The custom world can’t get enough of the Yamaha XS650, and for good reason: it’s one of the most flexible platforms you can find. Builders have turned them into café racers, brats, bobbers, dirt and street trackers, and even choppers. The base holds up just as well in every genre, offering agility and power in equal parts.
Made between 1968 and 1979, the XS650 is getting tougher to find. But it does play well with a slew of aftermarket parts, many of which are interchangeable with those from other Japanese bikes. As such, build-outs are a wide-open sea of possibility. Besides that, these old-school motors are dead simple compared to today’s tech. It’s no wonder the XS650 keeps popping up on our pages.
I’ll let you in on a little secret: the Bike EXIF team doesn’t always agree on what’s hot and what’s not. But no motorcycle has polarized opinion as much as this whacky Yamaha XS650. In the end, fun and goofiness prevailed. And so we present Bonanza Krad, a bicycle-inspired Yamaha, from the hands and minds…
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The correct answer to ‘How many bikes?’ is always ‘one more.’ And these two dapper Yamaha XS650s from German wunderkind Nico Mueller and Hookie Co. illustrate the point beautifully. The Dresden-based outfit landed the build commissions from two different sources. But since the briefs came in at almost the same time, and were so similar,…
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Can you believe the Yamaha XS650 is half a century old this year? The air-cooled parallel twin has always had a strong fan base, and Maria Motorcycles of Lisbon, Portugal love it as much as anyone. Their first build was an XS, and they’ve been smitten ever since. So it’s not surprising that the Maria…
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A Yamaha XS650 from Texas, a BMW R90 from China, a Honda tracker and Triumph Bobber from France, and a Yamaha XV1000 from New Zealand. We’re racking up the air miles this week.
Read more »We’re suckers for beautiful metalwork, but a good set of technical upgrades is just as likely to grab our attention. And seeing…
Read more »We’ve spotted a rising trend over the last couple of years that we can get behind: classic bikes with modern tech upgrades.…
Read more »Brad Monk is a racer. Sure, he has a day job, but come Sunday, he’s a racer—and this is his race bike.…
Read more »Sensibility be damned: this bobber has no front brake, no rear suspension and a suicide shifter. But just look at it. Like…
Read more »Scramblers are everywhere these days. But how many aficionados actually need a do-it-all bike—and how many just dig the scrambler vibe? This…
Read more »Ever wished your motorcycle could carry a pushbike to your local trails? So did Oregon man Tony Pereira—so he tricked out his…
Read more »If you had no deadline and a blank check, what sort of motorcycle would you build? For Bill Becker, the answer is…
Read more »A slammed sprint machine with Moto Guzzi power, a BMW R 1100 GS given the scrambler treatment, and a stunning Yamaha XS650…
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