northwest forum

wrmdovr

If it were easy.....everyone would do it!
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Hey All.....many thanks to Travis for setting this up. This is a great way to communicate with people who are close to one another in the pacific northwest or who are travelling to other regions. My intention of requesting this was to get to know my fellow xs650 enthusiasts and share how to keep these bikes on the road and hopefully pass the torch onto others. Again...thank you Travis. WRMDOVR
 
Great Idea Guys.... I too would like to know of other xs650 owners in my neck of the woods
I am located in Weed, CA.... Never heard of it ? not too supprising ! its a tiny town with only 2 signal lights just 6miles north west of big Mt'Shasta on the cut-off of I5 that goes to Kalamath falls OR.
if your ever traveling through let me know and I'll buy ya a cup of coffee !
Bob........
 
Where to Ride ?

When I was much younger I set up a motorcycle shop in our Garadge in Port tounsand , Washington.... on the olimpic peninculia...
I did quite a bit of Riding up there Off road at the time and man that is the most buitiful country in the world there If you ever get the chance to go to
Port Tounsand Wa. do it the views are fantastic and off road is even better as the follage is spactular !
we had sizuki 250 trials bikes at the time and exploring the old military Gun emplacements was a Kick !.
....
another Road that is a must see is the one that cuts off of I-5 south and goes east to McArther and Burney , the road loops back around and ends up back in Redding. there are 2 roads that go back to redding one through ingot canyon, and the other one through shingletown, this is the faster road but keep your speed down as deer are very plentiful , Ingot canyon is a very twisty road but for the most part a 50~60mph road....
its about a 75 mile deture of going to Redding in the first place from the north but if you want to see tall pines and the Woods that's the road to take
..... in the summer only you can take the road through Lassen park the views are really good be sure to have your Cold riding gear with you
as there is usually snow on the ground by the road .
unfortionately I do not recomend a ride to the northern california coast from here the roads are Bad and the trip a long one accidents are common
but from roseburg or. to the coast and then south has gott'a be one of the best parts of the coastal highway.... you can take it all the way to
San Fransisco if you want, But take your rain gear that fog is COLD.
.....
in my day they didn't have waterproof jumpsuits that's what I'ed recomend now for a wet ride.... I had well oiled leathers but that is poor at keeping you dry , a full face helmit is a must for cold weather riding and a scarf...gauntlet gloves or gauntlet mittons are the way to go
battery operated gloved of my time were poor at best.
when riding in Northern California, I usually take my bad weather gear with me even on a sunny day as you could be ridiing back in the rain !
.....if you like Lakes....Lake Shasta is one of the biggest it has 365miles of shore line when full and many places to get to the water from.
Redding is the hottest place in California...besides Death valley ca. it gets Really Hot in Redding 110deg in the summer is common riding without eye protection in that kind of heat will cause temp blindness (been there done that!) multi-grade oil is like water at those temps ...
....
hope that has inspired you to see my country side it's quite unique !
Bob...........
 
The 101/104 loop is also quite impressive. Lots of fun twists, and straights to rest on. Start in shelton, ends in gig harbor.
Crotch rockets love this route, just let them pass. You wouldnt like being stuck behind a geo metro would you?
 
2 members in Oregon I know of ? 1 is myself.. Met up w the Tom and heard a beautiful 75 "resto mod" ! Hoping to find other XS's out here this riding season. Which may start Saturday ! weatherman says. Oregon has had record setting precip of all kinds for what feels like eternity even to a native.. So anybody else here interested in Oregon riding ? I'll be here in Sandy , making all the XS noises there are here it seems ! -RT
 
LOL Why not !?! wood is a great strong easy to cut medium....
if you use good strong Joints and don't just toe nail 2x4's and expect them to hold up to the 100lb motor I see no reason a wooden engine holder would not work....
the use of 3/4" plywood would be handy for attaching to the motor mounts but longer bolts than the ones to hold it in the frame would be needed..... but they can be had at the hardware store fairly cheap.....
if your familiar with woodworking and have access to allot of wood working equipment then your in like flynn make yourself an engine stand and a raised bench for the bike too ! ( don't forget the ramp !)
I think box joint fingers would be more than strong enough, no need to go to all the trouble of doing dove tail joints
you might even find that all you need is just wooden dowels glued in there .....
as for a design ...well you'ed have to come up with that from scratch after the engine is out !
but if your just thinking a simple box out of 2x4's I am not sure how good that would work given the weight of the engine.... the engine is a heavy beast... and really all you need is something to keep the engine from rolling around when your working on it.... so with that in mind just about anything would do......
a piece of plywood with some angle iron pieces attached to the motor mounts should do the trick..... just make it big enough to over lap
front and rear by 6" or so because putting the head and cylinders on is hard to do and some josseling is needed ....so you want it steady.
I simply did my engine on the bench propped a hammer under the case to keep it from rolling and had at it .... it worked!
but it was not optimum ! LOL
......
I have not seen any engine holders made from wood but there should be some out there !
......
Bob.......
 
