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Build Thread...Special to Cafe Bike
- Thread starter MaxPete
- Start date
Nice...not as heavy as I had thought.
Yes, I really do appreciate the look of a traditional paralell twin, be it XS, Bonnie, Rocket, Commando or Interceptor. Hell, even a Guzzi looks right. While most other V-twins look slightly more awkward somehow. But the relative lack of vibration and more revvy nature of a Duc is quite enjoyable tooTo me a large part of the XS sex appeal is the symmetry of the jugs
Ya, a Ducati may have much better stats..
I’d say carry on with Symmetry Pete!
We know Pete appreciates a good set of symmetry
I have a 5mm thick SR500 disc on my '78. It's about 1.5 pounds lighter than the original 7mm thick 650 disc. Honestly, I can't say I notice much difference in handling. My spare wheel has an original 7mm disc on it and I've swapped it in several times, so I got a back to back comparison. Like I said, no difference that I could tell.
OK - so likely around 60% of the original rotor thickness.
Well, just caught up on all the preliminaries in this thread, looks like tomorrow is the second anniversary of your first real ride on the '81.
Whether you feel it, or not, it turns faster if lighter. Where you will feel it is bumps. More unsprung weight will hit you in the hands/butt.
Everyone is dead right about this unsprung weight issue - it’s a balance between how much that counts (to the rider) and how much the looks and possible extra braking counts.
...and yup, it was two years ago that I rode the Special, Lakeview....and I am going to do it again soon.
Exactly. And reduction of SPRUNG weight will just make it even worse. So removing starter, lighter battery (or a cap.), PMA, aftermarket pipes, seat, or even dieting
will hurt suspension and ride quality if one is not reducing unsprung weight at the same time. I can definitely feel that my front end has improved immensely, after losing more than 10 lbs unsprung weight, and fitting new springs and adding emulators (unfortunately not RT....) As everything was changed at the same time, it is hard to tell what improved suspension the most.
Some folks are just going to explain their ideas of the physical workings of Your motorcycle
MaxPete, Career mechanical engineer, Life long XS650 rider. You Got This !
View attachment 147039 Keep it fun Pete !
Some folks are just going to explain their ideas of the physical workings of Your motorcycle
MaxPete, Career mechanical engineer, Life long XS650 rider. You Got This !
Oh yes, indeed I do Randy.
I did in no way intend to state the obvious to those who already got it, like MaxPete and many others. But I am sure not all forum members are mechanical engineers, physicists, aircraft techs etc. So I may have gone in too much detail on this sprung/ rotating weight thing, even if it has pretty significant impact on how these bikes work.
It’s no problem with detail ArcticXS - everyone benefits from learning and among the whole community there is an amazingly wide spectrum of knowledge and experience.
Besides, I'm an engineer and we are sometimes known (unfairly in my opinion) for providing lengthy and detailed technical explanations which hardly anyone understands, but which are absolutely necessary for completeness and to ensure that nobody makes a big stupid mistake with vital technology - that only we engineers can truly comprehend, and are capable of dominating.
I simply cannot imagine how we engineers got the reputation of being "wordy".....
In terms of the bikes and the best brake set-up, I think it’s all about how and where one rides and what one likes. In our area (Lakeview's and mine) there are virtually no hills of any size (and I mean NONE at all) and few twisty roads, so suspension issues like unsprung mass fade a bit in favour of braking effectiveness.
There are two reasons for this:
- we have lots of nitwit 20-something dipsh!ts racing around in highly polished black BMW 3-Series cars with furry dice hanging on the rearview mirrors and...
- ...much as it pains me to admit, yeah, I love the look of the bike with double disks.
Pete
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OK - well, I’m closing in on it (yeah, I know I’ve said that before) but this time, I frickin’ well mean it.
My latest passion is painting and in my spare time <hah - that’s a laugh> I have been watching YouTube videos while trying to justify the cost of a professional paint job and....I just caaannnnttt. If I saved up my allowance for a while, I could afford a professional paint job but, and I may be totally nuts, I think I can do a decent paint job on my own and I’d like to try if only for the satisfaction of having done so. Besides, I’ve got three XS650s to paint - and I cannot afford that.
Anyhow, I just wanted to record that, while there a lot of videos out there on this topic, most of them are crap, and have been made by people who seem to know even less than me.
However, one of the best videos I have seen thus far is by a chap in (I think) Cambridge in the UK. He clearly knows his stuff and he deals with all the usual vintage tins problems like peeling paint, old stickers (decals), dents and dings, and clear coating. He stays focussed, describes the materials he is using, doesn’t skip (too many) steps and does not have an annoying sidekick or spouse interrupting him. Plus, he explains what he is doing, clearly and without the usual drama while demonstrating it with decent videography and best of all, what he is saying makes sense to me.
