Just brought home a 1980

[Zerocmu]

Hey guys I'm new to the site but I wanted to say thanks already for all the valuable information I have read already.

I was given a 1980 xs650 as a trade for some work I did. I'm new to motorcycles but have some experience on cars so I'm trying something new.

It already has a tc bros welded hard tail. I was told there was an small electrical fire last time he started it 5 years ago so I ripped out all the wiring today. I'm looking to go with a bobber style. Minimal electrical, kick start, head light, tail light, brake light and that's it. Once the electrical is done I know I'm going to need to rebuild the carbs too. I'm sure all that barn dust has clogged them up.

If you guys have any suggestions I would love to hear them and I will post a few pictures shortly.

 

[Zerocmu]

 

[zeroxs650]

Nice starting platform, will be watching your thread.

 

[mrtwowheel]

Believe it or not, that's quite a lot to start with. Do you have a title? Can be disappointing to do a lot of work and not be able to get a title. Any other parts, tank, fenders, seat? I'm about 150 miles from you and I'm 32 miles from TC Bros.

Scott

 

[Zerocmu]

Thanks for the replays. I've got the title, 2 gas tanks, a seat, a rear fender. He also gave me an exhaust kit still in the box.

 

[Zerocmu]

Here is a pic from before I washed off all the barn dust where I set the tank, seat and rear fender on it for a visual

 

[mrtwowheel]

You may want to reconsider those foot controls. I like the positioning but it's hard to see the rest of the design. That flat sheet under the battery is not original issue from TC Bros. seems like a dirt and rust collector waiting to happen. Maybe not enough fender there. I'm sure I would have given a good price for it, and more.

Scott

 

[mrtwowheel]

Pull the forks and slide off those headlight ears, mount the headlight lower to make room for a speedometer. Those KMH speedometers are dirt cheap compared to the MPH speedometers on ebay. Oh hell just bring it over, sign the title and leave it here.

Scott

 

[Zerocmu]

Those foot controls are probably coming off. I'm still considering what bars I want to use then I can get some controls. Yea the battery box is going. That's not patina like the rest of the bike, it's straight rust. I've got a lift on order and when it gets here the forks are coming off. I'm glad you said something though because I was wondering if they would just slide off once I removed the forks. Headlight will be flipped and mounted underneath if I use that headlight. Haha i take it I've got a decent one here if you are trying to get it off me already haha.

 

[mrtwowheel]

The headlight is mounted to the wrong threaded holes, you want to design the headlight bracketry to attach where the brake lines are bolted to the lower part of the tree. One brake line can then be used instead of two.You may want to mount a speedometer where the headlight is bolted to now. Check out Paul Robson's UK bobber build and others. Pauls' build was great reference for me, even though I used mostly my own designs and choice of materials.

Scott