82 xs650 chop. First bike/build

[XSLeo]

The Pleated elements filters, K&N and the cheap knock offs cause excessive air flow turbulence through the carbs. This causes a weak irregular vacuum signal for the slides. This causes the slides to not lift as they should. Leaving a flat spot off idle that is very hard to tune out.
I had the K&N filters on my 75. I tried for weeks to tune it out. I heard about these issues others were having and they swapped to the foam filters to fix things. I did this and the flat spot disappeared.
Some of the cheap knock offs have a lip around the inside to locate the filter on the carb. This lip can block off the vents in the carb bell. The vents air to let air mix with the fuel at the main and pilot jets. Any restriction of air screws up the mixture.
Leo

 

[TimBeard]

Thank you for the information. I'll be doing away with the k&n shortly as I just ordered a round set of uni pods. Would have never known otherwise

 

[TimBeard]

Installed the new brake line and it fits perfectly. Just the right amount of slack. I wanted to keep it positioned rather than having it flap in the wind so I cound a 3/8" retaining clip with a rubber sleeve. Drilled out the openin for the bolt and attatched it to my forks.

 

[TimBeard]

Getting after that wiring

 

[TimBeard]

Got my new uni pod filters. Anyone know the proper jetting when running these pods. I'm running mikuni bs34 carbs.

 

[XSLeo]

The only way to know for sure is to test what you have, use the results of the testing to determine what needs to be changed. Test again, use the results to determine what needs to change. Repeat As needed.
I might start with one up on the pilots and one up on the mains. Have two up on the mains handy in case you need them.
The carb guide has a tuning section.
Leo

 

[TimBeard]

Thanks again for the feedback XSLeo

 

[angus67]

in the pics u have bs 38's, not 34's. heres a link to a really small flasher unit. it isn't load dependent, so you can use very small leds.
https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...-universal-motorcycle-electronic-flasher/193/

 

[TimBeard]

So it's been about a year since my last update and not much has happened. I completed the wiring and fired the bike for the first time all year. Everything works as it should and she idles great. Ordered a bunch of miscellaneous parts and I have been held up due to the lack of knowing how to weld. I'll post a few more pictures at some point. Cheers.

 

[TimBeard]

So as far as the electrical went I ended up stripping it all out and getting rid of the twisted together connections the previous owner left behind. I replaced all wires and limited breaks/connections. Everything was soldered and shrink wrapped. I went to my local harbor freight and found 48" lengths of shrink wrap with was a huge help. I ended up using long lengths to wrap the wire as a loom instead of covering everything in electrical tape. It's black and it looks nice and tidy.

This is what the box looks like all together with the exception of a few wires hanging out the bottom going to the battery.

 

[TimBeard]

One new addition to the bike as you might have caught in the last post was a set of new exhaust pipes. I grabbed a set of "ya mama" pipes from the fellas over at Pandemonium. They came raw so I cleaned them up and sprayed them with black high temp grill paint and to be honest they came out pretty well.

This is what they look like on the bike. Definitely an upgrade in look and sound in my opinion.

 

[TimBeard]

So with the new pipes my left leg ended up resting against them due to the forward controls. After trying to figure out what to do for mids, I ended up ordering a set of the pandemonium "high n tight" mid brackets. The previous owner shaved off the stock exhaust bracket on the frame so I had to figure out a way to attach the mids without getting in the way and having enough case clearance. I ended up finding a cheap set of rocky pegs that look pretty cool to throw on there. The mounting solution was to get two pieces of square stock and remove one of the 4 sides with a cutoff wheel and weld it to the round tubing of the frame. Easier said than done. Pre drilled holes to mount the brackets into the square stock and welded a nut on the inside to accept the bolt to hold everything in place. It ended up taking too long to get sorted but all in all, it worked out.

 

[TimBeard]

So a shitload of stuff has been accomplished since I last posted. I fell off the map and it was hard to keep track of everything all at once. Bike is "done" for now. Chased a bunch of problems and got them sorted.

Basic list of things that have been done is

Laced my 19" front wheel up to a 21" with the components found on mikesxs.com.

Mounted an Avon speedmaster front tire on the new wheel

Threw a front fender modified to a rear fender on the back

Mounted a sissy bar on the back for luggage purposes and to hold my rear fender

New model a tail light and bracket

Made up the foot brake linkage with a bunch of leftover parts from the forward controls

Put a monster craftsman skateboard wheel chain tensioner on the frame to get rid of that extra slop

Changed out the rear sprocket for better highway speed/ less vibration

Rebuilt the carbs and bought myself a carb tuning gauge set which helped out a lot.

Tons of maintenance such as oil change (previous owner didn't use crush washers on the plugs so that was a real pain in the dick to get the plugs out) re-torqued the head and added new brass washers under the outer 4 acorn nuts, random gaskets, adjusted all valves, cam chain, etc.

New battery box mounted to the frame

I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot but the list can go on forever.

 

[TimBeard]

Here's how she sits as of yesterday

 

[TimBeard]

And another

 

[fredintoon]

Hi TimBeard,
ooh! The nostalgia! I ran a 3"-21 interrupted rib Avon on my KSS Velocette back when they were cutting edge technology.
Nice bike, I don't like hardtails but I forgive you because yours came that way and you've put a lot of effort into your upgrades.
If your bike still has the over-large front brake master cylinder I'd advise swapping it for one with a smaller piston diameter, 11mm is a good size.
The brake feel will go from wood to velvet.
And the front fender you swapped onto the rear was also a fork brace and those stock forks really do need one.
The TKAT fork brace looks nice and works well (I've bought 5 of them for various bikes over the years) but there are others.
And about the PO and the oil drain plug washers, I'd been annealing and re-using mine every oil change since I bought the bike new.
Mebbe 5 years later I finally remembered to buy new ones at the Yamaha dealer.
"These ain't right, they are all thick and humpy and mine are plain ol' flat copper washers"
"These are new ones, Sir. They only go flat as you tighten the drain plugs."

 

[TimBeard]

Thanks fredintoon

I've had my eye on the HHB slimline master cylinder for a little while now. Should be pickin one up in the future at some point.

As for the fork brace, what are the differences between running one and not running one. I'm completely uneducated as far as that goes. Bike never had one since I've owned it. Just had a spare fender that came with the purchase of the bike.

Hopefully the new drain plug washers will help me out next oil change. I had to use a big box wrench and a 4lb sledge hammer to break them loose. It was awful

 

[TimBeard]

Oil drain plug assistants