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Got my '80 Special sorted last year, fixed the clutch, overall pretty happy with it. But. The idle varies, for no apparent reason. Sometimes when I stop at a stop sign it tries to die and I have to roll a little throttle on to keep it running (or it does die and I sit there looking like an...

I have not, as yet, gotten the cam chain guide replaced on my '80 Special. It has probably 18,000 miles on it, and I've been told repeatedly that most bikes that age need the replacement... and further, I've found small bits of the plastic in the oil when changing it. But, I've not found any...

Here's a picture of the preload adjustment on the left side shock on my 1980 XS650 Special, shot from the front: This is messed up, right? There's no way to turn that adjuster since it's fouling the chain guard. Shouldn't it be aligned to the back, so turning it would move it around the...

I've got a 1980 XS650, the one with the tubeless rims, and I'll be needing a new front tire for next year. I'm looking at a number of 100/90-19 tires; naturally I want a good deal, but I want a tire rated over 100 MPH (though I seldom go there) and I want a good balance of traction and...

So I had to resolder the wires to the turn signal switch to get it working, but it still isn't perfect. It's sometimes hard to get the left signal to come on, and it seems to self-cancel way too quick, and then sometimes it self-cancels and then comes back on a few miles down the road...

Okay, so I mentioned in my build thread (and elsewhere) that my XS650 arrived with a nasty, leaky, ugly master cylinder. I decided to do what I did with my Honda CB650, namely put on an aftermarket unit from a vendor I trust. When I posted my intentions on this forum, I received numerous...

Back on July 14th I posted this "before" pic of my 1980 XS650 in the "Show us..." thread: Here's the instrument cluster, for reference. I rode the bike less than a mile from the seller's residence to the gas station and reset the tripmeter when I filled it up, but I must have screwed up...

Check me on this, if you will... the "custom" styled latter years of the XS650 consists of different bars, tank, seat, side panels, rear fender, and lights, right? If you had those bits from an earlier year, they'd bolt right on to the newer frame, correct? I love the Triumph-like look of the...

So I have oil leaking from the left side of my just-purchased XS650, specifically from the head gasket. It runs good, so no compression issue is evident. I saw this old thread: http://www.xs650.com/threads/leaking-head-gasket.30135/#post-302298 The members there talk about retorquing the...