You might not need an elaborate stand. For decades all I've ever used is a simple wood frame made out of 2X4s. It looks like a picture frame You have to size it to the engine your working on. I have a medium size one for two strokes and a larger one for my XS. Pull the motor, set it in your "box frame" get busy wrenching. Try it you might like it, simple and easy, no bolts to buy or holes to drill. It is a good idea to set the box frame in an old shallow pan to catch the oil that will eventually spill forth from all the nooks and crannies, cookie sheets that have a slight edging on them work great. Steal it from the kitchen, just don't get caught!!! Hope this helps you. Good luck on the motor rebuild. By now you're done with it, right?
 
Anybody else in the Tacoma area with an XS? Let's go riding, my bike is in the WHIP stage (Work In Progress) Got it up and running just in time for summer. Come winter it is getting BLOWN apart, frame painted etc. All the non-maintenance and poor craftsmanship of the PO has been rectified (I hope) for now.
 
Ratranger, I know just what you mean. I finally got to take my bike out for a short 10-mile test run. Came home got off the bike and discovered a base gasket leak. The next day I did a re-torque on the head/cylinder nuts.Today, Happy Fourth of July by the way, I hope to take it out for another short test ride. Maybe we can get together and go for longer test rides till we know the bikes are shipshape. There is safety in numbers, plus if one of use breaks down we can come back for my pickup truck and a ramp. What configuration is your bike, stock, chopper, rat, scramble, tracker, brat or like my bike a DT650 clone dirt bike? I'm located on Waller Road just a block south of the west end of Pioneer. My avatar picture was taken just after that test ride last weekend. Keep the rubber side down.
 
Tracker style. Mono shock, big piston forks, EFI, pretty much nothing stock.

I'm down off 176th and canyon. I've been sticking close enough to home for pushing distance right now.
 

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Great job on the bike. It is obvious you've put a lot of time into it. Have you weighed it? I bet it is way less than stock. Being towards the bottom of Waller Road I always go up the hill to test ride, coasting down is so much easier than pushing ... these aren't light bikes, are they? I was just going out to the shop when your post came through I had to stop and congratulate you on a job well done. We will differently have to get together and go for a ride. If we can find one more local XS rider we can start an NW XS Badass Biker Club with matching black leather jackets, chinos and engineer boots to terrorize the south sound area LOL. Yes, I do possess a wacky sense of humor. Now to get out in the shop re-attach my seat and go up the hill to test her out again, fingers crossed she won't leak, after all, it ain't no Harley.
 
Thanks! Your bike looks pretty cool too. Not everyone does something outside the norm.

No clue on weight, I don't have a scale.

Unfortunately I don't have a hill to go up, I have a few I can go down, but it's gotta run well enough to get back up them. I'm getting the low end pretty well, but the top end is still stuttering. I'm making a new fuel sending unit because I know mine could be better.
 
Hey, If you want, sometime after next week, I could follow you with my pickup truck as you test it out. There is no fear like the worry of IF your bike will crap out and leave you stranded. I've only been able to test my bike out one short 10-mile jaunt around the neighborhood. I wanted to do another test run this weekend but my pickup was in the body shop this weekend, some putz rear-ended me a couple of weeks ago. Guess what? Surprise he had no insurance. I feel safer if I do have a problem I can call the wife and have her bring the truck as a backup plan. You'll never guess what the front fender on my bike is made out of. I'll let you ponder that one for a while.
 
I was dealing with issues I could find close to home. Mainly my fuel map was way off at higher rpm, I'd hit 4-5k rpm and it would blubber and not rev higher. I finally have it running to redline, now I have to do a couple longer rides and then I should be pretty good.
 
Well it is a small world, at work the other day and who delivers material to the shop I was at? None other than Moturcyclenut. It was nice to meet you and maybe one day soon we can go for a ride.
 
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