That’s funny. My good buddy had a shop back in the 90’s called Vishous Cycle. Spelled that way cause he was known as Vish.
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Finding my standard...
- Thread starter willis
- Start date
"Viscous Cycles" Portland Oregon has been a local source for tires, and even used parts as they are very involved in the local track racing and custom scene. One of the last remaining old small accessory and service shops.
Lots of great bikes in there to look at.
Surprisingly, Viscous Cycle IS open to the public.
Finally spent some free time and finished the wiring in the headlight bucket and on the rear of the bike. Fresh gas in the new tank and she fired right up. I have not fine tuned the carbs at all. This video is with the settings as the carbs came back from Rick at OldSkoolCarbs. Got a hanging idle when I crank the bars to the right, so I’ll need to address that still too. First time I’ve heard this pipe/muffler combo. I like it. A little on the loud side but I don’t mind at all. Took it for a short rip up the road and I’m pretty happy. Unfortunately the old Chen Shin tires are about shot, so I need to squirrel away some cash for new tires before I can safely put any miles on her.
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Sounds solid...love that ‘75 colour scheme.
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I sure do like your bike! At first glance it appears to be pretty much stock, then you start noticing all the subtle changes you’ve made. It’s a really clean bike visually, a lot of the clunkier factory elements have been changed, like your instruments and tail light and your handlebar wiring.
Very classy!
Thanks Bob. She still has a ways to go to be road worthy, but I can taste it now. Your observations were my main intentions. Classic styling with some subtle tasteful upgrades. I still haven’t given up on the Baseball bat mufflers. They are just a bit farther down on my project priority line. I’m not 100% sold on these small Halcyon bar end mirrors either. I may switch over to the classic Napoleon shaped ones instead. Time will tell. Now my next decision, classic K70 tires or a more modern tire. Been looking at the Avon Road Riders lately.
Conti Go's are not a bad choice. Running them on my XS2 and BMr. They work well. Have ridden in rain with them and no complaints. Got 6000 smiles on them on the XS2, front good for a lot more, back 2 or 3 more. I even put them on my X-75. Not ridden the X-75 yet, mainly put them on it to piss off Brit purist friends of mine.
650trader
XS650 Addict
Anything is better than the Hockey puck hard K70. Avons are good.
Back in the 70's I put Pirelli Phantoms on my XS1b and it transformed it -
Handled and stopped much, much better.
Back in the 70's I put Pirelli Phantoms on my XS1b and it transformed it -
Handled and stopped much, much better.
I’ve got Michelin Pilot Activs on my ‘76 - very steady and they seem durable.
Wow, your bike is looking fantastic! Really like the choices you've made, I'm just catching up on this build thread. Very nice work, it's beautiful.
It's sounding great too....I cracked up when the little dude hit the throttle and about jumped out of his skin
It's sounding great too....I cracked up when the little dude hit the throttle and about jumped out of his skin
Yep, that's my little helper. He kept asking if there was going to be fire shooting out of the exhaust. Apparently he has been playing too many video games.
Yep, that's my little helper. He kept asking if there was going to be fire shooting out of the exhaust. Apparently he has been playing too many video games.
He’ll never forget these moments - and soon he will be grown. It is amazing how fleeting childhood is.
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Ok, I’ve been a little slow on the updates here. The bike is running, although I have been chasing down a misfire on the right cylinder. The cylinder will pick up on acceleration but at idle it’s just running on the left cylinder. I’ve tried several things, but have made no progress. I need a little help.
Fist thing first, is the refresher backstory. The bike came to me with a Mikes Xs performance ignition, coil and plug wires. While I have ridden this bike a little over a year ago around my neighborhood, there were major issues and would bog down in second gear. Our family had a major move and the bike was packed and relocated before the issue was addressed. Over the winter the carbs were sent to Rick West at OldSkoolCarbs and fully rebuilt and vapor blasted with new diaphragms installed. Also I’ve since installed a new tank with very clean interior and professionally sealed with Caswell liner. It had never seen gas yet. New exhaust was also fitted this summer.
So now I have been chasing down this misfire for a week or two in my spare time. I started off changing plugs. No luck. Then I removed the NGK boot and trimmed back the plug wire to insure a good connection. No dice. Next, I decided to try replacing the ignition system since I had a brand new basic Pamco on my 78. I started with just the coil. Nope. Then the entire ignition plate. I did pull the advance rod out and gave it a light lube too. It was bone dry. Still having the same issue. The timing light shows steady spark on the left cylinder, but intermittent on the right. It will pick up better with acceleration but still not as consistent as the left. Only thing I haven’t tried is switching plug wires from side to side. I ran out of time tonight before I had to go pick up the kids. Am I missing something blatantly obvious here?
Fist thing first, is the refresher backstory. The bike came to me with a Mikes Xs performance ignition, coil and plug wires. While I have ridden this bike a little over a year ago around my neighborhood, there were major issues and would bog down in second gear. Our family had a major move and the bike was packed and relocated before the issue was addressed. Over the winter the carbs were sent to Rick West at OldSkoolCarbs and fully rebuilt and vapor blasted with new diaphragms installed. Also I’ve since installed a new tank with very clean interior and professionally sealed with Caswell liner. It had never seen gas yet. New exhaust was also fitted this summer.
So now I have been chasing down this misfire for a week or two in my spare time. I started off changing plugs. No luck. Then I removed the NGK boot and trimmed back the plug wire to insure a good connection. No dice. Next, I decided to try replacing the ignition system since I had a brand new basic Pamco on my 78. I started with just the coil. Nope. Then the entire ignition plate. I did pull the advance rod out and gave it a light lube too. It was bone dry. Still having the same issue. The timing light shows steady spark on the left cylinder, but intermittent on the right. It will pick up better with acceleration but still not as consistent as the left. Only thing I haven’t tried is switching plug wires from side to side. I ran out of time tonight before I had to go pick up the kids. Am I missing something blatantly obvious here?
How's the compression on that cylinder?
I don’t have a tester, but regardless I should still have consistent spark even if it has bad compression, right?
Actually, coils and plugs are designed to spark under high pressure. The plug testers I used in my aviation life were connected to shop air. With no pressure the plugs would show a weak, yellow iffy spark. As you applied pressure the spark would firm up to a nice fat blue flash. So yea.... pressure makes a difference.
I only recently bought one myself, they’re surprisingly affordable and really help you determine the condition of your motor.
Well allrighty then. Looks like I need to buy a new tool. What’s the consensus on the Harbor Freight units? Are the acceptable or is it worth it to buy nicer quality?
Don’t know anything about HF’s tester. I have this one, I bought mine from the neighborhood parts store , but Amazon has them for $26. 
Don't forget to try that too. I ain't sayin' it is low compression... only that it could be.
