A ripp'n hardtail bobber build from a seized, desert rat: CALLING ALL DESTROYERS

third times a charm:

as mentioned a while back, after getting the bike on the road and breaking in the motor i realized i cracked the custom headlight plate along with the housings for the piaa lights.

well after much re-re-re-consideration, the front plate was redesigned with new piaa lights in mind and some vibration dampening included.

all three piaa's are the latest versions out. their mounts are metal brackets instead of the plastic of the ones i originally used. i decided to put rubber pads between the piaa lights and the brackets of the light plate. there are rubber pads in between the brackets of the light plates and the triple trees. hopefully this will cut down on bad vibs.

the end result (please ignore the protective tape and rough surface-there needs to be some clean up):



photo-10-2.jpg


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the plate is designed to hinge forward allowing access to the backs of the lights:
photo-8-3.jpg


oh yeah - the big piaa on the left (driver's right) is the turn signal light. blinks for left and blinks for right. this light however can use an led h3 bulb which cuts down on the draw of the original light which was found at a swap-meet and bought for its diameter.
 
making dampeners:

in order to counter the vibs of the 650 i made come rubber dampeners.
they were placed between the lights, the light plate brackets, and also the rear fender which is only mounted using two bolts (no sissy bars here).

i found two types of rubber depending on what i was dampening:


using a vice and various punches



i was able to make rubber rings and or pads custom to the sizes needed.
vib-a-licous!
 
devil in the details

the next few posts will be about some details that put this build over the top. some were in motion before my recent trip to europe, while others came to me while in a jet lagged stupor which im coming to realize is a feeling thats very similar to my normal day-to-day...
 
before leaving, i took my seat apart and dropped off with a local leather hook-up in downtown los angeles. he is going to replace the vinyl with a real leather and pleat it reflecting the knee pads. should be done soon.

progress:
 
as mentioned earlier i had to rebuild my front light plate. well i dropped it off with the painter just in time to get to my flight. even though its hard to mess up gloss black, they did a killer job:



new piaas in place:
 
soooooooo ive been bothered by something this entire build. its a simple detail that i think most will laugh at me for, one that im sure most ignore.... which is most likely the reason it was a topic difficult to find on this forum.

the plastic cover housing for the front hub (driver's left) which covers the holes for a possible second disc brake looks bad. now, i have two both which look like faded 30 year old plastic, each with a small nick. i wrestled with the idea of repainting them and using one or the other but it just didnt seem right to me. i also considered leaving the holes exposed but that didnt seem right to me either-maybe i would on a lane splitter or on a brat build, but not CALLING ALL DESTROYERS.

now if youre wondering what it is im talking about please take a look at #7 on this diagram: http://www.cmsnl.com/yamaha-xs650-2f-1979_model8712/partslist/E-06.html

well turns out that from '74-76 yamaha offered a cast piece that bolts in using three bolts and looks pretty clean if you ask me. you can see an example of one here in lower left hand of the 6th photo down on good heart bad intentions thread:http://www.xs650.com/forum/showpost.php?p=159510&postcount=170

also mentioned here: http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15844&highlight=371-25847-00-00

finding this began my search...and i searched... and searched and called everyone i could and all i found out is that this specific piece is discontinued but the plastic piece (from 77 on) is on back order until feb at partszilla.com under parts number 1L92584700.

so i decided to make my own similar to the early version of the cover housing but not an exact copy:
machined aluminum:
[IMG]http://i1226.photobucket.com/albums/ee419/rpnsht/calling all destroyers/IMG_1377.jpg[/IMG]

painted:


installed:


im really happy with the overall finish this detail provides...

holler if you want one
 
while jet lagged i started thinking about how ive hated the kicker on the xs650. it seems under-power for the job. i remember some chatter about modifying the kicker and i figured with nothing better to do i would check what others have done to rectify the small kicker...

i found a couple good links about what others have done.
1) heres a link to a topic on this forum that shows various types of modified kickers: http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2989

2) heres a step by step on how to modify the xs650 with a bigger pedal (im not too interested in this type of pedal): http://650rider.com/index.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=74487

3) heres a step by step on how to connect a bmx pedal (which i think is an awful aesthetic choice but im sure does the job quite nicely): http://www.xs650chopper.com/2009/11/pedal-to-the-metal-kicker-mod-for-low-bucks/

4) i realized that i wanted to use a popsicle pedal and quickly found this guide although i think its a very ugly popsicle. rubber is never good..on a pedal or on anything else for that matter: http://650rider.com/index.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=1470

still suffering from jet lagged i spent the next few hours which felt like days finding the perfect popsicle. low brow offers this one which appeared ok but i decided against it for the pitting in the photo: http://www.lowbrowcustoms.com/p1210/buy/m-c-parts/clutch-driveline-amp-trans/american/transmission/hippy-killer-garage-co--cast-popsicle-kicker-pedal-aluminum/

i then came across debrix which ive bought from in the past and they have a whole listing for kicker pedals. i ended up buying these the following two pedals which were waiting for me when i got back to the states:

1) first pedal i received i picked because the grip mimics the pleats in my seat and the lines in my knee pads and grips. i ended up not using it because it looks like it was pressed together and modifying would be more intense then i really cared for: http://www.debrix.com/O-Ring-Flat-Kicker-Pedal-Harley-p/17-0299-vt.htm

2) i ended up using this pedal because even from the photo it looked like it came apart nicely which i was proven right once i had it in my hand: http://www.debrix.com/Railer-Kicker-Pedal-Harley-Big-Twin-XL-Sportster-p/17-9150-vt.htm

heres my mod:



pedal disassembled:


stock kicker pedal cut and popsicle pedal mount tab cut:


swapping places (getting ready to be re-welded):


welded, smoothed over and cleaned up ready for chrome:


all together and installed for kicks:


IMG_1493.jpg



im really happy with this and ended up being a very easy mod that i believe to be worth it. im happy with how it looks and cant wait to use it. ive dropped it off at the chromers and should be back on the bike by the end of the week!

tight!
 
during my trip to europe i found myself in paris so naturally i had to visit ruby helmets. the shop is cool and had this bike on display. it was built by a french motorcycle builder and doesnt have any gears as its only meant to go fast in a straight line. im not sure if i was being lied to but its a cool looking bike nonetheless:

 
kicker came in from the chromer today. i did end up having to put a slight "S" bend in it for it to miss the exhaust pipes. all this time it has been hitting the pipes before it locks into place. now with the bend it locks nice and tight:

the zebra wrapping paper came from the chromer (pretty fancy)
photo-38.jpg


installed
photo-39.jpg
 
my seat came in and im pretty stoked- the leather is really nice and the pleats look good. it compliments the knee pads very nicely:

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photo-37.jpg



tomorrow ill be adjusting the carbs and have this puppy back on the road. more on the carb nightmare later....
 
a few weeks back i had a leaky carb and nothing really happened when the choke was engaged. the carbs are brand new, both bought from 650central, Mikuni VM34mm Round Slide Carb. well after some poking around here on the forum it was concluded that maybe the float levels were wrong since my bike leans way over to the left while on its kickstand.

http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23871&highlight=carb+leaking+gas

the float levels were adjusted and gas still came pouring out.
i gave michael a call over at 650central and he recommended i send the carb to him. so off it went. michael got back to me with some band news. there were brass shards in the carb causing it to leak.(reminiscent: http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21767&highlight=carb+leaking+gas )

michael cleaned out the carb, reset float level and sent it back to me and over the weekend i was finally able to get it back on.

sucks. the bike fires up (with the help of the new kicker i might add) but the timing is all over the place and the rpm's are fluttering like crazy. i spoke to michael today as i thought maybe the other carb might me gunky even though its not leaking any gas. we had a long talk about carbs and timing and ignition units. he recommended i take a look at the springs in the advance unit as they can go bad often. he also mentioned that the springs from mikesxs are poor quality.

