An Adventure in Firsts: '83 XS650 Heritage Special Build/Rebuild

I think Jim is giving sound advice here in #219

My view is that you overdo this if the goal is riding ..any time soon.

" Also, I'm not sure what socket it takes. I tried the 7/16 socket "

I don't believe there is a single bolt -- on the Motorcycle that takes an inch tool
They use Metric system
And many Phillips looking screws are using JIS Japanese standard.
There is also some of these bolts that are of milder materials.

If one uses the wrong tool sooner or later some mishap will occur Rounding off a bolt head --stripping threads. In aluminum
Which surely everyone has done here ..just not Admitting it ..Perhaps 35 years ago but .. Sh*t happens .
And then the problems begins.
Hauling the bike off to a shop or not getting it to run.

Here a set och reasonable Quality tool is substantially cheaper ...than buying one at a time
And the set even though it costs a bit at the start .. can save a lot of time and repairs of the type I mention above.
Something like that
https://www.biltema.se/en-se/tools/...s/socket-and-spanner-set-152-parts-2000016668

If the goal is to get the thing out there and riding there is an increased risk that a person with little experience and without proper tools
Never get it out and rides .--Ending in an eternal loop of Mechanical work ..which in itself can be rewarding. That is fine.
If one goes for that.

Again if something leaks involving bolts the first step is checking the bolts are tightened .. Be it a Pipe Line Flange or
Hydraulic Coupling .. Not loosening anything. And as Jim point out if it is a difficult place leave it in the first instance
Next step if that tightening does not help ..something else.
Ask people with 40 year old Harleys or Triumphs if they have Zero Tolerance against oil leaks. Its not the end of the world a minor leak
Compromises has to be made .
 
Yes, this is a metric bike so put your American tools away, lol. That cam seal may be contributing to what you perceive as a head gasket leak. Check your torque wrench drive size. Most likely it is 3/8" so you would need a 3/8" drive wobble adapter.
 
When you put the tank back, the front housings over the rubber bungs on the frame, before you lower the rear of the tank is the time to refit the petrol pipes to the taps. There should be a little metal circlip on the pipe, which you finagle up towards the tap to secure the pipe.

The covers you removed are the cam covers. On an older model, the one in the photo would have the advance/retard apparatus living in there and on the other end the points, which timed the ignition spark. Your bike has electronic ignition timing, and there is very little of interest under those covers. However, 5Twins has made a good point that there may be an oil leak - check if there seems to be oil coming from the rubber seals at the end of the camshaft, in the middle of the picture. Looks like there is indeed oil in there . . .

BTW, the valve covers - three round and one square - are at the front and rear of the cylinder head, you can see the r/h exhaust valve cover at the right of your photo. Another potential source of minor oil seepage. You will need to remove these covers if/when you need to adjust the valve clearances.

But for now, your main job is to deal with the cylinder head bolts, 1-8 and 12-15 in Jim's picture at #208.
 
If you're going to be into bikes, wrenching and maintaining them, for the long haul, then you should get some anti-seize compound. You apply this to the threads of all the fasteners and it does just as it's name implies - keeps them from seizing up. It lubes the threads and will make the fastener spin on and off oh so smoothly. There are two basic types, nickel-based which is silver in color, and copper-based which is copper colored. I prefer the copper stuff because it shows up better on the threads. On a fastener you remove often, you can more easily see when the compound has gone away and needs to be reapplied. My product of choice is C5-A. It used to be made by Fel-Pro but is now made by Loctite .....

dizMIet.jpg


I get it in the large one pound container then transfer it to smaller containers for use. I also make up application brushes with their own little storage containers. This stuff is like roofing tar in that it practically jumps out of the container and wants to get all over everything, lol, so an enclosed storage method for the "used" application brush is needed .....

hhBJ9IA.jpg


So basically, you just "paint" this on the threads, giving them a thin coat. Any more than that is just a waste as it will be pushed off as the parts are threaded together. Here, you can see it applied to the clutch worm adjusting screw .....

kKU1l8Z.jpg


1MHx5XO.jpg


This screw, in particular, really needs this stuff as it's just raw steel and the lock nut (also raw steel) will rust and seize onto it quite readily.

https://www.amazon.com/Loctite-Copp...K7FQCF1HMG4&psc=1&refRID=61Y3MVRGPK7FQCF1HMG4
 
