Hudson's Basket Case '78 Bobber.

[Hudson]

Hello!

Joined a while back now, picked up a basket case 1978 XS650 that had been stripped down and thrown in to boxes through a mate of mines dad's mate's - mate (or something like that!). All in all cost me £250, the frame, wheels, forks brakes, tank etc were all there, the engine was half-stripped, no head or barrels fitted, one piston left connected etc etc. Bit of a confusing load of bits to myself, this is my first bike project but thought it'd be cool to get in a bit of a deep-end to learn the ropes!

So this is it when we picked it up:

Collected a few bits here and there:

Tank

An 18" Alloy rear wheel and 19" front (selling front as I want different rim type)

Also got a TC Bro's weld-on hardtail from the states.

Then didnt touch any of it for ages due to my car projects. However started playing with it this weekend!! Started by sorting through the bits and boxes of nuts, bolts and washers:

Standard carbs??

I took the gear round to my friends house who has a great workshop with all the gear, him and his dad build Harleys so think im in the right place! Took the frame round to get the hardtail fitted, all of the fabrication to this project will be happening here as i only have very basic tools at my disposal!

And trial fitted the tank!

Tank sit's a bit too high for my liking, though im going to wait until i get the frame rolling and decide on bars etc before cutting into it!

So yeah, fitting the hardtail went really well and has made me really eager to crack on with the rest of the bike!! Next major thing before anything else is breaking down the rest of the engine and rebuilding that. The barrels were screwed so I have some replacements to use. Need to take it all apart and see what the deal is. Need gasket sets, o-rings, bearings etc etc. Where do people source all of these from over here in the UK? Heiden Tuning is a site i keep coming back to, and MikesXS, shame neither are in the UK!

The engine and the rest of the parts have returned to my garage for now, while i work on the engine. Got a TC bro's engine stand when i bought the hardtail, which im sure will come in really handy!!

So yeah thats the stage im at now, cant wait to get stuck in!! Hope everyone is ready for a load of noob questions hahah.

Cheers

Rich

(PS- Sorry for all the pics, hope they dont bore people to death!!)

 

[Speedthriller]

The more pics the better! Your engine needs lots of work, but your frame looks allright! Heiden Tuning will ship to the UK. He is a great guy and really knows what he is talking about.

 

[hard_y_rd]

Are you planning on splitting the cases? I'd have the bores stuffed with rags to prevent metal filings and shit from getting into the base while grinding.
Looks like a pretty big project. Good on you.

 

[angus67]

I would definitely split the cases, since the top was off, who knows what may have fallen in there!
Mine was in boxes and totes too, but at least my engine was together(complete with exploded piston!)So I could see how it whent back together.
I'm digging the direction of that bike next to yours with the mil-spec tires on it.

 

[Hudson]

Cool i'll definately be using Heiden then thanks. Will email them with my plans for the engine and see how they can help with the parts im going to need!

And yeah im definately taking the engine apart completely! I found the last tax disc when organising through the parts and it was last on the road in 1998, 15 years ago! So it could have very well been in this state ever since.

I really want to learn it so will be completely taking it apart, including the gesrset etc. Probably be lots of headaches along the way but the end result will be really satisfying!

 

[Hudson]

Very eager to keep some momentum going (haven't touched anything since the frame was welded), I headed to the garage tonight to spend an hour or so of free time on the engine and hopefully make some progress... or so i thought.

Got as far as taking the kick pedal and clutch cover off:

And inspecting the alternator side:

Before attempting to un-do the sprocket and cracking the casing in the process....

BALLS.... not an ideal start.

My own fault really, in a bit of haste and not thinking logically, i decided to wedge the handle of a rubber mallet between the teeth on the sprocket and the casing, so i could 'crack' the nut off, unfortunately the only thing that cracked was the casing.... In hindsight it might have been a clever idea to try and get it in gear?

So im kinda kicking myself now. Been itching to get started on it for a good few days now just not had the chance, so got a bit excited hahah. Looking at the part thats snapped off, its on the dry side of the engine and isnt critical. The cover just mounts to it. However when its all apart i will see if i can get someone to TIG weld it back in place for me.


So yeah, pretty rubbish progress update, im sure the updates will be coming in very slow or very fast with this project. I just hope i get all the stupid mistake out of my system early and the rest is plain sailing!!!

