XS Guys

While I was at the Broken Spoke Saloon in Sturgis, I met Gil Schuchardt and Mike Spencer.  They are Yamaha guys, XS-1100 Yamaha guys.  Gil showed me his pristine XS, with original and rare Yamaha fairing, saddlebags and tour pack.  Mike's XS-1100 Special has a period and perfect Windjammer fairing.  Both bikes are like they came off the dealers show room floor.
It is really hard to keep bikes this old running, but to keep them is this kind of pristine condition borders on obsession.  Great bikes guys. 

    













Yamaha XS-1100's were made from 1978 to 1981.  I think Gil's bike is a 1981 Venturer.  The Venturer had a larger gas tank and came with fairing, saddlebags and tour pack.  The Venturer was only built in 1981.  Mikes bike is a XS-Eleven Special the special was introduced in 1979.

Sturgis 2012 - The Bikes

       The last time that I was in Sturgis, quite by accident, I caught The Horse Backstreet Choppers Bike Show at The Full Throttle Saloon.  At the time I didn't know what The Horse Backstreet Choppers Show was all about, I just knew that these bikes were  not the pro-built, cookie cutter, fat tired, skull encrusted, chrome dipped, super expensive bikes that were all in vogue at the time and I liked 'em!
      These bikes showed ingenuity and personal style.  They could be built by almost anyone with some mechanical skill and on a very tight budget.  But imagination and vision is the essence and attraction of these bikes.
     Now two years later I know a lot more about The Horse Backstreet Choppers, having been to The Smoke Out and running Stampede 7.  So the first thing I did when I got to Sturgis was head for The Horse Backstreet Choppers Bike Show.

The Winner

Charlie, The Nomad, who writes for The Horse Backstreet Choppers Magizine was there.

Nathan Friesz and Cy Henry who I met at Stampede 7 were there.

Friesz' War Pony was there.

It's great show and, I think, a chance to see the direction of custom motorcycles in the future.