1980 XS650 Cafe Build

Maiden voyage was today! A few bits to sort out - but - she’s officially on the road!
(Clutch is hard as hell - need to figure that out ASAP)

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A great build. Love the black and gold. I agree, I'm to old and fat to go far on something like this. On the other hand I'm not planning on joining the buckhorn gang anytime soon.

I'm curious about the weight myself. My guess is just north of 400 lbs.
 
Any specific type of oil?

The best approach is to remove the cable, hang it and fashion a funnel at the top , place a can under it and pour some oil into the funnel and just let gravity do its thing. Just any old motor oil will do. Also, while you’ve got your side cover off, pull your clutch actuating assembly off and clean it and apply fresh grease to the screw mechanism.
And lastly, a little grease applied to the moving parts of your clutch lever.
 
The best approach is to remove the cable, hang it and fashion a funnel at the top , place a can under it and pour some oil into the funnel and just let gravity do its thing. Just any old motor oil will do. Also, while you’ve got your side cover off, pull your clutch actuating assembly off and clean it and apply fresh grease to the screw mechanism.
And lastly, a little grease applied to the moving parts of your clutch lever.

Yep...what Mailman said. But I've found if you're lazy (Like I tend to be sometimes) that you don't need to take the cable completely off...just disconnect from the lever and pull/hang it so that it's vertical (so the oil goes down vs. tips to the side) and that's enough gravity to make it's way down to the bottom. I've made little funnels out of tape, tinfoil, etc...I think electrical tape wrapped tight around the end of the cable sheath and then gradually to a funnel shape has worked the best. It doesn't need to be all that big/deep...enough for what the cap of a quart of oil will hold is plenty. By the next day, the tape is a bit gummy, but it doesn't leak....and your clutch cable is oiled...you'll know when there's oil dripping from the actuator end on the bottom. :)
 
I'd recommend the PJ1 cable lube, works better than anything else I've tried! That, and use a cable luber too, they're cheap enough and help get the lube where it's needed.

Also, do you have the upgraded motion pro cable? 05-0013. And make sure the cable routing is as gentle as possible.
 
Looking good. Any issues with chain rub on the top of the swingarm for your first ride out?

I'm playing with rear heights for my Special cafe build at the moment but probably not looking to go as tall in the rear as yours is. Stock forks lowered 2" and probably 350mm shocks in my case.
 
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