Ya Mama

January 1, 2011

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Article and Photos by: Chris Callen

Almost everyone who builds custom bikes can tell you a story about where their personal inspiration came from. Very often, it comes from a generation before them: a father, an uncle or an older friend. Sometimes a younger cat can also inspire but once in a while you will see two people who constantly inspire each other. Such is the case with Daniel Donley and his father Leo.

Leo was into bikes as a young man. Daniel even recounted tales for me of trips to the local grocery store where Dad would put him up on the gas tank of his Kawi 1,000, but later in life he had to give up the bikes and do the right thing in raising his family. Fast-forward about 25 years to a point where his son Daniel has his own shop and several killer builds, a few of which have gained the attention of national publications . Then one day, Daniel said, Leo just started talking about an XS 650. Over and over again he would mention how cool they could be and that he wanted to build one for himself. Daniel tried to talk him out of it and didn’t understand why his ol’ man was stuck on this idea. Then Leo took him to a bunch of Web sites and showed him what a cult following they had. People were doing everything with these old Yamahas and they were really into it.

It wasn’t long before Leo was searching the local papers for a possible donor bike. He found one that was advertised as an ’84 Yamaha that was local. He knew that they didn’t make an XS in ’84 but he figured he’d take a chance and call on it anyway. It turned out to be an ’81 and was in fact an XS 650 so Leo scooped it up for $600; a running, decent bike that he could play with a little before he tore it down. Daniel remembers the next stage of this for his dad was pretty cool. After all the years of calling him for advice, his father was actually calling to find out how he does things on bikes. It was a great experience and I suspect made the two men closer than they had ever been.

From there, the whole thing started to turn into a family affair. Between the two of them, they would figure out how to make a jig and build the hardtail section. Existing parts from the Pandemonium catalogue like the battery box, fuel tank, and license plate bracket were added. Even Leo’s wife, June, got in on the deal taking a shot at her first leather solo seat. She hand stitched it and it turned out great. She spent hours in the garage with him through different stages of his work.

About a week before the Mountainfest event, Leo had the frame in paint but the rest of the parts sat on the floor. The full court press was called and Daniel and good friend Big John started doing 18 hour days with him to have the bike ready. There was still plenty of wiring to do and even though much of the mock- up work had been done, it was a million miles away from being a finished product.

Of course they made it for the show but it wasn’t without some real tasty bits on it. Handmade pieces, like the headlight bucket, were a mishmash of different parts from various bikes. The rods he made for the rear brake stabilizer and brake rod are just cool and the added springs make them look more mechanical somehow.

It’s not a bad bike at all, especially for making a comeback after 25 years. Daniel said the first day they got it fired up he hopped right on it and took off like he never missed a day. Exactly as it should be!

ya mama tech sheet

Owner: Leo Donley

city: Morgantown, WV

Fabrication By: Leo Donley/Pandemonium

year: 1981

model: Yamaha XS650

time: 6 Months

Value: