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Great light on my rusty XS650 work in progress. Has a 750 kit on, and lots of patina

`Great. That's where I messed up, I got a kit with a non bottoming tap. Thanks for your input, the helicoil saga continues.

I'm reviving this thread since I had a confusion I think many newbies will have: How does one actually tap the helicoil thread in a 7mm deep blind hole when the tap is like this: I've seen a couple videos but the hole always seems deeper or isn't a blind hole. Update on the jb weld fix: It...

I'm experimenting with different positions and tightness. I cleaned the breather when I vapor blasted the engine, and it was if pretty good shape and breathed fine. I did make sure to remove the old washers but I will try to torque it a bit more next time I'm working on it. Thanks for the clues!

The problem now is one of leaky valve covers. I had an issue with one that dropped a pin which I posted about in another thread. Once repaired, I vapor blasted the mating surfaces of the valve covers and put a gasket on instead of the rubber seals. This helped a bit, but there are still a couple...

I'm long overdue for an update post... recently got fired so life has been hectic. Sorry for the wait! Following Jim's post, I reassembled the head. I took the time to vapor blast it and I have to say I'm much happier with how it looks, here's a before and after. Here's a picture of it on...

Lots of information to unpack here. I think I will go with the mike headers, now on to figure out which muffler... Since we're on the topic of exhausts, is there anything great about having a 2 into 1? Is there a performance gain?

Nope, the head pipes are for the 2 into 1 and won't fit something like this. That setup looks rad!

Can't believe I forgot to post that... I have a 1980 xs650 Special II

I've been looking for a clean looking original stock exhaust with no luck since the beginning of this build... and not interested in paying 500+ for a resto. As far as loudness I don't want the deafening sound of straight pipes but I don't really have a preference. I only want the 2 into 2...

Hi, Figured I'd start a thread since the other exhaust threads seem kind of outdated and the prices are all changed now. I have a xs650 with a 750 big bore kit from mikes now breathing through a 2 into 1 presumably from mike's, but that system is rusted, leaks and quite honestly I don't like its...

These are definitely on the list for when my initial repair fails.

So I'm giving a small update to this thread which will I will return to when the fix fails. I went to drill out the hole for the helicoil to find it was already at the right size, making it impossible to carve threads into for the helicoil. I gave in to my instincts and just j-b welded a new...

No issue on that, apparently the P.O's P.O. did the swap. I put a new style in which I had planned to do since the 750 kit from Heiden uses it (Got an entirely new tensioner assembly). I do have a 447 engine, no clue why he did that! I am soon going to type up a big follow up post, but to be...

Yup I had a major brain fart with that one. I'm going to go the helicoil route, so I will report back with what happens once all my stuff comes in. Also seems like helicoils are cool tech to know how to use!

This seems to answer my problem perfectly: https://www.hughshandbuilt.com/product/xs650-valve-cover-stud-kit/ Any members have opinions on this kit? I have nothing against getting new studs and a helicoil kit but this is cheaper, seems sturdier and the studs from mike look kind of weak.

Thank you for the input. It looks like the other side was also repaired in a similar fashion...

Sorry I'm doing my best! There are no threads left at all.

As I was happy and taking my freshly rebuilt bike for its first ride, I noticed an oil leak. Thinking the worst, I look and notice one of the pins on the rocker cover vibrated itself out! Looks like there's a little bit of the pin still in the hole: I took some measurements and the hole...

When putting the bead of sealant on both sides, I avoided those oil gulleys for that reason. Hopefully none (or minimal) sealant will have seeped in!