...On Two Wheels

Yeah, this is how I entertain myself these days.

My oldest bike, the 1972 Yamaha XS2, finally is on the road, after I sorted out the last couple of items on the rebuild-list. This is a vertical twin 650cc street bike that's so old it was styled after British twins like Triumphs and BSAs that once were what we called "big bikes."

There remain issues to deal with, of course, including an oil leak that seems to have come out of thin air. Still, this thing's a blast to ride, digging in when you gas it and handling much better now that I've adjusted the stiffness of the springs on the rear shocks to the max. Now the front end digs in, too.

In the meantime, my '78 XS750 Yamaha triple sits until I install a new headlight. The last time out the spot-weld on its retaining ring broke, and evidently the headlight went flying at speed. I say evidently as I never even knew it was gone until I got home and saw the headlight housing with the wire hanging out as if the bike had lost an eye.

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