sure enough upon some further poking around here on the forum, theres all sorts of talk about the springs and what to do to solve the problem:

http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19140&highlight=advance+spring

http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22260&highlight=advance+spring

michael also mentioned to check for air leaks (i will but im doubting this to be an issue):
http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24080&highlight=advance+spring

so this is my plan: 1) cut one loop off the springs to help the advance 2) check timing 3) while bike is running spray some starter fluid on carb manifolds- if bike revs high i have an air leak 4) reset spark plug gaps at 35 or 36 - i forget what i originally did 5) reset valves

5) should be 2) and 4) should be 3) but you get the idea of what ill be doing to trouble shoot my fluttering rpms

michael is a good guy and i appreciate the time he took to speak with me
but i have to admit I'm not sure why i didnt buy the lectron carbs hugh sells
im thinking i wouldnt have had these issues....
 
examining the advance unit last night. i realized that one of the arms the a spring attached too was incredibly loosey-goosey. i figure some of my bouncing timing is due to this. the other arm was fairly tight. funny how things become really apparent when youre looking. so i went with the tip discussed on the forum an cut one rung off the spring.
things are tight now and snap like never before!



 
last night i finally had sometime to execute my plan. if you remember the plan was:
1) cut one loop off the springs to help the advance 2) check timing 3) while bike is running spray some starter fluid on carb manifolds- if bike revs high i have an air leak 4) reset spark plug gaps at 35 or 36 - i forget what i originally did 5) reset valves

cutting one rung off the springs was easy and much needed. i now know what to look out for and will keep this in mind for future builds. it absolutely 100% solved my fluttering timing issue.

my plugs were set at 35 so there wasnt any issue there. plugs are all good

when i called michael from 650central to speak about my carb issues, we also spoke about how the carb i sent to him came back with a different choke. turns out when i originally bought the carbs, he sent me two right side carbs as he was out of stock with a lefty. not a problem except when tuning but otherwise fine since he installed a lefty lever type choke on one of the carbs. turns out when he received this carb, he had forgotten why there was a lefty choke on a right carb and he switched it back to a plunger choke, cleaned it out and sent it back to me. i brought this up with michael and he quickly put a lever action choke in the mail at no additional cost.

the swap was pretty easy and basically a turn of two nuts and now i have perfect clearance:
plunger choke:


lever action:
photo-42.jpg


after fixing the advance, plugs, carbs, throttle ( i needed to adjust after fiddling with carbs), it was on to the valves...

opening up the valves i discovered to my surprise that two of the jam nuts on the vavles had loosened quite a bit throwing the settings off completely. WTF!
i thought to myself:
-could this be the reason i was having issues kicking over the bike????
-could this be the reason why i my timing was fluttering????
-could this be the reason why my idle was acting so strange?????
-could this be the reason why my bike was vibrating crazy like????

my valves were so far off im surprised i could even get the bike to kick over!
the vavles were quickly set in spec for a '79, buttoned up and CALLING ALL DESTROYERS rolled off the lift and onto the ground ready to be kicked over.....

the bike kicked over in one kick and i barley had to use any force. i couldnt believe it.
my timing was pretty close and only needed a small adjustment. the idle on the other hand needed some attention.

and the vibes??? where did the vibes? the bike calmed down so much - it barely moves. i am really astonished and finally was experiencing what hugh and alfredo have talked about.

i ran out of time and still need to dial in the carbs but the bike is now an entirely different bike. funny how one problem opens a can of worms and through real diligence other problems are discovered and fixed and when things are how they are supposed to be things run properly :doh:

newbie point goes to me ...again
 
spent some time reading up on mikunis carbs and played around with them. as time goes, im sure ill be making minor adjustments trying to dial in the carbs to be just right. but for now they are tuned and synched. calling all destroyers fires rights up on one kick (with both chokes on) and idles even while on the kickstand (dramatic lean to the left). as described in all the write-ups about rephasing, this bike purrs and barely vibrates.

CALLING ALL DESTROYERS into the wild:
 
All I can say is wow! Your attention to detail is amazing!!

The bike is unique and clean, congrats

Can you show some close ups of the License plate holder?
 
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