Build Thread...Special to Cafe Bike

Like I said, I think the stock front brake on these is pretty good. I probably wouldn't be here writing this now if it wasn't. I've had to panic stop a couple times on mine and it performed admirably. I had that front tire howling, right at the edge of adhesion. Braking doesn't get any better than that. Once you start sliding or skidding, you're screwed. You may think a stronger front brake is what you need/want but if it causes you to lock that front wheel, you're worse off.

I have to think that the engineers at Yamaha had some clue to what they were doing when they chose the brake components, specifically the MC size. Other things they got wrong were changed or updated over the years during the production run but they never changed the MC size. Maybe it's not absolutely the best size but on the other hand, it's not absolutely the worst either.
 
K&L? was my stock MC rebuild kit. It works Great On my double disc bike! My other stock mc is more in need of steel lines now..my favorite brake is the gear shifter !
 
MaxPete said:
Don't know it's provinence. I'll have to check the VIN.
Pete
Click to expand...
Hi Pete,
everyone knows that XS650 parts swap like LEGO.
You can't tell what style of wheels your bike left the factory with unless you've owned the bike from new.
Dunno why anyone would swap cast wheels for steel-rim megaspokes though.
IMHO the megaspokes are just as ugly as the cast wheels.
I keep the cast wheels because the advantage of running tubeless tires far outweighs any aesthetic consideration.
Even the mid '70s deep groove aluminum rim wire wheels can't tempt me to run tube tires and they're the prettiest XS650 wheels Yamaha ever made.
&BTW, just about the best choice for a Café-racer.
 
I have the 5mm xs1100 dual disc set up on mine, along with stainless lines and 13mm master. Stops very well, for what it is. Unsprung wieght was a consideration, but duals just look cool. I am able to throw my bike around pretty good for an old guy, but the ability to stop was my top priority. In this area we have a very large population of people who can't operate a motor vehicle, must be genetic or something. So good brakes are a must. So go for the duals, you won't be dissapointed.
 
I can't say for sure that my XS1100 stops noticeably better than my XS650, with the exception of the rear. The XS1100 rear brake will lock down in a heartbeat.
 
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Well, I'm just back off the road from my travels and travails (and I've collected an olympic-class cold along the way). As I mentioned in the "Thanks to the Mods" thread, just as I was home for a few minutes swapping briefcases and repacking my overnight bag on Thursday afternoon, a BIG box arrived from MAC Performance! Yes, the beautiful new 2-2 exhaust system has arrived and here are a couple of pictures.

I haven't fully unpacked it because the bike isn't anywhere near ready at this point and I don't want to risk dinging it up - but the parts I have looked are very pretty and the chrome looks very nice indeed.

Cheers,,

Pete
 
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All right Pete! The parts are rolling in, before you know it your bike will be coming together. Feel better soon.
 
Thanks TM - I am really hoping that things (life?) will taper off a bit sometime soon and that as the warmer weather comes along, I'll be able to get back out to the Disaster Central Workshop and get at it - instead of talking about it from hotel rooms sprinkled across North America, and making excuses. I just checked, and it is almost exactly a year ago today that I brought Lucille (my 1976 red XS650C) home and she was deader than a doornail - so I know I can get this one going again.

In the meantime, I am nearly done the "parts collecting" phase of this project and am ready to get on with the next stages:
- do a survey of the bike to figure out what repairs / replacements are needed;
- get the bike running and safety checked;
- get the XS750 tank and sidecovers painted (either by me or by someone who knows what they're doing);
- begin reassembly as a cafe racer.

Thanks so much for the encouragement and for all the parts that have been so kindly provided by so many folks from this forum. I am keeping track and will provide a complete list in due course.

Pete
 
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Alrighty boys and girls - it's time for a little progress report from the Disaster Central Workshop! Unfortunately, my cold and cough is still here and the weather outside isn't helping much, and so it really is a LITTLE progress report in every sense of the word. However, despite old man winter, I have done a little sorting out there and general cleanup (although that may not be visible to the naked eye).

What is visible is that the other day, a pizza shaped package was delivered by Canada Post Dogsled that contained two very nice XS11 front discs from our own resident master machinist JohnnyC14 (and yes, I really do know all about unsprung mass and all that, but please let me have my fun doing a DD conversion).

Today, my buddy who accepts parcels at his US address for me brought across the last major component for the Cafe Racer build: an Airtech VS11 Cafe seat kindly provided by Forum member littlebill31! The seat is in perfect shape and so I slipped out the shop for a trial fit and here it is: (....and, dammit the photos wound up above the frickin' text again).

Anyhow, I think that my parts collecting phase is now complete and so as soon as the weather and my own state of health improve, I'm going to hit this thing like a ton of bricks! Thanks again to all for the suggestions, comments, encouragement and valuable parts!

Pete
 
Thanks Scott.

When I get it done, we should have a meet-up at Vinsetta Garage (a famous Detroit eatery). It's at 27799 Woodward in Berkeley, MI.

http://vinsettagarage.com/

They do a really nice garage calendar.....
 
All right Pete, things are coming together! I hope you guys get some decent weather soon so you can begin your project.
I'm really looking forward to watching this. Feel better soon!
 
Great seat choice Pete! Note: I cut mine back 1.5-2" on the front to shorten it just a tad... you may find that it isn't necessary on your build...it's all in the eye of the beholder and such. :)
 
MaxPete said:
View attachment 94871 View attachment 94870

Alrighty boys and girls - it's time for a little progress report from the Disaster Central Workshop! Unfortunately, my cold and cough is still here and the weather outside isn't helping much, and so it really is a LITTLE progress report in every sense of the word. However, despite old man winter, I have done a little sorting out there and general cleanup (although that may not be visible to the naked eye).

What is visible is that the other day, a pizza shaped package was delivered by Canada Post Dogsled that contained two very nice XS11 front discs from our own resident master machinist JohnnyC14 (and yes, I really do know all about unsprung mass and all that, but please let me have my fun doing a DD conversion).

Today, my buddy who accepts parcels at his US address for me brought across the last major component for the Cafe Racer build: an Airtech VS11 Cafe seat kindly provided by Forum member littlebill31! The seat is in perfect shape and so I slipped out the shop for a trial fit and here it is: (....and, dammit the photos wound up above the frickin' text again).

Anyhow, I think that my parts collecting phase is now complete and so as soon as the weather and my own state of health improve, I'm going to hit this thing like a ton of bricks! Thanks again to all for the suggestions, comments, encouragement and valuable parts!

Pete
Click to expand...
Hi Pete,
good that your parts pile is growing and yeah, the photos do say "Disaster Central" ( I won't say it's as bad as my garage, but it's getting there)
but WTF man, the bike your bumstop seat is TA'd on ain't no red '76, it's an 81 or newer Special.
 

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