Pics of my new to me xs650

jdvorchak

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When I first saw the bike and bought it. The license plate says 1987.
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Lots of rust pitting and it was a spider condo!
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After some cleanup and polishing:
20200705_093218.jpg
 
Other than the spoke rims, after market seat cover and 2 into one exhaust I could be my 1982!

Actually the "after" picture looks a bit better than mine!

Guessing that is a 1977?
 
That's a very good year, some consider it one of the best. 2-1 exhausts can sometimes be difficult to tune for. An original 2 into 2 style exhaust works better. Are those pleated K&N style pod filters I see on there? They can cause tuning issues as well. Best pod for these CV carbs is a straight foam type. Most of us run the UNI .....

1GjnNlo.jpg
 
That's a very good year, some consider it one of the best. 2-1 exhausts can sometimes be difficult to tune for. An original 2 into 2 style exhaust works better. Are those pleated K&N style pod filters I see on there? They can cause tuning issues as well. Best pod for these CV carbs is a straight foam type. Most of us run the UNI .....

1GjnNlo.jpg

I am not sure of the brand but yes it is a pleated oval shaped pod. I personally am not a fan of pods on CV carbs and believe the OEM air box is the way to go. I don't have the OEM filters so I'm stuck with these. Seems to start easily and is very throttle responsive. Much better than I expected with those pods. Going to try and take a test ride tomorrow if the tank will hold fuel and the petcocks work or at least don't leak! After a long lay up I don't expect much until 20 to 50 miles or so to give the rings a chance to seat.
 
I just thought of this. Are there any good videos on adjusting the cam chain tensioner or maybe a simple explanation of the process? Most of these old Metric bikes have the "Book way" and then the right way. Like my 71 CB350 if you try to adjust it by the book you're kidding yourself.
 
The pleated pods will rear their ugly head most between about 4 and 5K under load. You'll often experience break-up and stumbling. It has to do with the air flow. These CV carbs like/need a smooth flow to operate and lift the slide smoothly. The pleats disrupt that and cause some turbulence in the flow. That messes with the slide lift. CV carbs don't lift the slide at lower RPMs. Sustained slide lift starts to occur at, you guessed it, around 4K. Instead of lifting smoothly, the slide "flutters", bouncing up and down rapidly. Basically, it's like rapidly turning the throttle on and off, and that's what causes the stumbling.

Yes, adjusting the cam chain following the "book way" can be frustrating on this bike too. It's very easy to mess up and end up with the chain way too loose. The alternative simple method we've come up with is based on how Yamaha instructs you to do it on their 4 stroke singles - you check and adjust it while the bike sits there idling. You watch the spring-loaded plunger inside the adjuster bolt for about a MM of in-out movement. More than that and it's loose, no movement at all means you've set it too tight. Easiest way to go about this is to tighten the adjuster until the movement stops, then loosen it back up until you get the about 1mm of in-out movement you're after.
 
You would have a cap to remove. While running and warm, back off the large lock nut and adjust until plunger is flush with end. Back off until comes out a bit and then tighten lock nut and install cap again.....done! Beat me to it 5twins!! Lol
 
thank you guys. I knew there must be a way other than how the book says it.
Well bad news and a minor setback. The right side petcock flows as it should with no leaks. The left side? Not too good. It leaks like a sieve. I'll pull it off and apart and see if there is anything obvious. I kinda figured it would leak because it moved way too easy for a bike that's been sitting for 33 years. I've not had much luck rebuilding petcocks in the past. I have learned to just replace them.
 
Nice find!
Petcocks; new OEM seals or as Yamaha calls them valves along with careful flat polish of the back surface of the selector is the only way I know to make them work.
 
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