Tevan's 1972 XS2 Resto-Mod Cafe' Build... First Ride

This is Tevan's ride. Tevan came to work for me when he was 17, and got the itch to build a bike. So we found this 72' XS2 sitting in the kudzu at a friends house, struck a deal and drug it home. It was too gnarly for a restoration, but was perfect for a Cafe' build. Tevan built the engine to stock specs, except using a rephased crank and cam, and a pamco 277 Ignition. Then using a Hugh's HandBuilt PMA system, he was able to delete the battery, and set it up as a kick-only engine. He built the pipes using a Pandemonium custom exhaust kit, and a set of swap meet Bub mufflers. The swingarm is braced up, the front forks are late model 35mm with machining done to keep the OEM steering damper from the original bike. Tank was modded to use standard 1/4 NPT petcocks, and got a new fuel cap. The seat is custom made for the bike, and the tail section is built from 2 harley gas tanks we had laying around. Front fork brace and custom rearset controls are all nickel plated. Dual 18" wheels laced by Tevan himself, and rolling on Pirelli tires... Lectron 34mm High Velocity carbs feed the factory long rod engine.

It was cold as all getout, about 28 degrees when we shot this... And yes, maybe one day I'll learn how to edit a video, but I'm to busy playing with these ol' XS650's for that - haha...

We've still got some tuning to do, hard to test and tune when it's that cold out. But overall, it's a killer bike and should run just as good as it looks when we are done with it... I'm proud of Tevan, how many 19 year old's have put such heart and soul into something and have it come out this good...