xs650 build off 2014!!

Yeah. Knobby will be staying. I know a few guys who run them and have no problems. I've already had a hardtailed xs and my triumph is hardtailed so decided to stay soft. The seat I got off of cc. Got a good deal on it and fits the frame rails almost perfectly. Rear fender is Harley, got it from online swap page. I'll be lowering the forks a few inches tomorrow, what better way to spend Christmas than working on bikes?

Picked up a frame with extra parts from a member . I now have enough parts to do another stock TX650 build . It's hard to believe, but true . This build will be for the open road . The engine has low miles , but was sitting and needed a top end fix . It had a bent exhaust valve . The previous owner let it sit and probably bent it trying to get it going after sitting for 20 years . The engines ready to go now.
I stripped all rusty hardware including spokes and sent it all to get replated. Dropping off frame to get sand blasted this weekend . Then I'll powder coat it and start the reassembly . Happy New Year everyone .
Regards,
CPKID

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Great start there Cpkid. Are you planning a complete restore? Plans on upgrading electrics, PAMCO, PMA, etc.?

Hi gonhtn1,
I think a complete restore is in order. My main goal is to make a roadworthy bike. I've never upgraded the ignition systems on any of my bikes , but once I get it running I believe I will. It will be a good test traveling to northern Ohio . It will be a good adventure .
Regards,
CPKID

Hey Guys, Here's my December update LOl
I have no pic's to show, I already have alot more expense toward this build than I planned.
I was cutting and grinding of unwanted tabs n such and caught what I thought was just some grinder grit in my eye, and yes the bitch of it was that i had on my trusty safety glasses, well i rinsed my eye repeatedly and thought i got it out, well the next day it was irritated and the eyelid was just a little swollen which i thought was from rubbing n rinsing the night before and so on. But by the afternoon it seemed to get better, but as the day went on..... well you guessed it by late that night it was bugging me again long story short by next morning i went to the ER and there was metal in my eye and it was infected. i found out the hard way that my insurance had lapsed too and i got a hefty ER bill LOL so my bike is costing me way more for my eye than what i planned for the entire build. But hey shit happens, and you need your eyes!!!
I spent the rest of the month aquiring more parts and making key decisions as to the paint scheme, which made a difference in my grips I ordered, man i went over and over it in my head for over week before i decided on my specific Color Grips.

The Paint will be Candy Red over Silver Metal Flake with silver flake stripes down both sides of the ribs on my cole foster tank and 36 Ford tire ring fenders.
and also decided on the pattern for the leather tooling of the seat for my "Retro Rocket" I'm making.
Pic's to come next month once I get the seat the way I want, I'm still waiting on my Kangaroo lace to finish it. so many pic's to come in January.

Man Crazy Shit too I just picked up my 9th XS650 with a Clear Wisconsin Title (I must be insane, but couldn't pass up the deal i found on Craigslist in Appleton) and it's in the best condition of all of my bikes. An 81 Special II for $375 i'll add some pic's to this maybe tomorrow.
I truely am Obsessed

RockingThePartyDJ said:

Hey Guys, Here's my December update LOl
I have no pic's to show, I already have alot more expense toward this build than I planned.
I was cutting and grinding of unwanted tabs n such and caught what I thought was just some grinder grit in my eye, and yes the bitch of it was that i had on my trusty safety glasses, well i rinsed my eye repeatedly and thought i got it out, well the next day it was irritated and the eyelid was just a little swollen which i thought was from rubbing n rinsing the night before and so on. But by the afternoon it seemed to get better, but as the day went on..... well you guessed it by late that night it was bugging me again long story short by next morning i went to the ER and there was metal in my eye and it was infected. i found out the hard way that my insurance had lapsed too and i got a hefty ER bill LOL so my bike is costing me way more for my eye than what i planned for the entire build. But hey shit happens, and you need your eyes!!!

Click to expand...

Hey man, sucks about your eye... Best trick I know is to keep a magnet handy. It will pull those metal shavings right out. Back in shop class they always said to double up with safety glasses and a face shield when grinding... But lets face it, how often do any of us do that?. Good luck with the rest of your build!

good to hear that they got it out,the last time I had rust in my eye's( have had metal
and rust in my eyes a lot as auto tech and a fabricator over the last 35+ years) they could not get it out and had to got an special eye dr. took him over a hour to grind it all out yes grind,tool looks like a small die grinder and I had on safty glasses too anyway glad to hear your ok.keep on cutt'n

My update for Dec is the same as Last month, I looked at the bike and thats about it. Been cold and working lots of hours. Will get to work on it soon though.

DJ man, I can totally relate! It sucks so, bad getting any thing in your eye let alone a steel shaving. I was cleaning off some heavily caked loc-tite threads with my bench grinder/wire wheel and a huge clump of loc-tite flew, bounced off my apron, under my safety glasses and into my eye. They had to take one of those wooden stick qtip thingies in and behind my eye to scrape it out. That experience was actually easier to deal with than the steel shavings I got in my eye back in 99'. I ALWAYS wear safety glasses. Still, there are things that bounce their way around that protection. It still sucks. You only get one set of eyes!
Look at the bright side! no pun intended. They got it out, yeah, it cost some money but, you can still see! How bad would that suck?!! Looks like it didn't slow you down too much. 9th XS?!!! Holy crap, my wife is freaking over 5!

