Revived 1983 heritage special need some help

I recall years ago magazine articles recommended using that yellow 3M Weatherstrip Sealer to glue handgrips onto handlebars.



A lotta bikes came into the shop with grips glued with that stuff. Couldn't save the grips, they had to be cut off, and the handlebars sanded to get it off.

Just another "hot tip" that permeated the biker community, and wouldn't go away.

We simply used gasoline...

I just had to deal with some glued on grips recently and it was an absolute pain in the butt. Like Fred, I've always used WD40 to remove and install them. They've always stuck fine with no need for glue. The only place I might see the need for it is on a dirt bike where they are subjected to extreme use.

Okay so where do I order the starter gear spring and gear

Mike's XS... also... clutch cover gasket.... might as well toss in a new filter, w/gasket.... fresh oil... you'll need a snap ring pliers ….impact driver... keep the clutch plates in order....... don't forget the little ball bearing, thrush bearings...remember to keep your thumb on the kick start boss as you remove the clutch cover.... note the washer on the inside that slides on the kick start boss.. it sometimes sticks to the inside of the clutch cover... have a manual on hand.... I like to place everything in order on a clean surface....

ok, PO "welded" on a kickstand "fix" but its going south, literally. its cracking frame as bike leans further. will need a welder,a probably will need to REMOVE THE MOTOR. not sure a welder can get in there/clearance issues.?
any secrets on removal?? do i have to pull sidecovers?? 1983
any secrets on kickstand, I have an OEM kickstand mount that was cut out of a wrecked frame with tubing still attached like 3.5 inches
oh i do have an oem kickstand, but no bole and little bracket hang.
could somebody pos a picture what it looks from underneath with the kickstand safety switch mounted.

I recommend you eliminate the sidestand switch and relay. It's just a problem waiting to happen and there are quite a few reports of it happening. The relay grounds out the ignition black box and kills the spark so if you have issues arise, the bike will not start or run. I just did this on my '83. All the items to the left of the spring got replaced with the older, simpler stand and spring post bracket on the right .....



Besides removing the switch, you must remove the relay as well or the bike will only run while in neutral. It's easy, you simply unplug it, no jumping of wires required. The relay and the plug from the switch are located under the left side cover, in the top rear corner area .....



Like I said, just unplug and remove them .....



Here's the switch mounting plate. The biggest reason for doing away with this contraption, in my opinion, is that it makes access to the sump plate bolt above it very difficult .....



However, I did discover during this "photo shoot" that you can access the bolt if you partially retract the stand. Still a pain though .....



..... and no comparison to the wide open, easy access the older small bracket provides .....

what year range for older, simpler stand ,side stand?
and tks

'77-'81. Older stands use a totally different clevis type mount.

This is what I have

Stand on the left is the older clevis style and will not fit/work. The other 2 appear to be the "simple" '77-'81 stands. Either should work but both need some fixing (tangs). You can see what a proper tang looks like in my pics above. The tang is braced. I also "mod" my stands by adding a grease fitting to the pivot and building up the foot so the bike doesn't lean over so far.

Well the previous owner that welded on the kickstand kind of messed up the frame so I had to find a guy that knows motorcycles kickstands and Yamaha XS 650s had to go to Orlando to a guy that has a Triumph twin hanging from his ceiling in his shop for the last 42 years he can fix the frame properly and the kickstand it can be challenging to find someone confidence and experience see pics

Have him look over the rest of that frame, especially the bottom rails, that looks a lot like freeze damage. Might drill a hole or 3 looking for rust, thin tube.....

Thanks I did I look over the rest of the frame what happened was he had trouble with the kickstand and and Ark where he where could access it but did not weld it on top nextnext to the motor so after side stand and time it slowly tilted further and further down arc welding probably softened steel. Anyway it's in good hands the guy that is doing it was Re sleeving a pair vintage Indian barrels that had been honed too many times since the mid 30s how many people do that kind of stuff

Okay I have been through this bike already now I'm JB welding the lower strainer cutting my own gasket for that I adjusted the valves and the cam chain now it whines once in awhile I guess that's cam chain too tight I found a few pieces of plastic in the upper oil screen so I went and did the lower it drives a little screwy so I know I gotta do steering head bearings and probably swing arm bearingss too.

It doesn't whine like thethe whining video in other threads it's more like a squeal it seems to have started when all of a sudden I had to tighten my clutch cable. About one ball bearing distance does that mean I lost something. It doesn't happen until I rev up like over two grand free Grand while driving and when I slow down and stop it's still there but then goes away does not seem to be related to the clutch here's the weird thing when I turn the wheel back and forth while driving the sound changes pitch I disconnected the tach-drive still did it I Shot oil down the tack Drive it was pretty Rusty down there someone here called it rust welded . I loosen the cam chain little bit it didn't seem to make any difference. When I change the oil and filter I saw a couple of fingernail clipping size black plastic pieces so I proceeded to do the lower filter although dirty didn't have much junk in it . I did have to do the JB Weld twice because when I tightened it up after mounting two bottom plate I got a hairline crack in the brass screen