If you are on the fence with metric or just dont know any different this chart makes more sense to me. No one heard of NASA mistake forgetting to convert feet to meters.....Crash Down! Houston we had a problem...a big one!
I loved @Jim tape measure in a post. Just and only imperial with marked fractions..never seen one before ever!View attachment 146454

Hi Ozboy,
us Canadians got binumeral tapes, fractional inch above decimal metric so we can make two different wrong measurements at once.
Like the Gimli Glider. That aircraft ran out of fuel just east of Winnipeg and they glided all the way to an abandoned airstrip in Gimli MB.
The error was mis-reading the fuel tank drop tubes. The screwup was not recognising that the only safe way to fly when your aircraft's
fuel gauges ain't working is to say "screw the economics and top off the tanks"
 
Make sense? You thinking you'll get this from the USA gummerment? We were so close we could taste it in the 60's. But the no-nothings won with, we are the best make them use our system "logic".

G'day,

There are only three countries in the world which are not metric, USA, Burma (Myanmar), and some rinky dinky small country in Africa.
 
Can you assist with some instruction in replacing the stock steering head ball bearings with tapered bearings from Mike's? My first time and I need some re-assurances. I too have been blessed with a '72 XS2! Thanks
 
Can you assist with some instruction in replacing the stock steering head ball bearings with tapered bearings from Mike's? My first time and I need some re-assurances. I too have been blessed with a '72 XS2! Thanks

First of all Scanney, Welcome to the mad house! I hope you will enjoy working on your new XS2 as much as I do.
In fact I just got home from a little 75 mile ride this morning. I see you found my XS2 rebuild thread, it’s a long one, but skip through the chit chat and there is some good info in here.
Regarding your steering head bearings, I’ve written this up before, here are some links you can read with lots of how to photos, from my ‘77 build, but the bearings go in the same way. The hardware on top of the steering yolk is different is all. ( By the way, the search window at the upper right part of the screen is your best friend, pretty much anything you could ever hope to do is in this forum! ) Good luck and think about starting a build thread in the Garage for your bike, and let me be the first to say— We like photos! :geek:
Bob

post#647
http://www.xs650.com/threads/my-60th-birthday-present.47639/page-33#post-506277

Post #686
http://www.xs650.com/threads/my-60th-birthday-present.47639/page-35#post-507177

This link is an instructional from the All Balls bearing Co.
https://www.cyclepedia.com/manuals/...-intallation-guides/steering-bearing-upgrade/
 
I’ll have you all know we in the UK are Bidimensional. We have Metric hammers and Imperial hammers.
CharmingScentedKinkajou-small.gif
 
First of all Scanney, Welcome to the mad house! I hope you will enjoy working on your new XS2 as much as I do.
In fact I just got home from a little 75 mile ride this morning. I see you found my XS2 rebuild thread, it’s a long one, but skip through the chit chat and there is some good info in here.
Regarding your steering head bearings, I’ve written this up before, here are some links you can read with lots of how to photos, from my ‘77 build, but the bearings go in the same way. The hardware on top of the steering yolk is different is all. ( By the way, the search window at the upper right part of the screen is your best friend, pretty much anything you could ever hope to do is in this forum! ) Good luck and think about starting a build thread in the Garage for your bike, and let me be the first to say— We like photos! :geek:
Bob

post#647
http://www.xs650.com/threads/my-60th-birthday-present.47639/page-33#post-506277

Post #686
http://www.xs650.com/threads/my-60th-birthday-present.47639/page-35#post-507177

This link is an instructional from the All Balls bearing Co.
https://www.cyclepedia.com/manuals/...-intallation-guides/steering-bearing-upgrade/

Thanks Mailman, this is good stuff. This is my first attempt at removing and replacing steering bearings. I don't want to f this up on such a cool bike.
 
Does "Decimalization" ring a bell. I heard it in '78, when I got assigned to RAF Lakenheath .
 
