Help with where to start.....

[Bob Kelly III]

is it Disk or drum brake shoes ? more than likely drum for the back... the previous owner may well have had to back the adjustment nut off
because brake pads swell up over a long time in the weather.... Mine did that too.....
at the rear wheel on the right side is the adjusting nut on a rod that moves with the break pedal adjust it in till you have about 1" play or so
that's where I like mine at. and it should work again .... if that don't do it the rear wheel will have to come off....more than likely !!!!
.....if we're talking Disk brakes front and rear then you should probably drain the brake fluid and re blead them and see what you have.
Getting My front brake to work again was a major hassle... it had moisture in it and a bunch of brown goo and some rust...and it would not bleed out and pump up.... that is what brought me to this site ! the guys pointed me to the brake section in the technical refrence and that helped a bunch !
my '82~'83xs650 Heritage special had NO 2nd hole in the mastercylinder (MC) so I took a tiny drill bit and made one for it ! where it should have been
.. then it pumped up and blead fine.... and to my supprise the calaper on the disk started working as well ....
the front disk brake had swollen at the pads and locked up the front wheel so we could not even roll the bike to get it in my truck !
I took the calaper off to get it to move.... and that is what started the fieasco ! LOL
be carefull of that front brake ! its the most dangerous thing on the bike never use it in the dirt or gravle and apply spairingly !!!!! it works really good !
..... using the front brake can make the front end slide out from under you so fast you cannot react in time to save it.....But used properly a motorcycle can stop 2 times faster than a car (even with all 4 locked up !) so being hit from the rear is common because of this ! if there is a car behind you just use the back brake only ! that leaves your front wheel free and able to dodge a bit too !
.....
hope that helped some !
Bob....

 

[5twins]

Many of the questions you're asking would be answered by looking in a manual. Pretty much every service and parts manual is available for free here .....

https://thexscafedotcom.wordpress.com/category/manuals/manual-workshop/page/2/

Yes, there are 2 drain plugs. Most of the oil will come out whichever one you pull first, last few ounces out of the second one. Do pull them both. I take the front one out first. Don't use 10-40 or 30 wt., use 20-50. Change it often, like every 1000 to 1500 miles. The oil filtration system on this bike is crude.

The brake systems usually require a total teardown and cleaning, and new brake lines. You must tear down and clean both the MCs and the calipers.

 

[Bob Kelly III]

Thank you 5twins for the oil correction ! I'll make a note of that !
Bob.........

 

[JRWilliamsQM]

So mine is disk front and rear, I bled out the rear and lived it up a bit and low and behold, it works!! The front however... front master cylinder piston is seized and I ripped the bumper trying to get it out. I was looking at EBay for a whole new front assembly and these people want outrageous prices... considering switching over to a universal master cylinder set up, pretty generic and only 25 dollars, but using my mechanical ingenuity and some parts from the old, I think I could make it work. Aside from that I swapped the carbs again and put on the clean , NON EPA set of carbs I just rebuilt, still needs a bit of fine tuning as is doesn't enjoy the throttle with the petcock set to on, but runs fine in a prime, the clutch releases pretty hard at the end causing it to feel like it shuts down completely, but then roars out immediately after with the heavy throttle, since it just started moving 2 days ago, I'm still getting the timing down for the clutch and shifting, she's awful touchy. However with the back brakes now functioning I can honestly say I have a (mostly) road legal motorcycle that I refurbished from ground up much more work ahead of me, but I am looking forward to it... any suggestions on a better place to look for a front master cylinder? Here's the updated photo, lotta work left. Thanks!!!

