Mailman’s XS2 a full on restoration

[650Skull]

Thanks Bob. They never list the size of the Basket and that is the important equation. That's what put me off last time i looked, and over here at the time to get a cleaner basket to take a carb body it was up around the Gand mark...........

Measuring BS38's the height of a carb body is 82mm, bowl and top removed. The stupid thing is when i looked a a 6litre tank and the length and width was larger but the height stayed the same.???

 

[Mailman]

You’re welcome. Also, the best way to get the carb body in the solution was to lay it on its side. About 2/3 of the body is submerged that way.

 

[Signal]

Skull, I got my one off this seller it could be an option for you. I have a smaller unit,
it has been used a fair bit and no problems yet.
https://www.trademe.co.nz/art/tatto...84.htm?rsqid=23734f937fe340c3bd5175937d010c8c

 

[geedubya]

Whats the actual Basket size, or area that can be submerged.

Looking good Bob. Got me motivated to get one. Now that Amazon is here and the prices have dropped they may be affordable.

Skull,

You might like this one.

https://www.amazon.com.au/Digital-U...23082344&sr=8-16&keywords=ultrasonic+cleaners

 

[650Skull]

Thanks Signal, geedubya. I am looking at that 6.5 liter one on Amazon. Watched a youtube vid with that one, lid and basket rattles but those are easy fix's, and the price is right. $190 delivered........It dose say the unit needs a 5min rest after a 15min running period.

Bloody hard to make a decision because there are no reviews from Aussie amazon on these yet, and a lot of these cheep ones are hit and miss when reading reviews on others similar. Again i haven't seen one cleaner that gives the measurement of the actual basket, they all give the tank size.

Most of these cheaper ones are from China.............maybe not so cheap for you guys in the US soon though eh......................

Reading the other day how the Chinese make about 80% of the worlds Ball point pens but apparently they don't have the technology to make the Balls for the nibs perfect and import most of the components to assemble them..............

 

[650Skull]

Wonder if a strong mix of Baking Soda in an Ultrasonic Cleaner would do anything........???

 

[Meddy]

I reckon this one from supercheapauto would be a pretty close cousin to the one Bob has Skull.

http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/Product/ToolPRO-Ultrasonic-Parts-Cleaner-2-5L/378300

 

[MrBultaco]

I looked at the HF one and decided it was very small, so I opened Ebay for an USC and bought a 6L for $105 incl. shipping.
So far I have only used it for a few parts with PineSol solution and it works good. I'll try the SimGrn on a few parts this
pm. My carbs (together) fit the basket and will be submerged, so it's the correct size for me. Thanks for the input, Bob. Your carbs look great. I should add that I need one so I can dip the whole bike in....I don't think it's see any TLC for 30+ years. LOL
https://www.ebay.com/itm/6L-Digital...530740&hash=item25cd31a820:g:gsEAAOSwVtZaCqq8

 

[Mailman]

I looked at the HF one and decided it was very small, so I opened Ebay for an USC and bought a 6L for $105 incl. shipping.
So far I have only used it for a few parts with PineSol solution and it works good. I'll try the SimGrn on a few parts this
pm. My carbs (together) fit the basket and will be submerged, so it's the correct size for me. Thanks for the input, Bob. Your carbs look great. I should add that I need one so I can dip the whole bike in....I don't think it's see any TLC for 30+ years. LOL
https://www.ebay.com/itm/6L-Digital...530740&hash=item25cd31a820:g:gsEAAOSwVtZaCqq8

That looks like a nice unit.
That’s a good value for the size that is. It also has a very nice metal basket.
The one from Harbor Freight was definitely made to hit a low price point. Inside the tank there is no basket. Just a cheesy plastic tray.

 

[Mailman]

Edit: I’m adding this edit, months after the bike has been completed. I’m leaving this post in here because it was part of the original story. But I no longer feel I can recommend this idea.
What I didn’t realize at the time was this method caused many of my rubber parts to swell and no longer fit. They felt pliable, but the dimensions had grown.