For the month I worked on the beginning stages of getting organized and putting a rough plan together. Since my storage unit is unheated and has no electricity I decided to bring the frame home to work on it inside my zone in the house, (an area I'm consigned to by She Who I Must Keep Peace With, I don't have a garage or basement).

Since I also don't have four wheeled motorized transportation, bringing the frame home was a bit of a challenge, but not as bad as I thought it would be. Put it on a sled and walked the couple miles home. Close to the house I walked past a fellow shoveling his driveway. He said, "There must be a story behind that." "No", I replied,"just a motorcycle frame on a sled, I'm sure you've seen that before. But I do have some groceries with it too."

Outside the storage unit



About 2/3's of the way home, the old ore dock in the background



In front of the house, blurry because it was getting dark out, didn't have the proper setting on camera

basic

This is gong to be a bitsa build, using parts that have accumalated over the years. I have an XS850 gas tank I bought 4 or 5 years ago, I want to use it because it has about a gallon more capacity.

Frame sitting on old computer desk, now a work table, with XS850 tank



The plan: Get the tank fitted first so it does'nt interfere with anything else, build a seat, work on the rear wheel setup and fender, get front end adapted. Want to get this basic work done by the middle to end of March in order to have a rolling chasis to work on in my back yard.

I must admit I can't help but laugh looking at your photos and reading your story. Man, dragging a frame on a sled a couple miles home by foot, has got to show dedication! You don't give up on things easily do you? I'll tell ya it puts a smile on my face seeing your persistence at getting it done. Hopefully, you won't get any parts outside your assigned work space and get evicted! LOL Ever thought of getting a cheap shed? Just tell her, that you wouldn't have to worry about the smell of the oil and gas and grease and worry about anything getting stained or jacked up if you could just have a shed! Just a thought hmusket. It would however be colder for you though. On the other hand don't say anything. Except, yes dear!

I thought about building a work shed, can build one under 200 sq feet without needing a permit, but would have to cut down trees in our back yard to make useable space. I like our trees. Besides, in the summer time I use the storage unit as a workspace, and I can store the other 4 bikes, without having to answer questions like: When did you get those, why do you need so many, don't you think you can sell a couple of them, yada, yada, yada. In this case, to paraphrase a saying, her ignorance is my bliss. LOL

To change the subject, I was looking at the photo albums and saw yours. Had a picture of an engine that you said was an '80s. Noticed the points and the stator without the TCI pick up, either the engine was changed, or it pre-80. Check out the serial number on the front.

I will do that. I haven't even looked into exactly what the year is I was under the impression it was an 80's unit. But, of course I could be way off base.
About the shed; I see where you are coming from. If I were in the same spot I would do that too.
I built one on railroad ties as a foundation so, the taxes didn't get increased because of the shed being on a cement pad. Cement means permanent foundation, railroad ties aren't. That motor is bugging me now. Crap I better go check the numbers.

OK, jest checked and it's a XS-SE 77-78. You were on it man, good job. And thanks, for the info. My rider, is a XS-1F 70-71. Well, now that, is all straight.
Waiting for an appointment today, sitting and reading the new addition of The Horse Mag. I started thinking about tearing the 71 motor apart and rebuilding it. I know the trans needs work and the PO used silicone caulk for gaskets. It's leaking like an old Harley, plus I have to redo the foot controls. I need to get my bike lift over here at the house. Pull it out of storage and just go to town on the bike. I will probably end up reworking a bunch of stuff on it too. Like changing out the electrics box for something more cool instead of the lowbrow tank I'm using now. Make it more unique.
Probably rip it all apart and start over! The wife is gonna love that! I can hear it now, "Your supposed to be selling it not rebuilding it!" Maybe if I get rid of a couple other ones it would go over better. Maybe!

Been working on the house all month. The only addition to Tango over the past 30 days is sawdust.

Hope January is brings more bike building.

Still in there. Sitting in the garage. Work is keeping me busy. Not to mention the wife and three kids.

Here's my December for Cash. Bike frame going to powder coater

Looks to meet like it already got powder coated.

JAN UPDATE got the crank split for the 277 rephase and waiting on parts ( AND TO WARM UP A LITTLE IT'S ABOUT 18deg TO DAY
HARD TO KEEP THE SHOP WARM BELOW 25deg.)

Early January update:
Got pamco and pma. Got xs front hub to lace the 21 to. Have every possible piece I can think of right now ordered or already here. Plan is to have a runner by end of February and tweak over a few months before the shindig. I'm wanting to ride it all the way there, that's why I'm rushing trying to get it done, just so I can have an entire summer as break in time. Have the rear fender mounts 80% done. Next up is seat mount and cleaning up frame and then tank mount. This build is definitely going to be a personal bike and I'm letting my nerd side show a lot in some areas. You'll see them when I update later in the month with pictures.