Should be the tail light, it's a park position. Very popular, used ALL THE TIME. 
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Help. Getting back on the road.
- Thread starter joebgd
- Start date
How much gas does the special tank hold again? I am getting ab 118 miles before I have to put reserve on. And I've been putting in ab 2.5 gallons shortly after.
I am running a little rich due to larger jets and shit. I don't mind being a little rich. I prescribe to xsjohn philosophy. A little rich will be better than lean and a bit more on right(clutch basket) side to help balance temps and what not.
It's been so long since I've been in these carbs, I'm going to start with pilot circuit. If I turn the pilot screw in does that make it richer or leaner. If I turn it in am I letting in less fuel and or more air? Or visa....
I am running a little rich due to larger jets and shit. I don't mind being a little rich. I prescribe to xsjohn philosophy. A little rich will be better than lean and a bit more on right(clutch basket) side to help balance temps and what not.
It's been so long since I've been in these carbs, I'm going to start with pilot circuit. If I turn the pilot screw in does that make it richer or leaner. If I turn it in am I letting in less fuel and or more air? Or visa....
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special tank spec is 3.04 gallons reserve .61 gallons
standard tank 76-79 4.0 gallons
The idle mix screw meters a fuel emulsion so out is richer. in is leaner.
I want to get more out of my breaks, starting with front. The back has brand new pads this year. I see central has some interesting write ups on the matter. I am on a budget so I'm going to start with pads. I'm thinking about marking a pattern on my rotor and having it drilled. Also front caliper sticks a little so I'll rebuild that.
I have a little lock box for a heritage goes where my mc is for rear break so I think you have to have a drum break to use it. I also have rt & left side covers for 79 special good not perfect condition. The metal ones with rectangular slots on top and knob on bottom. I'm in market for gas tank preferably the bigger standard one and side covers for my 80 special.
If you still have the original 2 piece rubber brake line, replace it with a one piece stainless steel line. They can be had for $7 or $8 from Banggood. That's about the biggest cheap improvement you can make.
As far as brake pads go, the originals work very well and you can't do much better in my opinion. I have aftermarket pads in mine at the moment, and while they work OK, I don't think they work as well as my originals did. And these are supposedly really good ones too, from 650Central. I will probably be putting my originals back in. The other nice thing about stock pads is they're sold as a "kit", so you get more than just pads. You get the little shims for in front of and behind the pads, the special little screw with the turned down tip for retaining the inner pad, and the spring clip that fits above the pads. The price isn't outrageous either, no more really that many aftermarket pads and with those all you get is pads .....
As far as brake pads go, the originals work very well and you can't do much better in my opinion. I have aftermarket pads in mine at the moment, and while they work OK, I don't think they work as well as my originals did. And these are supposedly really good ones too, from 650Central. I will probably be putting my originals back in. The other nice thing about stock pads is they're sold as a "kit", so you get more than just pads. You get the little shims for in front of and behind the pads, the special little screw with the turned down tip for retaining the inner pad, and the spring clip that fits above the pads. The price isn't outrageous either, no more really that many aftermarket pads and with those all you get is pads .....
Hi joe,
um, what you want is better brakes. A break is what happens to your leg if you don't pay off your bookie.
If your 1980 Special has stock brakes the least costly upgrade is stainless steel brake hoses all round,
drilling the disks, (or swap in a slotted brake disk from an XS11 on the front, you still gotta drill the back
disk because the XS650 rear disk is smaller than an XS11 disk) and swap in a front master cylinder with
a 1/2" or smaller piston because the stocker is meant to work the two disks the rest of the world's
XS650s came with so it's piston has exactly twice the area needed to operate just one.
I have just one plastic side-cover in reasonable nick,
(not sure which side, two small easily fixable cracks, hole, slot & lower button OK)
Yours for postage from Saskatoon SK, PM me?
I've become a convert to spray on chain wax not sure how good it is for non o-ring chains but I'm using it on both types.
this type rotor new or used with 7mm rotor spacers dropsIIRC 1 1/2 2 1/2 POUNDS of rotating unsprung mass off your front end. I have a single on two bikes and double on madness (all used) very happy. I have used pads from caltric they are working well also.
that's a WM5 18 with a 110/80/18 michelin Pilot Road 3. Makes for complex assembly, calipers hit the rim on the way in. Stock special master cylinder, best brakes I've had on an XS650 so far. It's spoiling me. I definitely feel the pain going back to one of my single disk bikes. This whole set up is close in weight to a stock single and less than a mag wheel single rotor front set up!
I mention the tire, rim because it's a system, no sense having a trick brake on a tire with limited 70's era traction. The fork action is up next, "sportster" springs going in, and about to pull the trigger on my second set of MikesXS cartridge emulators.
there's other fork/brake caliper options waiting their turn also. But I'm running out of youth. LOL Then the flexy frame is going to be gnawing at me. Hopefully by then I'd have to be at the duct tape and bandages level of street riding to notice...
this type rotor new or used with 7mm rotor spacers drops
that's a WM5 18 with a 110/80/18 michelin Pilot Road 3. Makes for complex assembly, calipers hit the rim on the way in. Stock special master cylinder, best brakes I've had on an XS650 so far. It's spoiling me. I definitely feel the pain going back to one of my single disk bikes. This whole set up is close in weight to a stock single and less than a mag wheel single rotor front set up!
