Rd51
XS650 Addict
Now I can drop the frame off for powder coating.
What a PITA that was! Having the tank cleared; keeping the numbers matte.
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Now I can drop the frame off for powder coating.
What a PITA that was! Having the tank cleared; keeping the numbers matte.
Airwolfie
XS650 Guru
Love the brown and silver combo! I may have to cover my seat in brown when it finally wears out!
Rd51
XS650 Addict
Thanks Airwolfie! I'm liking it as well. I think it will look good on your build too!
Rd51
XS650 Addict
Just logged a long day. Picked up the cylinders this morning. I didn't want to work at all today with this rain. I was counting down the minutes till 4:30 so I could start assembling the engine. Here's what I got done. PLEASE let me know if there's anything I missed. I tried to be as thorough as possible.
Started by installing the cam chain guide. Got it close to as center as I possibly could. I couldn't find a torque spec for the bolt holders? I torqued them to 15 ft lb, 6mm bolts to 7 ft lbs.
Slid the O-rings down. I couldn't get them to fit in if I "stuffed" them into the groove? This is how I installed them. I figured once I torqued them down they would sit where they need to be.
Two dowels on opposite ends.
Pistons installed. Arrows facing forward. Installed the rings with markings on top, thicker of the two top rings in the second slot. Expander ring not overlapping, and installed rings gaps per manual. Checked the gaps of the rings in the cylinders. All checked good.
This part was difficult! I kept imagining how much easier it would be with an extra set of hands. Glued base gasket with gasketsinch.
Two more dowels. Head gasket. No glue.
Head. Baffle installed.
Two more dowels, inner spots now.
This took some time. Installed the cam chain on the cam. Threaded side to the right. Mark on top facing straight up. Made sure there was no slack at the front of the chain, only at the rear where the tensioner is. Installed the bearings, followed the directions the manual gives. (made sure each bearings on cam were fully seated, and they had an equal amount of overlap on the bosses)
This was the only part I was scratching my head at; I thread in the adjuster till the "pin" inside was flush. Tried to tighten the acorn nut on it, but there's a gap. Do I need to thread the adjuster in farther? Or just adjust it while running at idle?
Used a thin layer of yamabond on the valve cover. Loosed the adjusters on the rocker arms. Torqued in sequence to specs.
And the (almost) finished product.
And then I was wiped out. Again let me know if I missed anything
Started by installing the cam chain guide. Got it close to as center as I possibly could. I couldn't find a torque spec for the bolt holders? I torqued them to 15 ft lb, 6mm bolts to 7 ft lbs.
Slid the O-rings down. I couldn't get them to fit in if I "stuffed" them into the groove? This is how I installed them. I figured once I torqued them down they would sit where they need to be.
Two dowels on opposite ends.
Pistons installed. Arrows facing forward. Installed the rings with markings on top, thicker of the two top rings in the second slot. Expander ring not overlapping, and installed rings gaps per manual. Checked the gaps of the rings in the cylinders. All checked good.
This part was difficult! I kept imagining how much easier it would be with an extra set of hands. Glued base gasket with gasketsinch.
Two more dowels. Head gasket. No glue.
Head. Baffle installed.
Two more dowels, inner spots now.
This took some time. Installed the cam chain on the cam. Threaded side to the right. Mark on top facing straight up. Made sure there was no slack at the front of the chain, only at the rear where the tensioner is. Installed the bearings, followed the directions the manual gives. (made sure each bearings on cam were fully seated, and they had an equal amount of overlap on the bosses)
This was the only part I was scratching my head at; I thread in the adjuster till the "pin" inside was flush. Tried to tighten the acorn nut on it, but there's a gap. Do I need to thread the adjuster in farther? Or just adjust it while running at idle?
Used a thin layer of yamabond on the valve cover. Loosed the adjusters on the rocker arms. Torqued in sequence to specs.
And the (almost) finished product.
And then I was wiped out. Again let me know if I missed anything
ippytattoo
Just another grumpy old hack.
