Kick it over and set it on fire

Agreed. The more I thought about it, I ever went through the bike and really inspected it. Once I started pulling parts off and I found so many problems. General construction problems of poor quality. Cold welds and general silliness. Not to mention I've run into standard bolts for no reason.

I can only imagine what I'll find in that engine. Damage from my buddy's joy ride and poor workmanship. Thanks for the advice. I'll will be following it and will add updates.

I cant tell you this... If you have found ANY bad welds already, there are most likely more. Get that frame welded up correctly asap. Remember, its the only thing keeping your ass off of the blacktop.

Also, the standard bolt thing is sheer laziness on the previous owner/builders part. For ease of maintinence replace everything with Metric and use the smae size hardware everywhere you can.

My last bobber could be taken down to the frame with the tools you could fit in a small roll. When dealing with a custom bike, sometimes things fall off. Sometimes things get loose. Make your life as easy as possible.

The XS motor is a pretty damn solid lump. You may have general wear and tear, or even some damage, but everything is fixable. Keep at it and you'll have a kick ass bike like you want before you know it.

Okay. Back in town and got a few minutes of work in. Pulled the whole damn bike apart. Got the engine off and in a stand. Checked the clearance from adjuster to the value and it was within specs. Cranked it through a few times to makes sure the values were at least in motion.

All I can think to do now is pull the head cover and head off, remove the values and make sure they are all still in specs. I'll keep my fingers crossed the seats will be good.

Sound about right?

Sounds generous to me, and definitely a thorough way to proceed.

your buddy needs a blue ring around his eye...it will make the repairs go smoother.