I mention the tire, rim because it's a system, no sense having a trick brake on a tire with limited 70's era traction. The fork action is up next, "sportster" springs going in, and about to pull the trigger on my second set of MikesXS cartridge emulators.
there's other fork/brake caliper options waiting their turn also. But I'm running out of youth. LOL Then the flexy frame is going to be gnawing at me. Hopefully by then I'd have to be at the duct tape and bandages level of street riding to notice...Attachments
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The brake pad "kit" I showed you can be purchased right from Yamaha, it's O.E.M. The brake line length you need will depend on the bars you're running. 90cm (35.4") works well for lower bars. Don't have a clue what length the buckhorn bars need, you'd have to measure. Many of us have used the Banggood lines with no problems so far. Yes, they're silly cheap but the quality seems OK .....
https://www.banggood.com/50cm-200cm....html?rmmds=search&ID=514958&cur_warehouse=CN
I tried that chain wax years back and it was ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE on a normal chain. It didn't penetrate and/or lube inside the rollers, just coated the outside. The chain kinked up and was basically ruined in no time. Maybe the product has been improved but from my past experience, I will never, ever use it again.
https://www.banggood.com/50cm-200cm....html?rmmds=search&ID=514958&cur_warehouse=CN
I tried that chain wax years back and it was ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE on a normal chain. It didn't penetrate and/or lube inside the rollers, just coated the outside. The chain kinked up and was basically ruined in no time. Maybe the product has been improved but from my past experience, I will never, ever use it again.
SOP on anything like a chain is to cut your lube with solvent so it penetrates then stays put once the solvent evaporates. There are heavy wire and "open gear" lubes like that sold in rattle cans.
I went with a grease oil combo for now. I put grease on the rollers.and oil to get down side plates. I should have done oil first. I'm hit it one more time w grease on rollers. Next maintenance I'll get the ideal chain stuff.
Regular grease and/or oil won't last long, but I suppose it's better than nothing, lol. You need a specific motorcycle chain lube. Most go on as foam, penetrate, then gel up so they don't fling off (too much). My fav is Kal-Gard Chain Kote. It has black moly in it and stains the silver rollers dark gray. When they start turning silver again, you know it's time to re-apply.
Thanks for the help guys.
My tight to loose spot is dramatic. I want to get a nos chain. Does anyone know what chain brand was stock? I remember thinking the tolerance of rollers and just in general the original chain seemed better.
Oh and where did you find that brake kit twins? The one you posted a pic of with exploded view.
My tight to loose spot is dramatic. I want to get a nos chain. Does anyone know what chain brand was stock? I remember thinking the tolerance of rollers and just in general the original chain seemed better.
Oh and where did you find that brake kit twins? The one you posted a pic of with exploded view.
Any Yamaha dealer will have or can get that brake pad kit for you. That particular drawing came from the Boats.net site but unfortunately, they no longer sell bike parts. Here it is from Partzilla .....
https://www.partzilla.com/product/y...?ref=8f547cd9f9aeeb2b23aedb47542660e7fbbdbd7d
I'm not sure what the original chain brand was. It probably changed from time to time depending on what Yamaha could get deals on. D.I.D. is a possibility, or maybe Tsubaki. Both are Jap chain makers. Both still make and sell motorcycle chain. I'm currently running a D.I.D. standard chain (not o-ring) on mine and it seems fine. Personally, due to it's size and power output, I don't feel this bike needs the fancy $100 o-ring chain. The D.I.D. standard chain can be had for about $40.
https://www.partzilla.com/product/y...?ref=8f547cd9f9aeeb2b23aedb47542660e7fbbdbd7d
I'm not sure what the original chain brand was. It probably changed from time to time depending on what Yamaha could get deals on. D.I.D. is a possibility, or maybe Tsubaki. Both are Jap chain makers. Both still make and sell motorcycle chain. I'm currently running a D.I.D. standard chain (not o-ring) on mine and it seems fine. Personally, due to it's size and power output, I don't feel this bike needs the fancy $100 o-ring chain. The D.I.D. standard chain can be had for about $40.
Upon maintenance I realized and remembered my hd jcwittny chain is the one on the bench it broke on me and I put the original back on. So I'm definitely due for a chain. I have another hd Whitney chain not used. broke one went in trash, ill give the unused one a shot. I'll hold on to my original but it's definitely stretched way uneven. It has seasons before and after I got the bike of sitting and drying.
A $20 heavy duty JC Whitney chain is actually what I started out with. I got about 10 seasons out of it so it served me well enough. It wasn't totally stretched out yet but was starting to get kinks in it so I replaced it.
