Im going to drive from CA to NY on my 650 what should I do not to blow up

Re. temp. difference, it's not a peculiarity of the XS650; Michael Morse pointed out to me that any air cooled parallel twin will run hotter on the primary side; it's sealed and gets less cooling. According to Michael, tuners used to stagger jet Triumph and BSA twin race bikes to compensate. Anyway, it is emphatically not something to be concerned about on a street bike.

The main vulnerability of your machine is going to be that breaker point ignition that got retrofitted onto your G. Be sure that the cogged nut that holds the advance unit on the camshaft is tight; lay into it with a hammer and drift.

There's no reason your bike shouldn't make the trip if you keep your eyes, ears, and wrenches busy. Have a great ride!
 
If it's tuned right and not running lean it shouldn't be no problem. I knew a guy who rode his XS1B from Southern Cal, to Sturgis and back. He said it was a lot of work though. I think both my 71 and 80 XS650 would cross the country no problem, but hot weather would always concern me. I always wanted to make some air defectors like XSjohn had, but never could find the time to do it. He had the long distance configuration down. On any trip I would figure to check things every 100+ miles. Heck that's probably when I would start looking for gas anyway. I run a 32 tooth rear on both bikes and that seems to cover most of my riding situations, which is mountain roads with one or two hour freeway runs at 70 mph. ...If it's all freeway maybe a 30 tooth would be better. I've had many motorcycles, some of those Honda CB were glass smooth, but even with them I always wanted to stretch after about 100 miles nonstop. I would also suggest staying in a nice place at the end of the day. Otherwise after your first 1000 miles it's going to start to feel torturous on any bike. It amazing how much better long trips are on a motorcycle when you had some sleep............Oh I should add, I always run the name brand O-ring drive chains.
 
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fredintoon said:
Hi Michael,
I dunno about that book, far too many pages of pseudo-psychological mumbling just to say that if you don't keep your bike properly maintained it won't run too good.
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I must admit I enjoyed the stories of the road trip more than the philosophy, but it's still a good read. YamadudeXS650C said it better than I did. It's also about keeping your life properly maintained.

YamadudeXS650C said:
I second the recommendation to bring along a softcover copy of Pirsig's book. His true story of a very long ride with his son will provide perspective, the Bigger Picture (philosophy), which can compliment the ride and keep you from going mad in your focus on keeping the engine from blowing up. His story can provide the rider with company, as he is still alive, as is his amazing life trek.

Many folks get bogged down in the middle chapters in which Pirsig reviews classical philosophy, and they drop the book. Stick with it, and it can reward you. I read it first at 19 in 1975, and then 4 times since. It never gets old.
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Best of luck! that trek east from LA though the desert is a long ass haul for sure. Do a couple hundred mile out and back before the big ride that should be enough to show up any obvious weak spots.
Only hopped a freight once but had great ride from Sacramento up into Oregon. Learned a few things about how that's done. #1; carry water! Used my thumb for the rest of the trip back to Wisconsin. Back seat of a car is pretty comfortable compared to a box car or flat bed.
 
Goldwings are not infallible either. Worse problems in their reputation are stators, water pumps, timing belts, coils, final drive to wheel splines and a taxed out charging system that many people make even worse by adding too many aftermarket electrical accessories. Oh, starters reach their age too and there is no kick starter. Did I say stator, sometimes stator after stator and the whole engine has to come out.

Scott
 
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Option, build a plywood shipping crate for your bike. When you build the crate, leave just enough extra room for you to cram yourself inside there too. Ship the crate by rail and you'll get that train ride. It's been done before. Still that bike ride from coast to coast will be an experience and story that you'll never forget no matter what happens. Maybe we could plan this so some of us could meet and ride with you in different sections of the trip. I'm up for St Louis to Pennsylvania, or Peoria to Pittsburgh.

Scott
 
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You do realize that around November, and sometimes sooner, we have snow, ice and salt on the roads up here? Even if there is no snow or ice, there may still be salt until the next heavy rain or two. There might not be much left of your bike after riding that far on salty roads.

Scott
 
I'd recommend a thorough inspection and servicing of the points ignition system. Advance unit, advance shaft, points cam, new points. Follow all 5twins advance shaft servicing procedures in these threads:

http://www.xs650.com/threads/advance-timing-unit-and-rod-just-to-be-sure.9356/
http://www.xs650.com/threads/rough-cold-start-high-idle-when-warmed-up.28270/

Then, a close inspection of the valve adjusters and valvestem tips. Some clues in these threads:

http://www.xs650.com/threads/valve-goes-in-and-out-of-adjustment-randomly.28536/
http://www.xs650.com/threads/xs650-valve-and-clutch-adjusters-resurfacing.41639/

Be sure that the felt wicks are oiled and contacting the points cam. Put a couple hundred miles on the new points, so the followers settle-in. Then readjust timing using a timing light. Watch for jumping of the timing mark, may indicate a worn advancer. With modern gasohol, consider setting the ignition timing just a tad retarded:

http://www.xs650.com/threads/xs650-ignition-timing-revisited-are-we-too-advanced.45197/
 
I rode a Triumph years ago 1000 miles and had some things go wrong but most of it was because of vibration . I think it would be a cool ride anyway you do it but I would get YOUR body ready for a ride like this . Just remember you can always rent a truck from enterprise if trip goes bad and miles are free to a certain point. Had a buddy last year try and ride from NY to FL on his bike and had a blast all the way until bike broke and needed help so he called them they came out picked him up and he came back with truck (van) went the rest of the way $65. Day and got the bike fixed in FL. You always have to have plan B LOL
 
A test ride of sustained 65mph for a half hour will tell you a good deal, including what might fall off due to vibration.