When you put the head gasket on did you use any threebond? I think it was 5twins that had a diagram of how to put a small bead of it on there to help prevent possible oil leaks later. And once you get the motor turning over a few times your cam chain tension will change and will need to be adjusted again so no worries at this point about the acorn nut on the cam chain adjuster.
Rd51
XS650 Addict
I did not, I put the gasket on dry. I've always put head gaskets dry. Dang it! Will start debating if I will pull it apart and use threebond on it.
Thanks for the info on the acorn nut
I an just lovin that gorgeous seat. This bike is going to look sooo good
I have to agree with others it is essential to apply some Threebond gasket cement to the cylinder head. There are so many horrendous stories of oil leaks into the cylinders and compression in the crankcase due to leaks between the cylinder bores and the central oil way. I used threebond all round my block to be 100% safe.
Anlaf recently had to rebuild his new engine 3x times ! to cure a persistant black smoke issue which turned out to be a head gasket leak between the bores and the oil channel
To be absolutely sure I checked my cylinder block for trueness and found it had a huge concave section in the middle of the head where the block had warped.
i simply used a piece of wet and dry abrasive paper on a flat surface and ground my block straight in a single direction which shows up the high or low spots.
I have to agree with others it is essential to apply some Threebond gasket cement to the cylinder head. There are so many horrendous stories of oil leaks into the cylinders and compression in the crankcase due to leaks between the cylinder bores and the central oil way. I used threebond all round my block to be 100% safe.
Anlaf recently had to rebuild his new engine 3x times ! to cure a persistant black smoke issue which turned out to be a head gasket leak between the bores and the oil channel
To be absolutely sure I checked my cylinder block for trueness and found it had a huge concave section in the middle of the head where the block had warped.
i simply used a piece of wet and dry abrasive paper on a flat surface and ground my block straight in a single direction which shows up the high or low spots.
Rd51
XS650 Addict
Sigh. What a bummer. If I loosen the head bolts and put threebond on the gasket; do I need to use a new head gasket? Or can I still run this one even though it's been torqued on already?
it depends on the quality of the gasket but I believe I've read some do reuse their head gasket but frankly for the sake of less than $10 why risk it ?
If you do take the head off again don't forget its easy enough to remove and replace the cam without breaking the camchain
If I were you I'd run the engine now you've got this far. Provided you retorque after the first run and again later on (200 miles ?) it might be perfectly ok. Looks like you have been pretty careful about your build .
If you do take the head off again don't forget its easy enough to remove and replace the cam without breaking the camchain
If I were you I'd run the engine now you've got this far. Provided you retorque after the first run and again later on (200 miles ?) it might be perfectly ok. Looks like you have been pretty careful about your build .
Airwolfie
XS650 Guru
it depends on the quality of the gasket but I believe I've read some do reuse their head gasket but frankly for the sake of less than $10 why risk it ?
If you do take the head off again don't forget its easy enough to remove and replace the cam without breaking the camchain
If I were you I'd run the engine now you've got this far. Provided you retorque after the first run and again later on (200 miles ?) it might be perfectly ok. Looks like you have been pretty careful about your build .
Looking really good and meticulous! Very thoroughly done, I can't see anything "wrong" here.
I agree with Peanut, run her in for a few hundred miles, and after the retorque, decide if a "proper£ seal is required with threebond. It's heartbreaking to think you have to tear it down again after all that effort! I'm sure it will be fine!
Rd51
XS650 Addict
Thanks guys! I will go ahead and run it how it is 
Rd51
XS650 Addict
Spent a good 6 hours in the shop today.
Installed the advance mechanism.
Pin on top.
Notch in plate lined up with pin.
Blue Loctite. Lip on the nut facing out.
Pin on top.
Shims behind weights.
]
Right side.
Other side, pin on top.
Engine in the frame. Laid the engine down on its side.
Madness! Stopped and cleaned up some of the mess I had going.
