What have you done to your XS today?

Springs feel good, they bottom out super easy. Like a blown shock on a car bouncy.
You can see how far it food when I hit the front break by where the broken boot part is at in this pic.
That doesn't seem good. I hated my front end until I installed some cut down Harley springs. Huge improvement.
 
Surely your forks need an oil change.
Great place to start especially because of the bouncing you described. You do not know if there is enough oil volume in those forks and you can suspect that it is low by the bouncing described.

So, first loosen the top triple clamps pinch bolts before loosening the fork top caps. The triple clamp pinch bolts do actually squeeze the top of the fork tube which the caps are threaded into.
Drain screws are soft so use a very good fitting Phillips! Carefully.
Drain over night. You can flush them with fresher oil if you like., search a fork thread too ?
 
I looked at the fork thread just now on my phone. My work has the pictures blocked :doh:
That thread should be all I need. I'll probably go with straight 30w motor oil . I'd like them a little on the stiff side.

Probably change out the oil this weekend and see how that goes for now. Once I replace my old cracked tires and ride it around I'll be able to see and feel if I need to do all the seals n stuff.

I will replace the top guy, he's toast. The forks show no signs of leaking.
 

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Oil weight has nothing to do with stiffness. Stiffness is determined by the stiffness of the springs. Oil weight determines the dampening ability.

Yes the dampening is what I meant. Lol
The springs feel pretty good. Replacing the oil is going to be my starting point. Until I get tires and can really feel the ride
 
Yes the dampening is what I meant. Lol
The springs feel pretty good. Replacing the oil is going to be my starting point. Until I get tires and can really feel the ride
Gotcha. SAE30 is prolly too much dampening. I'd suggest starting with 10w. If it's still "bouncy," try 20w for more dampening. I wound up with a mix of 10 and 20W for my XS.
 
Rolled the enginless rolling frame onto the driveway and into the warm sun and sprayed it down with engine degreaser. Let it soak in a while before hosing it off. It's cleaner but, it's going to get another session tomorrow. Might as well do it now while it's out. Life is getting in the way of the swap out.
 
Heard before of the Harley fork spring swap. However I’ve missed that they needed cut down ?
The ones I bought were 35mm Harley springs. They were longer than I needed and I also have a 1" HHB drop spacer. I ended up cutting off about 6".
The front end sits up much better now and I am using about 2 1/2" to 3" of travel during somewhat spirited riding with no additional preload needed. It's a night and day difference between these springs and the stock sagged out springs.
 
Before draining the fork oil, fashion some sort of a vertical shield to stop it from squirting across the shop.
If you take the weight off the front end, there's no pressure and it will just trickle out. Speaking of taking some weight off, I got my '71 started on Monday for the first time this year after extensive R&Ring lots of parts like new brakes, shocks, tires. swing arm bushings, chain, tune up parts seat foam, pet cock gaskets and cam seals, rebuilding the exhaust, just to name a few. It hasn't been used since the early 90's. So, now, I have to drive it to the shop, for more work that I'm not going to tackle, myself. I went to motor vehicles to get QQ plates. That particular place said they don't do QQ plates, and gave me a list of MV agencies in the great state of New Jersey that does, with required proof. So, I go home take some pictures, trace the serial number ( because the title predates their computer system and spits it out, saying this bike has no serial number which is plain as day on the original title.) Then I head out to the closest on the list, 60 miles away, just west of Asbury Park in Eatontown. The first agency in Oakland was 20 miles away. Eatontown tells me they only do QQ plates for autos, although the info flyer I received from Oakland said QQ plates for "motor vehicles". The only way to get an application is by mail from Trenton for bikes. Then I said I to myself, "I have to get this bike to the shop before the snow flies and I could drive the hundred miles to Trenton before anyone picks up the phone." I said I'll register the normal way and use my original plate. (The advantage of QQ plates is you only have to register one time, cutting out the annual fees and insurance is cheaper.) The nice lady from motor vehicles says, "OK, but you have to pay a penalty of four years registration fees to reregister, $260.00 and it's only good until March, 2020.", due to the fact that I never turned in my licence plate, even though no one ever notified me to do so, (like they do now). Annual registration is $55.00, now. Last time I registered the bike, it was $12.50. And, yesterday I paid $230.00 for one year of classic insurance from Haggerty, which will rise after I call them tomorrow to tell them I have a standard registration...
That's not all. Clutch parts are unavailable, but Mike's sells a clutch kit which says the fitment for parts is not for this bike, but the plates are the correct height with the correct tangs, (cogs), but the fiber plates are too thick, requiring removal of "O"ring spacers from old set up and using one extra plate. The metal plates are correct in the kit, so is the right side engine gasket in the kit and oil filter gasket and clutch hub nut spring washer which is out of stock if you want to purchase separately, but the clutch springs included are not the right ones, but are available, separately. Even if the parts were available, to buy them separately will cost you three to four times the price of a kit which gives you parts you cant use. If, after hearing this, you decide to get an electric Harley, LIve Wire, you can forget about that, too as it was announced, yesterday, production was halted due technical difficulties related to, I believe, a design flaw...
 

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I'm running the Barnett discs with stock steel plates with no problems.

Everyone says Barnett is overkill unless you are racing but I e-mailed every clutch manufacturer that I could find to ask if their clutches would work with synthetic oils and the only one who even replied to my e-mail was Barnett with a resounding "Yes". Now maybe the others will but Barnett guarantees they will.
 
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Say It Ain't So!
Yup, the licenced XS's went into storage today. Better now than working in the cold November rain. Plus, I promised my patient wife 2 winters ago that she could park inside one bay of the double garage during the cold months.....
Still room in the 10 x 10 for the FJ 09, but that won't go in for a while yet.
 
The Harley Davidson Livewire production halted? I’m shocked....shocked I tell you! :sneaky: What were they asking for that bike, wasn’t it something like $30,000 ? To me the first red flag was when they introduced the prototype. They let all of the magazines ride them but wouldn’t give any info out about battery life and range.
Then when the production version came out, it looked way bulkier and not very attractive and had a price that only Jay Leno consider affordable.
Shocked I tell you! :laugh2:
 
I had bought 2 cans of Dollar store Engine Degreaser and with a parts cleaner brush, I attacked the frame to clean it. It's clean enough for me now. Lots of hose spray between dousing of degreaser and brushings. It's not spotless by any means but WWAAAAAAYYYYYY cleaner than before. The engine will get the same treatment before re-installation. Hmmmm...better get another can or 2 next time I'm near the dollar store.....I was surprised how well it worked.
 
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