this is going to be fun.

The XS 850 is a sweet bike. Shaft drive, 3 cylinder, dual front rotors-- all power and BEEFY. Check out the size of that tank! Usually these bikes either get restored as close to original as possible, or they get cafe'd out. I'm not sure what to do with her yet; the first order of business is to clean her up.

Obviously, she needs some work. A new battery was a must, as the old Wal Mart special was refusing to recharge and blowing fuses.  Also, the rear brake was stuck, and, unfortunately, had been ridden that way for what looks like a long time, judging from the glacial tills in the rotor. The whole thing is riddled with spiders, and there's a lot of corrosion and rust so most of the components could use a good scrubbing and probably some paint of some sort. The seat is giant, so if my feet are going to even get close to reaching the ground she's going to need a new, lower profile saddle, too, at the very least, and maybe shorter rear shocks.

Next post, I get at that rear brake, start slimming her down, and begin brainstorming design ideas.