just bought an xs650 importd from the USA

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john650

retired mathsteacher..yay
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Hello everyone,

does anyone claim prior ownership of a New York registered 1975 black XS650 recently imported into the UK? I like the way it looks, but paid too much for it..............I must be mad.:doh:

Bike looks quite smart, but the engine is a mess ! The cylinder head has had internal welding, the cam and followers are shot, and the pistons are trying to escape. I have just ordered £1000 worth of parts from Heiden Tuning in Holland, to make this wonderful machine run properly. Cant afford delivery charges from MikeXS.

Oh, I expect I will love it eventually.

regards
John650
 
I'm from NY but my 75 still belongs to me, so yours must be someone else's. In my opinion the 75 was the best looking of all the color schemes. The white and gold stripeing on the black is just good looking.
Leo
 
Yes, the whole bike looks very pretty, probably because (to me) it looks like old school British iron, but better.
I'm tempted just to keep it stock but more reliable, for the time being.
I put Boyer ignition on it, so when the engine is rebuilt it should run well.
The carbs look a bit iffy though; no 'O' ring on the mixture screw ? can't be right surely
 
If the carbs are the stock 75's then no o-ring on the mix screws. Have you read www.amckayltd.com/carbguide.pdf ? if not then you should. It is, as some say, the bible for these carbs.
I'm using the Pamco and love it.
These are not a complicated engine to work on. So if you take just a bit of care during the rebuild then it will run well.
I have cleaned up the ports in the head, not much just enough to smooth the casting marks.
Running the stock cam, BS34 cabs from an 82 tuned to match my 1.5 inch headers and shorty mufflers, and Uni Filters pods. Mike's 750 kit. A bunch of other mods to improve reliability, new reg and rec, home made wiring harness, Dual disc up front, disc on the rear, most of the lighting is LED, just added a Ballistic 8 cell battery. Minton mods to the forks with heavier fork springs. Steering head bearings, swing arm bushes. Any many more I can't think of just now.
Best of luck with your bike.
Leo
 
Thanks Paul, your bike looks spectacular. The supply of engine parts on this side of the pond looks a bit thin, I guess you are using Jerry Heiden. I got the other non-engine parts from Yambits. How do you get away with those 'silencers' ?

Reading some of the technical mods, it sounds like you US boys have a ton of expertise on these bikes, and I thought you were all Harleys!

Leo, the Radio Shack rectifier and Chrysler reg, sound like good mods to me; I must investigate. I keep reading references to using nylon screws which isolate the brush holders from ground. The field coil of the rotor is still switched on/off by the regulator, but as I understand it the replacement regulator supplies switched ground as opposed to switched battery now? so presumably, you had to use the nylon screws too ?
 
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Hi John, thanks for the comments! The supply of parts in general is a bit thin. However, Yambits and ebay have always turned up what I needed. For the more exotic parts, it has to be the US. However, TC Bros and Lowbrow are unbelievably helpful and quick to dispatch to the UK. The longest I've waited was 10 days from order to the kit turning up and that was the hardtail. Mikes XS are good too, I've just recieved their rims and spokes to replace my poorly ones.

Ah! My silencers! He he - they are made from the TC Bros pipe kit, welded up dressed and polished. Before a put the out sweeps on the ends I fitted a 12" baffle up either one. It sounds fine, a little loud but acceptable. I have similar pipes on another XS and MOT's are no problem :)

For knowledge and helpfulness, this forum is second to none!
 
I hope if you bought pistons from Heiden you bought ones for a 447 motor and not the 533 euro motor as yours is a US import, just a thought as you stated the pistons were trying to escape.
 
Hi John and welcome.

Like you I also bought a US import although in my case it is a 79 special and I also paid way too much for it seeing as it arrived in boxes :doh:

I also intend to rebuild mine stock for now as its mostly original and my first XS650.

Mine has a Boyer fitted but I will definitely be looking to upgrade that with the new Pamco that also incorporates electronic advance. saying that I'm such a masochist I may convert it back to points :D

Heres a few links that might be of interest but i expect you've probably found them already.

Heiden tuning ...my favourite dyno run video I play it daily for the sound of that engine ...gorgeous.

Have you read the Minton guide yet ? its old and some of it outdated but it is still a damn good guide.
http://www.650central.com/tech/mintonmods.htm

Also look out for Dr Rod's excellent engine rebuild guide which I've found helpful.
http://www.xs650.se/tech/

UK XS650 suppliers
http://www.motorcycleproducts.co.uk/catalogue/1975-76-xs650-parts-c-2070_5005_5006.html?osCsid=20ffa66b72a2a1f65e1bab7bc5b1c88a
http://www.wemoto.com/bikes/yamaha/xs_650/75-76/
http://yambits.co.uk/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=XS650
schematics
http://www.1975xs650b.com/wiring_diagram.htm
 
Yes Jay, I bought the 447 ones, but thanks for your concern. I had to buy the new cylinder and piston kit. The old cylinder was badly worn, and it was more economical to buy the complete kit rather than a rebore and oversize new pistons.
Strangely, the right side piston was picking up on four corners, which seems a bit weird for a cylindrical shape!
The camshaft had also chewed through the case hardening on two of the cam followers, so I bought the a new camshaft and a follower set. Add in seals and gaskets and it came to a tidy sum.