 

[Bob Kelly III]

I swapped the carbs again and put on the clean , NON EPA set of carbs I just rebuilt, still needs a bit of fine tuning as is doesn't enjoy the throttle with the petcock set to on, but runs fine in a prime,

with the engine rinning fine on prime and not on "on" i'ed say you had a vaccuum leak and or the vaccuum petcock is not working correctly...
sounds also like the clutch is a bit LOOSE if it's clunking into gear and not releasing properly you should take a bit more slack out of the cable !
when you pull the clutch in with it in 1st gear, there should be no pull at all it should release completely....
shift lever angle and placement on the shaft will help you make better shifts and wair boots not sneekers because if you fall your anchel bones can be ground down ! ( happened to my Mother ! )... go easy on the throttle while shifting till you get used to it,... and know how far to pull up on that shift lever, it usually takes a good twist with your foot to make it shift one slot..... using too much twisting pressure can make it move 2 gears sometimes.
.... looks like you almost got it ! Congradulations ! now keep it upright and watch those stupid cars ! they don't look for motorcycles !
Bob..........

 

[Bob Kelly III]

Looking Good ! I like the Green !!!!
Bob.......

 

[Bob Kelly III]

you can rebuild the front Mastercylinder and lower caliper there is a section here in the garadge/technical refrence on brakes its good
I used it on my mastercylinder and got it up to snuff !
.....
Bob........

 

[JRWilliamsQM]

Looking Good ! I like the Green !!!!
Bob.......

Sorry Bob, I think the lighting is off in the pictures, it's actually a high temp Cast Iron grey, the secondary accent colors when I'm done will stem from Honolulu Blue, And silver, the colors of my favorite (sometimes frustrating) Detroit Lions. So.. sadly today I learned what a vacuum line is, and where it goes...I didn't have one on it, so hopefully that should help take care of my stalling issues. I'm looking into rebuilding the master cylinder, but for the price of a rebuild kit I could get a workable used one, then have extra parts left over just in case. Not sure what I will do with that yet, finds are a little low. Not to mention the titling issue in my state, since I bought it on a bill of sale, I have to jump through hoops if I ever want to ride it on the road legally... hanging in there

 

[Bob Kelly III]

if you think that is bad try getting a Bike from an In-law that is deciesed and no title or registration or bill of sale ! thats waht I am facing !
I thnk I will take it to a DMV title company and let them do it ..... paperwork just makes me mad as hell ! LOL
.....
Bob............

 

[deadchef]

gaining a title in michigan isn't too difficult in my experience. sure it takes a little leg work but the cost is $15 for the title and the michigan sales tax for the nada or kbb value of the bike. make sure that when you talk with the people at the sos that you make clear that you CANNOT locate the current owner otherwise this won't work. if the bike is from out of state or has been reported stolen then this won't work either. start here -> http://www.michigan.gov/documents/tr-205_16198_7.pdf

 

[JRWilliamsQM]

Yea, when I talked to them the other day, they said I have to show proof that I tried contacting the owner, before they will even consider the Ownership Certification.... hopefully I can slide it in and not get hassled..

 

[JRWilliamsQM]

So, for those of you who have followed along this adventure.... Finally got the title approved, my baby is now registered, plated, and legal in the state of Michigan. (Aside from the seized Front Brake MC) All that is left now is slowly replacing maintenance parts each paycheck to get her back up to shining glory. I will be riding her the 2 miles to work this summer while I make some adjustments. Right now I still have a slight back fire on the left in 1st and 2nd gear and it takes some time for her to pick up the left cylinder, stays cold until I really get her revving and idling steady. I have a feeling at this point it's just the carb fine tuning to solve that. I reset the clutch cable as well and it greatly improved the effort it takes to shift through while the clutch Lever is engaged. I'm still having the issue in finding Neutral once she is hot but I have some left side crank case parts to start replacing and I think it should help solve that issue. I have had the time of my life learning to troubleshoot and repair this bike and for my first motorcycle (aside from the Haji cycles we "borrowed" overseas on deployments) I couldn't be happier with my purchase. I think if I keep her lubed up and spot checked throughout this summer I will be in good shape to to a full tear down this winter and really put some work into every detail back to an OEM Restore. The 4 ft. of snow average here in Northern Michigan gives me plenty of reasons to get her up on a bench and give her a good quality repair during the long winter. I realize the Fandom Detroit Lions theme takes away from the "Classic" or "Vintage" qualities this bike owns, so I may go for an actual Stock refinish while she's tore down this winter. But for now, all I can say, is this baby is my bike, I've always been a die hard Lions fan, and now I am a die hard XS650 fan, so any "haters" can honestly just F*** themselves. With your guys' advice, guidance, and resources I now have a "mostly" completed project Motorcycle that I repaired with my own 2 hands, and it feels GREAT! There's a TON of pride getting added to the Lions Den tonight!! Thank you EVERYONE who helped out in providing me with the right directions to get her back up and running!!!

