What have you done to your XS today?

did points and condensers under the watchfuView attachment 143057 View attachment 143058 l eye of the king. still no love. The spark seems a touch weak but I feel the fire when kicking. Next best guess, I'll pull the carbs and check them for fouling. I really was hoping she'd see the king not being ridden and try to please. My oem knee is not even a little happy, there is much to be said for electric start
If still using stock coils the spark is barely enough. I like the Dyna coils and have had them on mine for 10 years or maybe a little longer. They are a bit larger but can be fit to nearly stock location if you beat a few clearance dents in the tunnel area of the tank. I also put a couple of strips of Gorilla tape to prevent rubbing against the tank. I remember an almost new RD200 that a customer brought in with electric shocks when riding wearing shorts. The coils had rubbed the tank until a hole wore through the plastic outer of the coil! Watching the shop owner verifying the condition was a great laugh around the shop for quite some time!!
 
Today i have replaced the cam chain guides, cam chain and put the jugs back on the motor replaced tappet adjusters with new ones as the old were crap, painted some tin ware, swing arm in, rear shocks, triple trees in, forks and wheels and main stand, just waiting for the head to come back with new stainless valves, been doing this a while now, must take some pics and post them up.
 
Here are a couple of pics of the work progress, it's not going to be a full resto , just a good clean up and tidy, replacing what needs to be done and a few slight changes, displacement is now 666cc my favorite number, and of course a pic of my other ride.
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Finally took the time to diagnose and fix my non-functioning rear brake. I thought it was air trapped in the line but it turns out the adjustment on the rod was all the way down making the rod too short so I wasn't getting to the MC before I ran out of stroke at the pedal. I made it a little longer and now I have a better-than-stock functioning rear brake. Hurrah!
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Rubber Fender Grommet - 99 Cents
The originals were a little sun aged so I went to a store that has all kinds of small items on the chance that there was something similar and presto!
PN: 315H471M, but only one in stock today. Nice tight fit inside and out.
 
Found a set of 81 exhaust off eBay for 130 bucks! Seemed to be in pretty decent shape, so far everything I’ve gotten from this seller has been in real good condition! And it was free shipping coming from Ohio! Should be here Wednesday/Thursday! Looking forward to them! Been running this two to one open since I got it in 82! The original owner, my friend, put it on right after he got it! Always meant to pick up the original pipes from him, he gave them to me! They sat in his parents garage forever til they passed! Wonder whatever happened to them! They were still pretty much brand new! Hopefully they went to a good home and are on somebodies XS now! Lookin forward to see how the ol XS runs and sounds with them! I’m sure I’ll have to play around with my needles and jets again!
 
The bikes been getting hard to start lately. Tried checking my timing last Sunday but my timing light completely crapped out. Then the battery drained so much the electric starter wouldn't work. Took the battery inside onto the trickle charger. A few of the cells were lower than the rest. After it was completely charged I filled all of them to the max line and threw the battery back in the bike yesterday afternoon. Started on the first kick without the choke. I know I’ve read about it here before, but MAN are these bikes touchy with their batteries. Looks like now I’m going to have to keep a watchful eye on the charging system. May be hitting you up for a new rotor sooner than I had hoped Jim. ;) I still haven’t had time to check the wiring in the bucket; Sunday after bringing the battery inside to charge I did my dads brakes for him, pads front and rear. Then started mine to realize both of my front caliper brackets had one seized pin so They couldn't float. Had to wait for the brackets to be shipped to the auto parts store so I left work at noon Monday, got the front caliper brackets rebuilt, pads replaced and bled, and then took a look at the rear to find both caliper pistons seized. Turned into a 400.00 job after replacing both rear calipers. I finally buttoned everything up around 7:00 PM. I am amazed the car stopped at all. It was only using two pads total; one on each front wheel. This has been a rough couple of weeks for me regarding rides. :shootme:
 
