Wheel and brake help

Just bought this bike and here I am noticing all the little issues it has.
-first off the rear was swapped to a 16" Harley I believe with a 5.00-16 tire. The brake plate is cracked and broken. Looking at it closer the tire is about 3/4" set to the right side of the bike and has a 51 tooth sprocket so it's very low geared. What's my best option for doing it right? Are stock xs650 wheels offered in 16" and 18"?
-second, the front wheel is a Harley 21" with no front brakes. I have the brake plate assembly to put in this wheel, but the forks don't have any bolt holes to build a bracket to keep the brake plate from spinning. Is it safe to build a bracket off the 2 spindle cap bolts?

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By brake plate I guessing you are meaning the brake disk that is bolted to the wheel?

If the fork lowers do not have mounting holes for the caliper(s) that would indicate they are from a bike with drum brakes on the front. It would seem the first thing you need to do up front is to locate forks from a disk brake front end. If you do want to go with a disk brake.

As for the rear Yamaha XS650s did have 16 or 18 inch wheels on some models. I know the 16 and 18 wheels came with drum brakes for some models. Cast rear wheels in 16 were used with either drum or disk brakes depending on the model. Don't believe there were any stock cast rear 18 inch rims for any 650.

But judging from the picture of your bike I do not think you are worried about what was "stock" on any XS650. So might be better off deciding what type of brakes you want and what type of rim/wheels you want, cast or wires and go from there. Don't forget to have some idea on what your final drive ratio is going to be so you can be sure what ever rear rim you select can handle the rear sprocket of the right size.

Looks like the forks were "turned" to remove any mounting points(fenders,caliper) to make the lowers smooth. You could probably re-use the upper tubes in different lowers but first you should determine what exactly they came off of. Looks like an XS neck and triple but I can't say 100%. You can use your stock hubs and replace the spokes and rim to get a 16", just depends on how much time and effort you decide to put towards the project. looks like you've got a nice starting point.

Jaw I don't have any solution for you, but am posting so others can see the problem.
He has rear drum brakes with a broken hub shoe plate.

doesn't look like an XS650 plate to my blurry eyes. Yeah you got a project. Watch engine oil level, looks like the motor is tilted back quite a bit oil will need to high on the dip stick to prevent pick up starvation.
Yes simplest would be to replace a lower with one with the brackets still on it.
I got what you mean now on the two cap studs, no I think the leverage will be all wrong and they aren't long enough to add a plate under the nuts.

No matter what I do I want spokes. First ride with this bike 5 miles down the road the rear brakes locked up and hub blew apart which made me realize I needed to really look the bike over and not trust it because it was "a daily driver"

Currently has Harley 21" front and 16" rear both drum brake hubs. It is geared way to low. I don't know what to gear it at some hopefully you guys can help me there. I would like to be able to cruise at 70 and not have it vibrate my whole body. Is that realistic?

Jaw said:

cruise at 70 and not have it vibrate my whole body. Is that realistic?

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No.

Standard rear sprocket is 33 or 34
XS650 wheels were 19 front and 16 or 18 rear.
If you are SURE you would be OK with that minimalist tiny drum front brake then replace the left lower to get a mount for a torque arm. For a real front brake able to deal with normal traffic emergencies. get a complete XS wheel axle front brake. fork lowers. The stock 19 can be respoked to a 21 at "minimal" cost. if you need that look.
I'll play devils advocate. Most "projects" are bought when the PO has pursued his dream vision of a cool ride. UNTIL he realizes his skills and or "pay the expert" budget are not up to the million gotcha's involved in a custom bike. The project stalls when no solution to at least several complex problems comes to mind. the collection of slightly mismatched parts gradually creeps to the back of the shed or garage, collecting dust and losing parts as it fades into obscurity. It becomes a constant reminder of dreams vs reality and a wife or girl friend gets insistent about having it "go away". The CL ad or buddy network finds the next starry eyed dreamer. That'd be you. In this case that broken rear brake plate may have been the pants messing moment that convinced the PO he wasn't the world's best garage engineer.
It would prolly be cheapest, easiest to get a complete XS650 rear wheel with brake, then custom axle spacers and or a torch and bending the hardtail will center the tire by aligning and truing in both axis' the wheel sprocket to the engine sprocket. There is ample evidence that you can trust NOTHING the PO said or did.

He was actually driving it back and forth to work. He put it up for sale and at the same time started the disc brake conversion. I told him I did not want the mag wheels and was only interested in the bike if it had the spokes back on. Somewhere along the lines he failed to care to torque anything down. It actually came apart and seized the rear tire while I was riding it

I guess my main question I was trying to figure out is do I go with a stock xs650 hub front and rear or is there another hub available that would have discovered brakes and I could lace my 21 front and 16 rear on to?

Jaw, no matter what wheels and hubs you go with without the proper mounts nothing is going to work. You have a good idea about what you want just look at some pics of other bikes and note how things are mounted. you are going to need different lower front forks and may have to weld a new tab or two on the back of the frame. maybe the PO didn't use the right spacers on the back wheel or mixed them up. In any case if the wheels aren't running true I can see why it destroyed your rear brake. If the PO was riding it "daily" like that he's lucky.

I agree. I'm pretty sure the bolt in the torque bracket just backed out. Definitely not how I would have done things.

Something else in your pic.... I don't think I've ever seen an exhaust run underneath the carbs....