Miss November XS2 tribute

Raymondo said:
- - - is mostly the steering lock. Which I can live without.
Recourse to the the bodger's hacksaw and voila:- - -
.
Click to expand...

Hi Raymondo,
the one and only time I used my XS650's steering lock was overnight and far from home.
Turned the key one click too far which turned the rear light on which ran the battery flat,
You are better off without the effin' thing.
And it ain't bodging unless you can see the hacksaw marks afterwards.
 
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Thank you, Fred. I never use steering locks anyway. If I leave a bike in a town, it gets disc lock, a chain through the rear wheel and sometimes a padlock passed through the drive chain and rear sprocket.

And I filed and emery'd the hacksaw marks away. Seasoned bodger?
 
You could probably fit a flat plate "cover" to the bottom of your modded switch mount. All these fitting issues seem to indicate an XS850 bucket might be a better option. More space inside but that added space is in the form of a bulge at the bottom. The angled top may clear without issues. And 3 wire loom holes to begin with.

4WmR6RY.jpg
 
Brassneck said:
Nice "hack" Raymond. I can't remember any time I've ever used a steering lock on my XS... good riddance from my perspective.
Click to expand...

Hi Brassneck,
I reckon that using the steering lock EVERY time you parked would remind you that the thing was deployed.
Using the thing once in a blue moon is a good way to forget you'd done so.
(Wanna spoil someone's day? Flip their bike's kill-switch to OFF when they ain't looking.)
The one time I steering-locked my BSA/Garrard sidecar rig I forgot that I'd gone so.
Fired it up outside the cinema, revved up, engaged 1st gear and roared off in a tight little semicircle.
 
As try to sort out and simplify the wiring at the front end, this happened:

PICT2038.JPG


You might ask, why did he pull that apart? Will he ever get it back together?

I'm trying to see if there are wires I don't need, for the flasher cancel unit. Hmm.

Not sure it's any clearer now than before dismantled it. Not sure if I can reassemble . . .

But even if I fail to understand it, at least I can clean the switches.
 
Thank you all!

Mailman said:
When I disassembled my switches for cleaning and repair, I took tons of photos with my phone from different angles because I knew I would have that same dilemma. “Now where the heck does this go? “
Click to expand...

Bob, I drew a schematic of where it all goes. My concern is more about fitting it all back without breaking something . . .

Rasputin said:
What man has made, man can make again. With a bit of tongue sticking out and swearing.
Click to expand...

Definitely be some of that.

gggGary said:
Hint; work on a cookie sheet.
Click to expand...

Great fan of trays; loads of plastic trays in the garage to put tools and parts in careful order when doing maintenance jobs. Well, careful order till I kick the tray. And then there's more swearing. For small bits, I put them in little plastic pots - ex coleslaw or hummus.
 
I do the same as you have. I clean all the parts then re-assemble using 3 different types of grease. I use dielectric grease on all the contacts, some sort of normal grease on the metal moving parts, and white lithium grease on the plastic or plastic to metal moving parts .....

TOfxeKk.jpg
 
There were eleven wires to the l/h handlebar switches - 5 for the dip, 5 for the turn signal switch and one for the horn.

One, the brown/white to the signals, was accidentally pulled off during dismantling, and as that's the power supply it had to be soldered back on.

After careful consideration (as if) I removed two wires from the dip switch - I hope they were for the light checker and reserve lighting unit, both of which have gone to the Yamaha parts bin in the sky. Ditto two wires removed from the turn signals, which were probably to do with the auto-cancel function, also binned.

After cleaning and reassembly ( with grease as recommended by 5T), which was not as fiddly as I had been dreading, was able to feed the seven remaining wires through a length of heat shrink:

PICT2040.JPG

PICT2039.JPG

PICT2041.JPG

I won't apply heat to shrink the sleeve until it's back on the bike, in case it makes the whole cable too stiff to route.

Toyed with the idea of drilling the handlebar and routing the wires along inside. I did that on a Kawasaki Z1, the famous Hiro Hito, and was gratified how the handlebar area looked much tidier. But decided not for now. Let's see if it all works first . . . and then maybe.
 
