Build Thread...Special to Cafe Bike

[MaxPete]

That's crazy cool! What are you using for the stopper on the tank?

Hi WT100:

Not sure what you mean by stopper but I assume it is the thing that was on the tank during the tumbling operation. It was actually a rubber "cork" as found in chemistry labs - held on by a spring. I think my buddy bought it at a wine shop - he didn't recall.

If you meant the fuel filler cap, well, that's a different story. I checked a few at the bike salvage yard and nothing from any Yamaha later than a '77 was available - I checked through a whole box full of '78-'82 caps marked XS400, XS650, XS1100 etc. etc. - and none fitted. Eventually I gave up and came home and found that the filler cap from my own 1976 XS650C Standard tank fitted the XS750 tank perfectly - so I simply bought one from XSDirect (same as MikesXS in Canada) for about $30 CDN - and sure enough, it looks great and fits perfectly and it even came with two keys.

Somewhere above in this thread is a post from me that give the part numbers of the filler cap and the petcocks that fit this tank - all available cheap from MikesXS / XSDirect.

Cheers,

Pete

 

[WT100]

Hey thanks! I was talking about the rubber stopper / cap. I'm working on cleaning a tank and need something like that. I thought it might be a plumbing part. The pluming department is where I source rubber gas cap gaskets.

 

[MaxPete]

Ah hah - well, as I said, I think it came from a wine making place.

 

[weekendrider]

WT100 try Westlake on Campbell.

 

[WT100]

Ha! That place is my absolute GO TO spot! From MC stuff to camera mounts and tripod parts! I love to roam those isles looking for ideas.

 

[MaxPete]

Sounds like a fun place!

OK, folks a bit of progress on assembling the key components for the '81 Special to Cafe conversion today:
1) I have finally found a seat and purchased it (source to be gratefully revealed in due course);
2) I have sourced a few necessary nuts and bolts;
3) I began the survey of the bike to see what else it needs - I'll be publishing a list shortly (first I have to recover from a rotten cold while somehow doing a business trip to Seattle).

Remaining issues to sort out:
1) get the engine running (haven't really tried that hard yet - I'll be changing plugs and wires when I'm back in town)
2) disassemble and clean it
3) check the wheel, steering head and swing arm bearings and the chain and sprockets
4) rebuild the front caliper and master cylinder

Anyhow, if it was easy, I wouldn't need all of you wonderful folks out there in XS650-Land watching, encouraging and offering helpful suggestions. Any more thoughts on the colour scheme choices:

• Black & gold
• Dark blue & silver

I have to admit that I am leaning toward the dark blue. It will complement the emblems that Resto made and I don't want to just copy the beautiful bike created by Brassneck (that is my inspiration). Comments / thoughts most welcome.

In the meantime - take heart fellow northerners! Spring is coming - its downhill from here on!

Cheers,

Pete

 

[angus67]

Welcome to seattle. I saw the pussyhat protest last Saturday.

 

[5twins]

You can use your gas cap as a "stopper". Cut a piece of rubber sheet to cover the hole and close the cap over it. That will protect the bottom of the cap from damage.

 

[MaxPete]

You can use your gas cap as a "stopper". Cut a piece of rubber sheet to cover the hole and close the cap over it. That will protect the bottom of the cap from damage.

Good point - hadn't thought of that. My previous tank cleaning job used POR15 - and while it is superb for cleaning and sealing the tank, it is horrible stuff to get off anything it was not intended to touch and so I was very reluctant to use my filler cap to seal the tank. I used all sorts of tape which mostly a fail.

Cheers,

Pete

 

[5twins]

I've used this method for tank sealing, it works well. Peel the rubber piece off when you're done sloshing the sealer around in there and you have a nice coated neck right up to (but not on) the top sealing surface.

 

[Mailman]

I like the blue and silver theme. I think that would have more visual interest. Can't wait to see this start coming together.

 

[CoconutPete]

Keep at it Pete!

 

[YamadudeXS650C]

Sounds like a fun place!

OK, folks a bit of progress on assembling the key components for the '81 Special to Cafe conversion today:
1) I have finally found a seat and purchased it (source to be gratefully revealed in due course);
2) I have sourced a few necessary nuts and bolts;
3) I began the survey of the bike to see what else it needs - I'll be publishing a list shortly (first I have to recover from a rotten cold while somehow doing a business trip to Seattle).