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If you're going to be into bikes, wrenching and maintaining them, for the long haul, then you should get some anti-seize compound. You apply this to the threads of all the fasteners and it does just as it's name implies - keeps them from seizing up. It lubes the threads and will make the fastener spin on and off oh so smoothly. There are two basic types, nickel-based which is silver in color, and copper-based which is copper colored. I prefer the copper stuff because it shows up better on the threads. On a fastener you remove often, you can more easily see when the compound has gone away and needs to be reapplied. My product of choice is C5-A. It used to be made by Fel-Pro but is now made by Loctite .....

dizMIet.jpg


I get it in the large one pound container then transfer it to smaller containers for use. I also make up application brushes with their own little storage containers. This stuff is like roofing tar in that it practically jumps out of the container and wants to get all over everything, lol, so an enclosed storage method for the "used" application brush is needed .....

hhBJ9IA.jpg


So basically, you just "paint" this on the threads, giving them a thin coat. Any more than that is just a waste as it will be pushed off as the parts are threaded together. Here, you can see it applied to the clutch worm adjusting screw .....

kKU1l8Z.jpg


1MHx5XO.jpg


This screw, in particular, really needs this stuff as it's just raw steel and the lock nut (also raw steel) will rust and seize onto it quite readily.

https://www.amazon.com/Loctite-Copp...K7FQCF1HMG4&psc=1&refRID=61Y3MVRGPK7FQCF1HMG4
I like the containers and brushes you are using.
 
Yes, this is a metric bike so put your American tools away, lol. That cam seal may be contributing to what you perceive as a head gasket leak. Check your torque wrench drive size. Most likely it is 3/8" so you would need a 3/8" drive wobble adapter.
Yes, this is a metric bike so put your American tools away, lol. That cam seal may be contributing to what you perceive as a head gasket leak. Check your torque wrench drive size. Most likely it is 3/8" so you would need a 3/8" drive wobble adapter.

Hi 5twins,
There are some inch-size wrenches that are co-incidentally near enough the same as metric wrenches that they'll work if that's all you have..
1-1/16" = 27mm for a start. 5/8" is close enough to 16mm that an open end 5/8" wrench will turn a 16mm fastener.
 
Yes everyone, I'm aware the bike is metric and I have a metric set which I got a few months back. That said, I did just look at the set again...sockets are listed in fractions and not mm...but I'm positive I bought a metric set--or at least one labeled as such--I specifically went to the damn store for it, though it's clear now that I never double checked the sockets when I got back home as it was clearly labeled a metric set I didn't see the need what the kafkawenf;kweajf.
Off to harbor freight for a wobble adapter (my torque wrench is 1/2 drive) and possibly a new damn socket set.

Then back home to hopefully knock this out today. I'll take another look at how much oil is coming out of that cam seal, there was a touch.

Are you a hot chick or what? You get more responses than I’ve ever seen.
I've never posted any pictures of myself, so as far as I know, nobody on here has any idea what I look like. And yes, I am a woman--or, perhaps I'm a very unattractive, unappealing man posing as a woman because I think it might make people like you respond. Or perhaps, I'm a woman, with an unknown amount of hotness, who just so happens to be starting and learning something new on my own and does so in an engaging and willful way despite challenges and all I have to lose, and thus others with more experience are compelled to help me and follow my story. Or perhaps everyone senses I'm a really unattractive woman who also possesses no qualities of interest to others, and yet it still just so happens that other users on here find me more amusing than other posters such as yourself. Perhaps we'll never know.
 
Then back home to hopefully knock this out today. I'll take another look at how much oil is coming out of that cam seal, there was a touch.
Your best bet will be to just clean it up and run it for now. That way you'll be able to gauge how bad (or not bad) it is.
I've never posted any pictures of myself, so as far as I know, nobody on here has any idea what I look like. And yes, I am a woman--or, perhaps I'm a very unattractive, unappealing man posing as a woman because I think it might make people like you respond. Or perhaps, I'm a woman, with an unknown amount of hotness, who just so happens to be starting and learning something new on my own and does so in an engaging and willful way despite challenges and all I have to lose, and thus others with more experience are compelled to help me and follow my story. Or perhaps everyone senses I'm a really unattractive woman who also possesses no qualities of interest to others, and yet it still just so happens that other users on here find me more amusing than other posters such as yourself. Perhaps we'll never know.

