My Build: A Pandemic Project

Melmwood

XS650 Enthusiast
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I have no idea why I didn't track my build real-time this summer, but better late than never (I suppose) to put my build out here in case it helps someone along the way on theirs. Like everyone, the pandemic shut down a lot of the places I'd socially spend my time - in my case, the biggest impact on that front was my bouldering gym closing down in mid-March. As we moved thru April and shutdowns still were common here in Minneapolis, it was quite obvious that I needed a distraction from the world. So, instead of buying a turnkey bike for the summer (which was my original plan as I sold my '74 Honda CB350 last fall in preparation) I decided I had endless time to kill so I might as well tackle a project bike. This was going to be my first project bike - the Honda just required casual maintenance but was otherwise pretty original - and I had about 2 months of internet-ing under my belt to learn about the XS650, see various builds, and get a rough idea in my mind for what to do.

So, in mid-May I bought a '77 off a guy in neighboring Wisconsin for $1,100. The engine ran great, gears shifted smooth, had strong acceleration, and brakes were solid. He had owned it a year or two and had intentions of cafe-ing it, but all he really did was throw on some non-XS650 seat and cafe-style bars. The previous owner had owned it for years and maintained it well (unsure if that owner was the original or not), including a top end rebuild about 5-7 years ago. So it was exactly what I wanted: a good mechanical bike that just needed some cosmetics...or at least that was the plan.

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So me and a buddy trailered it home and it sat in his garage (he had more space than me) for about a week while I finalized the plan. Over that week, it went from some cosmetic improvements and have her ready by mid-June to a full teardown and rebuild while only bumping the project timeline to end of June. :laughing:

The teardown part was awesome - like demo on a house. As each part came off, I'd get to see more things that made sense to address: swingarm bushings, steering stem bearings, etc...Like I said, this was my first complete overhaul project, and my first XS650 exposure, so I was learning on-the-go what a rebuild really meant in terms of "while you're in there" items to touch...which, it turns out, is basically all of them.

So, after a few afternoons, it looked like every other "what the hell did I just do" build stage:

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I was originally going to go for the flat tracker look, but for some reason wandered into the scrambler world somehow (honestly, I don't know how that transition happened).

As I was leaning towards a tracker, I did the "buy an old, smaller gas tank" thing without knowing what sort of mess that was going to open up. I bought a CR80R tank (too small once on the frame) off eBay and quickly learning I had bought a rare tank - not like valuable rare, but like hard to source parts rare. It came with no cap or petcock, and I figured it would be easy to find replacements...I mean, how many f-ing thread sizes could there be!? Turns out, lots. And it was near impossible to find any info on this particular tank online to figure out what aftermarket parts might work. So I bought a variety and eventually got a complete tank, but it was moot as, like I said above, it was too small on the frame for my taste...it also had petcock logistical issues, but I won't bore you with those (ask if you care).

During this, the tires were purchased. This is where I somehow went from tracker to scrambler. Anyway, here it was mocked up:

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So I suppose I can quickly mention a few quick paint notes...

For the frame, I didn't strip it down and repaint it. It was in decent shape, so I just cleaned it up, gave it a once over with 80 grit sandpaper, and then sprayed it with POR-15 Topcoat. I'd used it before, and that stuff is indestructible. So it seemed like a good frame paint. Plus the topcoat has a UV guard in it. From 5 feet back, the frame simply looks black with a nice shine. That's all I needed.

Then I had painted the wheels while waiting for the tires and tubes to arrive. I quickly learned that, even when using rim guards and what not, putting tires on is a caveman activity. It's just brute force mixed with swearing and throwing stuff. It sucked. Never doing it again hopefully.

Anyway, in this photo on the rear wheel (and the one above), you can see silver marks coming thru the black paint near the rim edge. Just a good lesson learned and one to share for anyone thinking of doing the same: mount the tire THEN paint. I had to do some touch-ups, clearly.

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What else what else what else...ah, the damn internet. So, there's a guy on YouTube in Australia (I think) who has some great content on his project builds in his garage. He's more seasoned than me, of course, but that doesn't stop me from thinking "Man, he made it look so easy, I bet I could pull it off." So one of the most ludicrous parts of the project started: a custom seat.

So you can probably tell by the two rear end photos in the above posts that the seat frame is flat. I like the idea of a purely flat seat, without knowing what to do and not really finding a good solution on the forums, I sort of winged it and cut the seat frame off where the bend starts upward, then figured I could cut off the bend portions, and then weld together the now-flat hoop.

Here is a good time to point out I had never welded before, and, quite frankly, always struggled with soldering the few times I gave it a go. So, I did the smart thing: bought the most powerful welder I could find that 1) could plug into a household outlet, and 2) was under $120. I then started Youtubing "how to weld" and learned what sticks to use. Needless to say, me and my buddies had some practice days welding a whole host of scrap metal together. Once i had the hang of it, I had the engineer neighbor come by to guide me through how to make sure the new seat frame setup would have structural integrity. The biggest tip he gave was welding steel rods inside the frame tubes to beef up the join and not simply have all the frame integrity rely solely on the exterior weld. The rods ran as deep as they could fit into both pieces (seat pan frame on bike and the seat frame hoop I had cut off). I put the rods deep into the seat pan frame tube, then welded it in place (both sides). Then I slid the seat hoop over each rod end (the rod ends went about 3 inches in the hoop), and then began welding the hoop back to the frame. It went relatively smooth and I got a good weld all the way around the tube joins on both sides. Seat was now flat. And, as you can see, the stock rear stand handle didn't have to be removed or impacted to achieve this result (same with the rear shock mounts).

