My rebuild journey. (old title: Future owner - Help me identify this 650.)

Check out this next level sump oil filter patch job done by Jim!

Quick stupid question. What are the implications of running the bike without the air boxes on? I imagine it will change how the carbs run? Im not wanting to actually run the bike down the road with it. Just for troubleshooting purposes. Just a pain to put them back on every time i take the carbs off.

Does it change the carbs enough that it makes troubleshooting moot?

Reasonable question.
If you are not likely to shake existing debris/dirt loose from the batterybox area, I'd run it with out filters there in the shop. For extended running time diagnosing and adjusting (playing around) it is wise to place a fan in front of the engine blowing wind on the top end..
Clamp on filters are also easy to take on and off for the final jetting evaluations, which really can only be determined by road testing anyway..
Good Luck !!

Sudonate91 said:

Quick stupid question. What are the implications of running the bike without the air boxes on? I imagine it will change how the carbs run? Im not wanting to actually run the bike down the road with it. Just for troubleshooting purposes. Just a pain to put them back on every time i take the carbs off.

Does it change the carbs enough that it makes troubleshooting moot?

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You can run the bike with the air boxes off. What you can't do is "tune" the carbs with 'em off and then put 'em back on.

Interesting find. I think I made a mistake with putting my left over mower fuel in the bike. It had stabil in it. But check out this white powder residue. Not good...

Also @Jim I used your suggestion (@gggGary s advice ) to boil water and check my floats. All good - no bubbles! Visually it looks like the problem float was not the same as the carb that wasn't leaking. I think I just need to reset the float and I think the fuel coming out of the carb will be resolved.

I used the tip to tear open some old grease zerks too. I got the ball out and now my choke works! It doesnt have the spring so the action is a little clunky - but better than before!

Anywho. I got all my parts everyone sent me. Time to do the brake rebuild, handlebar replacement, clutch and throttle cable replacements (motion pros), and then a full rewire with the loom I purchased.

Any tips on the rewire? I saw some threads say start from the back and move forward. Is that sound advice?

Also the wheel situation devolved to just getting a refund but the seller let me keep the wheel. I will try everyones 2x4 method soon to see if I can bang it out.

Sudonate91 said:

Anywho. I got all my parts everyone sent me. Time to do the brake rebuild, handlebar replacement,

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The "Special" style master cylinder with that angled cast will work with Bike Master brand Euro bend handlebars if you do choose that type.
*Just a note

Great, a "free" wheel, lol. Even if you have to replace the rim, you got the important stuff you need (hub, brake). You would most likely need new spokes for any wheel you got anyway and as I think I mentioned, the 16" stainless spokes from XS650Direct are a real bargain @ about $35 a set.

Howdy folks,

So I used my day off today to do a bunch of stuff

1. Banged on the bent rim. It didn't seem to do much. Maybe a little. Mounted the rim anyway since it's better than my flat tired, broken spoked one
2. Rewired the entire bike
3. Installed new handle bars
4. Installed new handle bar controls. I broke my old blinkers side when I opened it up to clean it. Everything just fell apart. So I replaced both sides.
5. Installed a new motion pro clutch cable
6. Took apart and cleaned + relubed the clutch worm
7. Upped my main jet in my carb
8. Fixed carb choke by installing a ball from a grease zerk
9. Installed a new breather tube
10. Rebuild and installed brake M/C
11. Removed and cleaned front brake
12. Installed a center stand

Things I still need to do

1. Reinstall carb
2. Install new fuel line with inline filter
3. Install new motion pro throttle cable
4. Rebuild and install front brake with new pads.
5. Profit?

My biggest let down right now is the clutch still seems stiff to me. Even after then motion pro cable and lubed worm gear. I havnt ran the bike yet so maybe it will improve.

I'm almost done with everything I needed to do this winter. Time to start to look for a helmet, jacket, and gloves to ride with. I will look into repainting in the spring. My pregnant wife is rounding 37 weeks. So I think once I get all this done I will be stopping for now to prepare for the little one.

Thank you all for getting me to this point. I cant express how grateful I am to have a resource such as all of you.

You need to oil the new cables, they come almost dry. Plain motor oil does a good job, better than that spray cable lube. That stuff is too thin and goes away in a few days. You can do it with the cable in place, just unhook the top end, but hanging the cable while it's off is easiest. Do your new throttle cable before installing it. I have a little cable oiling "station" I made up. It's just some aluminum angle with slits and slots in it to slide the ends of the cables in. Then I just dribble motor oil down in the tops a few drops at a time. It takes 10 or 15 minutes and multiple drops of oil but eventually, it runs out the bottom and the cable's done .....

5twins said:

You need to oil the new cables, they come almost dry. Plain motor oil does a good job, better than that spray cable lube. That stuff is too thin and goes away in a few days. You can do it with the cable in place, just unhook the top end, but hanging the cable while it's off is easiest. Do your new throttle cable before installing it. I have a little cable oiling "station" I made up. It's just some aluminum angle with slits and slots in it to slide the ends of the cables in. Then I just dribble motor oil down in the tops a few drops at a time. It takes 10 or 15 minutes and multiple drops of oil but eventually, it runs out the bottom and the cable's done .....