Out of curiosity and resonance with your trip idea (last year I put a total of 2,900 miles on my bikes) I went out on the Thruway (rt 90) with my '83 Heritage Special in Syracuse, and headed to your destination of Utica/Clinton. The test ride went well. I heard some sounds that I hadnt heard before, but they didnt amount to anything. And I now have confidence that the clutch pushrod seal I put in last week has solved the oil leak issue.

When I got home, I pulled Pirsig's Zen & the Art book off the shelf. Maybe I'll read it, again. Something special always seems to happen surrounding my reading of this book. The last time I went through it, 15 years ago, I was camping alone in Acadia Park, Maine. I was coming up on the end, where Pirsig mentions his daughter, Nell. A young woman approached me in the campsite, having noticed the book I was reading, and she asked me if it had affected me, to which I said yes, very much. She smiled and said that she was Nell.
 
YamadudeXS650C said:
I was coming up on the end, where Pirsig mentions his daughter, Nell. A young woman approached me in the campsite, having noticed the book I was reading, and she asked me if it had affected me, to which I said yes, very much. She smiled and said that she was Nell.
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What a cool story. I just re-read the book a couple of months ago; had to order another copy from Amazon, as I'm not sure where I've put the one I read in 1975. Was sad to learn in the after notes that Chris is dead. What a moving story, nonetheless.
 
Electricnightmare said:
- - - And those kids in Calgary are fucking pussies who either werent fast or smart enough. probably both maybe junkies. Bet they road across the border with out checking in - - -
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Hi Electricnightmare,
so quick to judgement? Paper said they entered Canada quite legally. That they got caught while riding a freight tells me they were amateurs rather than junkies. But not pussies. Pussies would have bought tickets and ridden in a passenger train viewing bubble.
 
Micheal,

Glad you enjoyed my recounting of meeting Nell. I wrote to Pirsig about the encounter (he is known to occasionally respond to a letter from the millions who have read his book), but did not hear back from him.

I first read the book about the same time you did, in the 70's. It was required reading for an undergrad philosophy class at Syracuse University.

Apparently, Chris was murdered in a mugging just outside of a Zen Center in Frisco, only 5 years after the publishing of the book. Tragic in many ways.

In my mind, one of the brilliant aspects of the book was in integrating a very down-to-earth, mechanical phenomenon like motorcycle maintenance with lofty, conceptual suggestions of that which is most important in human existence.
 
Points: Put a drop of oil on the felts. Put a fingerprint of grease on the point cam between each point so the rubbing block picks it up like a snow plow. This cuts down on wear.

Timing: Set at full advance. Over 3000. Use a timing light and blip the throttle to make sure timing does not over advance.

Fuel. Use premium high octane to reduce the chance of detonation . Detonation is what holes pistons. Just spend the extra for the engine safety.

Chain: If you are buying a new chain and sprockets before your trip you might want to get a 33 tooth or less rear sprocket. This to keep the revs down out on the highway. Of course lube the chain well every night and possibly at lunch or anytime you have a long break. I suggest PJ-1 black label. It is thin to penetrate and then thickens into a sticky grease.

Tom
 
Electricnightmare. i went looking for a handle on where you were coming from and after reading your first post it seems your more into the adventure than actually worrying about the reliability of a bike. Be a good story and adventure and be sure to document it for posterity.


mrtwowheel said:
:laugh2::mad::laugh::geek::) Bad day? Maybe an emoticon or two would help?
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Not at all, based my post on the op's post count, being a newbie!!!!!..................couldn't tell if your post was pos or neg, maybe a smiley would have been prudent as well.
 
grizld1 said:
Re. temp. difference, it's not a peculiarity of the XS650; Michael Morse pointed out to me that any air cooled parallel twin will run hotter on the primary side; it's sealed and gets less cooling. According to Michael, tuners used to stagger jet Triumph and BSA twin race bikes to compensate. Anyway, it is emphatically not something to be concerned about on a street bike.

The main vulnerability of your machine is going to be that breaker point ignition that got retrofitted onto your G. Be sure that the cogged nut that holds the advance unit on the camshaft is tight; lay into it with a hammer and drift.

There's no reason your bike shouldn't make the trip if you keep your eyes, ears, and wrenches busy. Have a great ride!
Click to expand...
I am still running stock points and intented to roll out with a spare set, I was going to grease my advance rod but havent broken into the system because im not sure is there is an advance rod to grease! My year/model skates the line and I had to much to think about at the time. If it aint broke dont fix it. I did have to replace the mechaincal adv springs however. I had alot of confusion about my "lean" conditions for about a week
 
YamadudeXS650C said:
Marietta, near Skaneateles, southwest of Syracuse.
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Very cool Id like to meet up sometime! I picked up a cherry 79 xs750 for 800$ even came with most of the stock tool kit! But i just drove that down to brooklyn where Ive picked up an apt. DONT WORRY GUYS IM STILL DOING IT! I just had to recreate a life to return to in NY first! after reading DaddyG's posts my plans have changed a bit however.
 

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