What have you done to your XS today?

View attachment 160899 fixed my kickstand. It didn't have the thing that sticks out(is there a name for it?) so I welded one on and it's now awkward to use. But as long as it does its job I'm ok.View attachment 160903I got an exhaust also. Its slowly coming together. I really need a seat
I see no reason why you can't just put a seat cover on it.
You can get a cover on EBay for about $25.
Say the word and I'll give you how-to threads.
Here is one that I did.

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Got loaded up to start the move from washington to oklahoma. 3 bikes on the trailer, 1 in the truck bed and ?? ammo in cans. Back seat will be loaded with weather sensitive items. And the husky will be riding shotgun.
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Your adventure reminds me of a ( a story I heard in college) a philosophy teacher gives his class a difficult final exam in which they are given several sheets of blank paper and are told to answer the question "what is courage" . All the students begin to write their answers but one. This one student takes his papers walks to the front of the room and slams the the papers on the teacher's desk and says "this is" then walks out. Story goes he was the only student that got a 100.

Ratranger, you got this !!
 
Where would the battery ground go? Is there a specific spot? When I go this bike it didn't have anything hooked up.
Perhaps here?

YUP - that’s it. The main battery ground is normally right there just a few inches from the -VE terminal.

It is also important that the handlebars be securely grounded - the proper function of many functions such as the turn signals, horn and the starter depend on it. The handlebar ground is usually a little wire that goes from under the left hand bar riser mounting bolt to the frame just under the front of the fuel tank on the left side.

An easy way to check is to simply set your multimeter on Ohms (looks like a horseshoe) and touch one lead to the -VE battery terminal and the other to the handlebar. If the resistance read 0 (zero), the all is well but it doesn’t, then you need to fix that before doing anything else.

Pete
 
Took the carbs apart and I find it so intimidating.

Carburetors are complex with a lot of tiny parts. Staying organized is your friend. The first time I took mine apart I took tons of reference photos from different angles. I also bought a couple of cheap plastic ice cube trays, for keeping parts in. If you haven’t already seen this, in our tech section is the carburetor info, specifically the amckayltd guide. Trust me that guide is your best friend.
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Carburetors are complex with a lot of tiny parts. Staying organized is your friend. The first time I took mine apart I took tons of reference photos from different angles. I also bought a couple of cheap plastic ice cube trays, for keeping parts in. If you haven’t already seen this, in our tech section is the carburetor info, specifically the amckayltd guide. Trust me that guide is your best friend.
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Will do. Thanks for the advice. I have a kid a week i until the rebuild kit arrives
 
So this mess of wires is almost taken care of. I have everything working accept the lights for the tach and the starter solenoid so I have some work left. I was able to learn a lot. 20200229_201301.jpg
I observed today that my clutch is not disengaging. So that is something I'll have to investigate. I wouldnt be totally surprised if I didn't assemble it properly but I'll start small with the clutch cable. It had over 25,000 poorly maintained miles on it before I got my hands on it.
 
On the XS...Brass swing arm bearings and taper roller steering head bearings. Pivoty parts gotta be solid right!
Prepping my '79 GS425 for sale, repainted the Mac Pipe with VHT, cleaned up and painted battery box and side cover as well. Hoping this little cream puff will fetch enough for the final push on XS motor!
 

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Betty (or at least, her wheels) are going in for a new set of tire and tubes tomorrow. While she is apart, I checked the steering head bearings and swing arm bushings - all good fore and aft.

After the tires: reassembly, install the shiny new muffler and then she’s ready for the tins and a test ride....or six. :D And then, it’s back over to Demi as she needs a lot to attention from stem to stern.

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Hit 60 degrees this afternoon. Nothing better to do than go for a ride. Only went 20 smiles but it was fun. Bike ran well, left cylinder still doesn't want to play nice at idle. Beer thirty now.:rock:
 
Yesterday I took my carbs off, and "Cleaned" them, I found, dirt and a bug within them.
Today I reassembled the bike, added fuel, cleaned the spark plugs and tried to kick it over.
Went well, actually. Throttle cable fell out of it's space and got stuck on wide open. Oops. I put it back into place and kicked it again, and it ran for about a minute. Kicked it into first and it died out, only started 2 more times before it gave up.
Good news, it runs aight for a bike that sat on it's side for 5 years, fuel isn't leaking out of the drain anymore.
Bad news, my fuel rigging isn't getting gas to the right cylinder as efficiently as the left. I may opt for a tank with 2 petcocks to solve it.
More bad news, Had some vapor come out of the right cylinder, but not the left. Not sure what that means
Didn't burn my garage down, that's another plus.
I'm gonna post this to my $100 XS thread as well, just to keep with it
 
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