Basically, I cut out this part of the seat frame:

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One thing to note is that doing what I did and flattening the hoop resulted in the hoop now occurring at the TDC of the tire. This created a problem as the range for the tire to move upward got reduced, which meant you could bottom out (meaning the tire would rub on the frame on a decent bump). To resolve this, I bought a set of shocks that allowed for height adjustment. This allowed me to set them high, add a little preload to tighten the springs, and afterward I could ride with my girlfriend on the back over all road bumps and undulations without any tire clearance issues.

Just one of those things you may not think about mid-project when you're only thinking one step ahead, at best. I could have simply deleted the hoop to eliminate the height issue and gone with a shorter seat, but I wanted to be able to ride two up.
 
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Once I had a flat seat, it was my turn to try and emulate this guy - the Australian YouTuber I mentioned above:


Needless to say, this was the coolest step in the build. My buddy and I had no idea what we were getting ourselves into using the 3M/Bondo fiberglass kit (which worked great). It was like 90+ degrees out and muggy, and we quickly realized that the fiberglass resin sets fast in muggy heat. So here are the tips for anyone going this route: plan, plan, execute. Practice layering the pieces of cloth you've cut down a few times. Get a legit process in place for who's doing what (do it with a partner). As soon as the hardener hits the resin, you've got 5-10 mins to (5 if hot and muggy like our day) complete this task. I think I did 5 layers of cloth total. I bought:

3M Bondo 8 sq. ft. Fiberglass Cloth - one pack was enough for my 5 layer seat
Bondo 1 qt. All-Purpose Fiberglass Resin - came with a tube of hardener inside lid

I mean, there is more to it than this - I'd suggest watching the above YouTube guy's videos to get a handle on the measuring, cutting, and how to think about where the frame will sit and what pieces (i.e. height of electrics under seat) to account for. I also took the time to cut off and grind smooth the stock seat hinges on the frame so it was a uniform, clean look.

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Then, of course, I had to cover the damn thing. Thought that would be easy. But all the logical options suck - like high density foam from Joann. It's too soft. So I went back to the Aussie's videos and saw his use of yoga mat as a layer, then other foam as well. So I followed his lead and bought a 15 mil yoga mat from Target. I cut out and used two layers of the yoga mat (as you can see below), and then put a 1-1.5" layer of the seat foam from the seat that came with the bike (a Yamaha seat of some kind). Here is it layered before going to get covered at a local upholstery shop where they put some "cover" cotton over the foam to ensure a smooth look when wrapped (I bought my own fabric from Amazon to have them use):

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Ok, so that's about it for a somewhat detailed look at a given build stage. I've got one more "in progress" photo. This was after I had resolved to using the stock tank, and I was simply testing the riding look while trying out a few Pro Taper bars...my next post will be a "final" post to list out work done and parts used and final photos of the finished product...I'll try to edit that post over the next week to hyperlink to sites as much as I can for parts and whatever. I want to put this thread out there simply to help one guy figure something out. I know I don't have as detailed a dive into each step like so many other threads, but if you read or see something in my thread and you want to know more - like how I did something, or what I learned doing any piece - please feel free to ask:

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So this is the list (I think it's complete) of everything I did on my project build this summer. I got to do so many maintenance items and little tasks and mini-projects that's it hard to even remember what it was like doing each thing. It all seems like a blur now. I was building this while my city (Minneapolis) was being rioted and burned and looted. It was a crazy summer, and I'm glad I had this distraction. If only more people would put down their phones, get off social media, and do something productive with their free time...maybe we'd have more building and less destroying. But who knows, I'm no philosopher.

Please reach out with any questions anyone may have. I'm happy to help out however I can. I think I may get a few questions on the exhaust setup I chose, so maybe I'll add some extra details in another post on here about what I did.

Project Work:
Wheels

• Front Tire: Shinko E804 Crossfly Dual Sport (100/90-19)
• Rear Tire: Heidenau K60 Scout Dual Sport (4.00-18)
• New wheel bearings (front/rear)
• New tubes (front/rear) and rim tape (front/rear)


Engine
• New Float Valve Needles and Seats (floats set to 25mm)
• New Carb intake boots/mounts
• New Ignition coils
• New Dynatek suppression spark plug wires and NGK resistor caps
• New Denso Iridium IW22 spark plugs
• New sump oil filter and plate gasket
• New oil filter screen and gasket
• New Tappet cover gaskets (3 hole, 4 hole)
• New Header/Tailpipe exhaust gaskets
• New crankcase cover gasket
• New gear train cover gasket
• New clutch cover gasket
• New fuel and float bowl overflow lines
• Intake/Exhaust Valves gapped
• Points gapped and timing set
• Carbs running K&N Pod Filters

