Kawasaki uses a very thin oring behind the spacer to seal the shaft. You probably would not need a chamfer because the output shaft bearing should have a slight chamfer to it. The o-ring would push into that. Check out item 31. This is from a z1900 Should be able to find a VERY thin oring at a good ACE. Just try it
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The spacer on the Z1 appears to be much wider than our XS spacer.... but that does prove the concept. It comes down to whether or not the splines go into the inner race on the XS or if there's enough smooth shaft for an o-ring to seal.... good stuff.
 
I like Jim's idea too.
There are sealed double row ball bearings out there. I think that would be the ideal place to stop the oil.
Suppose the cases would need to be split to change out a bearing...
 
I like Jim's idea too.
There are sealed double row ball bearings out there. I think that would be the ideal place to stop the oil.
Suppose the cases would need to be split to change out a bearing...
Yeah, bearing has a retaining clip around it, cases would need to be split. If it turns out that, as Steve suspects... the splines extend into the inner race, a less elegant solution would be to clean the shaft of oil and smear a thin bead of RTV around the intersection of the shaft and inner race. press the spacer back in, install the sprocket and tighten. Basically a "build your o-ring in place." That would squeeze out into the splines and make a good seal. Might make bearing removal a bit tough.... but how often do we have to do that....
 
Steve suspects... the splines extend into the inner race
Steve is correct.
Black RTV or Yamahabond may help.
May have a problem getting spacer out. I could not just slide it off of the shaft. Had to slide bearing and spacer off at same time. Then slide it off bearing sideways. Oil film between spacer and bearing created a pretty good suction.
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Steve is correct. Black RTV or Yamahabond may help.
May have a problem getting spacer out. I could not just slide it off of the shaft. Had to slide bearing and spacer off at same time. Then slide it off bearing sideways. Oil film between spacer and bearing created a pretty good suction.
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View attachment 142104

That’s a good photo Greg, thanks. That helps me understand what I’m facing here.
 
Hello my friends,
I’m sure many of you now know I am the proud new owner of a 1971 XS2. I have long admired the classic red and white XS2, in fact it was the first Yamaha 650 I ever recall seeing. A friend of mine in high school had a Suzuki dual sport 185, he traded it in and one day he pulls into the high school parking lot on a shiny new red and white XS2, I absolutely loved the way that bike looked and sounded. It’s totally different from my ‘77.
So without further ado, here is the background story of my new bike.
I constantly search Craigslist for interesting old bikes, especially XS650’s . A couple of weeks ago, not one but two XS2’s show up for sale near me. The one I bought was located at a business, an auto wrecker / junk yard to be precise. The owner/ proprietor of the wrecking yard had only owned it a few months, he’s not a bike guy, could care less in fact. He had no emotional attachment to it, he bought it at an auction. He said he thought it came from an estate sale. We walked out back to an open air shed to go see it. Here you are seeing it for the first time with me.


I told him to shut it off. This bike sat for 32 years. After winning the bike at auction he had to go pick the bike up in the town of Yarnell, a small sleepy little town about 70 miles from Phoenix. He said it was crammed into a back corner of a garage and so covered with dirt he couldn’t even tell what color it was!
He wanted to have it start and run so he could sell it, so he took the carbs apart , cleaned them, replaced the gaskets, replaced the petcocks. Flushed the gas tank ( more in that later!) and added a couple of fuel filters. He did none of the rituals that a caring owner would do when trying to awaken a sleeping beauty. He did it quick and dirty, I’m truly impressed it would run at all, but I was concerned he might do more harm than good so I told him shut it down.
The bike is going to be a lot of work, but it looked worth saving, so we struck a deal.
Two hours later it was being picked up by a motorcycle towing service, by 4:00 pm it was in my garage.
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Manufactured in November of 1971, I had just turned fifteen. It still has the 46 year old sticker from the dealership that sold it.
View attachment 114381

