What have you done to your XS today?

So do I... :rolleyes:

if you need an alternator rotor or a paint job - speak to Jim!

HE did that gorgeous paint on Mailman’s Big Red as well as on my two bikes.

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I took Big Red out for a ride today, carburetors need adjustment.
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Since installing my Boyer ignition, Ive been trying to get my carburetors dialed in. The last time I took it out , the carbs were set at factory spec and it fired right off and idled well when it was cold, but when the motor got hot the idle sped way up. So I reached down and backed off the two idle stop screws and it seemed to run fine, but I was freeway blasting that day, so not much low rpm running.

Today however, when I went to start it cold, it took more cranking than normal and idled roughly and missed and popped at idle. Today’s ride was all stop and go with low rpms and a lot of riding with the throttle just barely open.
Once it warmed up the idle seemed fine, but I’m getting lots of popping on decel and when I’m cruising at low speeds with the throttle just barely open, same thing, lots of popping and farting. As soon as I twist that grip it opens up and runs well again.

Here’s my hunch.
I think my pilot / idle circuit is running too lean. I think that was why my idle speed went up on me the first time I had it out. And then when I set the idle speed down , now the lean fueling is causing it to pop and miss at small throttle openings and on decel. When I got home, I set the idle screws back to factory settings and opened up my air screws a half turn. I’ll take it out again soon and see where that puts things.
Wow great looking bike! Congrats!
 
Modern engine monitoring systems are SO useful!
Having just noticed this, I will have to clean it up and then ride a few miles to see if my jetting changes have improved the situation. I am bouncing against hard freezes soon and putting the bike away for the winter. Today would have been a nice day for a county excursion except I needed to get a snowblower to daughter's house and clean her raingutters which I hadn't done since 2017. I refurbished the home then and she is such a slob I don't like going there anymore. She brings the most precious grand daughter for us to watch 5 days a week but it hurts to go and see her house.
 
Hello MaxPete,
Does that tail fit without any modification to the frame? If so, can you relay what vendor you purchased it from? Thanks!

Hi Bracan: I bought it from a vendor at the Barber Museum Swap Meet in the fall of 2019 (can't recall for how much - but likely around $80-100) and it will require some work to get it to fit the frame. I plan to mount it on a heavy piece of wood which will either be hinged onto the frame or use some sort of latches.

Pete
 
Old pushrod busing out and the new one in. I also chamfered the area where the new seal goes in. Of course, I waited until now to measure my clutch discs and yes, they are out of spec. Time for new clutch plates.
Question. I have Mike's one-piece pushrod. Which end goes towards the clutch and which end goes towards the actuator? Also, is it normal to have a little friction thru the newly installed bushing? The old pushrod slides nicely thru the new bushing.
 
Still tinkering with the carbs on my XS2, I richened them up a tad and got rid of that annoying popping on deceleration.

But my bigger job is on my ‘77. I went out to the garage a couple days ago to do a minor maintenance job on it.
I needed to install a new turn signal flasher, and I wanted to get rid of the bargain basement fuel filters that I have been running and put new fuel lines on it. Because I had the brilliant idea to use safety wire to secure my fuel lines, I had to remove the carburetors to change all that stuff.
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That’s when it started……
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I went to drain the fuel bowls and to my surprise……nothing to drain. It had all evaporated off. Well, it’s been a pretty long time since I’ve had it out. I didn’t ride all summer, then I’ve been pretty busy trying to get my XS2 road worthy again. At this point I realized they really need to be cleaned, so I broke them down and pulled all the jets. Got everything cleaned up and back together and broke out some new fuel line to install,
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And got busy re installing them and the air boxes.
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Then I went after changing out the turn signal flasher, look at the size difference, and a big weight difference too.
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I installed a model 552 flasher unit, which is a two prong unit, replacing the old three prong. It has to plug in to the socket in a specific orientation. The X terminal pugs into the Brown wire and the L terminal plugs into the Brown/White wire. It can be plugged in differently so you have to be careful to get that right. ( Info courtesy of XS Leo and 5 Twins ) It works perfectly.
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And then I adjusted my timing chain…….and that’s where I stopped. After I get it started up, I’ll go through the adjustments and balancing and it’ll be ready for winter riding!
Man, there’s always work to be done on these old bikes. Which is exactly why I own them. They give me an excuse to hang in the garage! :thumbsup:
 
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