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Raymondo said:
- - - Toyed with the idea of drilling the handlebar and routing the wires along inside. I did that on a Kawasaki Z1, the famous Hiro Hito, and was gratified how the handlebar area looked much tidier. But decided not for now. Let's see if it all works first . . . and then maybe.
Click to expand...

Hi Raymondo,
some years of XS650s came with drilled 'bars & internal wiring.
I think those bars were stiffened inside where the holes were drilled.
Perhaps you could check Heiden's site to see if they stock them.
 
Raymondo said:
There were eleven wires to the l/h handlebar switches - 5 for the dip, 5 for the turn signal switch and one for the horn.

One, the brown/white to the signals, was accidentally pulled off during dismantling, and as that's the power supply it had to be soldered back on.

After careful consideration (as if) I removed two wires from the dip switch - I hope they were for the light checker and reserve lighting unit, both of which have gone to the Yamaha parts bin in the sky. Ditto two wires removed from the turn signals, which were probably to do with the auto-cancel function, also binned.

After cleaning and reassembly ( with grease as recommended by 5T), which was not as fiddly as I had been dreading, was able to feed the seven remaining wires through a length of heat shrink:

View attachment 159066

View attachment 159067

View attachment 159068

I won't apply heat to shrink the sleeve until it's back on the bike, in case it makes the whole cable too stiff to route.

Toyed with the idea of drilling the handlebar and routing the wires along inside. I did that on a Kawasaki Z1, the famous Hiro Hito, and was gratified how the handlebar area looked much tidier. But decided not for now. Let's see if it all works first . . . and then maybe.
Click to expand...

Nice job Raymond ! I know I bought a new aftermarket switch for my XS2, but it came with a bunch more wires than the stock switch and different colored wires. I wasn’t smart enough to figure it out and I finally gave up. Congratulations on your sticking with it!
 
I too like the look of clean bars and no wires showing...but what a pain in the ass when something fails or you need to pull one of the wires for whatever reason. Hopefully it's not an often occurrence.

On the one bike I have where the wires are routed through the bars--when the turn signal switch broke-- I had to pull the entire loom out of the handlebar to get the assembly into my shop for some tedious repairing. To sum up, it sucked. Getting the loom back through the bars was just as hard (Especially with crusty/brittle wiring that is 40+ yrs old). New wires would undoubtedly be a lot easier. :)
 
fredintoon said:
Hi Raymondo,
some years of XS650s came with drilled 'bars & internal wiring.
I think those bars were stiffened inside where the holes were drilled.
Perhaps you could check Heiden's site to see if they stock them.
Click to expand...

That is interesting, Fred, I didn't know some had internal wires; might check that out. But just now, feel that putting Miss November back together and getting ready for the road when the Great Salt ends makes more sense than giving meself extra work.
 
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Today, took a look at the front brake.

Wipe out the cylinder and try to get all the crud out of the seal groove.


PICT2043.JPG


Found the screw that retains the brake pads is bent. So, had some fun making a new one:


PICT2042.JPG


Old one on the left, replacement on the right. Cut down a long screw with junior hacksaw then filed threads off. Should perhaps have bought a lathe and made one properly?

Of course, it don't really matter if that screw is bent - it's just there to stop the pad falling out. But it felt satisfying to make a replacement.

The bleed screw has really suffered so I'll source a new one.

I know, I should keep focused on the electrics. I've promised myself to get back to that tomorrow . . .
 
fredintoon said:
Hi Raymondo,
no way!! The FIRST thing to do on ANY machine is to be sure that it'll STOP.
It's a safety thing.
Click to expand...
Yeah, of course I agree. Entirely. But it's all a bit hypothetical while the bike don't go!

Brake will be fitted, filled and bled before we go anywhere.
 
fredintoon said:
Hi Raymondo,
no way!! The FIRST thing to do on ANY machine is to be sure that it'll STOP.
It's a safety thing.
Click to expand...
Rode a 78E with only a rear drum awhile on forest roads while testing other functions. (Clogged master cylinder)
Danger is always minimized if your awareness is present. In any situation.
-R
 

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