Martin Padilla, a longtime Mikes XS customer, has recently completed his restoration of this killer ’77 XS650. This is the 8th XS650 that he has restored: 3 resto-mods and 5 OEM-style.
“I started the restoration in the fall of 2020, and completed it in the spring of 2022”, Padilla explains.
Padilla traded a very well-used Honda XL250 for it in 2017. The XS650 was in poor shape but had a lot of potential. He restored it enough to get it running and used it as his winter bike. The salt on the roads really hurt it and he took it apart and started thus the nickname for ‘er: XS#8.5.
“It wasn’t running and had one ridiculous mod – extended forks that had to be a pathetic attempt to create a chopper. Thankfully, that was the only thing. The person I bought it from wanted to turn it into a dirtbike after sitting for 2 decades in a barn.”
Padilla modified the frame to accommodate the monoshock, which came from a Kawasaki GPz550 (1983) and modern Ninja shock. Then, he adapted 2006 Yamaha R1 forks with a special triple-tree; custom-made for the original head mount with roller bearings. The bike has a hydraulic clutch with matching master cylinders for the front brake and clutch. The bars are 1.25” tapering to .75”.
The unique modifications didn’t end there.
“I built a mount for a single dual pot singe font disc brake and used a Honda RF450 rear hub adapted to a 19” wheel to match the front 19” wheel. I got a 1977 Honda CB750 sprocket and adapted the Honda 450 brake caliper and rotor to the GPz trailing arm with a master cylinder attached to the rear motor mount that is also attached to the rear shock absorber.”
“XS#8.5 has an XS Charge PMA kit, as well as a fuel tank and exhaust system from Mike’s”, Padilla adds.
Excellent work, Martin and we appreciate your continued support of the classic XS650!
Mikes XS Parts List
XS650 Black Fuel Tank (Standard)
Heiden Tuning XS650 Oil Cooler Kit
