Long time lurker, first time poster.

[johnnymac]

I love this sight- Ive gotten such great info- Here's the short story (which I know might make some people hate me). I was riding to work like I do everyday when I saw an old xs in a yard next to my store. I always saw the guy tinkering on his harley, so I got up the nerve to go over and ask him about the Yamaha- His exact words "that Jap piece of s##t- You can have it" That is exactly what I did. About 1 year later with lots of elbow grease (the xs had been sitting outside at the guys friends house for 18 years) shes registered under my name, has 1680 miles on her, and is my daily rider- Life is so grand!!!! I'm not much of a poster, but I can't thank everyone enough for posting such great info on this sight-

 

[XSLeo]

Welcome, You did a very good job of bringing that 75 back to life.
What does the Harley guy next door think now?

 

[johnnymac]

Thanks- I love the bike- I knew the harley guy was moving- thats why I took my time getting it road worthy- He's long gone now and he's never getting her back!

 

[fancyketchup]

I would of hurried up and got it on the road and ridden it by his house everyday... not like he can take it back from you. Unless of course he still had the title.

 

[johnnymac]

Your right- It sure would have been fun to roll up to him at a stoplight and have the "jap P O S" roast him off the line-

 

[breahn riley]

the bike only has 1600 miles on it?

 

[johnnymac]

Actually it has a whopping 1688 miles on it after riding it to the DMV and back ,)

 

[SPEIRMOOR]

nIICE! what did you use to clean the engine?

 

[johnnymac]

18 years outside w/ no cover took its toll. The bike was last registered in 1982 and I believe the sludged varnish in the carbs were from that time period. As far as cleaning the engine- I took it off of the frame, covered the intake and exhaust ports, and then soda blasted the whole thing. I used wire brushes in hard to reach places and cleaned up all of the covers with steel wool. The soda blasting didn't touch the rust on the frame, etc. so I had to beadblast the frame and othe parts. The soda did however seem to clean the engine fairly well and didn't harm gaskets, etc.

 

[Travis]

Welcome to the site! Do you have any pictures from when you first picked it up?

 

[johnnymac]

Thanks for the welcome- Unfortunately I don't have any before pictures, but if you had seen the expression on my poor wife's face when I was dragging yet another super rusty nasty looking carcass off my truck, you would have an idea on how bad it looked. The fact that she is actually impressed by how it looks now speaks volumes to how bad it looked before.

 

[Teebs]

I couldn't hate anyone who breathes life back into an old bike. Nice find! Congratulations!

 

[johnnymac]

Thanks- The bike runs great now, lots of power, etc but reading through all of the posts about the sump filter problems, I'm getting a bit nervous that I should have looked at it before riding it around alot. The first thing I did was change the oil and check the oil filter, which looked very clean. Sometimes when I really race around, some oil drips out of the breather tubes and it also looks very clean. What would the symtoms of a ripped sump filter be if any? - And am I stupid for running it around without checking the sump filter? I just put new oil in but it did'nt cost that much- Thanks in advance-

 

[xjwmx]

I would probably catch the oil in something clean and put it back in. When I got mine about a year ago I assumed the filter would be torn up, but when I checked it had already been repaired with a very skillful repair using some kind of clear epoxy or plastic.

I see two different distinct people who have worked on my bike in the past - one who does that kind of thing, and another who uses wood screws.

 

[Gordon]

The sump filter's the oil before it get's to the pump. the filter on the right side is after the pump. So, with that said, chances are the sump is torn, as ALL the stock one's did that. It happens because of the suction created by the pump, and no reinforcement where it tears. Do not worry a whole lot about it, just get a new one & replace it at your next oil change.

 

[johnnymac]

Thanks very much- What a logical, clever idea- I never seem to come up with those on my own-

 

[xjwmx]

What a logical, clever idea- I never seem to come up with those on my own-

Management material.

 

[gggGary]

I see two different distinct people who have worked on my bike in the past - one who does that kind of thing, and another who uses wood screws.

Idiots??? Everyone knows DRYWALL screws fix everything. Using wood screws is so Neanderthal.

 

[xjwmx]

The first guy, I admire his work. He also made the adapters that hold the Kawasaki front fender on it. The filter repair is probably from a time when you couldn't just blog yourself a new filter. And it's better than some of the replacements from what I read...

 

[XSLeo]

Instead of getting a new one, fix the one you have.
I patched mine with a piece of soup can cut to the right size to fit over the hole and glued it into place with JB Weld. After it dried I gave the edges of the patch a second coat just to be sure it was sealed.