Here in the UK custom bikes are more than just making up the catalogue numbers at classic vehicle auctions. There were always a few odd lots that would make their way to the block but nowadays machines from well known brands and workshops are cropping up. Analog Motorcycles, the across the pond, stumbled upon an XS650 built a decade ago by Loaded Gun Customs and decided to give it a new lease of life. Analog's frontman Tony Prust tells us how it went down. "This bike was found at a local auction of sorts. I recognized the Loaded Gun Customs logo on the tank that was originally on this bike when I picked it up. Called-up good friend Kevin Dunworth and got the scoop. The bike was originally built in his shop in 2006. He had gone through the engine and mounted the 17” Sun rims that are on it. It also had a fiberglass café racer tail section on it and a few other mods. It was not really taken care of from a visual aspect so we did our thing." "We started by ditching the tail section and stripping the bike down to the chassis and engine. I have built a couple Yamaha XSs and always prefer to lift the back of the tank to make it more level, so we did that. From there we switched up the Vortex clip ons and made them more level. We then trimmed back the subframe and and put in some our mini bolt LED turn signals into back of frame. The seat pan was fabricated and we made provision to mount our Reverse Bates tail light housing to the seat. The saddle itself was upholstered by 83 Seats. Under the seat we made a custom battery tray to house the Earth X battery and MotoGadget M-unit. We then made a custom fly screen to go around the Denali LED headlight set up we made. We also put some mini bolt LEDs in the front fly screen." "After we had all the mock-up done we tore the bike down for a full detab and clean-up before we had it stripped of its Loaded Gun Customs green to powder coat it black. The engine was cleaned up to a Scotch-Brite finish and Analog Motor Goods billet covers were installed. The tank, fender and fly screen were sent to Kiel’s Kustoms for paint and given a little subtle Yamaha graphic in black on the fresh grey metallic. The bike was completely re-wired with Motogadget M-unit, M-button along with a set of Motone swtich housings. The Hagon shocks were retained but we installed a set of Race Tech gold valve emulators and new springs after fresh powder coat and fork rebuild. The Koso DB01r speedo/tach combo is incorporated into the front end lighting bracket." "After it all came together we decided to call this one 'Re-Loaded', paying homeage to the original shop that had their hands on it and started the work for us. We just put our Analog spin on the build. It turned out really well and makes for a quick little custom to rip around on. We built it with the intent to sell once complete, and we did have some fun but ended up selling to a customer before it was completed. The new owner is from Denver, CO where it will make a great little canyon carver." Yamaha's XS650 twin is such a peach of a motor that deserves a home in a more sorted and up to date chassis. And seeing as Kevin had already put a stack of time into the bike many moons ago it seemed only right that it was given a second chance. Analog have been in the custom game for a while now, with an extensive portfolio of work. Bike Shed Archive | Facebook | Instagram | Web Pictures by Brandon LaJoie