1st speedbump in the road. Tire hits the drum brake rod. I did not think I would have any clearance issues with this tire? 130-90-16. But it is what it is. Going to start thinking of the best way to go about this. Thinking about having the rod made to sweep out just a little more.
How it sits right now.
2nd speedbump; kickstart. I must have missed something when I put the clutch cover on? Kickstart doesn't return back, just sits at the bottom
Overall I'm pretty satisfied with progress thus far. Hoping Santa brings a stand for Christmas so I don't have to play jenga with those blocks anymore. Haha. Happy holidays and hope everyone enjoys their weekend!
Installed the advance mechanism.
Pin on top.
Notch in plate lined up with pin.
Blue Loctite. Lip on the nut facing out.
Pin on top.
Shims behind weights.
Right side.
Other side, pin on top.
Engine in the frame. Laid the engine down on its side.
Madness!
Stopped and cleaned up some of the mess I had going.
1st speedbump in the road. Tire hits the drum brake rod. I did not think I would have any clearance issues with this tire? 130-90-16. But it is what it is. Going to start thinking of the best way to go about this. Thinking about having the rod made to sweep out just a little more.
How it sits right now.
2nd speedbump; kickstart. I must have missed something when I put the clutch cover on? Kickstart doesn't return back, just sits at the bottom
Overall I'm pretty satisfied with progress thus far. Hoping Santa brings a stand for Christmas so I don't have to play jenga with those blocks anymore. Haha. Happy holidays and hope everyone enjoys their weekend!
Airwolfie
XS650 Guru
That engine just looks good man!! BE prepared to reopen side covers a few times! I had to 3 times! Glad there is no oil in her yet!
Why no mockup with the seat and tank??!?!? DO EEET!!! DOO EET NAAAO!!!(Arnie accent!!)
Why no mockup with the seat and tank??!?!? DO EEET!!! DOO EET NAAAO!!!(Arnie accent!!)
Rd51
XS650 Addict
Thanks Wolfe
yes I'm wondering what I did when I put the cover on, because I never removed the kick shaft assembly and all that.The tank is getting a clear coat on it, and I left the seat at my house, soon though!!
Airwolfie
XS650 Guru
You may find the spring isn't hooked up on it's little spot, that's what it sounds like to me. Check out peanut's kickstart insertion video, he makes it look so simple!
Johnt3
Still learning...
Fine work Rd51, fine work. Bike is looking good.
Rd51
XS650 Addict
Wolfie-got it! I'm going to try and get to checking it out after the holiday
John- thank you! Really appreciate that.
Looking for everyone's opinion for the exhaust setup. I'm going to use one of Gordon Scott's systems. I'm debating between a 2-1 with a short 12" muffler, or just normal 1-1 with a 12" muffler, with a straight run towards the rear wheel, no kick-up.
On either system, headers will be black, then wrapped in brown wrap to compliment the seat, muffler will be black or left stainless.
John- thank you! Really appreciate that.
Looking for everyone's opinion for the exhaust setup. I'm going to use one of Gordon Scott's systems. I'm debating between a 2-1 with a short 12" muffler, or just normal 1-1 with a 12" muffler, with a straight run towards the rear wheel, no kick-up.
On either system, headers will be black, then wrapped in brown wrap to compliment the seat, muffler will be black or left stainless.
Rd51
XS650 Addict
thats good progress Rd51.......... the engine looks great with the black accents.
Thanks peanut! I got the kickstarter working correctly now thanks to your video posted by wolfie, thank you tons!
Rd51
XS650 Addict
Spent some time in the shop today. Started all the wiring on the bike 
Definitely not my thing, but I'm reading as much as I can and using a few different diagrams I've found on here. We'll see what happens!
Fixed the kickstarter (thanks again peanut) This is what I found when I took the cover off.
When I popped the cover off originalyl it must have pulled the kickstart assembly out a little with it, and the clip wasn't setting where it needed to be (20 points for wolfie on that one) Followed the video posted above, all good now!
