What have you done to your XS today?

Centre stand is easy, if you remove the LH side muffler (or any other thing limiting the stand travel upwards) then the spring can be hooked in with hardly any tension. Then put the bike om the stand, and re-fit the muffler and/or other stand stopper. Having MikesXS type "commando mufflers", I had to use a steel strap,bent 90 degrees at the bottom, with a 10mm hole for a stock rubber stopper/snubber.
Anyway, now both stands have new springs, and rubber stoppers keeping them away from the pipes.
And I even did a 500 meter test ride once that was done :) All seems to work fine, apart from running a little lean. Maybe caused by a 5 degree air temperature, despite sunshine and clear skies.
Finishing the wiring is next! Tomorrow morning!

Hi arcticXS,
pulling the muffler ain't possible on the late model XS650s that have an all-welded exhaust system.
Which is why I'd no idea that the centre stand spring could be installed like that.
I'm forced to do it the hard way.
 
Quite a busy day today. Adjusted chain and rear brake, fixed poor connections at kill switch, hooked up taillight, brake light and headlight. Looks like that stupid self canceller somehow prevents the indicators from working. And the equally stupid safety relay lets the starter crank the engine even with ignition off. WTF? I can see a total rewire happening pretty soon....And it will be with tinned marine wire, and maybe a MotoGadget control unit. Also adjusted the charging voltage down to around 14 V, since I am using a LiPoFe type battery. So with working head, tail, and brake light, I went for another test ride, 10 km. All worked great, the new front brake is great, so are the new shocks. And the new, low handlebar. Pretty much a transformed bike! And there is more to come :)
 
Got it running like a champ! Electronic ignition, PMA stator and VM carbs brought it back to life. Once I installed the new ignition, the bike ran well with the stock carbs, but I'd fallen in love with round-top carbs after owning a CB750, so I sprung for a set. Very snappy. Bike still needs a few things (chain and sprockets, better tires), and I'm sure the list will grow, but that's half the fun.
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Got it running like a champ! Electronic ignition, PMA stator and VM carbs brought it back to life. Once I installed the new ignition, the bike ran well with the stock carbs, but I'd fallen in love with round-top carbs after owning a CB750, so I sprung for a set. Very snappy. Bike still needs a few things (chain and sprockets, better tires), and I'm sure the list will grow, but that's half the fun.
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Your bike looks great, I gotta tel you, I’m eyeing your seat and thinking “That sure does look comfortable! “
 
I put a few more miles on the SG. Carl's jr for breakfast. A ride to HF for a few things, then off to where my wife works across town, to take her to lunch and then back across town to home after lunch. She never fails to bring a smile when I ride her.
 
Official bike season opener today, a 20-30 km parade through parts of town and suburbs, then all bikes were allowed to park in the pedestrian only section of Main street, several bbq stalls on the square. One even had minke whale steaks, which is actually very tasty.
It was pretty cold in the morning, just a couple of degrees above freezing, but the sun came out around noon, and things improved a lot. I guess I rode about 110 km altogether today, half of the distance with my GF on the back. Ohlins shocks are definitely worth their price, if you carry a passenger.
Here is a newspaper pic of a guy I know, and his XS1100: https://www.google.com/search?q=mot...ndroid-samsung&prmd=inmv#imgrc=8qnfM2sGgerGdM
 
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Man! That view off of your deck is so beautiful! :geek:
Was a rental cabin in the Smokey Mountains, fantastic view though. Didn't get as much done as I could of, it was raining off and on the whole weekend and I kept getting caught up just watching the fog dance around on the mountain.
 
Well today was a big day for Tim. After 9 months of fiddling around with the hardtail frame and gathering parts , it is painted and most of my wiring plan is all set up. But today I fired up the engine, on it's stand, with a lawnmower gas tank , bungeed to a stepladder, the coil taped to the top of the engine, two straight pipes, when it came to life it kind of scared me, I was not prepared for that wonderful sound. Now I can put the unused fire extinguisher away thankfully. Also need to say thanks to the past and present Vets for all they have done for us . This has been a great day.....
tim
 
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Went for a ride today, looped around one of the peninsulas here. 260 km or 160 miles, two up. The old XS still works great as a relaxed tourer on backroads. It complements my Ducati ST2 perfectly, as the Ducati is real comfy from 120 kph/80 mph to 160 kph/100 mph, even with passenger and luggage.
 
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