After seeing Jack Cofano’s photos of another mystery owner motorcycle that was built to a budget probably by the owner himself, you’ve now seen simple in a one-off bike that’s built for the street and not some glitzed-up show queen. In this case, it’s not a Harley, but the chopper choice of metric customizers worldwide, the would-be-British-twin-except-for-its-birthplace, Yamaha’s XS650. This bulldog of a twin has provided many owners with ridiculous odometer readings before being shunned to a corner of a garage or left out in the elements until somebody like our enterprising owner/builder rescued it. With a nationwide backup support of parts, accessories, and expertise, it’s not a bad choice for resurrection.

 

   On this bike, the owner chose to forgo the comfort of rear suspension with a stretched-out rigid frame that gives it the look and stance of a much tougher looking bike. There’s so much airspace within the frame that it looks like something must be missing, but that’s what a compact unit-construction, wet sump vertical twin can do ─ free up a lot and I mean a lot of open space. All that free space means you better get your lines right or it’ll show, but in this case the lines are tight and right. Matter of fact, there are so few frame tubes to be found that the engine appears to be just floating in the frame. The line from the head tube to the rear axle looks like it was drawn by a surveyor it’s so straight while the single downtube really looks like a single downtube on its way from the head tube to the engine cradle. You couldn’t make a frame look simpler if you tried.

 

    The engine itself is tidy as hell and yet not at the same time. The re-built 650cc twin’s engine casing has been leaned to within an inch of its life, possibly better than new, and looks ready to rumble. Kinda strangely for an XS motor, the mystery owner cleaned up, but did not show polish the alloy engine covers like you often see. There’s just enough shine to look good, but I got a feeling this bike spends more time being ridden than polished. The Morris Magneto magneto (is that redundant?) hanging off the left side head not only looks cool as hell, but provides a hot spark while eliminating the need for a battery opening up more space in an already spacey frame. Plus it’s got a clear cover that could provide untold hours of watching fun, just not when you’re riding please. A set of oval K&N filters and a pair of long straight-through exhaust pipes that look more like a  

Double-barrel 10-gauge shotgun (and probably sounds as loud too) are the other only visible means of deviation from stock. Unless, of course, if you count the hand shifter and foot clutch as an engine mod. Like I said, this engine is ready to rumble and vibrate for a very long time with minimal mechanical interference.

 

     There are some nice pieces chosen (or made) for this build and each one does what it does and nothing else. There’s no trickery or frippery involved. The Mustang-style twin cap tank is the perfect size and adds a nice retro touch while the only other major piece of bodywork is the classic center ribbed rear fender with a sassy flip at the back. The too-tiny-to-be-an-oil-tank under the seating area houses the magneto-simple electrics and a absolutely-minimalist wiring harness even I could decipher. The low-slung clip-ons keep it clean and simple behind the Harley head light and give a bit of butch to the look. Speaking of simple, the single leaf sprung leather saddle couldn’t look any cooler than it does just by virtue of being almost not there. It’s such a simple design that it looks like it couldn’t work, but it does and I think it’s one of the coolest parts on this build.

 

   Basically stock wheels and brakes refinished in bad boy black complete the build while providing a serious safety margin in real world traffic. Hey, the license plate (with a tiny plate light too) hanging under the seat tells it all. Stock forks cleaned up nicely complete the build so it was time for paint.

 

   Now I’m gonna assume the builder knew what he had and decided not to muck it up with some corny paintjob that’s trying too hard. Too many bikes are built around a paintjob even before they are built. It seems like just about everybody has something they want to shout out in pigment until your eyes hurt, but luckily that’s not the case here. A simple white frame that almost disappears into the background showcases the monotone metallic green paint on the tins. No graphics, not the tiniest bit of pinstriping, or even a badge or logo saying anything are to be found. This is one bike that speaks for itself by itself without saying a word. If it did, the word would probably be “simple.”