Monty
XS650 Enthusiast
Hey guys, I picked up a 79 Special about a year ago and it has been a little slow going, especially during the first 6 months. I am a 23 year old in the Army, so money and time are not things I have a lot of. When I first got it I was still in the barracks, so I pulled the motor in the parking lot, and drug it up 3 flights of stairs to my room to start the rebuild. I was able to get a house after about 2 months so it started getting better from there, I had a very small amount of tools, so I have been picking those up along the way.
The first picture, I wish I would have taken an earlier shot, for a better before/after comparison.
I found this tank on ebay, and it is in showroom condition except for a couple small chips on the underside of the rear mount. I wasn't planning on having a yellow bike, but the tank is too nice to repaint.
Spoke wheels.
A setback I went through, I just got the bottom end buttoned up when this happened. I was quite pissed, although I'm glad I decided not to paint the cases on second go around.
The motor, with the replacement cases. I've done a bit more since this picture, but not much. Polished and installed the tappet covers and a couple other small things. The head was done by Hoos Racing, they did an awesome job and were good to work with.
I took these tonight after I spent a few hours cutting some of the excess brackets off until I broke my cutting wheel. Its a quick mockup so I can figure out my seat. The forks are lowered 1 inch, and they will be shaved and polished. I thing shocks are the next thing on the buy list, somewhere around 13.5" - 14".
Anyways, its been fun, and aggravating at times, and I can't wait to get into the fun stuff. Cleaning up the old parts isn't nearly as much fun as assembly and fabrication. Cleaning up that frame is a headache. I should be able to work on it more regularly now, so hopefully it won't be too long between updates.
The first picture, I wish I would have taken an earlier shot, for a better before/after comparison.
I found this tank on ebay, and it is in showroom condition except for a couple small chips on the underside of the rear mount. I wasn't planning on having a yellow bike, but the tank is too nice to repaint.
Spoke wheels.
A setback I went through, I just got the bottom end buttoned up when this happened. I was quite pissed, although I'm glad I decided not to paint the cases on second go around.
The motor, with the replacement cases. I've done a bit more since this picture, but not much. Polished and installed the tappet covers and a couple other small things. The head was done by Hoos Racing, they did an awesome job and were good to work with.
I took these tonight after I spent a few hours cutting some of the excess brackets off until I broke my cutting wheel. Its a quick mockup so I can figure out my seat. The forks are lowered 1 inch, and they will be shaved and polished. I thing shocks are the next thing on the buy list, somewhere around 13.5" - 14".
Anyways, its been fun, and aggravating at times, and I can't wait to get into the fun stuff. Cleaning up the old parts isn't nearly as much fun as assembly and fabrication. Cleaning up that frame is a headache. I should be able to work on it more regularly now, so hopefully it won't be too long between updates.