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The bikes been getting hard to start lately. Tried checking my timing last Sunday but my timing light completely crapped out. Then the battery drained so much the electric starter wouldn't work. Took the battery inside onto the trickle charger. A few of the cells were lower than the rest. After it was completely charged I filled all of them to the max line and threw the battery back in the bike yesterday afternoon. Started on the first kick without the choke. I know I’ve read about it here before, but MAN are these bikes touchy with their batteries. Looks like now I’m going to have to keep a watchful eye on the charging system. May be hitting you up for a new rotor sooner than I had hoped Jim. ;) I still haven’t had time to check the wiring in the bucket; Sunday after bringing the battery inside to charge I did my dads brakes for him, pads front and rear. Then started mine to realize both of my front caliper brackets had one seized pin so They couldn't float. After a trip to the store got the front caliper brackets rebuilt, pads replaced and bled, then to the rear to find both caliper pistons seized. Turned into a 400.00 job after replacing both rear calipers. I am amazed the car stopped at all. It was only using two pads total; one on each front wheel. This has been a rough couple of weeks for me regarding rides. :shootme:
Just a note here........I have always been taught to top up liquid level BEFORE charging, if done after it dilutes the acid concentration or something....
 
I did it afterwards because that’s what my most recent fork truck training at work said to do. I just did a google search to confirm, and it looks like most sources say only to add water after a full charge. I’m sure my battery was drained low enough to heed this advice.
From Toyota forklift website-

“Always fill batteries with clean water—distilled water isn’t usually necessary as long as your water is sufficiently clean—after charging the battery. The reason is that electrolyte levels rise when charged, and filling water after the charge helps prevent overflows that can cause acid-related damage and overheating. The one exception to this rule is if the metal activating plates in the cell are exposed to air—in this case, fill enough water to cover them, charge the battery, and then fill the rest of the way.”

I’m sure this applies to any lead acid battery that requires maintenance.

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Failed Fuse 0 On the Road Brohood 10
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On the way home from an errand ride, left turn lane and the '76 quits without warning.
Knowing the advance green is a few seconds away, I see the curb is cut down to a vacant lot, so I push it over and out of traffic before light changes.
No horn, no light, dang.
New HD Street Glide pulls off and parks beside me. We chat. First thing I check is the 20 Amp fuse protecting the regulator etc. from the PMA.
Meanwhile the Harley guy is looking puzzled and asked me if it was a '76 why it had a Special exhaust on it. Turns out he was not the usual "I had one of them when I was 21" guys.
Nice chat ensued ( his other bikes are a Shovel and an 850 Norton.)
He was instrumental in the repair as I could not pull the little fuse out of the holder. He had to use his knife for leverage. I had a box of 5 left in the bag from the trip to Arkansas so it was running again in no time.
Just read this over and yes pretty boring, but it's a tale from the road.
 
Failed Fuse 0 On the Road Brohood 10
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On the way home from an errand ride, left turn lane and the '76 quits without warning.
Knowing the advance green is a few seconds away, I see the curb is cut down to a vacant lot, so I push it over and out of traffic before light changes.
No horn, no light, dang.
New HD Street Glide pulls off and parks beside me. We chat. First thing I check is the 20 Amp fuse protecting the regulator etc. from the PMA.
Meanwhile the Harley guy is looking puzzled and asked me if it was a '76 why it had a Special exhaust on it. Turns out he was not the usual "I had one of them when I was 21" guys.
Nice chat ensued ( his other bikes are a Shovel and an 850 Norton.)
He was instrumental in the repair as I could not pull the little fuse out of the holder. He had to use his knife for leverage. I had a box of 5 left in the bag from the trip to Arkansas so it was running again in no time.
Just read this over and yes pretty boring, but it's a tale from the road.

Not boring, I learned something.
You know I’ve never blown a fuse, never carried a spare. Perhaps it’s time. That would’ve probably been an expensive tow for me. Just to realize later it was a $2 fix!
 
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