1975 XS Budget Build or at least thats what I tell the better half!

[SherpaT]

I've been lurking this forum for a while now. Growing up my Father had an 1979 Special and I have finally aquired an XS of my own. I Paid 300$ for it with a seized engine and a few missing parts. I'm hoping that between Ebay and other sources I can have a running bike for next Sumer for 1000$ minus my labour. I've basically got it torn down now and I'm looking at options and trying to decide what I'm going to do with it. I am going to keep it mostly stock and not chop it up but I want to add some cool stuff as well. I'm thinking on making somewhat of a scrambler out of it due to it being more useful in my area to be able to ride gravel roads as well. That being said I haven't fully committed to anything yet. Here's a few pics to start with.

 

[gggGary]

That'll keep you out of the bars for a bit!
Hey you got a crate motor!
See the standard brake linings fell off thing.
Ate my first moose steak while camped at Mt. McKay. hmm about 1987?

 

[fredintoon]

Hi SherpaT and welcome,
looks like you've a winter's work ahead of you. Hope there's a warm dry place to do it in.
There's some street scrambler builds on this site to insplre you, I'd say the first thing to
consider is how to do a weight loss job because the stock 440+lb bike will be a touch
heavy off road.

 

[SherpaT]

Thanks for the replies! Ya we love moose steaks up here! I brought the bike in the basement in parts so I'll be warm all winter. I thought I might get lucky with the Engine but it ended up being a struggle getting the cylinder off. One cylinder must have been full of water. The crank still appears to be in good shape however the pistons cylinder and head are trashed. It is missing the stator as well. I am thinking about going to plan B. I have another 1980 XS650 on the other side of the country in my parents barn. It never had papers and I bought it as a project and then moved away. That engine actually ran so I am thinking shipping the engine out here may be the easiest/cheapest option. Is the factory CDI on the later models a reliable option? The wiring on the 75 bike is in pretty good shape does anyone have any tips for mating the new charging system with the old wiring?

 

[gggGary]

There's threads, prolly simplest to swap the whole harness. You need coil reg, rec,

 

[5twins]

I wouldn't be so quick to throw the towel in on that topend yet. Oversize pistons and a re-bore might fix the cylinders up and a valve job (hand lapping) could fix the head.

 

[SherpaT]

Ya I was really hoping to salvage this motor. The cylinders definitely need a rebore and oversize pistons. So its 250 Cad for pistons and rings plus the rebore. I took the head apart and one of the valves is bent, and the seats are pitted quite bad so I'm thinking some head machining is needed as well. Furthermore its missing the stator. With all this seems like the best short term solution is to use the other engine. I definitely will be keeping this engine and may end up rebuilding it in the future. If I can get the paperwork together for the other bike and have money might as well have two!

 

[lakeview]

Welcome to the site!
I saw that one on Kijiji, but the Lakehead is a long ways away.
Good start for a survivor.

 

[650Skull]

Ya I was really hoping to salvage this motor. The cylinders definitely need a rebore and oversize pistons. So its 250 Cad for pistons and rings plus the rebore. I took the head apart and one of the valves is bent, and the seats are pitted quite bad so I'm thinking some head machining is needed as well. Furthermore its missing the stator. With all this seems like the best short term solution is to use the other engine. I definitely will be keeping this engine and may end up rebuilding it in the future. If I can get the paperwork together for the other bike and have money might as well have two!

Not if you get the pistons and rings from these guys..........lots of good feedback on these pistons from members on this site.
https://www.cruzinimage.net/?s=xs650+pistons

 

[5twins]

I was going to mention them. Granted, the price of $80 U.S. will be slightly higher in Canadian dollars, but shouldn't be anywhere near $250.

 

[650Skull]

Another big advantage with cruzinimage pistons is the sizes they offer. Mikes only goes up to 4th over, (1mm). Crizinimage have and 6th, (1.5mm) and 8th, (2mm) over so that a damaged bore past 4th over can be used again without getting new liners and having to take a massive bore cut to fit the 706cc big bore kit in standard liners......... 8th over, (2mm) is roughly 688cc.........

 

[59Tebo]

If you're going to see the parents for the holidays, bring back that '80! Assuming that motor runs, it's a drop-in, and with the exception of some different wiring (that the '75 doesn't need anyways) the rest of the '75 won't know it's got a different motor. If that's not an option, then, peruse the classifieds here for some good, used top-end parts. Then, a gasket set and seals won't set you back too bad ($$). There's your winter project. Good luck, and keep us updated!

 

[SherpaT]

Hey guys, thank you for the ideas! You've got me thinking now! I'll bring my cylinder down and see what the machine shop thinks. That is a screaming deal on pistons and also great prices on brake shoes there as well. If that doesn't work out I may look back into getting some good used jugs. I have a set of new rings I could use on this engine as well. It would be a shame to cannibalize another almost complete bike.

 

[Jim]

I may look back into getting some good used jugs.

If you can find two cylinders that have one good sleeve each (typical on Ebay), you can swap sleeves to make one good cylinder assy.

 

[SherpaT]

So just found a good used set of cylinders and pistons for 100$ usd shipped! I'm now planning on getting the new to me cylinder honed put a new set of rings in and I should be good to go for a while. Maybe I can sell the old jug as well. Now the other major parts I'm looking for is one intake valve preferably straight! and I'm going to try and cobble together a PMA setup on the cheap.

 

[Ratranger]

If you do a PMA I recommend an SH775 reg/rec. Instead of shunting the extra power to ground it shuts down phases, the stator and reg/rec run cooler. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Polaris-RZ...0c44ac6:g:4WgAAOSw3ANb4wk9&LH_ItemCondition=4

I can also attest to the cruzinimage pistons being good. I used a set of 2nd over from them, they came out of the box within .1g and .0002" of each other.

 

[SherpaT]

Thanks for the tip on the regulator, I put an offer on it so hopefully get it. I bought a banshee mounting plate and flywheel as well as a stator for an Xv 250. Ordered some new bars as well. Unfortunately we have a postal strike happening right now so it might take a while. This site from Aus has a great write up on the PMA and I'm planning on using his template. https://www.xs650.org.au/Technical Info/Alternators.htm

 

[Superjet]

Yeah postal strike sucks on the Atlantic coast too. Got a bunch of parts coming in and of course need the last one first!! Lol good project you got there and will take some time. Keep at it!

 

[fredintoon]

Yeah postal strike sucks on the Atlantic coast too. Got a bunch of parts coming in and of course need the last one first!! Lol good project you got there and will take some time. Keep at it!

Hi Superjet,
FWIW the Canada Post strike sucks from sea to shining sea.
My postie sez that sorting offices are kept so short staffed that working there is plain hazardous
but OTOH Canada Post has TWENTYFOUR vice-presidents soaking up payroll doing nothing but polish their leather chairs with their idle backsides.

 

[SherpaT]

So ordered up most of my stator stuff as well as some used cylinders and pistons on eBay. Today I dropped off the head at my local machine shop to see if its salvageable. I already ordered a new valve as one was bent so hopefully its good news! Heres a pic after a lot of cleaning. The one jug must have been full of water. I also looks like someone once upon a time did some pretty shoddy port work.