First of all Scanney, Welcome to the mad house! I hope you will enjoy working on your new XS2 as much as I do.
In fact I just got home from a little 75 mile ride this morning. I see you found my XS2 rebuild thread, it’s a long one, but skip through the chit chat and there is some good info in here.
Regarding your steering head bearings, I’ve written this up before, here are some links you can read with lots of how to photos, from my ‘77 build, but the bearings go in the same way. The hardware on top of the steering yolk is different is all. ( By the way, the search window at the upper right part of the screen is your best friend, pretty much anything you could ever hope to do is in this forum! ) Good luck and think about starting a build thread in the Garage for your bike, and let me be the first to say— We like photos! :geek:
Bob

post#647
http://www.xs650.com/threads/my-60th-birthday-present.47639/page-33#post-506277

Post #686
http://www.xs650.com/threads/my-60th-birthday-present.47639/page-35#post-507177

This link is an instructional from the All Balls bearing Co.
https://www.cyclepedia.com/manuals/...-intallation-guides/steering-bearing-upgrade/

Nice Mailman, your "your roadmap" provides alot of help to us fellow explorers.
Question, why the cork in the bottom of the lower triple, grease cant come out the shaft, can it?
 
Nice Mailman, your "your roadmap" provides alot of help to us fellow explorers.
Question, why the cork in the bottom of the lower triple, grease cant come out the shaft, can it?

The cork your asking about , plugs the open bottom of the triple tree. Yes the shaft has an open notch in it for the steering lock to catch in. Grease could migrate through that notch and exit the bottom of the triple tree.

Here you can see the steering lock notch in the steering stem. ( I had to remove the vinyl tubing because of clearance issues. ). Also note: I could not use a grease zerk in my XS2 because it has a friction damper at the bottom of the steering head which would be useless if it got greasy. )
7FC460F3-D41E-4869-BBFB-5170CEC87569.jpeg
 
Thanks, the moment I pressed "enter, I realized with the grease zerk mod, the pressured grease would fall into the "drain" of the lock assembly receiving hole....duh!
On a side note, are u sure your order of parts regarding headlight bracket are correct?
Doesnt the large chrome cover go at the bottom of the parts progression, with the small chrome ring and rubber gasket go on top of the chrome cover, as shown in this parts diagram, parts 14, 15, and 16?
After seeing this diagram, its the order I chose, which may or may not be correct.
 

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Thanks, the moment I pressed "enter, I realized with the grease zerk mod, the pressured grease would fall into the "drain" of the lock assembly receiving hole....duh!
On a side note, are u sure your order of parts regarding headlight bracket are correct?
Doesnt the large chrome cover go at the bottom of the parts progression, with the small chrome ring and rubber gasket go on top of the chrome cover, as shown in this parts diagram, parts 14, 15, and 16?
After seeing this diagram, its the order I chose, which may or may not be correct.

Well , I’ll be. I did this job a year and a half ago. I had to go back and look at my old posts. Here is a photo of the assembly prior to tearing it down. I just kept things the way they were, but yours looks to be the correct order. Hmmm...
B948CF47-7781-47F1-9D68-89140431BC3C.jpeg
 
Part of my thinking was, if the outer chrome cover went over all other parts, there wouldn't be a reason for any chrome parts under the cover if they aren't seen?
Also, my rubber gasket had indented female bumps which can be seen on the inside of the chrome ring under side as male bumps, thus it appeared this was the order and the bumps transferred after years of being in place under load.
 
First of all Scanney, Welcome to the mad house! I hope you will enjoy working on your new XS2 as much as I do.
In fact I just got home from a little 75 mile ride this morning. I see you found my XS2 rebuild thread, it’s a long one, but skip through the chit chat and there is some good info in here.
Regarding your steering head bearings, I’ve written this up before, here are some links you can read with lots of how to photos, from my ‘77 build, but the bearings go in the same way. The hardware on top of the steering yolk is different is all. ( By the way, the search window at the upper right part of the screen is your best friend, pretty much anything you could ever hope to do is in this forum! ) Good luck and think about starting a build thread in the Garage for your bike, and let me be the first to say— We like photos! :geek:
Bob

post#647
http://www.xs650.com/threads/my-60th-birthday-present.47639/page-33#post-506277

Post #686
http://www.xs650.com/threads/my-60th-birthday-present.47639/page-35#post-507177

This link is an instructional from the All Balls bearing Co.
https://www.cyclepedia.com/manuals/...-intallation-guides/steering-bearing-upgrade/

Hello Bob,
I've successfully removed the original bearing cups - upper and lower and removed the lower steering bearing. I also installed the lower race. I'm having trouble with the upper race. The original upper bearing cup was not pressed in. It slipped right out. As I place the upper race in it also does not press in. I tapped with mallet and it appears to be all the way in, but not tight. See pics below. Also, see how much new race sets above the frame. It doesn't seem right. Please advise. Thanks, Sean
 

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