The bike was pretty well looked after, except that someone had been into the engine and knocked a chunk off one of the oil bridges next to an inlet valve, so there was a new piece welded in. I think that maybe what caused someone to get in there in the first place was oil starvation. I did find that the gauze sump filter had a big hole in it, and I have yet to locate the missing piece. Its probably been minced up in the oil pump and spat onto the clutch case filter.:laugh:
 
Peanut, thanks for the links. I just read the Minton Guide, and most informative it is.
Sounds like you still have work to do as well. As for the cost, I have reconciled myself that I will probably spend far more than this bike is ever going to be worth, just because I want stuff to do.

I have less patience than I used to. I spent weeks and weeks trying to sort out a CX500a few yers back. Was it carbs, was it ignition coils, was the compression marginal? I must have taken the carbs, stator and god knows what else apart a dozen times, trying to make it run properly.
In the end it turned out to be a bad ignition advance pickup on the stator. So these days I just replace 40 year old components, before they get chance to irritate me.

There is a lot to be said for simplicity, e.g points, but I dont trust old connectors/soldering/coils/condensers/ht leads/plug caps or even old solidstate electronics any more. They all deteriorate in the most perverse ways.
Then again, others look upon diagnosis and fixing these things as a challenge.
 
Sometimes it's worth paying the postage and import duty from the US, often it still works out cheaper, I need some piston rings at the moment, I'll be getting the calculator out later to see which way is cheapest, $32 dollars or 35 euros plus the postage from both.
 
One thing on ordering from the US - Parts and postage is usually very reasonable. The thing to bear in mind is the arse raping tax and handling charges imposed by HMRC, there appears to be little logic to it apart from the VAT. Handling charges seem to range from £10 - £100
 
Paul, I have only bought once from the USA; a used swing arm from ebay. The HMRC charges you mention were sort of transparent. I just paid the bid price plus quoted postage.

What concerns me is the bottom line on purchases from, say Mikesxs. Does the price he quotes, plus postage plus import tax appear before you press the 'pay now' or is stuff added afterwards.?

I suppose I'll just have to buy something cheap to find out how it works ?
 
john650, You can create an account at MikesXs,.


When you get the items you want click on check out and it takes you through to the next page and it has your purchases and postage cost and a total cost. You don't have to buy till you click on your method of payment

When you have an account you can put things in the cart and come back 6 months later and it is still there.
 
Thanks for the info on Mikesxs. I'll give it a try then because I need new exhausts. (Just have to sell the wife's one remaining kidney to pay for them).:shrug:

Tried soldering a small plate over the split in one silencer, but got more solder inside the damn thing than ever stuck to the outside. (now sounds like one half of a pair of maraccas when you shake it.)

Anyway, shiny new bits arrive from Holland on Monday, so should be able to get the motor sorted soon.
 
john650 said:
Paul, I have only bought once from the USA; a used swing arm from ebay. The HMRC charges you mention were sort of transparent. I just paid the bid price plus quoted postage.

What concerns me is the bottom line on purchases from, say Mikesxs. Does the price he quotes, plus postage plus import tax appear before you press the 'pay now' or is stuff added afterwards.?

I suppose I'll just have to buy something cheap to find out how it works ?
Click to expand...

John are you asking about the import tax and admin charges charged when buying from abroad like the US ?

Generally this is how it works.
You pay the price of the part from MikesXS together wih the shipping charges. MikesXS ship the goods to you in the UK but they are detained when they arrive in the UK at customs.


the Post Office pick up the goods and deliver them to you and pay the import Tax due because you have imported new goods into the UK.

The post office also make a charge for the delivery from the airport and for some administrative charges for doing this for you and VAT on that. They then ask you to pay all this at the door in cash or they won't give you the goods.

If the items are for a small amount like £20 ish they usually don't charge you.
If the goods are marked 'used' or 'repairs' or 'gift' etc then the post office will still charge you for their delivery, admin ,misc & Vat but you will be able to claim the customs charges back from HMCE.
 
Peanut, ahh....thank you very much for explaining that.

I had often wondered how it works, and it fits with my previous purchase.
The swing arm that I bought off ebay only cost about £30 quid if I remember rightly, so presumably they did'nt bother with import tax/admin on that occasion.

There must be a way of working out what import tax/admin is due in advance, for you to be able to make an informed decision on whether it will be cheaper to buy from the EU. It might be as simple as a straight percentage of purchase price like VAT.

Yes, just Googled a Duty Calculator.
 
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Lasper01 said:
Try www.shopusa.com They handle all shipping and tax.. and you can see what it will cost you all-in-all...
Click to expand...

I'm afraid it doesn't work like that here in the UK.:wink2:

duty paid on imported goods are handled by HMCE and the import tax is calculable its true but.......the UK inland part of the shipping of imported goods are handled by the Post Office and they can charge pretty much what they like . If you read my post it explains all the charges in detail
 

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