{"id":59130,"date":"2022-04-26T10:02:01","date_gmt":"2022-04-26T14:02:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/motorcyclemojo.com\/?p=59130"},"modified":"2022-04-26T10:02:01","modified_gmt":"2022-04-26T14:02:01","slug":"short-chop-xs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/motorcyclemojo.com\/2022\/04\/short-chop-xs\/","title":{"rendered":"Short-Chop XS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes, when a wrench gets thrown in your plans, you have to pivot and create the next best thing.<\/p>\n

Plans change, and it\u2019s important to remain open to all options. Essentially, that\u2019s how this custom 1974\/1979 Yamaha XS650, built by Kevin Bergeron, came to life.<\/p>\n

The Bonneville Salt Flats have long inspired land speed racers to test their tuning and engineering skills. In 2019, Alberta-based firefighter, paramedic and custom motorcycle builder Bergeron challenged himself to create a machine for the salt. Thinking a Yamaha XS650 parallel-twin engine would provide a strong heart for a racer, he started searching for one.<\/p>\n

\u201cI originally was after just an XS650 engine,\u201d Bergeron says. \u201cBut after I\u2019d had my eyes peeled for a long time I found a package listed on Kijiji that included a bike with a Mike\u2019s XS big bore-kitted engine and a bone stock engine included in the deal. I thought the big bore engine could be fun for the flats.\u201d<\/p>\n

Borders Closed, Change of Plans<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"The bored-out engine from 1974 was bolted into a frame of 1979 vintage that had been cut and chopped. That stock engine was out of the \u201979 frame. With a project in hand, Bergeron was making plans for his salt flats build when the pandemic closed the border. He held off on the land speed racer and changed direction early in 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the summer of 2020, I moved from Calgary to Lethbridge,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ve built several custom KLR250s, but my friends down here all have Harley-Davidsons, and I wanted something larger to ride on the highway that I could build on a budget. That XS project looked more and more like I already had a good start.\u201d
\nBergeron appreciates the lower, shorter, and smaller build philosophy ascribed to by many in the Japanese custom bike scene. Starting on March 21 of 2021, he rather ambitiously set a goal of having a custom \u201cshort chop\u201d Yamaha on the road in two months, right in time for the start of the riding season.<\/p>\n

Decisions, Decisions<\/strong><\/p>\n

The first item of business for Bergeron was sorting out which of the two XS650 motors he\u2019d use. He opened up both and found that the \u201974, with the big bore kit, was not in good condition, while the stock \u201979 powerplant showed very little evidence of wear. He put the \u201979 engine aside for the salt flats bike he still intends to build, and focused on resurrecting the big bore mill for his custom.<\/p>\n

Working in his garage, Bergeron put the 1979 XS650 frame in a jig and used a grinder with a cut-off disk to remove the rear subframe and swingarm mount. With rear axle plates from Voodoo Vintage, Bergeron bent and TIG-welded together new frame tubes and created a rigid frame that dropped the Yamaha three inches and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes, when a wrench gets thrown in your plans, you have to pivot and create the next best thing. Plans change, and it\u2019s important to remain open to all options. Essentially, that\u2019s how this custom 1974\/1979 Yamaha XS650, built by Kevin Bergeron, came to life. The Bonneville Salt Flats have long inspired land speed racers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":59131,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,2219],"tags":[2224,156,2225],"yoast_head":"\nCustom Yamaha XS650 Motorcycle | Motorcycle Mojo<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In the May 2022 issue of Motorcycle Mojo magazine, we take a look at a great custom Yamaha XS650 motorcycle made by Kevin Bergeron.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/motorcyclemojo.com\/2022\/04\/short-chop-xs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Custom Yamaha XS650 Motorcycle | Motorcycle Mojo\" \/>\n<meta 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