Remaining issues to sort out:
1) get the engine running (haven't really tried that hard yet - I'll be changing plugs and wires when I'm back in town)
2) disassemble and clean it
3) check the wheel, steering head and swing arm bearings and the chain and sprockets
4) rebuild the front caliper and master cylinder

Anyhow, if it was easy, I wouldn't need all of you wonderful folks out there in XS650-Land watching, encouraging and offering helpful suggestions. Any more thoughts on the colour scheme choices:

• Black & gold
• Dark blue & silver

I have to admit that I am leaning toward the dark blue. It will complement the emblems that Resto made and I don't want to just copy the beautiful bike created by Brassneck (that is my inspiration). Comments / thoughts most welcome.

In the meantime - take heart fellow northerners! Spring is coming - its downhill from here on!

Cheers,

Pete

Hey Pete,

Lets see a pic of the seat you located.

As for painting yourself, I've contributed to some discussions at this forum which revolved around using Spraymax (large spray can only $20) for the crucial clearcoat. I successfully used Spraymax on top of ordinary acrylic lacquer rattle cans (Duplicolor). As mentioned above, a proper, new (they go bad in time) carbon mask ($18) is essential because the Spraymax is urethane and thus deadly. Cyanide, as I recall. I spray outside in a light breeze.

 

[DanielBlack]

I'm a fan of the dark blue and silver. If/when the time comes to fix the paint on mine, the 77's Bountiful Blue is real tempting. Agreed on setting the emblems off.

 

[MrBultaco]

Gold or silver accents go with almost any dark color. Many different shades out there. I bet you will be happy with
any combo you use. It's yours to show and ride. Can't wait for some pictures.

 

[Signal]

I understand your dilemma over paint. Both the black / gold and silver / blue Ducati 900's look stunning.
My pick of the 2 by a small margin is the silver/blue. But its your bike paint it what you like, and to hell with what other people think.

 

[ThatXS650Guy]

I've always liked this silver/blue color combo. It's a KZ400 but you get the idea...

 

[MaxPete]

Thanks Jim - nice looking KZ!

Pete

 

[fredintoon]

Thanks all - and as for finding a painter - I am leaning towards trying it myself on this one. Frankly, we're still putting Daughter #3 through school and the thought of a googlabucks paint job on an older motorcycle tanks and tins just won't make it past the Budget Committee. Perhaps I need to revise my strategy for Budget Committee consideration....

Besides, there is quite of lot of material on the Forum which suggests that doing a DIY paint job does not necessarily have a to result in a mess (although I doubt that naked women would pass the Committee either...

Cheers,

Pete
View attachment 93855

Hi Pete,
DIY paintjob is perfectly doable. SO LONG AS YOU USE THE PROPER PROTECTIVE GEAR.
The paint fumes and the sanding debris can rip yer lungs out and give you liver cancer.
And sure, be like Paul, ride your new bike while remembering the girlfriend you used to have before you lied to her.

 

[fredintoon]

Sounds like a fun place!

OK, folks a bit of progress on assembling the key components for the '81 Special to Cafe conversion today:
1) I have finally found a seat and purchased it (source to be gratefully revealed in due course);
2) I have sourced a few necessary nuts and bolts;
3) I began the survey of the bike to see what else it needs - I'll be publishing a list shortly (first I have to recover from a rotten cold while somehow doing a business trip to Seattle).

Remaining issues to sort out:
1) get the engine running (haven't really tried that hard yet - I'll be changing plugs and wires when I'm back in town)
2) disassemble and clean it
3) check the wheel, steering head and swing arm bearings and the chain and sprockets
4) rebuild the front caliper and master cylinder

Anyhow, if it was easy, I wouldn't need all of you wonderful folks out there in XS650-Land watching, encouraging and offering helpful suggestions. Any more thoughts on the colour scheme choices:

• Black & gold
• Dark blue & silver

I have to admit that I am leaning toward the dark blue. It will complement the emblems that Resto made and I don't want to just copy the beautiful bike created by Brassneck (that is my inspiration). Comments / thoughts most welcome.

In the meantime - take heart fellow northerners! Spring is coming - its downhill from here on!

Cheers,

Pete

Hi Pete,
some traditionalists reckon there's only two colours to paint a bike. One's black. T'other's the colours fools paint their bikes.
What I reckon is that it's a good thing that rattlecan tartan ain't technically feasible.
Let me suggest a revision to your issue #4.
Change it to:- rebuild the front caliper, replace the stock master cylinder with a smaller piston diameter unit, swap the fabric brake lines for stainless lines, drill the brake disk full of holes.