1979 xs650 build

[Fang]

Hey everyone
Started out riding bicycles
Slapped a 66cc motor on one and rode it a few months
Decided I wanted to go faster so I put a bigger 212cc on her
Eventually I got a 2002 honda shadow 750, rode that for a little over a year before being totaled by a drunk driver
A few months later and here I am
Found a 1979 xs650 on craigslist a few hours away for $800 and I had to get it

 

[Fang]

Where do I even begin
Started going through the mess of wires strewn about the headlight
Found lots of things disconnected so I figured I should somewhat start from scratch
Light checker, blinkers, tail light, clutch meter washer, reed switch and a handful of other things where missing along with the battery
So I simplified the wiring, and tied everything together
Tried to kick it over and the pedal was like a sponge
Tore down the entire clutch assembly (washers and all)
took out the push rods and all that jazz
After two days I realized the worm gear bolt was way over tightened causing the clutch to slip when I tried kicking it, basically it was disengaged entirely
fixed everything up and started her, tons of backfiring on the left cylinder
Gas- check
Air-check
Spark.....lemme check that spark plug
Ahaaaaaa
The side electrode was completely touching the center electrode as if it had been dropped on the ground or thrown out of frustration
Measured the gap on the other side .60 -____-
So I ran down to autozone, grabbed a couple ngk's gapped them and threw em in
wooohoooo! made a huge difference,I thought she was fast when I test rode her before!
Now I find myself sliding back on the seat (a cheap cut up skateboard for now)

 

[Fang]

While staring at her I decided to investigate the regulator
3 wires coming from it
green- going to the stator
black- tied into a ground
brown- tied into the brown wire going into the rear brake switch (not hooked up to a brake light)
Then I started thinking about it, what's that brown wire doing??
Tore apart the stator and everything electrical related again (I shoulda went easy on the electrical tape since taking it all apart was inevitable)
Traced every wire and looked at what seemed like hundreds of diagrams
Every time I connected the brown wire where it should be ( tied into the rest of the brown wires)
Boom fuse blew
Not only on the bike but in my mind as i wrestled with an invisible menace for two straight days
Then after seeing a picture of the stator set up provided by a fellow forum member I realized the brushes where on backwards (cheaply illustrated below)

The green wire was constantly making contact with the black wire......
I couldn't believe it, I had looked it over tons of times and didn't even think twice about it, finally after jamming as much info in my poor brain that I could it clicked and I switched them over, wired everything up and she runs great!
Right now I have some smoke coming from the exhaust, mostly when it warms up then it tends to go away after a while
Seems like it's burning oil a bit, further investigation will determine my next flaming hoop to jump through

 

[hardrock785]

before you know it you will be screaming up and down broadway!

 

[Fang]

before you know it you will be screaming up and down broadway!

I'm already screaming up and down the neighborhood, just ask my disgruntled neighbors!

 

[Fang]

So a little update on the xs650
A few years ago I "finished" the xs650
Rode it up to orange county from San Diego.
The engine had an oil leak and smoked on the way home, I got it back home in my truck and it sat for a few years.
Over the years I got parts for it including a donor engine I could use for salvaging parts.
I got in a wreck on my other bike at the time, the Honda shadow, and got a yamaha roadstar also.
I've since started working on the xs again and will be trying to post on here at least once a week about the progress

 

[member28833]

Hello Fang, in 79 there were actually 3 models of XS650's, could you post a pic ?
This site is a good source for parts.
-R

 

[5twins]

Many of these seem to need their topends looked into. But hey, it's a 40+ year old bike. Redo the topend and you should get many years of dependable and trouble-free service out of the old girl. I redid mine like a dozen years ago and while it is nearing time to go in there again, I can't complain. The few hundred dollars I spent has given me many years of good riding on a great bike.

 

[Fang]

Hello Fang, in 79 there were actually 3 models of XS650's, could you post a pic ?
This site is a good source for parts.
-R
View attachment 158707

Here's a picture of how it looked from my previous build minus the Springer forks
It had a weld on brat kit at the time
I have other pictures of how it looked running but they are on my computer at home and I have to find them

 

[Fang]

I believe it was a xs650 special?
I currently have it in a chip source frame jig, the rear hardtail section is a mk21 by voodoo vintage.
I plan on extending the backbone, taking the neck, and bending up some 1 1/8 down tubes to gooseneck the frame a little

 

[Fang]

I made this engine jig for the frame to keep everything lined up while I modify the backbone and down tubes
I'm currently waiting for the jd squared model 32 bender die to come in the mail

I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to do this whole thing, my idea is to level the frame in the jig with the neck portion of the jig in the farthest forward position it can go, then cut the backbone and downtubes, then with the neck fixture still tight in place, move the rear section of the frame back.
My worry is that once I loosen up the the axle and engine mount bolts on the frame jig to move everything back I will lose the alignment of the neck to the backbone.