Santa brought a headlight and speedo
Waiting on the bracket to arrive, then I can mount it.
This is the run/stop/electric starter switch I will be using. Still waiting for the blinker and headlight switch for the left side.
Postive cable from battery to solenoid.
Postive cable from solenoid to starter. I know it's supposed to be red, but I chose black so it won't stand out as much running along the frame. I didn't want to run this cable in the frame, as it would require a pretty big hole.
Ignore the orange color for now, it will be red, but this is the inline fuse holder for the 20 amp fuse coming from the battery, to the battery + terminal on the key switch. None of the wires are hooked to the postive side of the battery yet.
Brown wire coming from key switch to power at the fuse block. Now this key switch has three posistions; 1. off 2. accessory only 3. igntion and accessory. I hooked the brown wire to the igntion and accessory terminal.
Correct? Or does it get hooked to the accesory only? I was having a difficult time figuring this out, still reading up on it.
Now I know what these do, (close contacts to send power across solenoid) but again trying to figure out where to hook them
Electric start switch has two wires, I know one gets grounded, the other must connect with the green wire off the solenoid, but the yellow and red?
Wires coming from PAMCO to igntion coil.
So, shortly after hooking these wires to spade terminals on the coil, I realized that I left out the run/stop switch. So my understanding here, is that I should take the red from the PAMCO, and have one wire from the run/stop switch on the handlebar connected to thhe PAMCO red wire, and THEN onto the spade terminal. And the left over wire on the run/stop switch goes to the fuse block?
Sigh, more reading!
Had to scratch away the fresh powdercoat for a good ground for the PAMCO.
And that's all I got done for the wiring. I will be putting some black heat shrink on those bright yellow coil wires. Time to read and study more diagrams. Any light is much appreciated Have a good weekend guys!
Definitely not my thing, but I'm reading as much as I can and using a few different diagrams I've found on here. We'll see what happens!Fixed the kickstarter (thanks again peanut) This is what I found when I took the cover off.
When I popped the cover off originalyl it must have pulled the kickstart assembly out a little with it, and the clip wasn't setting where it needed to be (20 points for wolfie on that one) Followed the video posted above, all good now!
Santa brought a headlight and speedo
Waiting on the bracket to arrive, then I can mount it.
This is the run/stop/electric starter switch I will be using. Still waiting for the blinker and headlight switch for the left side.
Postive cable from battery to solenoid.
Postive cable from solenoid to starter. I know it's supposed to be red, but I chose black so it won't stand out as much running along the frame. I didn't want to run this cable in the frame, as it would require a pretty big hole.
Ignore the orange color for now, it will be red, but this is the inline fuse holder for the 20 amp fuse coming from the battery, to the battery + terminal on the key switch. None of the wires are hooked to the postive side of the battery yet.
Brown wire coming from key switch to power at the fuse block. Now this key switch has three posistions; 1. off 2. accessory only 3. igntion and accessory. I hooked the brown wire to the igntion and accessory terminal.
Correct? Or does it get hooked to the accesory only? I was having a difficult time figuring this out, still reading up on it.
Now I know what these do, (close contacts to send power across solenoid) but again trying to figure out where to hook them
Electric start switch has two wires, I know one gets grounded, the other must connect with the green wire off the solenoid, but the yellow and red?
Wires coming from PAMCO to igntion coil.
So, shortly after hooking these wires to spade terminals on the coil, I realized that I left out the run/stop switch. So my understanding here, is that I should take the red from the PAMCO, and have one wire from the run/stop switch on the handlebar connected to thhe PAMCO red wire, and THEN onto the spade terminal. And the left over wire on the run/stop switch goes to the fuse block?
Sigh, more reading!
Had to scratch away the fresh powdercoat for a good ground for the PAMCO.
And that's all I got done for the wiring. I will be putting some black heat shrink on those bright yellow coil wires. Time to read and study more diagrams. Any light is much appreciated
Have a good weekend guys!