possible xs750 build, advice needed

[cleansup]

My girlfriend needs a bike. She's been around bikes for a long time, hung out for too long without riding and is looking to start. I've always recommended a smaller ~500cc bike that you don't really care about as your first. Cuz lets face it, almost every new rider drops it. Low weight, low seat height and an upright seating position have all led to better outcomes for a new rider in my experience.

So there you have it, that's what I've been suggesting and I'm looking at older jap bikes mainly. kz/cb/gs etc all get a thumbs up in my book, and other than getting em running reliably I don't want to do a damn thing for a while.

Here's my dilemma. I just found an xs750 and I can't help but think that this might be a bit more than ideal for right now, but would also be the foundation for a fun project in the future. All would be well and good if I could get to it this winter, but there is no way that's gonna happen. And I'll most likely move next summer, and were looking to relocate entirely. So there's one more potential delay. Realistically I'm thinking 1.5 yrs min till I could do much of anything cool with it. With a beater/flipper bike it's easy just sell the thing and start fresh later.

So chop cult, help me solve my dilemma.
1. get the xs750 and work through it till awesome is possible, at least 1.5-2 yrs down the road?
or
2. Stick to the plan and get a flipper, then look for a project after the first bike jitters and move are done with.

Thanks in advance. Ps have to step out tonight but will check back and answer any questions, reply to anything serious in the am. Cheers

[Guest]

I say get a flipper that runs, and ride...1-2 years sitting around twiddling thumbs is a lot of time for her sitting around wanting to ride, reverse the roles... would you want to wait that long?

[Sky]

Why not get her the 750 and have her ride it stock till she nags/blows you enough to start chopping' on it.
She might scratch the paint and bend the bars but so what, your planning on changing it up anyway

[Guest]

This is funny, cause I've been holding onto a CL360 for a few years and finally got around to build it for my girl (it's pretty much completely taken apart), but all of the little shit is adding up and we're saving to move, aaaand we have an xs750 close by, waiting in a barn to be picked up.

[Guest]

Well, there's Rebels and the 250 V-twined Viragos... I think either would make for a nice learner, of course if she is fresh as a daisy to controlling two-wheeled vehicles... then I'd suggest a cheap ass scooter off of craig's list she could dump all she wanted, then after tooling around and confident on that thing... bump her up to the larger machine you two could be building on in the mean time.

This is personally the route I plan to go; if my son decides he wants to get into riding cycles, his drivers ed is coming up in October... of course myself and the Ex wife; want him to learn the road in as safe a manner as possible and how to avoid road and other driver hazards... which obviously, means car first.

[datadavid]

Why not learn on the xs? Its a well mannered bike, when its somewhat looked after.

[Guest]

Why not learn on the xs? Its a well mannered bike, when its somewhat looked after.

I'm trying to convince her to learn on the xs. When we were travelling around on the kiwikawi gt750, some folks got that confused with some "cracka" 750 triple; sharing stories of their friends giving a small blip on the throttle and flipping their bikes back. So she's a bit scared of that. Also, it's not as small and nimble as the CL360...but I think once I get it going and teach her to ride it, she'll push those fears aside and dig it. She's always owned manual vehicles and had a CT90 years ago. I trust her ability to ride. Plus it's been sitting in a fucking barn since '09, not too long but I wouldn't give a shit if she drops/scratches it (as long as she doesn't get hurt, of course).

[CarloFreeze]

Depending on what you are going for, chopping on the XS750 is tougher because it's shaft driven. Doesn't mean you can't make something cool out of one though. The other thing is that they are pretty fast and quite tall for a beginner bike. The height of the seat requires a 31 - 32" inseam to stand flat footed on the bike so if your girl isn't that tall, I'd look for something else for her to start with. Suzuki Savages are a good bet. Much lower slung and more output than a Rebel.

[Guest]

I plan on keeping the swimgarm, possibly mount some hard bags, maybe throw a windjammer (or something space-like) on if I come across one and jam on it as a daily while I fiddle and molest the sporty.

Or flip it and use the money towards a four-wheeled vehicle for the gal. She's been driving my Mormon-mover (gas-sucking '94 dodge b350 maxi!) and the sporty is the only other vehicle I have.

Oh and she's taller than me at 5'9"

[Guest]

I plan on keeping the swimgarm, possibly mount some hard bags, maybe throw a windjammer (or something space-like) on if I come across one and jam on it as a daily while I fiddle and molest the sporty.

Or flip it and use the money towards a four-wheeled vehicle for the gal. She's been driving my Mormon-mover (gas-sucking '94 dodge b350 maxi!) and the sporty is the only other vehicle I have.

Oh and she's taller than me at 5'9"

I'd ride the shit out of a CL360, make a street tracker out of that shit with some dual purpose tires... then see if she can keep you off of it

[farmall]

I'd find something ready to run with minimal work and suited to her specific physique, without much regard to my own preferences EXCEPT it must be reliable as gravity and of course handle well and easily.

A new rider should take an MSF course before doing much else because riding is not intuitive and many experienced riders are shitty teachers or fond of old biker wives tales.

Don't learn on a scooter. They are not motorcycles and have only disadvantages compared to a two-wheeled vehicle with motorcycle-sized wheels (gyroscopic stability), suspension and brakes. I trained absolute newbies on Rebels in USAF MSF courses. They are outstanding beginner bikes and easy to resell if you no longer want them. Rebels are reliable. When money is tight do NOT ever buy unreliable vehicles. They can be fun but shit is still shit in functional terms.

Inflicting an XS 750 on a new rider is cruel (height, CG, vehicle age). The world is full of better and much more recent motorcycles. Building some junker from scratch is begging to be nickle-and-dimed to death. I've seen it and it ain't pretty which is why I don't do it.

When you need a daily that's the time to be totally focused on reliability and nothing else so you can get to work. Find something as reliable as gravity with ample aftermarket parts support that is immediately usable or provably usable with minimal work and resist the urge to fuck with it.

[datadavid]

Yea you have to dump the clutch on redline to wheelie these heavy beasts 😆