RESTORING RUBBER
All of the rubber bits in this bike were hard as a rock. I have already replaced some items, but then I decided to try something. I have searched online for rubber restoration tips. A lot of bad ideas out there. One seems to really work. A solution of alcohol and pure wintergreen oil. I’ve seen some pretty convincing results on YouTube.

HOWEVER , I went my own way. I’ve not seen this technique done by anyone and I think the results are pretty impressive.

My little crappy Harbor Freight ultrasonic cleaner and Simple Green again. I threw a bunch of rubber parts in there , ran them a couple times with heat, rinsed, dried and threw them in a zip lock bag and sprayed them liberally with silicone spray. Sealed the bag and forgot about them for 36 hours.Today I took them out and wiped them dry and here are the results. All of these parts felt like hard plastic before this.
No flex or give in any of them, just felt brittle.
Now they all look and feel like new rubber.
I’m a little amazed to be honest.
Check it out.

 

[robinc]

That's incredible Bob. You're becoming another XS650 explorer like 2M.

Well done!

 

[Mailman]

Thanks Robin!
You know I have used silicone spray on rubber before to try and soften it up, but it only helped a little.
I think the heat soak and good cleaning really made the difference.

 

[MaxPete]

Wow!!! That is amazing!!

 

[650Skull]

I reckon this one from supercheapauto would be a pretty close cousin to the one Bob has Skull.

http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/Product/ToolPRO-Ultrasonic-Parts-Cleaner-2-5L/378300

Thanks Meddy, yea it does. Thing is i want to have one that will take a full carb body, (at least a disassembled one), and not have to do each side. That why its good to have reviews so at least i know what icould be heading for. Out of 10 reviews 3 had complete failures and of those one had 2 in a row fail.

 

[kshansen]

Thanks Robin!
You know I have used silicone spray on rubber before to try and soften it up, but it only helped a little.
I think the heat soak and good cleaning really made the difference.

mailman, As there are many different products out there that say "silicone" on them what is the exact brand you used?

As for the oil of wintergreen I recall back in my youth playing with slot cars the oil of wintergreen was one of the tricks used to get better traction on the tires. Assuming it was softening the rubber to make it sticky on the tracks!

 

[Mailman]

mailman, As there are many different products out there that say "silicone" on them what is the exact brand you used?

As for the oil of wintergreen I recall back in my youth playing with slot cars the oil of wintergreen was one of the tricks used to get better traction on the tires. Assuming it was softening the rubber to make it sticky on the tracks!

You know I never really gave it much thought. I always just bought whatever was at the hardware store. But here is what I used.

 

[MrBultaco]

Thanks Meddy, yea it does. Thing is i want to have one that will take a full carb body, (at least a disassembled one), and not have to do each side. That why its good to have reviews so at least i know what icould be heading for. Out of 10 reviews 3 had complete failures and of those one had 2 in a row fail.

Skull...photo of my USC with carbs complete. (of course, I wouldn't do this without disassembly)

 

[MrBultaco]

Bob, thanks for the research on rubber parts. BTW, your 'little crappy HF cleaner' is just fine.
Ask your wife if she has any jewelry she wants cleaned. Maybe you can buy another bike.

 

[Mailman]

Bob, thanks for the research on rubber parts. BTW, your 'little crappy HF cleaner' is just fine.
Ask your wife if she has any jewelry she wants cleaned. Maybe you can buy another bike.

Sure thing! Always happy to share my results, good or bad.
Haha! I am just laughing at myself. I have been buying “ crappy Harbor Freight “ tools for almost 40 years!
I don’t expect much from them, and I am rarely disappointed!
If I were a professional mechanic I’d pop for better stuff, but most of their stuff is perfectly adequate for my purposes.

 

[cra-z1]

That looks like a nice unit.
That’s a good value for the size that is. It also has a very nice metal basket.
The one from Harbor Freight was definitely made to hit a low price point. Inside the tank there is no basket. Just a cheesy plastic tray.

That looks like the unit I have been using for the last 5 years but I think I paid a little more for it back then. Its been a good unit and can do all 4 carb bodies fron the Z1 at once.

Nice job on the rubber pieces