Hi All. I'm new to the forum

Ahhhhh, the beautiful, classic elegant lines of a 70s Standard. Nothing missing and nothing extra.

In the year 3012 when somebody compiles a dictionary of the 20th century - a photo of one of those will be the definition of a motorcycle.

Pete
 
Ahhhhh, the beautiful, classic elegant lines of a 70s Standard. Nothing missing and nothing extra.
In the year 3012 when somebody compiles a dictionary of the 20th century - a photo of one of those will be the definition of a motorcycle.
Pete

Hi Pete,
mostly perfect but ain't that bike wearing the ergonomically disastrous pullback 'bars off a Special?
Change 'em out for something straighter Thuban and it'll ride a lot nicer.

And yeah, in 3012 it'll be:- "Grandpa, what are the round things on that antique skysled?
 
Hi Pete,
mostly perfect but ain't that bike wearing the ergonomically disastrous pullback 'bars off a Special?
Change 'em out for something straighter Thuban and it'll ride a lot nicer.

And yeah, in 3012 it'll be:- "Grandpa, what are the round things on that antique skysled?
Fredintoon, yep, I'm looking for different bars. I don't know what these are off of. But interested in why you say the Special had " ergonomically disastrous" bars? These do make it hard to move the bike around. I've only put 27 miles on it, makes my elbows hurt too. ( Got Insurance but no Inspection or tag yet)
Oh, the ride..I got 7 oz. 40 weight fork oil in the front forks. Got Mikesxs progressive shocks on the rear ( all the way down) and it rides kinda rough on the back roads. Still a kick in the pants.
 
welcome thuban
Wow nice restoration .......thats minty :) she looks fantastic from where I'm standing
Thanks, Peanut. I sure do like it. Speedo and Tack reading low and slow. Read over 2Many's tach rebuilding threads. They may clear up. One can hope. I just hate to take a can opener to them in a cleaning attempt. I really like the bike you have up for the calendar!
 
Great restoration! Glad you hung on to her for so long...and you had the willingness/energy to get it all back together.

NOW, we need a video of it starting up. :)
 
I've heard of sluggish speedo/tach action after prolonged inactivity. Work it! They may "wake up"! :bike:
Yeah... odds are they'll work fine after a few hundred miles. My SG's got 4-500 miles on it now and the speedo is actually working more now than not. We'll get there.. :cool:
 
20wt. is still double the recommended weight. I'm sure that's contributing to your rough ride. Try the recommended 10wt., 6.5 to 7 ounces. 6.5 will probably be good on a drain and refill, you never get it all out. I do 7 in forks that have been stripped and are totally dry and empty.

These forks don't need more damping, they're actually a bit over-damped to begin with. Many of us apply something called the "Minton Mods" to the damper rods. This reduces the damping a little bit and makes the forks work better, makes them more responsive, especially to the little bumps.
 
20wt. is still double the recommended weight. I'm sure that's contributing to your rough ride. Try the recommended 10wt., 6.5 to 7 ounces. 6.5 will probably be good on a drain and refill, you never get it all out. I do 7 in forks that have been stripped and are totally dry and empty.

These forks don't need more damping, they're actually a bit over-damped to begin with. Many of us apply something called the "Minton Mods" to the damper rods. This reduces the damping a little bit and makes the forks work better, makes them more responsive, especially to the little bumps.

5Twins, Haven't gotten to the Minton Mods yet. I must have picked up the wrong info some place. I thought the heavier the oil the more dampening and this bike needed more dampening so... I rebuilt the shocks with the 20 oil expecting to move to a heavier weight later. I had not ridden it yet. So I am 180 out! My mind may have forgotten the ride of my last bike many moons ago, but the body remembers. Was exactly like the one in the pix up there... 1973, Z1 900, brown metal flake and orange. Smooth like on rails and more power than anyone needs! Sounded like a V-8 Chevy when she was turning tight. Since then all my rides have had cinches. I just ordered some 10 weight! Thanks for keeping me straight!
Thu
 
5Twins, Haven't gotten to the Minton Mods yet. I must have picked up the wrong info some place. I thought the heavier the oil the more dampening and this bike needed more dampening so... I rebuilt the shocks with the 20 oil expecting to move to a heavier weight later. I had not ridden it yet. So I am 180 out! My mind may have forgotten the ride of my last bike many moons ago, but the body remembers. Was exactly like the one in the pix up there... 1973, Z1 900, brown metal flake and orange. Smooth like on rails and more power than anyone needs! Sounded like a V-8 Chevy when she was turning tight. Since then all my rides have had cinches. I just ordered some 10 weight! Thanks for keeping me straight!
Thu
As it pertains to suspension, dampening refers to controlling the rebound action of the springs. Compressed springs have stored up energy that's expended when the springs return to normal. Left to themselves, springs would happily continue stretch/rebound for quite some time until that energy is used up. The oil passes through holes in a "valve" to restrict... or "dampen out" that rebounding action. Oil that's too thin doesn't provide enough dampening action... as it passes too easily through the holes and doesn't completely absorb all the energy of the rebound... front end bounce.
Oil that is too thick restricts the action of the springs during compression, allowing the bumps in the road to be felt much more in the bike.
So, dampening becomes a compromise between the two... thin enough to allow the springs to absorb the road impacts with minimum transmittal of that bump to the handlebars... and thick enough to absorb the rebound action of the springs... so the front end don't bounce.
So when selecting the oil weight, ask yourself is my front end too bouncy (oil too thin), or does it transmit every little bump to the handlebar (too thick)? You can't eliminate either, but somewhere in there is a compromise that minimizes both extremes.
Just speaking for myself here, I use both 10 and 20 weight, then mix the two for what works best for me.
 
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Fredintoon, yep, I'm looking for different bars. I don't know what these are off of. But interested in why you say the Special had " ergonomically disastrous" bars? These do make it hard to move the bike around. I've only put 27 miles on it, makes my elbows hurt too. ( Got Insurance but no Inspection or tag yet)
Oh, the ride..I got 7 oz. 40 weight fork oil in the front forks. Got Mikesxs progressive shocks on the rear ( all the way down) and it rides kinda rough on the back roads. Still a kick in the pants.

Hi thuban,
"ergonomically disastrous" is a polite way of saying "your wrists have to point down instead of straight to comfortably hold the stupid effin' things".
The bars in your bike photos look to be the stock XS650 Special "rototiller" bars.
Test driving my Heritage Special my first thought was:- "Love the bike but these effin' bars gotta GO!"
. Admittedly there's a small group of riders who swear by those bars but guess what? I ain't amongst them.
 
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