 

[member28833]

I see , so are the Southern Cal roads so bad by now that choppers need a rear knobby ?

 

[Fang]

I see , so are the Southern Cal roads so bad by now that choppers need a rear knobby ?

It was either aggressive tread or a tire that looked like it was from a crotch rocket, you can see what choice I went with
It rode surprisingly smooth!

 

[650Skull]

going of the pic in your first post the 79.......... is a 79SII...............rare one model only, (not year), alloy rimmed spoke, 19" front/16"rear wheels..........hang on to them or make sure a swap goes in your favor

 

[Fang]

going of the pic in your first post the 79.......... is a 79SII...............rare one model only, (not year), alloy rimmed spoke, 19" front/16"rear wheels..........hang on to them or make sure a swap goes in your favor

I plan on using a xs rear mag with a disc brake but I'll probably stuff them in my attic in case I end up getting another xs

 

[Fang]

So this weekend I plan on getting a few goodies
A guy not too far from me is selling a engine
It's rephased
750cc big bore kit
Lots of other things done to it
Seems like a good deal for the price, I looked everything up and it comes out to about $4500 in parts not including labor
The guy is asking $1500 for it

I've asked several other xs650 groups and they all agree that it's a good deal
I will be posting a list of everything that has been done to it so you guys can check it out and see what you think

He also has some mag wheels from an xs for $120
I plan on using the rear wheel so I can utilize the disc, it should look pretty cool with some metal flake on it I think
Below is a picture of my current ride
A 03 yamaha roadstar 1600
It has a Frankenstein's monster shifter knob and it kinda a patched together bike so it
suits it

The xs650 will be named "The bride" and I am going to try to sand cast a aluminum bride of Frankenstein head to use as a shifter knob
I'm also filming the entire process and will be posting it to YouTube within the next month or so, it doubles work time when you have to film and edit everything.

 

[Fang]

So today I drove a few hours north to a motorcycle swap meet, found a bunch of good parts including some stock xs650 parts
Regulator Rectifier, front and rear engine mounts, some axle adjusters and a stock clutch cable, all for $10
I also picked up some risers for $15 I'm still thinking about whether or not I'm going to use them

I also got a stock xs650 kickstand for $2
I plan on extending it for the build

I got quite a bit more stuff but most of it wasn't xs650 related, well most of it at least.....

 

[Fang]

I drove about an hour north a little past hollywood and got the engine
The previous owner (xs650rob) had all the receipts for the work done to it
So far it's totaled out to at least $3900
It also came with these new carbs
He also threw in a pair of mag wheels and some other misc parts for $100
I think it was well worth the drive

 

[Fang]

So I ended up using the front rotor from the mag wheels I got and put it on the rear wheel. I plan on using a brembo p32 caliper and making a wheel spacer that has an attached plate which the caliper will mount to, basically the pandamonium set up but I will be mounting it between the seat tube and lower frame tube.
I have that and a 13mm bore brembo rear master cylinder coming in ther mail.
While I wait on those I will be cutting off the neck gussets I welded on there while building it before so I can get a clear view of what I'm cutting when the neck gets hacked off.
I also started making a seat plate that will mount where the backbone meets the seat tubes, I will upload all the progress pics when I get a chance.

 

[Fang]

Update on the progress
For some reason I couldn't log in for a few weeks so here's where I'm at
The frame is in the jig

And there goes the backbone and downtubes!
I've been kinda worried about doing it but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be
The plan is to extend the backbone 4" weld a slug between the two pieces (I'll be making that on the mini lathe) then notch the extended 1 1/2" tube to fit the neck with a 34 degree rake
I cut the tubes using a sawzall, then cleaned up the neck with a flap disc, grinder and sandpaper
While I had the neck off I also trimmed the bottom portion of it to seat on the lower bearing race
It now sits on the Springer forks "as it should"

The top race still sticks out more than I'd like it to, I'm still trying to figure it out but ive narrowed the gap from 1/2" to 1/16" so I guess it's progress
As you can see the locking but is on top of the tree, I've got to figure out how to modify it to fit under it
If it goes between the top tree and bearing as it should it pushes the top tree up, so far I've put the locking but in the lathe and turned it down a bit to make it thinner but it still needs more taken off

More updates to come As I figure all this out and try to juggle other projects