Just joined the club!

[Add_Lightness]

Hi everyone! A couple weeks ago I bought my first motorcycle, a 1978 XS650 that a previous owner (2 owners ago) had rebuilt.

I've always liked the cafe racer style and when I saw this bike, I had to have it.

As far as I know most of the engine was rebuilt and there are about $2k in part receipts from the PO that I need to read over.


Couple things on the short list:

- The PO told me the carbs need to be readjusted so I'm going to take it to a shop tomorrow to have that done/looked at. The symptoms are the bike will die without the chokes on and sometimes (rarely) even with the chokes on. I don't know much about carbs or bikes in general but this seems like it points to the carbs. If anyone has any tips or suggestions on this issue, I'd like to hear them.

- Getting it started is a little bit finicky. I think I just need to learn the nuances of the startup procedure.

- Need to add a speedometer. It came with a box of parts, speedo included, just need to get it installed.

- Engine cut off switch doesn't work.

- Clutch requires a ton of force to compress. Apparently this is easily adjustable.


If the guy who built this is on the board, send me a PM, I'd love to learn more about it.


Anyway, I'll be spending a lot of time reading over the threads here trying to learn as much as I can. I'd appreciate any links to any Super threads or All You Need to Know threads if they exist here!

Here are a couple pics with my other toy.

 

[angus67]

your pilots are plugged. I remember the bike, but not who built it. I remember the builder, when he painted it, asked us if the red outline on the side covers should be wide or not.

 

[Brassneck]

Yep, I remember that bike too, could be a build thread on here...I can't recall who built it either though. Glad it's getting some use. Read up on the carb guide... although I think they may be non-stock carbs.

Clutch may be adjustable...but it could just be normal if you're familiar with these bikes.

 

[Add_Lightness]

your pilots are plugged. I remember the bike, but not who built it. I remember the builder, when he painted it, asked us if the red outline on the side covers should be wide or not.

Thanks! I'll mention this to the tech, although I'm sure he already knows to look at them.

 

[grizld1]

You have VM series Mikuni aftermarket carburetors. Click the Tech button and follow the menus to the link for the VM section of the XS-650 Garage USA Carb Guide. Print it, read it, find a mechanic instead of a "tech," and give him a copy too. If you're going to pay others to do your tuning and maintenance, the old bike hobby is going to be both frustrating and expensive for you unless you have a lot of patience and very deep pockets.

First rules of troubleshooting: 1. Never assume 2. Pay no attention to advice given by those who ignore Rule 1. Good luck!

 

[Add_Lightness]

You have VM series Mikuni aftermarket carburetors. Click the Tech button and follow the menus to the link for the VM section of the XS-650 Garage USA Carb Guide. Print it, read it, find a mechanic instead of a "tech," and give him a copy too. If you're going to pay others to do your tuning and maintenance, the old bike hobby is going to be both frustrating and expensive for you unless you have a lot of patience and very deep pockets.

First rules of troubleshooting: 1. Never assume 2. Pay no attention to advice given by those who ignore Rule 1. Good luck!

Right on. Thanks for the guide!

I like to let the pros sort out the toys to begin with. I figured a carb adjustment must be relatively standard. I do as much of the maintenance and tweaks as I can after that.

 

[grizld1]

Strip those carbs, list the jets, and check them against the baseline in the Guide. If you got receipts for the carbs that show any vendor apart from 650 Central or Hoos Racing you might find a real mess; the cheap outfits like to lean out the main and pilot jets and leave the generic needle jets and jet needles in place to cut cost, and the results are uniformly bad.

 

[Add_Lightness]

Strip those carbs, list the jets, and check them against the baseline in the Guide. If you got receipts for the carbs that show any vendor apart from 650 Central or Hoos Racing you might find a real mess; the cheap outfits like to lean out the main and pilot jets and leave the generic needle jets and jet needles in place to cut cost, and the results are uniformly bad.

The previous owner (2 owners ago) gave me a bunch of receipts. One shows '650 Central VM34 Carb Kit - w/ vac barbs & short cable'. He built this bike last summer but it has been sitting around for the last 5-6 months rarely being run.

So the parts look good, I guess it just needs to be cleaned?

 

[fredintoon]

Hi Add Lightness and welcome,
How's your older brother Simplificate And?
Don't bother paying a tech. He'll get rich, you'll go broke and learn nothing and most likely the bike still won't run good.
If the bike's been parked for a half-year with gas in the carbs the carbs are most likely full of semi-solid gas residue and the smaller holes in the slow running parts get blocked the worst.
So FIRST, clean the carbs.
Like totally apart and blow carb cleaner and poke guitar strings through every last jet, passage and orifice.
Only then can you start second-guessing the bike builder about jet sizes.

 

[grizld1]

AL, since those carbs are from Michael Morse you can be sure that the right needles and needle jets are there. Clean the jets with solvent and compressed air. See the Guide for adjustment procedures.

But don't assume that carbs are the source of all your troubles. Adjust valves and cam chain tension, check compression, make sure the battery and charging system are good, make sure power is getting from battery to coils, etc. The factory manual is available as a free download from http://www.biker.net. Be sure to download the supplements for late machines and the appendices; all the specs you'll need are there. Take your time and do it right.

 

[Brassneck]

Found your bike's build thread:

http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41231

(Was driving me nuts that I couldn't remember who built it)

 

[Add_Lightness]

Found your bike's build thread:

http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41231

(Was driving me nuts that I couldn't remember who built it)

Thanks! This is so cool!

 

[gggGary]

And there are hints in that thread, this issue is why the bike was sold. As The ole' grizzly sez trust nothing you are told and don't expect a tech to get to the bottom of it.