:smoke:
Good answer.
Just speakin' for myself.... There's a half a dozen or so rookies here that I help. I don't treat you any different Marie.... spent 16 yrs as an aircraft maintenance instructor, so wanting to "teach" is kinda baked in. :rolleyes:
 
If your torque wrench is a 1/2" drive then it may be rated up to like 150 ft/lbs. As I think was mentioned earlier here, torque wrenches work best and read most accurately in the middle part of their range. That's why to cover all the bases, you eventually need to get several. If your wrench is this high reading, it may only go as low as about 30 ft/lbs. The torques you'll be needing for the head are going to be in the 7 to 30 ft/lb range so if your wrench is that high reading (150 lbs), it may not be suitable.
 
If your torque wrench is a 1/2" drive then it may be rated up to like 150 ft/lbs. As I think was mentioned earlier here, torque wrenches work best and read most accurately in the middle part of their range. That's why to cover all the bases, you eventually need to get several. If your wrench is this high reading, it may only go as low as about 30 ft/lbs. The torques you'll be needing for the head are going to be in the 7 to 30 ft/lb range so if your wrench is that high reading (150 lbs), it may not be suitable.
1/4 In. Drive Click Type Torque Wrench
1/2 in. Drive Click Type Torque Wrench
 
Yes everyone, I'm aware the bike is metric and I have a metric set which I got a few months back. That said, I did just look at the set again...sockets are listed in fractions and not mm...but I'm positive I bought a metric set--or at least one labeled as such--I specifically went to the damn store for it, though it's clear now that I never double checked the sockets when I got back home as it was clearly labeled a metric set I didn't see the need what the kafkawenf;kweajf.
Off to harbor freight for a wobble adapter (my torque wrench is 1/2 drive) and possibly a new damn socket set.

Then back home to hopefully knock this out today. I'll take another look at how much oil is coming out of that cam seal, there was a touch.


I've never posted any pictures of myself, so as far as I know, nobody on here has any idea what I look like. And yes, I am a woman--or, perhaps I'm a very unattractive, unappealing man posing as a woman because I think it might make people like you respond. Or perhaps, I'm a woman, with an unknown amount of hotness, who just so happens to be starting and learning something new on my own and does so in an engaging and willful way despite challenges and all I have to lose, and thus others with more experience are compelled to help me and follow my story. Or perhaps everyone senses I'm a really unattractive woman who also possesses no qualities of interest to others, and yet it still just so happens that other users on here find me more amusing than other posters such as yourself. Perhaps we'll never know.
You deserve an apology.
If JRay77 isn't going to offer you one, I will, on behalf of the XS650.com community.
I'm sorry that you were exposed to such behavior.

On the whole, we are better than that.
 
starting and learning something new on my own and does so in an engaging and willful way despite challenges and all I have to lose, and thus others with more experience are compelled to help me and follow my story.
We have been the island of men for about ten years. Before then I remember one other woman, who was into sidecars and was planning to circumnavigate the U.S. on her bike. I for one would find your story interesting, how you arrived at your bike, your motivations and plans and so on.
 
I'm a little embarrassed that you would feel the need to write such a response. I have a wife and four adult daughters and I'm a bit sensitive about such things.
Back to the XS650.
Apologies. That was intended as a jab at the poster and their insinuation (and a joke about the impossibility of knowing anyone's intentions or identity on the internet) more than it was any uncertainty or concern on my part about those who I've been interacting with on here. And also a jab since I think the closest actual scenario in that list was clear, to which I would add, you all clearly care about these bikes and enjoy helping others with them and solving problems, regardless of me/who I am. And clearly nobody knows what I look like, and yeah I'm a woman but regardless of any of that, I give anyone who's been helping and following this thread far more credit than the comment insinuated. I'm not worried about it, or the silly comment--though I thank you for your support. I'm incredibly grateful to you guys and I'm very happy that it turned out that you some of you guys have expressed enjoying reading this and helping, rather than it being a one way street where I get help and you're driven insane by someone new to this.

And yes, back to the most important thing--the bike!
Got a metric set--and yes thank you for the torque/setting drive heads up @5twins ! Running out now to bang this out before the light escapes me! More soon!
 
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