A Couple Of eBay Relists…

I noticed these two relists on eBay this morning, and I wonder if they will sell this time around. I am kind of surprised that the Honda has 20 bids thus far (but still not meeting reserve), whilst the XS650 has zero bids. I get that the Yamaha needs a small amount of completion work, but still…

1981 Yamaha XS650 Cafe Racer

Here’s a very cool and very built 1981 Yamaha XS650 cafe racer. It’s actually a 750cc due to the big bore pistons that have apparently been dropped into it. Other cool features are the 17″ motard rims wrapped with sticky Michelins. Definitely a little bit different than your usual 18″ wheels. The front brake setup is a mixture of GSXR master cylinder, Ducati 900SS rotor, and old school caliper. Overall, this is a really cool build that mixes old with new and appears to be one stonkin’ cafe racer…

It’s on eBay with 12 hours left, zero bidders, and a starting bid price of $4,500.

1975 Yamaha XS650 Cafe Racer

Sometimes, bikes on eBay seem to come in waves. Yesterday, it was the guy dumping Moto Guzzi’s on the auction world. Today is apparently XS650 day. This Yamaha is a very clean example of a cafe racer build that has just about everything done right. Clubman bars, rear-sets, a cafe seat, an exhaust, and classic paint all complete an overall look that is just right. Is the fairing too much for you? You can always take it off the bike if you win the auction.

From the listing, the following items are new on the bike: WHEEL BEARINGS, STEERING HEAD BEARINGS, TIRES, TUBES, SPOKES AND BRAKES, PROGRESSIVE SHOCKS, SWING ARM BEARINGS, REGINA CHAIN, SUNSTAR SPROCKETS, 2.9 GALLON FUEL TANK, CAFE STYLE SEAT, REAR SETS, MINI FAIRING, FRONT AND REAR TURN SIGNALS, HEADLIGHT, CLUBMAN BARS. It also has XS750 dual discs, rebuilt carbs, and a partially rebuilt motor (gaskets and valves).

Currently, the auction is at $2,500 with only 1 bidder and about a day and a half left. However, reserve hasn’t been met yet, so the price will have to go a bit higher before there is a winner. This is a nice example of the Yamaha XS650, so it should go higher and hopefully the seller doesn’t lower reserve.

1981 Yamaha XS650 Cafe Racer

Ignore the angled, artsy photos for a moment, and what you have here is a good starting point to complete a really nice cafe racer. While it has a clear title (lots of eBay bikes don’t), it is missing a few doo-dads that will make it street legal when you try to register it, including the tail light. That being said, this is a beautiful, well executed bike that has a IMHO a very cool paint job. Add an exhaust, some rear-sets and maybe a tach and you’re good to go. Could even more be done to this bike? Yes, but then you wouldn’t be riding it now, would you…

Current price is $1,000 with just under 2 days left in the auction.

1981 Yamaha XS650 Cafe Racer

There are not a lot of photos of this XS650 being auctioned on eBay right now, so what you see is what you get. But the guy’s email address and phone is in the listing if you’re interested in finding out more before bidding/buying. The sum total info in the listing is as follows: “1981 XS 650 Yamaha cafe racer. Not sure of milage, but starts right up and runs great. New rear shocks. New club man handle bars, new bar-end mirrors.” There’s one bid of $1,500 with 2.5 days left.

1975 Yamaha XS650 Cafe Racer

Up for auction on eBay is the really nicely done Yamaha XS650 cafe racer. Like the bike I posted earlier today, it has been nearly entirely converted with nothing really left off that detracts from its cafe-ness. And it has a cool paint job. The only thing potentially missing is a “cafe”-style gas tank, but I think the XS650 looks great with either the stock tank or aftermarket. This is a clean build that shows off the potential of the XS as a good starting point for a cafe racer.

There are 2 days left in the auction and the price is just over $1,500. Good luck!

Rearsets = no kickstarter...