Anyhow - check it out for yourself if you are interested in painting your bike’s tins.
My latest passion is painting and in my spare time <hah - that’s a laugh> I have been watching YouTube videos while trying to justify the cost of a professional paint job and....I just caaannnnttt. If I saved up my allowance for a while, I could afford a professional paint job but, and I may be totally nuts, I think I can do a decent paint job on my own and I’d like to try if only for the satisfaction of having done so. Besides, I’ve got three XS650s to paint - and I cannot afford that.
Anyhow, I just wanted to record that, while there a lot of videos out there on this topic, most of them are crap, and have been made by people who seem to know even less than me.
However, one of the best videos I have seen thus far is by a chap in (I think) Cambridge in the UK. He clearly knows his stuff and he deals with all the usual vintage tins problems like peeling paint, old stickers (decals), dents and dings, and clear coating. He stays focussed, describes the materials he is using, doesn’t skip (too many) steps and does not have an annoying sidekick or spouse interrupting him. Plus, he explains what he is doing, clearly and without the usual drama while demonstrating it with decent videography and best of all, what he is saying makes sense to me.
Anyhow - check it out for yourself if you are interested in painting your bike’s tins.
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Paint is very expensive. My buddy Tom told me once “ you gotta do your own paint”. I did work in a body shop right outta high school back in the late seventies. Worked my way up from detailing to running the collision shop. They used to commission me the whole car. Imron and Amerflint jobs. That was the good stuff back then. It’s not that hard. I had a spray booth but it can be done without one. Wet the floor. No breezes. Good equipment. Most of these old girls have a candy paint. 3 stages. So a silver or gold or some color base. Then the transparent candy color. Tack coat. 20 minutes. Then color coat. The more you lay on the darker it gets. That’s the tricky part as you can’t stop here and there. You gotta dust it in. Then the clear coat and a lot of polishing. I’m gonna try it next time.
I have a dream... of painting my Triumph GT6. But before I teach myself painting I have to teach myself bodywork, welding, rust repair, etc.
Back in the day there was a lot drilling, pulling, and brazing. My painter uses this tool that welds sticks to the dent in numerous locations and works them out so there’s just a skim coat of filler. Coolest thing I ever saw.
I was always told that to get those candy paint jobs, you had to lay down a silver base and then many coats of candy color. I had to go back and search for this. He did a spectacular rattle can paint job, using House of Color 2 part color and clear coat.
http://www.xs650.com/threads/side-cover-trim-xs1-xs1b-xs2.51250/page-2#post-540204
http://www.xs650.com/threads/side-cover-trim-xs1-xs1b-xs2.51250/page-2#post-540204
It’s no problem with detail ArcticXS - everyone benefits from learning and among the whole community there is an amazingly wide spectrum of knowledge and experience.
Besides, I'm an engineer and we are sometimes known (unfairly in my opinion) for providing lengthy and detailed technical explanations which hardly anyone understands, but which are absolutely necessary for completeness and to ensure that nobody makes a big stupid mistake with vital technology - that only we engineers can truly comprehend, and are capable of dominating.
I simply cannot imagine how we engineers got the reputation of being "wordy".....
In terms of the bikes and the best brake set-up, I think it’s all about how and where one rides and what one likes. In our area (Lakeview's and mine) there are virtually no hills of any size (and I mean NONE at all) and few twisty roads, so suspension issues like unsprung mass fade a bit in favour of braking effectiveness.
There are two reasons for this:
Cheers,
- we have lots of nitwit 20-something dipsh!ts racing around in highly polished black BMW 3-Series cars with furry dice hanging on the rearview mirrors and...
- ...much as it pains me to admit, yeah, I love the look of the bike with double disks.
Pete
G'day Pete from the bottom of the planet,
Mate I am thinking of putting a second disc on "Puff the tragic wagon".
I have noticed that in the parts cattle dog it is a factory option.
Hopefully will stop better but, WTF I like just throwing money onto a burning fire.
If your main objective is improved stopping, a single, modern 320 mm disc with a 4 pot caliper, single braided line, and a 12 or 13 mm master cylinder will give a much better result than the original dual disc setup. I had dual discs on my 77 Euro XS, and they were absolutely underwhelming. And are now sitting at the bottom of a cardboard box. My 75 RD has way better brakes than that. I positively hate calipers with pistons on one side only. IMHO the earlier XS caliper (same as the RD) is much better than the later caliper.
