New to XS650’s (and Yamaha) Build

Idling in the driveway this evening right before the first ride
A2AEFCCF-50B3-4746-8E2C-191E18D325F6.jpeg
 
Your bike turned out really nice!

A couple of questions please Hoser...
- Do your bar end mirrors 'loosen up' if you move the mirror forward-backward to adjust? Mine do. I can't seem to get them to stay tight.
- What muffler is that? MikesXS 17" Performance Reverse Cone Megaphone Muffler with the mechanical baffle? What's your opinion of the sound?
Thanks Ron
 
Your bike turned out really nice!

A couple of questions please Hoser...
- Do your bar end mirrors 'loosen up' if you move the mirror forward-backward to adjust? Mine do. I can't seem to get them to stay tight.
- What muffler is that? MikesXS 17" Performance Reverse Cone Megaphone Muffler with the mechanical baffle? What's your opinion of the sound?
Thanks Ron

I've only take it out for one little ride so far and the mirrors seemed stable, but time will tell. I'm not using the regular mirror mounting hardware, I tapped a metal slug that was then fitted inside the bars and held in place with a set screw so it can't rotate. I will probably change these mirrors for something with a convex lens, these are pretty hard to see anything in.

The headers and muffler were on the bike when I bought it, so I can't be sure that's what it is but I did a little research and I believe it's the MikesXS unit. It is pretty loud.
That's the very first startup Monday evening when it was leaking a bit of fuel and not idling
That is after the short ride last night
 
Your bike turned out really nice!

A couple of questions please Hoser...
- Do your bar end mirrors 'loosen up' if you move the mirror forward-backward to adjust? Mine do. I can't seem to get them to stay tight.
- What muffler is that? MikesXS 17" Performance Reverse Cone Megaphone Muffler with the mechanical baffle? What's your opinion of the sound?
Thanks Ron
I have the same Mikes' 17" mufflers on my '76, and they are variable in loudness, that is, there are 3 threaded plugs you can install or remove to adjust the sound. So, you have 4 gradations in sound level.
 
Nice bike... sounds good. You'll prolly want to get rid of those pleated K&N's. They have a well known history of not playing nice with CV carbs.

I have heard that and I know the previous owner spent a lot of time adjusting jets etc to try and get it tuned in. Once I get it on the road and can put some miles on it I'll have a better idea of how it is running. If it's giving me troubles I can switch to the foam UNIs. I'm not keeping the bike so I am in the phase of trying to determine how much time and money to spend on perfecting it before I sell it
 
I have the same Mikes' 17" mufflers on my '76, and they are variable in loudness, that is, there are 3 threaded plugs you can install or remove to adjust the sound. So, you have 4 gradations in sound level.

Interesting...I know nothing about these pipes., I can see there is a removable baffle but there doesn't seem to be any plugs in it. I might just pull it out and then hunt through the bin of extras to see if I can find. A couple of plugs might smooth things out a bit
 
First, thanks for putting up the videos. And very nice GL.

Interesting...I know nothing about these pipes., I can see there is a removable baffle but there doesn't seem to be any plugs in it. I might just pull it out and then hunt through the bin of extras to see if I can find. A couple of plugs might smooth things out a bit

I'm considering the Emgo 17" Cafe Racers muffs and the Emgo 19" Hooligans like Brassneck has for my project. The 17" muffs come in two types, both with removable baffles. Ones has a straight thru core (wrapped in glass fiber and not adjustable) and the other has an end plate on it with three removable screws that are used to tune the sound. I don't want to hijack your build thread and turn it into a muffler thread. Let me know if you want more info.
 
The 17" muffs come in two types, both with removable baffles. Ones has a straight thru core (wrapped in glass fiber and not adjustable) and the other has an end plate on it with three removable screws that are used to tune the sound.

Thanks Ron! I was looking through your build thread and checked out the info you had posted about the baffles and read through the link. I definitely have the adjustable baffle, I could see the three threaded holes in the end plate after I removed the end cap. After hunting through the bin of spare parts I found what looks to be the three threaded plugs, so later on today I will do some experimenting and see how it sounds at levels 1, 2, 3 and 4. I'll report back after I am done work for the day
 
I did a little experimenting with the plugs in the end plate of the exhaust. I have a DB meter app on my phone which I set up level with the end of the muffler about two feet away and then ran the bike adding one plug at a time. Very unscientific, but it looks like each plug dropped the sound level approx ~1 - 1.5 DB at idle. So not a huge difference, but noticeable.
 
I did a little experimenting with the plugs in the end plate of the exhaust. I have a DB meter app on my phone which I set up level with the end of the muffler about two feet away and then ran the bike adding one plug at a time. Very unscientific, but it looks like each plug dropped the sound level approx ~1 - 1.5 DB at idle. So not a huge difference, but noticeable.
Thanks... That's more info than I've seen anywhere on the adjustability of those mechanical baffles. I'm assuming that you set up your phone off to the side (90 deg to the bike)?

It will likely be REALLY noticeable after an hour or so of droning along. Loud pipes are fun - for a few minutes in my experience.
Yeah like when your rusted muffler falls off the old car... Makes it sound real 'sporty'... After an hour your look'n for a new muffler. :D
 
It will likely be REALLY noticeable after an hour or so of droning along. Loud pipes are fun - for a few minutes in my experience.

That is so true. But then there's loud - Hiro Hito, my Z1 of lore. 4-into-1 Micron without the benefit of baffles. You set off on a long-ish ride and it's loud. But then you get used to it (not true) and it's not so loud. And then you arrive at your destination and you can't hear anybody . . .
 
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