hi from new guy

[tekk220]

small intro.. from NY just outside of NYC (anybody close by?)
about 5 years ago I discovered the xs650 and for some odd reason I just wanted it. dont know why... but it was calling to me. its not my style at all. I race a 2015 r6.. I street ride a honda grom.. dirt bike crf250.. so this kind of bike is all new to me. so when all the stars aligned I purchased (facebook marketplace) this 1977 in sept for $800 not running.. added a battery and some starting fluid and it started right up. rode here and there and had some fuel leaking from the petcocks so I swapped for new gaskets (still leaking). im about to start a total teardown. dont know what im really doing but I have the oem manual and I will keep updating this post with photos and questions as this journey continues. Thanks for all the future help and knowledge that you guy will give me. and if you randomly want to give me tip tricks and advice... feel free.. its all welcomed

 

[59Tebo]

Welcome to the party, tekk! "Just outside NYC" covers a lot of territory. Didja get a title for that $800.00 sled? The OEM manual is a good start. You may want to augment that with a Clymer's or Chilton's manual also. And before you start tearing into the motor, all willy-nilly, see about doing a compression test. This will give you a pretty good idea of the motor's overall "health". As for the leaking petcocks; 43 year-old anythings are likely to leak. Start by replacing all the plumbing. Look on the interweb for "Tygon" fuel line (in whatever color strikes you). That stuff is impervious to just about everything. You can find rebuild kits for the petcocks, but try flipping the rubber valve washers over first. Their four holes direct the fuel from the tank to the carbs with the "off-on-reserve" settings, and sometimes you can get away with giving them a fresh surface to seal against. And when the time comes, try (as much as you can in your area) to limit yourself to Ethanol-free Hi-Test. These bikes were designed to run on the kind of gas you can't (easily) get anymore. Then there's the tires. There's an alphabet-soup set of numbers, following "DOT" on the sidewall that'll tell you the week and year the tires were made. Anything over 5 YEARS OLD is gambling with your life to ride. End of sermon. These bikes will run just fine with what they came with right from Japan, so do a clean-up first, and see what you have. As the wise man once said: "...it's only original once..." They only made so many of 'em, so an "unmolested" specimen is getting harder and harder to find. FWIW, this oughta give you enough food for thought to give ya indigestion! Keep those updates (and pictures - we're nosy ) coming! Good luck, cheers and again, welcome!
Tebo

 

[timbeck]

tekk220---Welcome to the forum, you will find plenty of tips and advise here. Considering that you were able to fire the bike up pretty easy , ride it around I think you got a great deal. Also it has the desirable aluminum shouldered wheels. You do need to repair the petcocks because the fuel can easily leak down into the engine oil and big trouble comes with that. Clean all filters/strainers and change the oil.

tim

 

[tekk220]

Welcome to the party, tekk! "Just outside NYC" covers a lot of territory. Didja get a title for that $800.00 sled? The OEM manual is a good start. You may want to augment that with a Clymer's or Chilton's manual also. And before you start tearing into the motor, all willy-nilly, see about doing a compression test. This will give you a pretty good idea of the motor's overall "health". As for the leaking petcocks; 43 year-old anythings are likely to leak. Start by replacing all the plumbing. Look on the interweb for "Tygon" fuel line (in whatever color strikes you). That stuff is impervious to just about everything. You can find rebuild kits for the petcocks, but try flipping the rubber valve washers over first. Their four holes direct the fuel from the tank to the carbs with the "off-on-reserve" settings, and sometimes you can get away with giving them a fresh surface to seal against. And when the time comes, try (as much as you can in your area) to limit yourself to Ethanol-free Hi-Test. These bikes were designed to run on the kind of gas you can't (easily) get anymore. Then there's the tires. There's an alphabet-soup set of numbers, following "DOT" on the sidewall that'll tell you the week and year the tires were made. Anything over 5 YEARS OLD is gambling with your life to ride. End of sermon. These bikes will run just fine with what they came with right from Japan, so do a clean-up first, and see what you have. As the wise man once said: "...it's only original once..." They only made so many of 'em, so an "unmolested" specimen is getting harder and harder to find. FWIW, this oughta give you enough food for thought to give ya indigestion! Keep those updates (and pictures - we're nosy ) coming! Good luck, cheers and again, welcome!
Tebo

yep... came with the title. already registered and insured. and im in rockland county. moved out of NYC in july so this was my first "now I have a garage" gift

 

[motormike]

For eight bills ya stole it…. keep'n it stock...? Say yes please..

 

[tekk220]

For eight bills ya stole it…. keep'n it stock...? Say yes please..

Thinking that’s where it’s going. I do want to take it all apart for a nice cleaning and inspection. Maybe send out the frame for powder coating

 

[59Tebo]

Yo, tekk! 3,819 miles?! You couldn't have led with that? (kidding!) And I thought "The Basketcase" was a (rotten) cherry with only 9,333 miles on it. Lucky you, yours doesn't have the kind of "barnacles" mine did. But had I known then what I know now, I wouldn't have jumped into tearing that motor apart the way I did. I would've soda blasted it, whole, first, then taken it apart for gaskets and seals. Now I've made a lot more work for myself. Fortunately, I have an '81 parts bike with only 12K miles that will power my next build (God only knows when that'll be. "The Basketcase" has taken me over 10 years already, but that was a few health emergencies ago...). My point is, yeah, there's other thing requiring your more immediate attention. So, get busy! It's almost March (madness!), and riding season will be here before you know it!

 

[tekk220]

Snapped a bolt head off changing the sump filter but was able to grab the bolt with pliers and get it out (thank the bike gods). I also put a wire brush to the fork and regret it because now I have to do the whole thing. Planning on getting a decent light up front since the original was held on with a whole roll of electrical tape.

 

[tekk220]

Filled a bucket with CLR and zip tied it to a palm sander ... 1 hour later and it’s good as new !!!

 

[59Tebo]

Oh, you are just too much! Hmmmm.....how can I give a solvent high frequency agitation (like an ultrasonic cleaner tank) with stuff I have laying around the shop? That's freakin' genius! But I suspect it's just a prototype/proof of concept. With a little refinement, what else can you clean? CLR is kinda aggressive/corrosive. Maybe Simple Green, Purple Power, or Dawn even, might be adequate for most of your cleaning and degreasing operations...