New home for an old bike

[Ozplumb]

Hey guys today I purchased what appears to be a XS-1B. It’s pretty rough and has had some questionable modifications to it. She does run but I haven’t ridden it yet and I don’t imagine I will for some time.
The problems so far are the electrics, the head light and front indicators don’t work and the seller also said that voltage regulator is also dead. There are a few extra tabs welded onto the frame to support a side cart too that will have to go.
The rear shocks have been moved from their original location but can be moved back to stock and the chain guard has been modified to accommodate their new position.
I’m not sure if the swing arm is original either? Some guidance on that would be great. The speedo has given up on life and the tank and side covers are finished off with a interesting choice of a rattle can blue.
The head is cracked where a larger gauge bolt has been used to marry the exhaust flange to the head. Any point trying to save it or should I look for a replacement? And will a head from any year fit or will have to be for an XS-1B?
I have owned a CD 650 before but that was a SH and was in better condition.
All and any help would be much appreciated

 

[5twins]

Seems you've got somewhat of a "bitsa" going on here (bits if this, bits of that). The engine may very well be an XS1B but the frame appears to be '74 or newer, forks '72 maybe, and the instrument cluster could be from another model, possibly a TX/XS500 (9K tach redline).

 

[650Skull]

Welcome.........Need to post Vin no's for identification........Certainly have a bitsa all right.

Not an XS1B but later 74-79 Standard frame/side-covers.

NOTE; Passenger peg bracket is the tell
XS1B Frame

74-79 Standard frame



XS2 forks.... ................
.
Note how low guard stay brackets are on the forks and compare with the 73 Pic below and check against yours for the double axle nut, (Small one and larger behind it), and the big washer behind them. One year only set up.
A member has done, (still is), a full restore on a 72 and just finished the front wheel so there is plenty of information on this set up

72/73 Wheels/rims.......

Note the Chrome rims

Front Guard is from a 74-76 Standard.

NOTE; Your bike has no stays, (74-76 stays are to short for the 72 Forks
NOTE; where the stay bracket is on the 74-76 forks compared to your forks. Also the 74-76 rims are a different profile and made from alloy

......74/75 triple tree crown, (only has the mounts for 74/75 gauges) and gauges are from a 74TX/75XS 650 and 500, (speed o reads 220 kph so Aussie bike, (could also be a Japanese import id will confirm), and rev counter as pointed out red lines at 9000 instead of 7500 for XS650).

XS650 75 gauge cluster, (US set with MPH), 7500 red line rev counter

XS500 Gauge cluster with 9000 rev counter, (US set with MPH).


Tank is from a 76/77 standard, no badges...........
.


or could be 78/79 Standard tank, but they had badges and the badge area would have had to be filled in.........



Seat looks to be from a 78 or 79 Standard. the shape of the foam and the chrome all round makes it a Standard seat.


Noticed you have a single carb cable from the throttle.........This will mean the carbs are a linked set of 76/77 or 78/79 BS38 carb set. Need to be identified for carb jet sizes as they changed with the different years. The best way is to look at the intake bell.
5Twins pic


Just noticed the PO has moved the top mount for the shock. Should be mounted to the stud where the chrome nut is to the rear of the mount. A more up right position. This is why they cut some more out of the chain guard.

 

[motormike]

Excellent candidate for a bobber- cafe' theme…. there's no " rules " … unlike a proper restoration. The ugly on the head can be repaired.

 

[Superjet]

Could be a nice runner once you sort it all out. The exhaust studs looks to me like the original threads were done and the p.o. installed a too long heli coil and they tried to get the exhaust flange to seal up withthe bolt and nut....not sure what you can do there. If you do need to change out the head, would need the valve cover that matches. There has been some info just recently showing that both parts are machined and match up together only. Keep the pics coming we all love mysteries lol

 

[gggGary]

If Johnny Cash built a motorcycle... What they say about frame forks etc. A shot of the brake rotor axle will positively ID fork between 72, 73, engine is definitely early, 70 or 71, 3 stud LH exhaust valve cover and triangular braces at rear of cylinders. (A 2M ID nugget) so no electric start. No choke linkage on the carb, something funky about the throttle cable bracket? Chrome foot peg brackets would be later special. Shift lever not XS650 Yeah this will be a challenge.

I'd say the exhaust stud area could be tigged, drilled, and tapped. That won't be cheap to do The good news is an extra exhaust flange would set up the correct location for the new hole.

 

[59Tebo]

It looks like the dreaded P.O. made a motorcycle out of several different year/models. A "Frankenstein". And is that a vacuum petcock? That's a later feature, right? And the botched heli-coil? You might be able to find a matched, stripped head for cheaper than having a shop do the "weld-drill-tap", but being an early motor, that could be tough... Good luck with your project! Update us once in a while (we're nosy!).

 

[5twins]

Didn't notice the vac petcock before. Yes, that's a '78-'79 thing, and that one appears to be the '78 style (small arm). Sidestand pivot can narrow frame year down a bit. '74-'76 stands had a clevis mount. '77-on stands mounted on a big round post .....

 

[X77S]

I'd be afraid of what else was "fixed" in the same manner the exhaust bolt was. Hopefully that was their first botched repair and they decided not to do any further mechanic work.

