My 60th birthday present

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

Teflon is good as a low-friction thrust bearing. But, we want a rigidly stable lateral position for the throttle shaft. On my machining tools, teflon thrust washers would indeed reduce friction, but their compression would add inaccuracies to my leadscrews. The older BS38 carbs don't have a nylon endpiece for the throttle shaft, and don't seem to have a reported history like the linked carbs.

And, only do this thrust bearing thing on the side opposite the return spring. Having thrust bearings at both ends would risk binding. The endplay would have to be kept low, and the Zamak carb body expands like aluminum.

Well, that's my 2£...

 

[Mailman]

Just a little follow up after all the work I did on my carburetors in the last couple of weeks. This morning was the first opportunity I had to get it out for a ride, so at 5:30 am , trying to beat the heat, I went out.
The bike ran beautifully! No more throttle hanging up, no more erratic behavior, idles perfectly. Back to being my sweet running bike.
I am awaiting delivery of a new carburetor body to replace my worn left side , but for now, I intend to just enjoy it!
When I do decide to do the replacement, I will do a photo / video comparison of the before and after. I do expect the new carb body to help smooth out the way the left cylinder idles and hope it will make it easier to balance the set.
Also probably this weekend I will install a NOS luggage rack that I bought off eBay.
You know, so I can carry some stuff.

 

[Mailman]

Installing a NOS luggage rack.

Before I even start, I know not everyone likes accessories on these bikes, and I do think they look sexier as just a clean, unadorned bike. However, I've always had luggage racks on my bikes, even in the '70s , it really makes them much more useful. Haters look away.

This is a new old stock Amco luggage rack that I bought on eBay. The guy originally had four, he still has two of them, I'll post a link at the bottom. Here it is, right out of the box.

I was a little leery of it. Was it an accurate description? Does the guy know anything about the bikes? Is there hidden damage, and so on. I've been burned on eBay more than once. And this was not a cheap rack. I want my bike to be more than garage art and I always figured I'd someday add a rack. The rack came well packaged and it was in perfect condition! Not a scratch or scuff on it. No rust, it literally looks brand new. It's hard to believe it's over 40 years old. The ad said no hardware included and that gave me a little pause because I thought I was going to have to fabricate brackets, maybe relocate my rear turn signals.
I did not have to do any of that. No hardware is needed. The four mounting points are top bolt for rear shock absorbers and the two bolts that mount the turn signals to the frame.
Bing bam boom took about 30 minutes to throw it on. The fit is perfect, it took no effort at all. So here it is

Perfect! Just what I wanted! Hahaha!
Does this make my ass look big?

Actually something more like this , or a laptop case or something. I don't like wearing backpacks.

The eBay seller was a straight shooter, had super fast delivery and the product was just as described. I have no affiliation. If you are interested, here's a link.

http://m.ebay.com/itm/NOS-Amco-Luggage-Rack-Carrier-1974-1978-Yamaha-XS650-95326-/191650816193?hash=item2c9f4760c1:g:AQ0AAOSwT6pVtApJ&_trkparms=pageci%3A4a585706-f2e3-11e6-86ce-74dbd18050d9%7Cparentrq%3A3de1746115a0a606257d2556fff7139d%7Ciid%3A7

All in all I'm happy with it, I think it came out nice. I also like the fact that it is period correct. It looks like something that would've been on the bike back then. It has mounting holes for a big old sissy bar, but I'm not going there!

Until next time
Bob

 

[Mailman]

A little preview of coming attractions.

Daniel Black was kind enough to send over a couple of screw in barbs for balancing carburetors, so I figured I better get busy and make a manometer. Next project coming up!

 

[retiredgentleman]

Mailman...........................I always like to see a nice rack
Expensive but looks like high quality. It does look period correct for sure. A nice addition to your bike!

 

[MaxPete]

...now he only has one of them....

 

[robinc]

Looks good Bob, very elegant.

 

[azman857]

Mailman, are you in a secret Goverment program with access to a time machine? Very fine work all the way. One day, when it's not 120F. Sept perhaps, we 3 (or more) can arrange a day ride?

 

[Mailman]

Mailman, are you in a secret Goverment program with access to a time machine? Very fine work all the way. One day, when it's not 120F. Sept perhaps, we 3 (or more) can arrange a day ride?

That would be fun. I am still working toward being able to trust my bike for more than 30 or 40 miles at a time. But! I'm getting there! I hope to soon be where you are , reliability wise.

 

[MaxPete]

....and Bob can carry the DBIB picnic on his shiny new carrier!

 

[azman857]

There will be that time. It took a while with the SG for me to trust it completely. Even then, they will throw you a problem, just to keep you on your toes...

 

[MaxPete]

Yup - same thing with Lucille. Juuuussst when you think you understand her, she tosses a curveball at you.

Gotcha big boy!

 

[Mailman]

....and Bob can carry the DBIB picnic on his shiny new carrier!

I could carry my Fiat on that new carrier! Haha!

 

[weekendrider]

I wouldn't poo poo a sissy bar yet. You might actually want to go someplace in the future and they are nice to hang bags on. Sleeping bags, duffel bags, dog food bags,

 

[MaxPete]

Plus, they look cool!

 

[Mailman]

My front brake squeals like a pig!

I decided today to try and rectify the situation.
However I can never just leave well enough alone, and so begins.....
Front brake overhaul Part 1

First off I decided that I might as well install the new stainless front brake line that I had purchased a few weeks ago but never had time to install, so I disconnected the brake line and let it drain and then removed it entirely.
I then removed my caliper and took it to the bench to work on. Now I have already recently rebuilt the caliper, so all I want to address today is the squealing issue.
5Twins had told me about some brake pad retainers that are a discontinued item that had little rubber squares in them to deaden vibration , like these.

So I thought maybe I could make something myself. I have some self adhesive foam dots that I thought I'd try.

I only applied these to the front retainer, but when I tried them on the foam was too thick and wouldn't allow the brake pads to move freely. So off they came. Next up some synthetic brake grease.

I applied a small amount everywhere there was a metal to metal contact. I should say that prior to this I cleaned all components and also sprayed some brake cleaner on
the pads to make sure they were clean.

I then turned my attention to the master cylinder. The inside of the reservoir really looked pretty clean and I thought I could maybe get away with just cleaning it up a bit and blowing it out. This was naive of me, I really wasn't taking into account that this really is a rather complex component with a lot of parts you can't see. So I broke it down.
If you want the definitive thread on rebuilding master cylinders look no further than the one by LittleBill.

http://www.xs650.com/threads/master-cylinder-rebuilding.7862/

It's the best I've seen. So I'll just show you what I found. See...first impression is it's not so bad.

But look a little deeper,

Now the bore for the master cylinder is about the diameter and length of my pinkie finger.
There is a lot of corrosion and zero room to work in there. There are also two snap rings that have to be placed deep in that hole that are a pain in the keester to access. I am about at the point where I'm thinking a new master cylinder is the better option here. It's funny but my brakes were really working pretty well but I couldn't live with the thought that my master cylinder has probably not had any attention in 40 years. So that's where I'm at right now. I'm looking for a new master cylinder and I mean a NEW one.
Maybe by next weekend I'll have it and I can get it installed. Then I'll be able to do stoppies!

Until next time
Bob

 

[MaxPete]

Wow Bob - when you do something you DO it.

Looking forward to the next chapter

 

[Mailman]

HI Pete! Did the ride come off today?

 

[MaxPete]

Excellent - write-up underway!


.....after all, I wouldn't want to hijack your thread. That would be....unCanadian.

 

[Mailman]

Haha, ok. Standing by.