Craigslist find for 500 bucks.
It was a stock 79 frame with an 81 motor. My original plan was to have the frame hardtailed and go from there. I learned how quickly plans change. Now is where my bike really got started.
Ran in to a guy from my area that I kinda knew but not really well. He had built a couple bikes for himself and I started telling him plans for my bike. He gave me my first cool piece of the bike-my Unity headlight that was brass under the chrome. Long story short, if it wasn’t for this guy, I would still be staring at my stock frame wondering where to start. His name is Brian Blanton and he is one for the books.
Everybody needs a best friend like this. I owe him a lot for everything he did for me to get this bike built. He did all the welding and most of the fab work on this bike and he is DAMN GOOD at it (especially not to do this type of thing for a living). I cut out brackets, bent some round stock, drilled and tapped holes, and did what he told me to do but he did most of the hard work.
OK, OK, back to the build. I fell in love with the Ardcore frame and took that route. Had to wait a while on the frame, but it was worth it. I picked up an Indian Larry tank on Craigslist. The front wheel is a 21″ Accel rim with a Flyrite spool hub. Got me a rear 16″ Harley wheel at a swap meet. Off to the powdercoaters. I laced and trued both wheels with stainless spokes from Buchanans.
Lacing and truing a wheel is something everybody should do at least once ( I hope I never have to do it again). Front tire is an Avon Speedmaster and the rear is a Firestone Deluxe Champion. Front end is from a Sporty and my buddy shaved the lowers for me.
About this time in my build is when I started thinking about the motor. I knew I wanted a reliable heart so I got on the www and did a little research.
Come to find out, there is a dude that lives about an hour from me whose name comes up every time you mention an XS650. Hugh Owings of Hugh’s Handbuilt. Did a little emailing back and forth with him and took the motor to him.
Went with a basic rebuild and—-wait for it—A REPHASE. I went with the permanent magnet alternator swap and got him to install everything during the teardown. Hugh also installed the 5th gear overdrive. I went with a capacitor and no battery. Hugh is one cool dude and very knowledgeable about these motors. This is another great friend I made while working with the bike. He did a great job on my everything for me.
I know I am rambling so I will finish this up. Here is a list of things we (mostly Brian) made for the bike—handlebars, brass grips, top motor mounts, struts, rear fender, mids, brass pegs, exhaust, exhaust brackets, seat mount, headlight mount, microphone taillight, taillight bracket, rear brake setup, rear axle, wheel spacers, coil mounts, made a new bung and neck for the gas cap, frisco style petcock bung, changed mounts on gas tank, and installed a sight glass on the gas tank.
I am probably forgetting some stuff but you get the point that this bike was built by hand.
The finishing touch was the pinstriping. Jeremy Kemp from Spartanburg, SC did the work for me. He did a great job and it gave my tins the look I wanted.
This bike turned out better than I ever imagined. Sites like xs650chopper.com are great for guys like me to look at cool rides and get great ideas.
Once again I want to thank my best friend Brian Blanton (Shot-Out & Son Cycles), Hugh Owings (Hugh’s Handbuilt of Asheville, NC) for all the help on the motor and a great friendship, and all the guys that answered tech questions throughout the build. Now it is TIME TO RIDE!!!
Check out my video-
If you see a part on the bike you like, hit me up and maybe Shot-Out can work something out for you.
Jason Harrill
hugh is a great guy and his work seems flawless. don’t know him well but my interaction with him is always very good.
some folks bemoan the re-phasing but who cares, really? ride what you want, mofos. it sounds good.
5th gear overdrive. cool.
right on, man.
Man this thing is a fugg’in jaw dropper!!! there is just so much to take in on this bike, so many great ideas. I’m stunned man…you win…
this is a bike,clean smiple looking lines but get about 3 feet from hur and see all the work hard clean work that makes a bike a bike and a hack a hack. most deff a bike to be proud of and gain some quality freinds MAN U HIT GOLD ! OR RATHER BRASS I LIKE THE BRASS!
Bring this to the House, I wanna take a spin!
One of the cleanest bikes on the site.. im really digging the bars… and as well all the custom brass… I totally agree that this site and the people on it are an endless help to rooks like myself and others to build such righteous rides and get out and truly enjoy the experience given by these awsome machines
This is a really cool bike. That is my second favorite tank next to the sporty. If I built a second one, that’s what I would go with. I’m pretty envious of your rear disc brake on wires even though i’m not feeling the placement of the master cylinder. I’m also going with the brass accents to give it that old school look. Great job man!