 

[XSLeo]

Do you have paper work on this bike?
If so the frame numbers should match what the paper work says.
The frame number is stamped into the neck. If the frame still has the white number label the frame number is just beneath it.
The engine number is stamped into the upper crank case behind the front engine mount.
Use the engine number to determine the year of the engine. Many charts around for this. gggGary pretty much nailed that down for you.
Some engine tune specs for the engine year can be used. Valve settings, point gap and timing.
Carbs need to be tuned according to the year of the carb set, not the year of the frame or the year of the engine.
Those carb with the chrome plated tops look a lot like the 72-73 set I have. These are a raised floor carb set. They use different needles and jets from the later models, and can be tough to find replacements. Your may be ok.
Checking the brass parts inside and comparing them to the chart in the carb guide will help pin that down.
On you swing arm Being the frame is a 74 up frame the swing arm has an open end where the axle is. This open end is closed off by a part that bolts into this open end. In 78 with the Specials the swing arm had a closed loop at the rear.
With a bit of love I think that could be a fun bike. It may not be 100% showroom example but they don't have to be to be fun.
Leo

 

[650Skull]

As pointed out the Tank has a Vacuum Petcock. There were 2 types of Vacuum petcocks and the 78E has the same as your Tank. The seat had me thinking it was unusual for a bitsa bike because the 78E models are quite rare.......... With the seat and tank looking like to be a 78E then the frame ID is very important, make sure it has the Aluminum Vin Plate on the neck. Pre 77 Frames didn't have the plate so they can be registered without it........Post 76 frames had the plate, if the plate is missing then Registration can be problematic, and i have heard they can't be re-registered if the registration has be let go
Oceania 78E/79F Vin no's

 

[Ozplumb]

Thanks for the replies. Appreciate the time.
Skull it looks like you were right on many things. I had a look in the tank and I could see the fixing points for the badge that has been bogged over. I had a look online and the speedo set up looks like it’s off a TX-500.
The carbs look like 78-79 set up. The chain guard that’s been cut up is pretty much scrap now.
You’re not wrong about the Frankenstein name. Maybe I’ll just call it Frank for short.
XSLeo there wasn’t any paper work with the bike. I bought it online off an ex bikie. He was a nice guy but didn’t say much about the history of the bike. Thanks for answering the swing arm question. Any idea what the go is with this fitting on the forks that appears to be for an air connection? My old man was very curious. And here’s some photos of the engine number and frame number for more ID work
Oh and I got this snazzy T-shirt with the bike. Might have been the best part of the purchase...

 

[650Skull]

Vin No makes the frame an Oceania TX 74A and the number is shared with the US 75B.
Engine no XS1B

Shouldn't have any trouble registering it..........mmmm Bikie.........Do a rego check on the vin before trying to register

 

[gggGary]

Aftermarket air caps on forks (air suspension) were all the rage in the 80's, 90's not so much anymore.
The quirky one year only 72 front fork, brake. Might wnat ot look at the details of the triples and how well they installed them on a later frame.

 

[mrtwowheel]

That air thingy is from some other make/model motorcycle. It was for an air assist front suspension. Up to about 12PSI is added to assist in suspension, by the looks of that gasket the cap was added to be used that way, with air. In general, people who have this type of suspension on Hondas do not add air to their forks, it just seems to be a marketing ploy of the time. I am a non-user on my Honda's. It would be a good thing if you were to check those threads before any other work on those forks, and get the right caps.

Scott

 

[Ozplumb]

Great stuff. Thanks for the info guys. So my next question is what to do next? It does run but I haven’t ridden it. Do I get to a point where I can ride it and then tear it down and start again or just cut out the middle man and take it apart and look for a new head and rocker cover?
This is going to be a bit of a slow process as the ministry of finance has really cracked down after this purchase. Also the engine cover have been chromed and not very well. Is there a method I can use to remove it like vapour blasting or something along those lines and then a polish once it’s all been removed?

 

[650Skull]

Yes get it running first to find faults or problems with the charging system and carbs and electrics. Ironing out these things first saves a lot of grief later.........If the header is leaking that will need to be addressed for tuning purposes although not critical.

Replacing the head could be very expensive over here. A fix may be cheaper.

Q; Do the carbs have an angle bar across the bottom holding them both together??

 

[Ozplumb]

Ah ok that’s a good plan of attack. Suprisingly it didn’t come with any air boxes so will the uni foam air filters be the best bet for now?
I’ll post a couple of photos but it doesn’t seem like there any connecting/support bars on the carbs. Yeah you’re not wrong. There isn’t much floating around in Australia at the moment. I’ll ask around about repearing the head if not would something like this out of the U.S work given the year difference?
And there seems to be a hole in the engine casing. Is this something I should be concerned about? I can’t see any oil leaking out of it

 

[5twins]

Don't know where that hole in the engine case came from but I can tell you it shouldn't be there. Almost looks like someone drilled it. It may not be leaking any oil with the bike just sitting there (oil level is below the hole) but may very well do so once it's running.

Your carbs appear to be mismatched as well. They're not '70-'71 units or a '78-'79 set. However, the float bowls appear to be from '78-'79 carbs because they have no overflow drain nipples on the bottoms. They also have the later style drain bolts with no screwdriver slot. And even though your one pic shows a single throttle cable up at the twist grip, your carbs were not originally configured for one cable or as a linked set. The carb bodies appear to fall somewhere in the '72 through '75 range.

Yes, UNI foam pods are your best pod choice. To fit the BS38s, you'll want the UP4200 or UP4200ST (dual layer).

Note the angle bracket in front of the float bowl. This ties the carbs together as a "bank". Also note the casting on the carb body for that angle to attach to. Your carb bodies don't have that casting and that rules them out as being '76-'79 linked carb bodies.

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

Here's the service bulletins for the early engines.
Post #7 has the engine change chronology by serial number.

http://www.xs650.com/threads/yamaha-xs1-xs1b-xs2-tx650-tech-bulletins-service-data-brochures.31022/