And so it begins....

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Hello everybody!

I have recently purchased 1.5 xs650's (79-81) from a co-worker of mine. He bought them a few years back, one was complete and one was wrecked(parts bike) with the intention of creating a cafe' racer. I was lucky enough to catch him in the middle of remodeling his basement and parted with them both for cheap. I am not very mechanically inclined however YouTube and web browsing I have taken on numerous tasks and had success, so why not with this too. I have spent numerous hours browsing everyone's threads here and have had a lot of success in the "where to start" area. I was slightly over excited in my tear down and didn't get pictures of the bike in its whole form.... oops! The previous owner I know rather well and was already 80% or so through the rebuild of the first motor. I have all the remaining new gaskets and such. One issue that he told me he was having was with the cam chain. He bought a new one since the motor was already torn down and cut the chain short. I have ordered an OEM replacement from a local bike shop and am hoping it should be here Wednesday at the latest. My question is, is there a good video as to where to start with this? I know I need to install the chain, then install the tension-er, and i believe its timing then valves? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Pictures to come of where I currently am at in this project.

Thanks in advance for all the help! :thumbsup:
 
Awesome! Thanks Phil! I really trust the guy I got this from so I don't plan on breaking down what he already did. Once I begin working on bike number 2; well that one is in shambles already....

Maybe before the night is over I can get the pictures I have taken posted.

Either way, thanks again!
 
79 Had 3 models, Standard 79F, Special 79SF, and Special 79SII, Cosmetic differences shown HERE.,

79 were points models and 81 had the Factory Electronic Ignition, (TCI), so it is important to identify what one your working on and if some of the ignition parts from the later one is used on the earlier one and coupled to a later wiring loom then things wont work.

Post pics and we will help you identify and what can go where.

And Welcome.
 
You my know your po, but the correct chain is always the same length, unless your xsjohn looking to lower compression with a stretched chain.. there isn't much to these engines. Once you have the case halves together, it's just a matter of gaskets, nuts, bolts, static timming, valves. Fire it up, adjust from there. Your friend gave up to easily.
I've had plenty of previous owner experience, and although Their intentions were good, I question the rational. I'm just glad they kept the machine running, and not giving up, saying they will fix it some day, letting it rust into the ground
If they hold on too long, open valves ruin intakes, as I'm finding out with a 1972 xl250. Needs a complete the head job. It sat for 20 years on the intake stroke. It was stored in a heated basement, but damage was done hard to find good parts will prolly cost about 200 to get it back in shape.if you know someone with a bike stuffed away, make a offer, and walk away. If you get it, just know you are in for a ride, before you even fire it up.
 
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Skull- Seat is from an 81, that was easy to ID. I will have to look in the box of plastics and see if I can find the covers that have the model on them. This one does have a factory electric start on it as well, also pointing me to 81'.

Angus- I hear yea on the condition. He did give up to soon and also had too many projects on his plate. This thing has been in his heated basement as well since the day it came apart. Checked chain size after reviewing the information from Skull and looks like I am in the clear. Hopefully good news to come in the next couple days when it gets here.

Thanks again for the advice guys!
 
All 650s from the '72 models on up had electric starters. New cam chains are very tight and can be difficult to mate the ends on. Many times, you need to loosely bolt the head down with spacers and nuts on the 8 long studs to get the chain to connect.
 
So it has been a while. I haven't posted much updates here, can't seem to put down the wrench! I have dropped the rebuilt motor at a local shop for a quick one over. They are tuning the carbs and jetting the motor for me since I deemed that well beyond my level of comfort.

I have blasted the tank to check for rust and clean off the old paint. While I have it stripped I had it tested for leaks, as well as the inside rust cleaned out. Should be pick that up tomorrow and painting it this week. I think I am going with a deep blue for an accent color to the black and chrome. Waiting on the last few seals to come in to finish off the motor when I get it back.

Spent the afternoon yesterday polishing up the frame. Since I don't think I am going to make it to full cafe' before riding season arises here in the O I left the current black paint on the frame. More new parts are due in this week. :thumbsup:

The rebuild begins!:bike:
 
Ok... looking for some help here. I have the motor installed and was rerunning the wiring harness. Whoever had it before me attempted to chop off the old fuse box and replace it with blade fuses. In doing so they had to rerun wire so now I have a s*%! ton of red wires that I know should be other colors.... I played it safe and ordered a wiring hirness from Mikes. Just got it in. I bought a wiring harness to match the year of the motor, and apparently the wiring harness I pulled off after some searching is a different year. I bought an 81' harness and need an 82' harness. I think it will still work, here is my issue.

The 81' harness has a 6 wire plug going to the ignition system. My ignition system is set up to receive 7 wires. the 6 wire plug is missing the b/w stripped wire which apparently runs to my pick up coil, based on the diagrams I am looking at.

From what I have seen there should be 2 B/W cables on these 7 wire plugs, once of which you can cap off and not use, making it a 6 wire at that point. In theory I could chop the 6 wire plug off my new harness and rewire to the 7 wire from my old harness, I think?

Thoughts?

7 Wire Harness....

20160318_202443_zps1unlz2hi.jpg


6 Wire Harness....

20160318_202343_zpso5qsfwxi.jpg



And.... Discuss.

By the way, thanks in advance... I really need to get some pictures up....
 
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Without looking too much into your bike's schematics, looks like the white w/black stripe is the odd wire on that 7-wire harness. I think I saw a schematic that had that wire go to the side-stand relay...Note: I don't have an 81/82 so I'm not as familiar with the wiring.

Here's a schematic I was looking at:
http://www.xs650.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=22987&d=1354245966

You'll notice that both wires are labeled B/W, but the one that goes to the side-stand is labeled W/B at the relay...meaning white with Black. So YES, I could be wrong, but it's where I'd start.
 
Brassneck is correct the added W/b wire is for the side stand switch starting on the 82's.
You need a 8 pin connector to match your new harness.
DO NOT cut the wires. You can remove the spade connections from the plastic housing by pushing the catch tang back and pulling them out. gggGarys windsheild wiper tool is great for this (the metal strips on the sides of the rubber wiper) or any object slim enough to fit in there, a toothpick, small flat screw driver, a dental pick, etc.
Install the new 8 pin housing that matches your harness colored wire to colored wire.
You will also have an extra coupling(unused) for the side stand relay that comes out on the left side by the battery box. Just tuck it up out of the way.
 
If you haven't left for the store. . . .
Another option would be to remove your 6 slot housing from the old harness and use it.
Then tape the extra wire back up to the harness to hide it.
These coupling are a certain size and configuration so I'm not sure how much luck a trip to town would have. If you do find a retail store that has them I'd appreciate knowing where.
 
I ended up pulling the 8 slot off the old harness and swapping it out for the 6 slot on the new harness. Then just plugged into the 8 slot on the ignition unit.
 
As of last night....

view


As of this evening....
view


Thanks for the help on fixing the harness. I still need blinkers to make her legal. Didn't get to try and crank it tonight, but this week for sure.
 
Well I got the electrical figured out, well kind of. Lights and everything works, bike still won't crank. It was pretty late last night when I got the wiring finally working and I couldn't feel my fingers since it was in the low 30's. I believe I am not getting fire at this point. I hooked up a timing light and wasn't getting anything. Hopefully I can get a spare pair of hands over here today to help me pull the tank since it's full and I want to see if my coil packs are getting power. I also thought about pull the spark plug and kicking it to see if it sparks after grounding to the motor. I thought I was going to see life last night, maybe today. Back out to the garage while the kid is entertained!
 

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