A look at my 1980 Yamaha XS650 Special based Street Tracker with a narrative of the build.

This 1980 Yamaha XS650 Street Tracker started about a decade ago as a $300 Craigslist find. While the vision was mine (with inspiration from my Dad's 1960s flat trackers), getting here required help from many friends and master craftsmen. The first step was taking the cutoff wheel to the frame and eliminating all unnecessary brackets. At the same time I started sourcing parts and identifying what would need to be fabricated. New suspension parts came from Mike's XS. The Mikuni VM carburetors and manifolds as wells as replacement levers and controls were also from Mike's XS. The seat and exhaust came from Omar's DTR. (in the video I said the seat was from Glass from the Past in error). The rear wheel adapters and headlight/turn signal bracket where fabricated by my friend Ira. Ira is a retired machinist/metal fabricator who can make almost anything from metal. Yard sale/swap meet finds include the headlight, fork brace, 19" front wheel for rear wheel conversion, and turn signals. The rear turn signals were originally cab marker lights for an International Harvester semi-truck. The tail light is a trailer light from the local hardware store. EBay finds include the XS1100 dual front disk brake discs and calipers, braided brake lines, metal flake grips, and MX foot pegs. The paint was applied by Jaime's Auto Customs out of Toppenish Washington who painted many of the low riders in the area. He did a great job with the metal flake. I didn't give him credit in the video because I spaced on his name at the time. Apologies. The paint design was inspired by my Dad's flat trackers of the 1960s. Pin striping and lettering was performed by Ron Pomeroy out of Yakima Washington. Ron was great motorcross racer who is also a talented striper and lettering man. The top end was recently rebuilt by Alan Green with Classic Moto Works in Newberg Oregon. The rebuild included cylinder boring, new piston, rings, a cam, valves, valve guides, and head work. Alan also vapor blasted the cylinder and head. The name So-Cal Special was inspired by my motorcycling experiences growing up in Southern California, and the fact that the bike started out as a Yamaha XS650 Special. You can find more of my motorcycle videos on the ‪@OldMotoDude-TheOriginal‬ KZbin Channel. The video was shot with a GoPro Hero10 in Cinematic mode.

[@northvanwan7428]

Always liked the XS650 but never had one. Awesome build and obviously lots of hours put in. Flat tracker is a great style. It would look great with spoke wheels !

[@OldMotoDude-TheOriginal]

Thank you for the compliments. I too like the spoke wheels. Maybe someday I will be able to locate a set without breaking the bank.

[@FANTASYViDeOs2030]

Super galaxy Colour good looking

[@OldMotoDude-TheOriginal]

Thank you for the positive comments!