81 XS650 SH - intro and first build!

[crazee88]

Hi all,

Been reading on this site for a while now. I have a 76' CB750 SuperSport cafe as my daily rider and have restored a 90' CBR250RR and built a couple of brats with mates. The builds I have done have all been purely cosmetic and performance, but I have never delved into an engine before!

So, without any experience in mechanical whatchamacallits, I was 'gifted' (not sure if it's a good gift haha) an 81 XS650 SH that was completely pulled apart (top end as well!), stacked into boxes randomly and left in the weather for a few months. Nice. (sorry bout the blur, I was excited)

The entire engine was in this box and was full of leaves and flowers and other non-engine related parts...

The rest of the bike was in a couple of boxes...

The piston heads look like this:

Valves were nice and charred (PS: Just noticed the Yamaha tuning forks on intake valve!):

The clutch assembly looked pretty neat and tidy though VERY dissembled and a bit of surface rust:

The other side however, did not:

So I cleaned her up a bit and noticed a large blob of silicone around the rod thing (I really am a noob) to the left of the drive sprocket. Not sure why that's there.

Anyway, there is a lot of work to do and a lot more photos to come. I'd be very grateful for any advice, tips, hints, tricks, WTF's etc! I am doing this just because I am fascinated by the way engines work and am really passionate about learning it all myself. This might be a loooong ongoing thread, but I'm glad for a place to diary the build.

Cheers,

crazee88

 

[Paulrxs650]

HI and welcome
Looks like you've got a good challenging project ahead of you!
What are you going to build - Restoration to original, tracker, Cafe Racer, bobber??
I would say the blob of silicone is around the cluthch pushrod as the seal will have failed

 

[crazee88]

Hey Paul, thanks for the welcome.

I'm looking to brat this bike I reckon, though I'm not fully decided. There is just SOOO much work ahead. Engine first though!

If that seal has failed, I'm guessing the last owner didn't want to get in there and replace it. I'll scrape it off and have a look!

Cheers,

crazee88

 

[Paulrxs650]

Sounds good!
Yep, that'll be why. Im splitting the cases on my engine build but I believe you can replace the seal on the pushrod as it sits - just carefully removed the old one and re-seat the new.

 

[scabber]

Welcome to the site. The engine and carbs are a good place to start. Once you get all the parts sorted. Big project very rewarding when completed.

 

[uebe]

Do you have a title for it? Also, get yourself a manual if you haven't already done so.

There's an online manual available somewhere. ( I ordered a Haynes)

Good luck and don't get discouraged. Building can be a great hobby ! All the information you need is here on this forum.

 

[Paulrxs650]

I'd second the Haynes manual!

 

[I am Carbon]

Hey crazzee, Ya got yourself a good project.
Go HERE for a free manual.
That clutch pushrod seal can be replaced while engine is together if You don't pull it apart. But Ya might want to get 2 seals because the first one gets screwed up.

Here is some good reading too carbguide. Have a good one and again Welcome to the site

 

[sonicarb13]

Happy building! I have one tore down myself. This site made all the difference on my first engine build, lots of knowledge here.

 

[nj1639]

This could be the start of an addiction......welcome aboard! Have a video camera on your face when you first start it.

 

[essexboydave]

Hi crazee88 Looks like a good project you've got yourself there!

 

[crazee88]

Hey all, thanks heaps for the info and welcome!

Carbon, I'll definitely be looking into replacing that seal. Thanks for the excellent instructional!

More to come. It's 42 degress (celcius) here at the moment and the shed is an oven. Might have to wait till it cools down.

The head components (cylinders, piston heads, cam , valves etc) are all really gummed up and blackened. Am I OK to take all these parts in for a soda blast? I'd rig up my own but my compressor is tiny...

Just want to make sure that I'm not getting myself into a bit of trouble!

Cheers,

crazee88

 

[Paulrxs650]

Jammy bugger - Its not even 42 degrees farenheit here!

 

[Paulrxs650]

Same here with my compressor - all my cases are going for soda blast. Thats the best medium in my opion as its soluble, unlike glass, sand etc - not good if theres a littel bit left when you start up

 

[rhammett01]

I'm looking forward to seeing your progress on this bike. I have one that is nearly identical (year, make and model) and I've put a little bit of work into it since I got it. I'm curious as well about soda blasting the head components. Mine look identical to yours; I might even have thicker carbon deposits. Do I understand correctly that all of these (piston heads, valves, combustion chamber) can be safely soda blasted?