Rich

 

[mrkil]

Someone good with a tig should be able to put that back on.

Just male sure it's super clean.

 

[Paulrxs650]

Hi Hudson - I like the build. I ve just finished my bobber with a TC Bros hardtail too - loving it. Heres my build thread, it might help you out - http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22603

 

[XSLeo]

Just a few points, the sprocket doesn't need to come off to split the cases. Those carbs are not the stock 78 carbs, they look like BS34's from an XS400. The Xs650 carbs didin't use a banjo bolt fitting for the fuel line.
In my opinion you started in the wrong place by doing frame mods. I would have gotten the engine rebuilt, and running first. Even get it in the frame and ride it to relly get the engine running right. This will also give you a chance to find out if everything else is working right, like the charging system.
Once you get it running right then do the make pretty stuff.
No sence in spending all your cash on the make pretty then run out of cash to make it run. At least with a good engine you can ride it.
Leo

 

[Craigk47]

On the right thread now Haha, your engine looks about as shit as mine!! Lol. Not managed to damage anything too severely on mine so far (touch wood). Found some pretty shite bodges by previous owners along the way though. Plus a couple of broken bits floating about and a disintegrated oil filter! All good fun

 

[Paulrxs650]

Oh for parts in the UK try Yambits
http://www.yambits.co.uk/
Get a lot of my stuff from there and the gasket / seal sets are good

 

[Hudson]

Someone good with a tig should be able to put that back on.

Just male sure it's super clean.

Yeah thats what im hoping, shouldnt be a problem! Just frustrating, not ideal but ohwell!

Hi Hudson - I like the build. I ve just finished my bobber with a TC Bros hardtail too - loving it. Heres my build thread, it might help you out - http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22603

Nice bike Paul! Will have a read through your thread im sure it will help me.

Just a few points, the sprocket doesn't need to come off to split the cases. Those carbs are not the stock 78 carbs, they look like BS34's from an XS400. The Xs650 carbs didin't use a banjo bolt fitting for the fuel line.
In my opinion you started in the wrong place by doing frame mods. I would have gotten the engine rebuilt, and running first. Even get it in the frame and ride it to relly get the engine running right. This will also give you a chance to find out if everything else is working right, like the charging system.
Once you get it running right then do the make pretty stuff.
No sence in spending all your cash on the make pretty then run out of cash to make it run. At least with a good engine you can ride it.
Leo

Thanks for the info on the carbs Leo, will do a bit more digging and see if i can confirm this!

With regards to the frame, i knew i wanted hardtail and I knew i wanted that style tank! On the grand scheme of things, chopping the frame and 1hr's welding isnt really monumental or bank-breaking. As you can see from the pics and what i've mentioned above, im building the engine now before anything else!

On the right thread now Haha, your engine looks about as shit as mine!! Lol. Not managed to damage anything too severely on mine so far (touch wood). Found some pretty shite bodges by previous owners along the way though. Plus a couple of broken bits floating about and a disintegrated oil filter! All good fun

Sweet! How far are you going with the rebuild? You taking the gearset apart etc? I plan to do it all, found some useful information and manuals and stuff, hope its not too much of a headache!

Oh for parts in the UK try Yambits
http://www.yambits.co.uk/
Get a lot of my stuff from there and the gasket / seal sets are good

Wicked thanks again Paul, will have a look!

 

[Craigk47]

Yeah, got everything fully dismantled now pal. Planning on separating the gearsets and laying them out in order. Got a haynes manual too that has an exploded diagram. Do you have a haynes manual yet? Not really much to these engines by the looks of things, i think as long as you're methodical, take your time and keep everything clean you should be all good pal!

 

[XSLeo]

I have a Haynes book. I like how they use actual pics. The illustrations used in some books are very good but pics are nice.
Leo

 

[Hudson]

Yeah I got a Haynes manual among the box of parts when i got the bike haha. Haven't gone through and looked at it yet but it sounds good from what you're saying.

I love engines, hopefully the rebuild on this one will be ok. It's just tricky without the right tools sometimes (pullers, airlines, impact guns etc). Im currently forging the engine in my Nissan drift car so thats all in bits, im up to my arse in engine bits!!

 

[SolidLex]

Sorry about your engine case cracking. I'm waiting on my cases to come back from getting bead blasted along with the cylinders. I have 2 tables full of engine parts. Ugh.