So, I am super stoked to begin this project, what I have in mind, primarily , is preserving this old girl. It has lived in the desert it’s whole life, zero corrosion, but every peice of rubber and plastic is dry rotted and cracked.
I want to make it mechanically sound and rideable and really clean and polish her up,
but I’d really like to save the original paint if possible. It photographs better than it looks in person up close, but one thing I have plenty of is time and elbow grease.
So there you are, you know as much as I do at this point, I hope you’ll join me and God knows I need to be pointed in the right direction now and again. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.
Until next time
Bob
Next up: An inititial inspection ( photo intensive!)
I have been reading this posting up to page 26 and thought I am just going to use it as a step by step guide in trying to restore my old bike All the suggestions won't work for me but it's a nice write up from ALL you guys
Thanks Mike
 
I have another 75 so I can learn as I go 1 to ride and 1 to practice on Never without a ride Fix one then fix the other
I have both posting treads bookmarked on my computer and transferred both the links to a zip drive I'm not losing these !!! Thanks again to ALL
 
May have a problem getting spacer out. I could not just slide it off of the shaft. Had to slide bearing and spacer off at same time. Then slide it off bearing sideways. Oil film between spacer and bearing created a pretty good suction.
So... on an assembled engine, should be able to use some contact cement, hot glue..... something along those lines... and glue the sprocket to the spacer. Once it sets, work the sprocket off the shaft and the spacer should come out with it. Clean all the glue off, ready for reassembly. Clean the inner race and shaft with q-tips and your solvent of choice. apply a "small" bead of oil resistant RTV at the base/intersection of the inner race and shaft, reinstall spacer, sprocket and tighten. Let it cure for a day and it should be oil tight.
 
So... on an assembled engine, should be able to use some contact cement, hot glue..... something along those lines... and glue the sprocket to the spacer. Once it sets, work the sprocket off the shaft and the spacer should come out with it. Clean all the glue off, ready for reassembly. Clean the inner race and shaft with q-tips and your solvent of choice. apply a "small" bead of oil resistant RTV, reinstall spacer, sprocket and tighten. Let it cure for a day and it should be oil tight.

That sounds like the scenario I had envisioned. If I remember correctly , when I replaced the seal on the output shaft, I was a little startled at first when that sleeve just popped out. I thought I may have broken something.
So I’m hoping it’ll just slide out again without a lot of drama.
 
Well, that’s an interesting approach. Cra-Z1 , did you have any trouble leaking at that point?
On my 650 I assembled as per factory. I do not have any leaks from the sprocket area. Not sure why you would. If there is the slightest bit of smooth area in front of the output bearing I see no reason why an oring would not work. But if the machining butts up to the bearing it may be difficult to seal.
 
... Clean the inner race and shaft with q-tips and your solvent of choice. apply a "small" bead of oil resistant RTV at the base/intersection of the inner race and shaft, reinstall spacer, sprocket and tighten. Let it cure for a day and it should be oil tight.

Or, simply pack the splines with thick/heavy grease, and slide-on the spacer. Those spline grooves would be the only exit path to escaping oil. If they're packed, it should stop the weeping. Besides, I like grease, and it'll be easier to clean up later...
 
When you all say TIGHT for the counter sprocket nut... How much torque are you using? 36 ft-lbs? 90 ft-lbs?

On that great big nut, on that great big shaft. I don’t torque it, I put a big wrench on it and tighten it by hand about as snug as I can get it, then I give it a smack with a dead blow hammer and call it good.
Now I’ll duck my head down while the real mechanics throw tomatoes at me! :cautious:
 
View attachment 142263 In gear, brake on. Engine can’t turn so this long beam type torque wrench gives you leverage to tighten it as much as desired easily.

Wait a minute! You’re Mr. Torque fingers! You always preach “ Be one with the bolt.” “ Feel the torque grasshopper.” :D
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You don’t use no stinking torque wrench!
 
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