danny’s xs from busch bros

We just finished doing a rebody on Danny’s XS along with a front brake, new seat, new handlebar, headlight and more.

A quick rundown on the bike: It started as a basketcase ’79 Yamaha XS 650 with a frame, engine, and wheels.  We knew from the start we’d be modifying the frame, so we started cutting it apart within a day of bringing it back to our shop.

We added a 4″ gooseneck and a 2 under springer, with Firestone 5-16’s front and rear.

The rear fender was originally rolled from aluminum, and while the old tank and seat worked for a while, as our skills improved we knew that an aluminum tank was in order. So, we whipped a new one up with some ribs in the top, and built a new tail light housing and welded that to the fender.

Finally, we made a new cobra style seat to replace the sprung solo saddle.  In re-imagining the look of the bike, we wanted it to be more safe and functional as well.

We started with replacing the orb headlight with a full size light with high and low beam.  The orb looked crazy, but did not light the road at night.

Then we added a four piston front brake, LED signals front and rear, and a horn.  Now with all these amenities it’s actually like riding a factory bike- well, sort of.