 

[Bob Kelly III]

She's a good looking bike JR ! seriously Nothing wrong with the Lions decals either ! LOL
if you havn't done the "Dead cylinder adjustment" of the idle screws that is more than likely your problem ..... mine ran like you are discribing
after the dead cylinder adjustment it didn't do that any more....
it sounds technical but it's not.... fire up the bike and let it get warm.... turn it off and put a old sparkplug in the left hand sparkplug lead and ground the base of the plug to the head.... vice grips work to hold it there or a spring electrical clamp..... start the engine again ane it will be running on the right cylinder only.... adjust the pilot air screw to get the fastest idle .... just at the peek of the fastest idle.... you may have to reduce the idle screw on the left carb to keep the RPM down ...but I didn't .....( I did have to put a screwdriver handle under the tank to get my shortest screwdriver into the hole to adjust the pilot air screw though.)
then turn it off and repete the same proccess on the other cylinder ....
it seams too simple to work but it really does !!!!!.....
it was like I had a new machine when I did that.... because the idle screws were so lean at their original setting that the machine couldn't run properly
...... I opened the airscrews to 3 turns from their seat when I had the carbs off and that no doubt helped because I got it to run fairly easy instead of having to fight it for 45 minutes and use quickstart too !.... but it still wanted to drop a cylinder now and then... I did the Dead cylinder adjustment
and that all changed to a perfect idle and great throttle responce ! ..... I was super pleased....
if you don't have a way to adjust the carburator Syncronization you need one... 2M has posted a great design that is easy to make I made one myself but have yet to use it..... but it will no doubt sync those carbs in short order !
..... Keep after it ! and Ride safely !
....
Bob............

 

[deadchef]

good to see another xs in northern michigan!

 

[JRWilliamsQM]

Absolutely! And this one is hard to miss lol.

And thanks Bob, I'll give that a try probably this morning before I take her out on the road for the first time (legally)

 

[MaxPete]

BTW - there is a really BIG bike boneyard in Yale MI. Tons of XS650 parts there and the prices seemed pretty reasonable. It's called Eastern Michigan Motorcycle Salvage and here is a linky: http://www.emccycle.com/

Also - JR - would you be able to share that PM with DeadChef?

Thx,

Pete

 

[JRWilliamsQM]

Most certainly on the sharing, and yea I have heard of a few rumored gold mines both up here and the thumb area, one of these weekends I'm going to empty the trailer and do a day or two salvage dig anywhere I have leads.

 

[TimeMachine]

I encourage you to source parts on this sites classifieds. Its been very beneficial to both find parts from members as well as share parts with members. Unlimited info usually comes with the asking too. Enjoy the nice bike ! -RT

 

[Michaelo]

JR we might be able to fix your front brakes, is it still an issue? Seized ?

Mick

 

[XSLeo]

On the way one cylinder isn't firing leads me to believe you have not properly cleaned your carbs. www.amckayltd.com/carbguide.pdf is our carb bible.
It's recommended to read it, print it out, read it, read it again, read it till it appears in your dreams. Once you get that far use it to tear down, clean, inspect, replace what your inspection proves bad, reassemble and adjust things as you go.
As mentioned earlier in this thread pay particular attention to the enricher and idle circuits.
Leo