Bars
• New Pro Taper Evo Adventure Bars w/ Pro Taper risers
• New steering stem bearings (sku 28-2009 on MikesXS - no longer listed?)
• New grips
• New Clutch perch, handle, and cable
• New throttle tube and cable
• New start/kill switch throttle body housing
• New headlight/turn signal/horn bar housing
New mirrors

Body/Appearance
• New Speedometer w/ LED lights
• New LED headlight
• New turn signals
• New LED tail light from Purpose Built Moto
Fork boots/gaiters
• Custom fiberglass molded seat covered in a black carbon weave vinyl
• Custom paint job on fuel tank and side covers
• Various engine cover cases covered in high temp engine enamel black paint
Wrapped exhaust w/ fiberglass-packed baffles installed - looks like straight pipes, but sounds like stock exhaust

Mechanicals
• New front brake master cylinder
• New brake pads (front)
• New front brake lines (upper, lower)
• Front brake rotor resurfaced
• New brakes shoes and springs (rear)
New 530 front sprocket (17t, stock size)
New 530 rear sprocket (34t, stock size)
New 530 heavy duty gold chain (cut to length)
New Swingarm brass bushings
New Swingarm pivot shaft
New swingarm grease seals
New rear shocks
• New Speedo cable
• Tach cable delete and properly nut capped on engine case

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And here she is this week getting shipped out to Japan - where the buyer is located (sold on eBay). Amazing project, and it was great to have it culminate with an international sale as the cherry on top. And for anyone wondering: I basically broke even. I don't do this as a side hustle or anything. Just a one-off experience that paid for itself...if you don't consider my hourly rate of $0.00 over dozens and dozens of hours. ;)

Oh, and my original “end of June” timeline was only off by a bunch: Started May 11 and finished it end of August. Spent September dialing it in, then sold it this past month.

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Nice work man. Impressive amount of work in a short amount of time. I also did a build thread in retrospective, and it was a really fun way to relive it all again and put the million pictures I took to good use (and I feel the same way....it was very much a blur). My original motivation was like yourself, in the interest of giving back, but I have to say the best part of it was chumming around with the folks that were quick to cheer me on or give a kudos. It's a great group here.

Japan!! That's crazy, nice work, the fact that you managed to break even is impressive. Were you always planning to sell it? Any regrets?? Imagine it must have been a little bittersweet, haha.
 
Nice job. Hopefully it s going to a good home overseas. What’s the next project?
Thanks for the note. The buyer in Japan owns a bike shop outside Tokyo, so unsure if it’s for him or a customer he has in mind. But he was a nice guy to work with, so I’m happy it’s heading his way.

At this point, no next project. In 2018, I overhauled an 80 series Land Cruiser (which I did a more real-time build thread on), so maybe I’ll go another 18 months before starting a new one...though everyday I search listings and classifieds to tease that itch that wants a scratch.
 
Nice work man.

Thanks man. Yeah, it seems only right to share any experience or knowledge I gained after the hours I spent on here troubleshooting. I think the favorite part of my build was all of my buddy’s neighbors who would hang out in the alley this summer watching me work on the bike - everyone was home with the world shut down and I think I kept them all entertained. But whether in person or on here, it’s just better when you can share something with others.

Japan! It was crazy when I saw the offer come over. I initially almost said “no” thinking the logistics would be a hassle, even though he’d have to pay and set it all up. But I slept on it, and the next day I realized it was absolutely worth the hassle to cap off my build that way. So crazy to think my backyard creation struck a chord with a guy half a world away.

And I think I was aiming to sell it all along. Not my original 100% conscience plan as I think back to May, but also I always made sure I wasn’t going too crazy with it in case I did sell it during the build, so I think deep down I knew this was a pure project and when it was complete it was over. Bittersweet, yes. But very happy I made the decision to tackle this project. I owe past me a beer for rolling the dice.
 
Yeah, had I not got my hands on it I bet a purist would have been quite happy to take it home. Basically just needed a seat and bars to make stock.
They used to say chop the '80+ ones, they're no good and I would say they're the best of all. On the old site that preceded this one, where most of us came from, at this point just a few of us I guess, a guy chopped a showroom 1970 and we were like what's with this idiot. Find a hopeless turd in a boneyard to do this to. There's a chance you will make a couple of bills on it. The worst is when they end up for sale as a pile of parts project that somebody lost interest in. Breaking even, you didn't accomplish anything, even from an artsy point of view if you're of that bent. The basic problem is it looked good before too so nothing gained for all your effort. Save one that's dying instead.
 
It is sad to compare the "Before" and the "After" photos. I once had a 1958 Puch R125 with saddle seats and gave it away to be turned into a go-kart. I still regret that but know each has their own grand plans.
 
Put the parts you took off on ebay and turn that into a good profit for you and a good bargain for a buyer. A lot of choppers of good XS650s would have thrown those parts away though as part of their...commitment. The self-survival problem the XS has is it's not expensive yet so it's everybody's first project
 
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