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Good to know. I guess I assumed they came pre lubed. I will 3d print a little hanging jig in my basement and oil both the clutch cable and my throttle cable.

5twins said:

You need to oil the new cables, they come almost dry. Plain motor oil does a good job, better than that spray cable lube. That stuff is too thin and goes away in a few days. You can do it with the cable in place, just unhook the top end, but hanging the cable while it's off is easiest. Do your new throttle cable before installing it. I have a little cable oiling "station" I made up. It's just some aluminum angle with slits and slots in it to slide the ends of the cables in. Then I just dribble motor oil down in the tops a few drops at a time. It takes 10 or 15 minutes and multiple drops of oil but eventually, it runs out the bottom and the cable's done .....

Click to expand...

Oiling up my cables now. Made a quick jig to hang them. Wont get to installing them until tomorrow.

Also. Im not sure if 3d printing would benefit anyone. I would gladly print stuff for people who have helped me in this thread! I would just ask they pay shipping. Preferably if you already have a model, but I also have some modeling skills. I can also try to replicated parts from multiple photos (think 360 sphere photos)

Lubing the cable should make a significant difference. If not, there may be a routing issue going on...or something's not quite set up correct. The XS's clutch pull is a bit stiff compared to other bikes of the same era, but not significantly so from my experience.

Brassneck said:

Lubing the cable should make a significant difference. If not, there may be a routing issue going on...or something's not quite set up correct. The XS's clutch pull is a bit stiff compared to other bikes of the same era, but not significantly so from my experience.

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Lubing made the clutch so much better! Actually kind of snappy.


So update.

Got the carb back on. Put new fuel in it again.

So far the best thing I ever did was fix my choke. No more holding it - and I have full choke and half choke. She fires up on a couple turns of the starter now. Warming up is smooth. I had to adjust the idle because it was idling high and kind of popping at first (I imagine this was a byproduct of the newer 'upped' jet) . I turned it down to idle at 1k rpm and it doesn't pop anymore and is smooth.

Also - for shits n grins. I pulled my plug wires while it was running. I pulled my right plug and the bike died. I pulled the left plug and it persisted to run. I put my hand over the carb intake on both sides and the bike revs up when I do it one after the other. Is this a sign of the carbs not being in synced?


I took off the rear wheel again. The brake was sticking pretty bad. Cleaned out the brake drum some more and now its also very snappy! The back wheel is worse than I thought. I dont think it rotates true. So I will be looking for a new wheel while I wait for spring to come. I think this one will still be good as my 'service wheel' until I can find a suitable highspeed wheel. I also am wondering if I put the back wheel on correctly. The tensioners use different bolts and the wheel kind of wobbles back and forth when I spin it so its hard to tell if I have it set 'straight'. I think imma ride it slowly around the neighborhood to see whats going on there.

I installed the front brake and new pads. I haven't added brake fluid yet. Im dreading bleeding them.

My headlight works fully now - high and low. I dont know if this is the rewire + cleaning all terminals or new handle bar controls. My brake lights work with foot brake and hand brake now. I still want to find a complete set of blinkers - not a priority though.

My foot shifter is broken and almost striped. The bottom half broke off. It is only being held on by the pinch of the bolt. It works for now, but if I stomped on it. It will probably strip out.

The wife wants me to clean up the garage and get the vehicles back in. I dont know if I will get the front brake bled before the baby comes. Might need to revisit this in the spring.

Is there anything I need to look into before letting it sit for the next couple months? Fill up the tank with fuel with stabilizer in it. Put the battery on a tender. Anything else?

Little bit concerned what you said about the rear wheel. Photo of the tensioners? When you say the wheel wobbles back and forth, do you mean the spindle/axle is loose? Or that the wheel is slightly out of true?

I think you mean the wheel is out of true - that's not a serious concern as long as it's not too bad.

But you need to know the wheel is in properly before you take the bike out.

Sudonate91 said:

. I dont know if I will get the front brake bled before the baby comes. Might need to revisit this in the spring.

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How did the master cylinder rebuild go?
I haven't ever put a gasoline stabilizer in a bike. Just fresh gas.
A couple months is not long enough to be concerned.
-R

Raymond said:

Little bit concerned what you said about the rear wheel. Photo of the tensioners? When you say the wheel wobbles back and forth, do you mean the spindle/axle is loose? Or that the wheel is slightly out of true?

I think you mean the wheel is out of true - that's not a serious concern as long as it's not too bad.

But you need to know the wheel is in properly before you take the bike out.

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I think the wheel is out of true. I think I have it secured properly. I can give it a good kick all around and it doesn't budge. I will try to get pictures soon

Machine said:

How did the master cylinder rebuild go?
I haven't ever put a gasoline stabilizer in a bike. Just fresh gas.
A couple months is not long enough to be concerned.
-R

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It went well! I used all your parts. My parts were BAD. Like bad bad. There was a solid mass of gunk on mine that I had to chisel off.

I havnt put brake fluid in yet. So a full test is still to be done.

Bleeding the master cylinder isn't always the nightmare often written about. It can go very well too. Use patience and finesse for the victory