So now I have to see if I can find that odd ball screw somewhere. 5mm x 10.5 CM

Mailman,

If you can't find screws easy I have these sitting on my desk. Note the one on the right has a slight distortion in the drive slots but should be 100% functional.

Let me know, these are out of a starter from a 1972 so they would be authentic! And if you need anything else off the starter I have that as well.

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It looks like I can get 5mm stainless threaded rod in a length that would work. A little wonky. One things for sure. I’m not doing anything more until I have a suitable replacement in hand. I know the starter works, I was just going in for a look see.

Bob - aside from the non-original appearance (and who - really - would EVER see it), there would be nothing wrong with SS threaded rod and nuts. That is precisely how large industrial motors are assembled.

Pete
 
Mailman,

If you can't find screws easy I have these sitting on my desk. Note the one on the right has a slight distortion in the drive slots but should be 100% functional.

Let me know, these are out of a starter from a 1972 so they would be authentic! And if you need anything else off the starter I have that as well.

View attachment 121958 View attachment 121959

Ken,
Yes! Thank you of course I would be interested. I’m sending you a PM.
 
I'd bench test the starter. If it spins like crazy, fast and smooth, I'd just call it good and move on. If they're bad, they'll barely spin or start/stop/start/stop.
 
Ok 2M, you had me going this morning. I almost choked on my bagel when you pointed out damage to that ring gear.

Whups, sorry 'bout that.

... you can see the mysterious object was just an obstructed view of the oil passageway that leads into the sump plate. And that apparent damage ( it really did look that way ) is really just a beveled edge on that gear that had oil clinging to it so that it reflected light at odd angles. It is perfect, with no damage. Yay!

*Whew*, glad you followed up on this.

I love magic and optical illusions, and have been known to see things that may not really be there. Like that chupacabra curled up at my feet.

I probably should back off the Starbucks.

And see Sir Funky about some chill pills...
 
Man! I have no luck with Phillips head screws! I knew those real long skinny screws that hold the starter motor together we’re going to be tough to break loose. So for two days I’ve been soaking the end of the screws and the screw heads in penetrating oil. Today I decided to try and break them loose. I’ve had pretty good luck with using my cordless drill as a sort of ratchet gun. That hammering motion is pretty good at breaking things loose. So I start at a real low power setting and just kept stepping it up. Finally I reached the highest setting and one popped loose, then I tried the other and the screw head immediately stripped.
View attachment 121956
So now I have to see if I can find that odd ball screw somewhere. 5mm x 10.5 CM
View attachment 121957

If not, I’ll just put the good screw back in and call it a day. :shrug:


G'day Bob,

I managed to find C/S Allen Head Stainless for mine...Look at your McMasters mob and you never know!!!

GW
 
Ken,
Yes! Thank you of course I would be interested. I’m sending you a PM.

Okay got Mailman interested just need to know how much I should take him for, I mean..... what would be a reasonable price for a fellow XS650 admirer?

Shipping alone will be $3.50 and a round trip to Post office is a whopping 7 miles so at an average of 50 mpg for my XS650 that means I would burn approx. 0.15 gallons and price for high test here is $3.28 with my discount card so that comes to about $0.49 for fuel then add another $0.50 for the envelop to mail the screws in that put the total out of pocket for me at $4.49.
 
Okay got Mailman interested just need to know how much I should take him for, I mean..... what would be a reasonable price for a fellow XS650 admirer?

Shipping alone will be $3.50 and a round trip to Post office is a whopping 7 miles so at an average of 50 mpg for my XS650 that means I would burn approx. 0.15 gallons and price for high test here is $3.28 with my discount card so that comes to about $0.49 for fuel then add another $0.50 for the envelop to mail the screws in that put the total out of pocket for me at $4.49.

Uh oh, he’s got me over a barrel. I better call in the.......
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Hey wait a minute.....Capt Kirk?
 
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Are you able to look at that weight on the crank shaft for looseness.

