Jake's Friend's W650 Gallery Volume 2

These are my friends from the W650 Rider's group and their bikes. There's a whole lot of customizing going on! Some of these pictures are available at our Yahoo group. Click any picture for a larger version.

I've had to add a second volume due to the number of pictures. Now there's Volume 1 and Volume 2!

34 It's Dennis Guggemos and his blue & silver (painted to match his beard) 2000. He's using the National Cycle Deflector Screen, Corbin Gunfighter solo seat, BikeMaster Daytona bars (similar to Z-power bars but $14), and Napoleon bar end mirrors.
35 Another shot of Dennis' steed that shows better the Corbin Gunfighter seat.

Dennis on his other ride, as the 4 time Grand Champion of the Happy Acres Annual Lawn Tractor Races.

GO DENNIS!

Dennis would like it known that "Happy Acres" is neither a retirement home nor a home for the mentally ill. This is not to say that Dennis is not a crazy old man.
37 Neil Ellison, another UK wrider, stands beside his Krauser-equipped bike. VERY cool.
38 Here it is with all bits mounted.
39 A closer shot of the bag system mounts, very nicely integrated.
40 And an amazing color-matched Bagster™ tank cover to protect the paintwork and provide mounting points for their tank-bag system.
41

One of the infamous Mikey and his 2002! Dig his cool National Cycles flyscreen and Napoleon bar end mirrors on a "superbike" set of bars.

Also note the 2002 silver/silver paint job.
42
 And our first custom paint job, a lovely piece of work belonging to Phil of Katy, Texas.
43
 And this is Oklahoma's contribution to the W650 world, Bill with his stock-appearing 2001. Rumour has it that he tows that sailboat with his W. It's a versatile machine.
44 This may well be our gang's highest member, Mark from Colorado. His 2000 has a Lucas taillight, small bullet style turn signals, low bars, Corbin Gunfighter & Lady seat, Halcyon bar-end mirror on the left side only, the Airbox Mod, fishpipes, 128 mains and shims.
45

Al Soley, solo on his 2000 model in my own home town, Chicago. Note his startling resemblence to another famous Illinois native, a certain Mr. Lincoln.

HOWEVER, Al sold his W650! He did, however, sell it to his son. So it's staying in the family and Al is not released from his duties on the W650Rider's list.
46 It's Al Soley, his wife Bonnie and the Dub with Daddy-O (a.k.a. Riko), his wife, Diane and their Suzuki GS850 taken on an EXTREMELY uncharacteristically warm Chicago winter day this past January.
47 It's the ever-popular Jay Goldstein from Canada! He's done some very nifty intricate work on his badges.
48 He filled in the white bits with red paint that matches the tank. Nifty!
49

And here is the group's beloved Doc Bill, from Houston. A cardiac surgeon, Doc operated nonstop on his 2001, adding a Givi topbox, Avon SuperVenom tires, an S-08 screen and most recently, the Z-Power low bar kit (made by Kawasaki).

In addition to his heart surgery, our Doc founded the Greater Houston Vein Clinic which uses a "laser" and some other nifty little tools to remove or reduce the effect of varicose or spider veins.
50 Since the previous photographs, our Doc added a Corbin Gunfighter & Lady seat with light-chocolate colored piping that goes very well with the cream color on the tank.
51 Doc Bill, showing off his new seat, Givi top box and new helmet. Note the signs behind...the benefits of being a medical professional.
52 Ah, but our Doc Bill never sat still. (Not good for the heart, you see.) More modifications were made; he removed the badges from the tank, saying that he really liked the "naked look". He had the stock seat recovered. And you can more clearly see the great Robert Berlin Flying W stickers on the airbox. He added a SuperBrace, visible in two other photos down below.
53 Here's a better photograph of the recovered seat. An absolutely groovy alligator patterned leather now, with black piping instead of the stock white.
54 Doc Bill was the first of the group to order the SuperBrace, a fork stabilizer. This is not to say that the W650 has wobbly forks. It is claimed to add more stability when travelling at rather high speeds. Though our good Doctor did not ride at very high speeds, he reported that it made the front end feel more tied together at legal speeds.
55

It looks sharp, and our Doc installed it himself!

We lost Doc Bill in 2003 in an accident on a freeway in Houston.

56
 This is Pete Cordell of Waynesville, North Carolina in the USA with his usual riding companion, Speedy. Speedy is a 1999 model that has been 're-jetted'. He goes to bed at exactly 11 PM every night and gets up at exactly 6:30 AM and will make sure that someone gets up and feeds him. He lets his humans do what they want during the day, subject to his approval, but follows them around to make sure they do it his way.
Pete's ride is a 2001 model, modified with Progressive front springs, EBC brake shoes, stainless front brake line, Dunlop GT 501 tires, Flander's 'superbike' bars with Gran Turismo grips and 1 Napolean bar end mirror. He's using a Corbin Gunfighter solo seat with a Kawasaki rack. Out back there's Lockhart mini turn signals, Hagon shocks, a mudflap on the rear fender and a homemade chainguard extention. The engine has been modified with an airbox shelf-ectomy, 1 shim and 125 mains and the pilot jets set at 3 turns out, with all top and bottom carb screws replaced with stainless steel allen screws.
And he has Victory flag transfers on the side panels to keep him feeling British!
Pete's trying an experiment. He's installed these inexpensive ($24US) clubman bars on his W. I occasionally run the same set on mine, they're terrific and transform the W650 into a totally different feeling bike.

He got them from Mike Lalonde in Brooksville, Fla, who is a purveyor of Yamaha XS650 parts and is featured on Bob Bertaut's great website devoted to the XS650.

They do not hit the tank at full lock.
61 The bars themselves are cheapies, made in Taiwan, and not a quality item which is reflected in the $24 price tag (includes shipping!). He got them because he wanted to try a set and not have to spend $75-$90 which is what a good set costs with shipping, etc. This page has the whole selection. They're rugged enough but the quality is not Flanders or Kawasaki OEM and they are not represented as such. But Jake's pair has lasted many years and he has no complaints.
62 I asked Pete to send some photos of him on the bike with the new bars, as we all know that some things look really cool but are a nightmare once they're installed. As you can see, the postion seems to be slightly more forewards, but nowhere near the sportbike crunched position.
63

Pete is using the shorter set of control cables for the handlebars that come with the Kawasaki Low-Bar kit, available from Z-Power in the UK.

It is not at all necessary to use the shorter cables, however. Jake runs his with all stock cables, they're merely swapped to the opposite side of the headlight from where they were originally. Much cheaper and easier than replacing them all and makes swapping back to other bars so much easier.
64 Yes, everyone did suggest that Pete not engage reverse when he sent this photograph. And as he did send this picture, we can all rest assured that he didn't.
And for a real treat, here's a shot of Pete back in the summer of 1968. He had just turned 18 and this (a 1969 Harley Sportster XLCH) was his second bike. He's past 52 now, that's 34 years between the photos. He promises to send another photo in 2036.