79F Standard Rescue in progress

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Hauling this elusive 79 Standard home on a Friday evening impulse is turning out to be very good for both the XS650 and me as well. This XS was dangerously close to being dismembered and hot rodded in the open field , flat farmlands of the Willamette Valley of Oregon. I knew time was running out for this bike as phone conversations over the holidays went from "runs great" to "well, I ran it out of gas and then..." hmm.
"Don't touch the carbs, I'll get there this eve" was all I had.
And in the evening darkness, I pulled into his drive way backwards quite short of the original asking price.
Didn't look too hard. The Dog was really nice to me so I worked him down $550 and loaded up.
My hopes are to enjoy this quick fix (fingers crossed) and get some XS rides back into life !
Just for additional good times, I hope you all enjoy a few posts along the way. I'll probably need some help and perhaps even contribute to someone as well .
Spring is in sight ! :bike:
- Randy
 

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Wow, that looks nice, congrats. I can't believe they were going to make a field bike out of it, lol.
 
It wasn't hard to find how this XS died from its "runs great" state. Just looking in the tank was about all it took. The story of trying to blow out the petcocks needed no end.
Fortunately, This XS looks only minority neglected. I found one petcocks clogged with rust goo.. the other actually rather clean. Luck !
Spark plugs were about finger tight. Mis matched plug leads. Dead battery. All the usual. Let's me put some pics in here.
 

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Hauling this elusive 79 Standard home on a Friday evening impulse is turning out to be very good for both the XS650 and me as well. This XS was dangerously close to being dismembered and hot rodded in the open field , flat farmlands of the Willamette Valley of Oregon. I knew time was running out for this bike as phone conversations over the holidays went from "runs great" to "well, I ran it out of gas and then..." hmm. " Don't touch the carbs, I'll get there this eve" was all I had.
And in the evening darkness, I pulled into his drive way backwards quite short of the original asking price.
Didn't look too hard. The Dog was really nice to me so I worked him down $550 and loaded up.
My hopes are to enjoy this quick fix (fingers crossed) and get some XS rides back into life !
Just for additional good times, I hope you all enjoy a few posts along the way. I'll probably need some help and perhaps even contribute to someone as well .
Spring is in sight ! :bike:
- Randy

Hi Randy,
looks like you got a deal. I'm no longer capable of stooping down that far so if it were mine I'd flip the bars upside down.
Apart from that, check the tires' age, fit either a front fender or a fork brace, do all the "start up from hibernation" things and see how she'll run.
And BTW, spring in Saskatoon is just a coiled metal thing.
 
Man, it looks clean and unmolested. Those points and timing plate screws look untouched. I'd ditch those silly clubman bars, too low in my opinion, and slap on some Euro bars (my fav).
 
Apart from that, check the tires' age, fit either a front fender or a fork brace, do all the "start up from hibernation" things and see how she'll run.
Yup, fredintoon, the tires aren't quite as good as they look due to age. Fortunately , There is an extra set of wheels in my garage cuz that rear has ugly spokes. Straight though.
Hope you get a sunshine break soon !
 

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Thanks everybody. I see by responses from all over the globe that this was a lucky find it turns out.
I'll be making reasonable progress on weekends primarily. This bike will be much better off with time. Promise !
Wheels are coming off next. Exhaust system is good enough to deserve removal and clean up.swingarm bushings need to be evaluated. You all know what I'm up against.
Properly done, many hours.
It will stay stock mostly and be a rider !
-RT
 
There was some discussion in another thread that the 79F had the same Petcocks as the Specials but the brochures show they didn't......
Hey Skull good to hear from you also.
This morning before work I found the left petcock to be the one mostly contaminated.
Pushing carefully on the action from the vacuum diaphragm, it seems these are very near functional .
I'll clean them with solvent here at work and hope for more luck.
The chrome faces are appealing :thumbsup:
 

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Mornin' Bob, ya moving along at a turtles pace . Who knows , I might make exhaust smoke before you. Realize im lazy.
See a "Rescue" project should go a LOT faster than a "Full on restoration" project Lol..
Warning , while cleaning out Petcocks with compressed air , It is easy to get confused switching from RT. & LFT. sides in a hurry looking in the fuel passages.
One could get a face full of solvent spray !
Keep your safety glasses on ! :shootme:
 
I think the '78 vac petcocks were a one year only item, at least that's what Partzilla and MikesXS parts listings seem to indicate. I've had good luck with my '78 vac petcocks as well (knock on wood, lol). So far, they haven't let me down. I never replaced any rubber parts in them, just cleaned and lubed them. One did develop a leak from one of the plugged cross-drillings, but I was able to fix it with JB Weld.
 
I think the '78 vac petcocks were a one year only item, at least that's what Partzilla and MikesXS parts listings seem to indicate. I've had good luck with my '78 vac petcocks as well (knock on wood, lol
Makes sense. Over the years so many owners have cursed the dreaded XS vacuum petcocks. I've only experienced 2 sets of 78e models and those have been quite reliable.
These newer 79 versions are more pleasing to the eye but I'll bolt up my extra 78s for running soon.
 
A tip on rebuilding these, or any petcock for that matter - besides polishing the face on the back side of the lever, take a small sharp pocket knife and remove any burrs or sharp edges around the tops of the oval slots. Those can tear up the rubber disc when you rotate the handle. I use some silicone rubber lube on the face of the rubber disc, and on the back face of the lever, and the rebuilt unit usually comes out working like new again.
 
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