John Underwood (xsjohn)

[madman1980]

jonh will be missed by many.I'm sure his ideas,opinions and tech support will live on here for many years to come.

i just learned of his passing today.Its always a tragedy to lose such a great mind and person.

 

[Xumi]

I haven't been on in months, saw this, .. thought I'd like to pay my respects, albeit late. Thanks for the good times, the good advice, and the color and entertainment you brought to my life.

May you find sunny skies, clear roads and warm breezes, my friend.

Pegs down.

 

[thumps]

On a little intuition, and out of respect for an XS God, thought I should ask before just acting. Maybe this has already been done, I’m not sure and apologize if my question has already been (being) addressed : /

I scored an unused set of XSJohn’s BS34 Jet Needles with original packaging and directions. Before I install and run them, does anyone think I should try to get them reproduced? I live in Seattle and there are a ton of places here that could get this done. Thanks, thumps...

 

[whynot2]

The short answer is: yes. The long answer is: Is there a market for John's needles? Doesn't Mike's sell a Heiden Kit with a richer needle profile. Mike's also lists a needle for the Canadian model which is richer than ours. I have a set of XSJohn's in my '81, which is my avatar, runs great, no midrange problem. Also have set in a pair of carbs sitting on a shelf that I set up for a bike that ran BUB's 2 into2. They were cleaned, tested, drained, wrapped and stored. I sold the bike.
whynot2

 

[thumps]

Yes, that’s a good point. Thanks for the input whynot2. The thing I like about XS John’s kit, is they are “plug & play”, unlike the others which require other mods in addition to installing the needles. I think the Canadian needles require the Canadian emulsion tubes (needle jets with more holes) also to be installed, and the Heiden Kit requires the irreversible mod of drilling the diaphragm slide piston. But I have read good stories about those other kits. I plan to duplicate the XS John’s needles for another set of BS34s I have and will get a few extra sets made if there is enough interest. Anybody interested, let me know. At this point I don’t even know how much it will be....

 

[MaxPete]

That sounds like a good idea Thumps. It is always a shame when hard-won knowledge disappears.

Pete

 

[gggGary]

I can't see any reason not to. Except cost, quality of the parts, and market for them.

 

[whynot2]

Although I have an extra set, I'd like to have another. So put me on the list for one.
Whynot2

 

[650Skull]

A little background and update. I was getting into the XS650 when XSjohn was developing his needles. I had bought a set of MikesXS Canadian needle, (5lX11), and Main nozzle, (366-YO), for my BS34's, thinking and believing everything that had been posted about the Fixed needles, EPA set pilot screw and the carbs Jetting.

Of course i bought these parts before dismantling my carbs and when i did, i found my Oceania 80SG with BS43 carbs, already had the, so called, Canadian needle, (5lX11) and main nozzle, (366-YO) set up. This was the Factory set up on Canadian, Oceania, Europe and other countries BS34 carbs, in other words the US was the only country with the Fixed Needle, 5HX12 and Main Nozzle Y-O.

Difference between the US Y-O and the Non US 366-YO are the amount of holes on the side of the Main Nozzle. US Y-O has 4 rows of holes, 2 rows have 3 holes and the other 2 have 4 holes. Non US 366-YO has 4 rows of holes , 2 rows have 4 holes and 2 rows have 5 holes

XSjohn Developed his needles to suit the US Y-O. He sent a set of his needles to one of our club members here in Australia to test them in his carbs to see if he noticed a difference and hoping there would be a market for them here.
XSjohn did not know our carbs had the 5lX11 needles and 366-YO main nozzle. Due to our different set up his needles made no difference to the running of our BS34 Carbs. With the amount of exports from the US of the XS650 there will be some US BS34's imported to these other countries, but the difference's in the carbs will not be common knowledge.

If you decide to make a copy and run of XSjohn's needles be aware the US is the only market these needles will be effective in the BS34 carbs. There will be non US people who do not know this and may buy the needles thinking they will be an upgrade for their cabs.

I will post the links to 2 threads where they have XSjohns Mods and a thread on his needles and their development. There is a pic i got from the 650rider site when XSJohn was developing his needles and was posting his findings as he went. He eventually decided to commercialize his needles and removed the development posts and pics he had posted. I made a commitment to XSjohn not to use or post the information i had already squirreled away.

I posted the information after XSJohns death when there was an interest in getting some needles reproduced. Caution when using this information............This information may not have been the end product but was what he did to the existing US 5HX12 needle.

I am not trying to dis-sway you from doing this.....i am telling you this to use as information for any work you may do, on information already posted.

Threads.
http://www.xs650.com/threads/collecting-xsjohns-wisdom.2334/
http://www.xs650.com/threads/a-collection-of-xsjohns-mods.2426/

 

[angus67]

Sure make needles. But what made them special was ..... xsjohn..... himself. He knew why they worked and was always available to help. Will you?