Also, you can’t go wrong with that Ardcore frame. It gives it a really nice stance. I wish I could send my motor to Hugh but shipping would be a fortune.
Wow man Great build!
Nice Jason….. nice to see this thing finally over here
Awesome build!!! You deffinately picked the right guys to help ya, I especially like the half kick to start er up.
GREAT that Cox tank is nice,your doing great,here let me wipe off my screen lmao.
all I can say is great looking bike
Love the bike and gotta agree with all the above comments.
Questions – The Sporty frontend, do i see some spacers at the top and bottom of the headset? and if so, is that and presumably some different headset bearing configuration all that was needed to fit the frontend? Would Shot-out be able to supply these parts in a kit type form for and easy swap over?
Thanks Man, Nice ride, enjoy the spray on your back.
Mr Kaos
This bike is crazy unreal man i cant even explain my feelings towards this.
Jason,
Man, u hit a home run with this scooter! Love the unique details like the double sprung seat pan and the custom motor mounts. So many things to look at and spark new ideas. How much does a re-phase cost, cause I would love to do it to my current XS2 build or on my next one. You really hit paydirt with your bitchin’ chop, and it sounds great! Thanx for posting this one!
Mikey G.
OMG…I need a clean pair of pants! You hit the nail right on the head. I love the whole bike. The brass parts kick ass!
FUDGE , HOW DID I MISS THIS? I freekin dig this one. The first thing I loved was the Mic Tail light, very cool and perfect for this bike, and for many others I’m sure. Not a fan of the bars, but ur twist is way cool. Can you tell us about the head lamp? Thanks for Hugh’s link, I’m in N.C. My personal disdain for yellow spark plug wires is only equal to my own laziness to replace mine, LOL. Really cool build, if this doesn’t get awards then the jury is rigged.
Jason and Brian killed it on this build for sure..
@Mr.Kaos, if I recall correctly Jason’s frame is our standard rigid frame which come with an HD style neck so the frontend was a direct bolt on. What you are seeing is just the neck cups..although we do have an adapter kit for what your talking about.
Wait til you guys see Brian’s bike..
Thanks for all the comments so far. I could have kept going on about the bike. I am really proud of how everything turned out on the bike. Thanks for the help on info about the frame for Mr.Kaos, Nate. The Ardcore frame is top notch and worth every penny. @Mikey G, Hugh Owings is the one to talk to about the rephase. You send him your crank and cam, then he will return them to you for reinstall. @fanoboss–the headlight is a Unity spotlight body that my buddy Brian gave me. He was gonna powdercoat it on an earlier build of his, but scuffed it and saw it was brass underneath and didnt want to cover it up.
jason mark here how did your bud remove the chrome I have the same one on my bike and just wont to do the head light ring and do not wont to destroy it any help you could give
would great thanks
…thanks Jason Harrill
very awesome.love the bars and grips!
@mark–I just took a 3M wheel on a small angle grinder and sanded the chrome off. Takes no time at all.
very nice work cool bike
that is a sick find. I was watching a show and they came across one of these frames with a brand new engine. It was a steal for them as well.
Really nice work. I like that setup you have for the rear brake pedal.
Already told you man, but love it!
I’m… speechless. That’s beautiful.
thanks jason info
I wanna see Brian’s bike!!!
^^^ ditto guy ^^^
UNNNGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Yep- This bike is crazy cool. I really like how you guys want about doing the mid-controls. So many cool parts- the way you put together the seat hinge is pretty unique- I like the detail work in the top motor mount. I’d like to get one for my bike.
How is that small capacitor holding up?
This is by far the coolest XS on this site. (In my opinion)
GOODWORK!! Im so pumped on this bike!
The capacitor is working great so far. It is a 12000uf/20V i got off Ebay. I really appreciate all the great comments. Rode it last weekend for about 120 miles or so. Everything went pretty well. Had a guy come up to me at a gas station and said “That’s an old Harley right there.”. I am pretty sure I laughed out loud.
LOL, nice!
@Jason Harrill , nah sir, THAT’S A RE-PURPOSED XS650 !!!!!! very nice to hear that about your bike. the only reason I’d want a harley, would be to sell it to buy more xs650s lmbo.
HA HA HA…”what fanoboss said”
LOL I’d ride a junkyard dog compared to a Harley any day. Sounds tight. Great ride.
@ Colocation, DITTO THAT SIHT !!! Thanks Guy !