Pristine 1975 Yamaha XS650

As you may know, I often vacillate between wanting to keep older classic bikes in one piece, and saying to rip them to shreds in the quest to build great cafe racers. In this case, I am unsure which way to go…

What a clean restoration of an early XS650. And what a great platform for a cafe racer build! Go for it, I say! And build a beautiful bike! Think about the finished product. No rust. No dings. A fresh motor. Almost like building a cafe racer back in 1975. Sweet!!!

Yamaha XS650 Wheelset

For some reason, a ton of XS650 motorcycles and parts have been appearing on eBay lately. Today was no exception, as these somewhat rusty-spoked wheels show. The auction is about to end, but the wheels are only at $110 including shipping with 30 minutes left. That seems like a reasonably good deal for these if you happen to need them for your Yamaha cafe racer project.

1981 Yamaha XS650 Cafe Racer

This is easily one of the purest cafe racers I have posted in a while. This XS650 has been distilled down to the essence of cafeness. But not only that, it is extremely well built to boot. The paint looks near perfect, the parts are all new or very clean, and it even has rear-sets (the usually forgotten part). I think the seller is very optimistic on the price, but it is certainly a nice bike. I copied the list of features the seller put in the listing to below the photos, so scroll down for more info on what’s been done to this bike…

Fresh Powder coating on everything
Custom Tank w/ Por15 lining and rebuilt pet cock
Custom Fiber Glass Seat
Custom Paint
Custom Made Rears Sets
Brit style starter and horn handle and Light bar pod
XS650 1975 Alloy Rims 19F and 18R
Re-laced wheels w/ Mikes XS cadmium Spokes
All new Wheel Bearings and Dust seals
Avon 26’s Tires and tubes and Balanced (only one low mile summer on them)
XS650 1975 Chrome Fenders
Rebuilt Fork tubes w/ seals
New Steering Bearings
Mikes XS Racing Front Brake Disc
Rebuilt Front Brake Calipers w/ New pads
Mikes XS 13mm Front Brake Master
Braded Stainless Steel Brake Line
Fresh Chain and Sprockets 17-34
All new seals in engine
Re-built Carb’s w/ extra jets, new floats and seals. Dialed in!
All new Wiring harness from Mikes XS
Brit style Head Light w/ Café Brackets
1975 Tail Section w/handle with small fender tabs has been welded on
Brit Style Alloy Tail Light
Norton fork dust covers
Mikes XS Commando Pipes w/new thick walled Headers (not the thin MAC ones)
New Swing Arm Bronze Bushings and Bearings
All new brake and clutch cables
New Shocks and rear wheel adjusters
Mikes XS Fined Oil filter w/modern Honda oil filer
Polished engine covers and valve covers
Front end fork Brace
Super bike racing seat foam on seat
New air fillers
New Battery
New coils and spark plug leads w/boots
All locking tabs on brake disc, gears and bolts are new

1976 Yamaha XS650 Cafe Racer

Up on eBay right now is this beautiful 1976 Yamaha XS650 done up as a fully-faired cafe racer. If the stickers are removable, you would have the option of cleaning it up a bit so you could enjoy the Kenny Roberts replica paint job with the distraction of pretending you are a sponsored racer. There are a ton of pictures in the eBay listing, but I didn’t bother copying them all over the posting. I also listed the key features of the bike as shown by the seller. As always, ask the seller any questions you might have before bidding…

Full fiberglass fairing
Fiberglass solo seat
Fiberglass fuel tank
New Gustufsson wind screen
Tomasselli clip-on bars
Bates rear-set controls
GP-style shift pattern
New brake pads and sprockets
New Pirelli Sport Demon V-rated sport/race compound front and rear tires
(Seller is) assuming that it has high-comp pistons and he/she believes a Weber “Web” cam
High performance 2 into 1 pipe
Twin Mikuni VM round-slide carbs with screened velocity stacks
Oil cooler
Period mag wheels