I’m out of my garage for a couple days, but I have peered into the crankcase and looked at them. They look to be ok. I’ll reach in there with a long screwdriver and poke at them to see if they are loose. I understand your concerns regarding them. I do think that they are a relatively low percentage failure.
 
Okay got Mailman interested just need to know how much I should take him for, I mean..... what would be a reasonable price for a fellow XS650 admirer?

Shipping alone will be $3.50 and a round trip to Post office is a whopping 7 miles so at an average of 50 mpg for my XS650 that means I would burn approx. 0.15 gallons and price for high test here is $3.28 with my discount card so that comes to about $0.49 for fuel then add another $0.50 for the envelop to mail the screws in that put the total out of pocket for me at $4.49.

You made me snort Ken!

Pete

PS - I’d hold out for the full $4.50. Nothing wrong with a little profit!
 
SOME THANK YOU’S ARE IN ORDER !!!

First off a belated ( please forgive me ) thank you to forum member GW who very thoughtfully sent me a brake caliper decal back when I was working on my brake caliper and he noticed that the one I had was damaged.
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This was no small thing, as GW lives in beautiful Queensland Australia.
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I was going to hold off until I was in the reassembly stage to comment on it ( and I will photograph it later) but GW deserves a proper thank you now.
So Thanks GW! You Rock Brother!

Next up! Everybody’s favorite forum brother in arms. Jim Dent
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When I was struggling with seating my badly rust pitted valves, he generously offered to re cut my valves for me on his mighty Atlas lathe. He not only did this, but he was all prepared for the job when my valves arrived to him. He received the valves in the mail, cut the new faces on my valves, and quickly repacked them and rushed them to the post office and had them back in the mail to me THE SAME DAY !!! They came out beautiful!
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Jim really went above and beyond for this old shade tree mechanic. Thank you Jim , I am in your debt.

And let’s not forget Ken Hansen! Ken has a way of showing up with some obscure part, just when I need it.
He has helped me out in the past with some obsolete handlebar switch parts. Well this time, as I was looking for some obsolete and very hard to find specialty screws for my starter, Ken pipes up “ Oh yeah, I’ve got a couple sitting right here on my desk top. “ What are the odds? Next thing I know, they’re in my mail box. Thank you Ken!
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Right from the beginning, every time I needed help, the members of this forum have stepped forward with parts, help, and advice. I’d be lost without you and I would never have attempted such an ambitious build without the knowledge that you guys have my back. So to all of you ( you know who you are ) who have been so helpful to me , THANK YOU !!!!!
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DO OVER DAY.............

Seems I’ve had a few of these on this project. My first attempt at lapping my valves didn’t go as well as I’d hoped.
Primarily due to the deep rust pitting I had in my valve seats. Jim offered to re cut my valves giving me a fresh surface to lap the seats against. I received the valves a couple days ago and today I went after the valve lapping AGAIN.
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This time however, I only used the fine grit paste, seeing as how the rust pitting and large surface problems had already been taken care of. I also did this only by hand this time, avoiding the cordless drill, which I think may have contributed to my problems last time.
The results are in, and this time around the results were MUCH BETTER,
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This time I got a nice even grey band around both the seat and the valve. Thanks again Jim, for both the work you did and coaching you gave me on technique.

This week also saw the arrival of some specialty tools that I will be using for the upcoming assembly. After seeing Robin using his cool dial indicator gauge to find TDC on his build I thought it would be pretty nice to have one , so I ordered this from eBay. It has an articulated arm and a heavy magnetic base and I think it was a deal at $28 delivered. Now if it only reads accurately.
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I also received my piston ring pliers. I know you practiced hands probably don’t use them, but I will admit to breaking a couple rings when I removed them. They are way more brittle than I imagined.
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Also I received my new cam chain, and a full set of copper top end washers, and copper gasket spray. So things are moving along. Still a whole lot of cleaning to do before I start assembly but I’ve made some real progress in the past few weeks.

Stay tuned! Hopefully I’ve got my troubles on the run!
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