A motorcycle can simply be a bunch of bits or take on a value that can’t be expressed in monetary terms, only sentiment. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a limited-run Ducati or a Honda Cub, some bikes have a deeper meaning, usually because of a special someone who was riding that steed – infusing it with a special significance. For Collas, this Yamaha XS650 is that bike, because it was owned and ridden in style by his dear departed friend ‘CD’. Needing just the right builder to understand its value, he turned to talented Scottish spanner man James Moir, who ensured the XS didn’t leave his JM Customs shops, without living up to the high-flying standards that ‘CD’ set.
As Collas tells us, “one day at the start of 1980, long after school days had gone and we were into two-wheel transportation, my mate ‘CD’ turned up on a gorgeous red Yamaha XS650. Now ‘CD’ was never one to leave a bike in standard form, so very quickly a new black two-into-one exhaust was fitted. It emitted a sound like a B52 bomber was about to land on your house, glorious. We followed that XS all over Scotland, and a few times doing what they now call the North Coast 500. Believe me when I say that those roads were very different back at the start of the ‘80s.” And no matter the weather conditions, the boys rode hard and often.
Sadly ‘CD’ passed and for more than twenty years the bike stayed at his Mum’s before she was ready to pass it onto Collas. Some repairs and a few custom touches, some more riding and the bike sat again, but the whole time Collas knew the bike’s journey wasn’t over and he needed the right man to bring it to life. Time for James to get to work, “I knew that I could trust him as he had understood from day one what the XS meant to me.” The custom work began, and at the front of the bike, you see the beautiful fabrication work that floats a custom short fender over the tyre on new mounts.
Moving past the glorious stock tank, the side covers have had a pair of vents added to them, with mesh finished in black placed behind. The tail end is as tidy as can be too, with a shortened fender coming off the hooped rear end, complete with a full suite of Motone lights.
“The original seat was removed and the mounts where it hinged were carefully de-tabbed to minimise any coating repairs necessary to the frame. Once this was done, an aluminium seat pan was fabricated and shipped off to my mate Tom at Hurley Custom Seats,” James explains.
The paintwork is always exceptional at JM Customs and the whole process is handled in-house to ensure a perfect finish. Having gone over some colours with Collas, it was over to James to lay down the Metallic Red, taken from the Honda catalogue. With the first round of clear flattened back, an airbrush was used to create the neat block pattern in a gloss black that gently fades out. This helps to pick up the black finish on many of the other parts, like the suspension which had previously been rebuilt at the front and new shocks fitted on the rear.
The engine is perhaps the standout feature of the stock XS and James wanted to make sure it was in perfect shape, so once out of the frame it was pulled down to the bare cases. After a good vapour blasting, the key parts were finished in a twin colour cerakote combo, before the entire engine was rebuilt with new bearings, gaskets, and seals. Electronic ignition ensures it runs brilliantly and the rebuilt carbs wear a nice set of DNA filters. The stainless exhaust had been fitted years earlier, and as per the customer’s request, it’s been pipe wrapped and barks loudly from its new muffler.
The cockpit is a beautiful place to be, ergonomic, with everything you need and nothing you don’t. The Renthal bars feature Biltwell recoil grips and a Domino race throttle. A new ignition switch adds reliability and the neat Motone billet switchgear is wired internally, while “the original clock mount, houses a Daytona Velona 2 gauge and matching rev counter.” The wiring loom was entirely built from scratch with an Elektronic H-Box as the brains, and little additions like the Motone billet indicators and the blacked-out headlight bezel really finishing things off nicely!
It’s a different feeling for James with the completion of this build, “My wee part in this bike’s journey is nothing compared to that of Collas and his pal ‘CD’. For me, this is one of the most gratifying things about motorcycles, the people they belong to, and the story that’s attached to them.”
As for Collas, he couldn’t be happier, “JM Customs have hit the nail on the head with the rebuild. The paintwork alone is exceptional. This is not a bike to be displayed in a glass case, the XS will live on the country roads as my dear mate ‘CD’ would have agreed.”
[ JM Customs | Instagram | Photography by Oliver Young ]