Just Ride.

Should this ride thread be just a.... well, thread? Or should there be a dedicated Forum topic?

  • Yes, it's own topic in the Forums

    Votes: 19 90.5%
  • Nah... threads good enough.

    Votes: 2 9.5%

  • Total voters
    21
  • Poll closed .
Hey Mailman, my bike is nowhere near and clean as yours, but I do enjoy it!
Very nice. I like original paint also.
Mine has the same wear spot on the tank as yours. Plus some rust, scratches ect.
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The only things that are not original are the mikuni vm34 carburetors and the tank badges. The PO had a later model tank badge that broke. So for the meantime I 3D printed a badge and added a vinyl sticker to the badge. I’ll try and find a real set in the future.
 

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Have been riding the wheels off the '80 since the weather has gotten nice. For something a little different I decided to film a portion of a ride using a GoPro-knock off. It's shaky (to say the least) and being mounted a few inches away from the engine is asking a lot of the little mic on the camera, but I still thought it was an interesting perspective on how the bike operates while in motion. Is it normal for that much oil to be oozing from the forks?

 
Have been riding the wheels off the '80 since the weather has gotten nice. For something a little different I decided to film a portion of a ride using a GoPro-knock off. It's shaky (to say the least) and being mounted a few inches away from the engine is asking a lot of the little mic on the camera, but I still thought it was an interesting perspective on how the bike operates while in motion. Is it normal for that much oil to be oozing from the forks?

Nice vid. Thx for sharing. Bike sounds great.
 
Is it normal for that much oil to be oozing from the forks?
No. It's time to think about fork seals. Fork oil should be changed at regular intervals anyway. It gets dark with ground up aluminum like your polish rag and the more it picks up, the faster it wears.
About that fork dive on braking. You can fix that if you'd like. I believe I fill my forks to 130 mm from the top with the tube collapsed and spring removed. That leaves less air space in the assembly and more compression. Too little air space and you will blow the seal. @5twins also has a formula that he uses to do the same thing. There is a bit of a tuning range. I got my numbers from RaceTech.
I enjoyed watching the video.
 
Yeah... I thought that might be the case! No way that kind of loss could be sustainable. I did change the fork oil when I last had the frontend apart, but didn't think to change the seals. I will also look into eliminating the fork dive. Does it stiffen up the whole frontend or just under heavy load?

Glad you guys enjoyed the video. Might try a helmet or handlebar cam next time. Maybe one on the back wheel to see what problems are lurking back there..
 
I will also look into eliminating the fork dive. Does it stiffen up the whole frontend or just under heavy load?
It's possible your fork springs have sagged too. Not uncommon for a 40something yr old bike. I made a set of 1" spacers for mine. I've got an extra set if you want to try 'em. Yours for the cost of the ride. Comment #446


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I will also look into eliminating the fork dive. Does it stiffen up the whole frontend or just under heavy load?
That is where the experimentation comes in. If you raise the fluid just a little, you will reduce the dive a little bit. The more you raise the fluid level, the more it affects the reaction to big bumps. There's always a tradeoff with these forks. RaceTech's tuning guide says the tuning range is 110 to 150 mm air space at the top of the fork as I described. I'm pretty happy at 130 mm. As I recall @5twins is closer to 150 mm. I'm sure he'll chime in.
 
I've got an extra set if you want to try 'em.
Sure! Send them my way and let me know what I owe you. Thanks.

There's always a tradeoff with these forks.
Sounds like some experimenting needs to be done. I will have to shoot another video on the same route for comparison after I make these modifications.
 
Yes, some experimenting will need to be done. Slightly more than the stock amount of oil works better, but exactly how much more may take some experimenting. On my '78, I started out with a rebuild and the stock amount of oil. The forks were too soft even with the preload adjusters at max, and brake dive was bad. So I installed Mike's progressive springs and added one ounce of oil to each leg. This pretty much fixed the excessive diving during braking. A few years later I Minton Modded the damper rods. This made the overall ride more supple, allowing the forks to respond better, especially to the little bumps.

On my '83, I took a bit different route. I did the Minton Mods right off the bat but I wanted to try to save the cost of new springs by making the originals stiffer with preload spacers. The originals are a very nice dual rate progressive spring. I liked the ride they gave, save for the fact that they were just too soft, even with the preload adjustment set to max. Now, the preload adjusters have 2 stiffer settings, each adding 10mm more preload .....

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That gives a total of 20mm more preload that can be applied, and I found the forks still too soft. So, I figured adding about a 1" (25mm) spacer should do the trick. That would be about 1/2 step stiffer than the adjusters could give. This stiffened the forks up nicely, but a little too much, lol. They lost their responsiveness to the little bumps. What I forgot to take into account is that, along with the spacer you also add a washer between it and the spring. So, I had actually added more than an inch, maybe 27 or 28mm, or nearly another full step if the adjuster had one. So, I pulled the spacers out and shortened them to about 13/16". That along with the washer now gives me about 23 or 24mm of total preload. That's what I was looking for, just slightly more than the maxed out adjusters could give me. Along with that, I also sucked out about 1/2 ounce of oil from each leg. What I actually did was set the levels to 6" from the tops of the tubes. I put the oil I removed from both legs into a measuring cup and saw it was about 1 ounce total. I'm pretty happy now with the forks but as you can see, it took some experimenting.

So, I would recommend doing the Minton Mods, using 6.5 to 6.75 ounces of stock 10wt. oil (stock amount was about 5.75 ounces), and adding slightly less than an inch of preload to the springs.
 
Just Ride post Today ! Yes, it's been a long time since I've posted in the just ride.
"Doomy", appropriately named more than a year ago.. 79 Special II
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- Registered, Fully functioning! (except the stuck starter) slinging fresh chain oil for about 25 mile test ride, up to good speeds too. Stopped to adjust mirrors back at home and check all over for a leaks/loose. Inspection including all the brake line fittings. The 5mm SR500 double disc setup is very nice. Its pads are "braking in" (weak) until a copy of this systems lines can be located. Calipers and MasterCylinder get a pass, Rotors get a pass!
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Found the Loose Speedometer cable, Whew.. one carb drain got snugged.
10 more miles of hot and cool photo stops and back to home at sunset.
BS38's seem very close to awesome!
Tires are Really Great!
Triumph Shocks are awesome.
Seating position is very good for me.
Bar end mirrors are very pretty.
This XS650 rides very Sporty! The sweet 3k to 3.5k cruising rpm is just wonderful!
Gearing is wonderful.
Side cover mount system is Next on the list.
:cool: ride on
 

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Your bike is looking great there Randy! I love the whole handlebar, mirrors, windshield package you’re running, and the small tail light looks right too. I had a tail light like that on my ‘76 XS650 and I always like it. Might have to get me another one yet.
 
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