This is the Yamaha XS650C from 1976, one of my first major restorations. I fell in love with this bike back in 2021 and bought it without hesitation. I loved everything about it—from the classic motorcycle silhouette to the beautiful sound of the 360-degree parallel twin roaring out of two chrome pipes on either side of the bike. I believe this motorcycle is what most people think of when they hear the term “classic motorcycle.”

The bike had a few issues when I bought it, but, as is often the case when you fall in love with something, you see through those flaws. I’m not sure if that’s beautiful or a bit foolish, but I went ahead and bought the bike anyway. I then tore it all apart. The old wiring harness was messed up, the engine consumed a lot of oil, fourth gear was noisy, and there were leaks from multiple places. A complete engine rebuild was necessary.

I had all the outer engine parts water-honed,  repolished the polished components, and put everything back together with the required new parts. Now it runs smoothly, with perfectly sealing valves, new pistons, the right clearances and compression, and no excess oil consumption.