Miesha: Build thread.

[CoconutPete]

I had made an attempt at this before, but neglected it.

This will serve as my "build thread" even though my "build" isn't much compared to some of the crazy projects I have seen on here.

I was born and grew up in Denmark and got a 49cc Puch Maxi when I was 14 or so, and a Yamaha FS1 after that. I moved to the US in 1995 and started driving cars. I was 16. Can't do that until you are 18 in Denmark.

Fast forward many years ... several jobs, several states later, I have a wonderful wife, 2 wonderful kids and I'm living in Charlotte, NC. I miss 2 wheels and my wife and parents all said the same thing "I think you need a motorcycle" .... and you know what ... they were right!

Having had an FS1 I thought the only sensible thing to do would be to buy a "big brother" type of motorcycle to what I had as a kid, so I settled on the XS650.

This was one of the bikes that originally inspired me:
http://silodrome.com/yamaha-xs650-scrambler/

This site was a HUGE factor in buying an XS650 given the massive amount of knowledge here.

I was born in 1979 and just for kicks I was trying to find a 79' so it felt like faith when I found a 79' for sale on this very forum.

So... In february of 2016, my old man who just turned 70 by the way and it still up for pretty much anything, even though he still runs his own consulting company and flies about a gazillion miles a year, set off in a rented u-haul to go pick this thing up.

 

[CoconutPete]

My neighbors were of course, very intrigued by what the hell I had just brought home. Even though I live in Suburbia, my neighbors rock and will drop by to check in on the project when they see me in the garage working.

In case you are wondering, yes I ride with a helmet and full gear, at the time the picture was taken I hadn't taken my license yet so I had no gear. Bike sat for a few weeks when I bought it.

 

[CoconutPete]

I name all my vehicles, 2 wheels, or 4. I decided to name her Miesha after my favorite, since retired, female MMA figher, Miesha Tate.

Here is a pic of her the day I brought her home.

Front master cylinder was toast and there were no air filters, so I decided to tackle some of the safety stuff first like front brake etc. I also decided to ditch the rototiller handlebars.

 

[CoconutPete]

Tracker handlebars, rebuilt front brake, smaller blinkers etc.

 

[CoconutPete]

Tires were god knows how old, and the Counterbalance Cycles seat was actually a big inspiration for buying the XS650, so those were next.
If I'm going to take the wheels off, I may as well powdercoat them ... which means removing the bearings .... one thing leads to another...

 

[CoconutPete]

I, of course, discovered many websites including Hugh's, TC Bro's, Mike's etc...
At first, I thought I wanted to run without a battery. I did a PMA conversion. Since then, I have gone back to a battery.

 

[CoconutPete]

The kids find the bike hillarious, except when it's turned on.... they tend to go back into the house and turn on cartoons when I turn the bike on ...

It has a "mystery 2-into-1 exhaust on it. I'll explore it later.

 

[CoconutPete]

I'm just a guy in suburbia without a welder and fancy tools. I have a dremel and some hand tools ... the saying still applies.... if there's something you want and they don't sell it ... make it!

 

[CoconutPete]

Tank had a nice dent in it, so I parked the tank (only because I found a painted, decently priced, tank on eBay).

 

[CoconutPete]

"Know your limits" applies ... decided to have Rick AKA Oldskoolkarbs - rebuild the 38's.

 

[CoconutPete]

Shortened the side covers to accomodate the air pods. Have since decided to only run a cover on the right side since I relocated the ignition to the old tool compartment.

Decided to tackle some more safety stuff. Forks were squishy as hell, so I tore them down and I am rebuilding them now. That is a fun project, went a lot faster than I had thought. Bike is actually down off the jack tonight although I am too tired to do anything else.

Also did the smaller gauges with a Dime City bracket fitted into the old ignition bolt holes. I really like how that came out. You can ignore the "dinosaur bone" handlebar clamp. It took some comments from some members on here to make me realize how off that looked. It's off now and I have some Virago brackets in it's place.

more to follow.....

 

[MaxPete]

Tank had a nice dent in it, so I parked the tank (only because I found a painted, decently priced, tank on eBay).

Nice! I like that dark blue tank Pete!

Pete

 

[MaxPete]

Shortened the side covers to accomodate the air pods. Have since decided to only run a cover on the right side since I relocated the ignition to the old tool compartment.

Decided to tackle some more safety stuff. Forks were squishy as hell, so I tore them down and I am rebuilding them now. That is a fun project, went a lot faster than I had thought. Bike is actually down off the jack tonight although I am too tired to do anything else.

Also did the smaller gauges with a Dime City bracket fitted into the old ignition bolt holes. I really like how that came out. You can ignore the "dinosaur bone" handlebar clamp. It took some comments from some members on here to make me realize how off that looked. It's off now and I have some Virago brackets in it's place.

more to follow.....

I also like your little pink bike Pete.....

 

[Yamaha77]

Nice build. How do you find living in NC? Im moving to Venice Beach CA from NYC in the future (planning everything now) and I oce considered NC. Didnt like it.

 

[figure8]

Looks good man!! Is that the front fender I shaped for you?

 

[CoconutPete]

Yeah figure8, that is indeed the fender! It's plasti-dipped for the time being while I dial in my color scheme.
Pete: I was trying to keep that bike out of view for most of pics, but it keeps sneeking back in.
77: We love it here in Charlotte, the weather is great, the tax structure is favorable and the job market is excellent. Based on excursions we have taken I'm not sure I'd be down with living in a lot of areas of NC, but Charlotte is awesome. Because of how global my life is, no place will ever be "all the time" and "forever" but we are staying here for a while, and most of the year.

 

[angus67]

Good to finally see the "you" . Feels good dont it? Glad you went back to battery. Gives you 5 miles to get home when your charging dies.

 

[Augie]

What size is that dual sport rear tire? I have the same tire, just not sure on size. Mine has about a millimeter of clearance to the swing arm, no bueno.

 

[CoconutPete]

Well... finished the wiring today and ironed out all the kinks. Decided to keep the blinker indicator even though I can clearly see both sides now. Anything to help me avoid being the guy riding down the street with his blinkers on. Huge change - the 4 LED's making up my "Dashboard" vs. the old giant box w/ the bulbs. The smaller size of the gauges is also nice and they light up really bright.

I fired the bike up and I either messed up replacing the clutch pushrod seal or the problem was something else, because as soon as she's running she's still dripping oil from the left side, so that's next. Then a massive session of checking torque specs on a ton of bolts and nuts.

I honestly added the voltmeter because it was the easiest way to cover up the hole in the headlight ad I like the stock headlight bucket. This was a $7 Amazon purchase and I'm extremely happy with it.

My Haynes manual arrived and I had fun reading it while my son napped, my wife went to the gym and my daughter got her daily ration of cartoons next to me on the couch.

Running drag bars right now instead of the low rise tracker ones. I think I like them better, but I need to ride to confirm.

VERY excited to ride on the rebuilt forks. Holy crap they were a mess.

The rear tire is 130/90-16. There is not a ton of extra room but it fits.

 

[retiredgentleman]

Well done dash..................voltmeter looks great!