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Willholmania

XS650 Enthusiast
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Morning all. Long suffering Triumph T140 Bonneville owner here, but only until next Tuesday when I exchange it for this '77 XS650. Hoping it's going to be everything I wanted the T140 to be. I don't have time to be a full time mechanic, so the Triumph has to go. Excited about the XS. It's just come back from the States, where it's been in storage for many years. I plan to strip and clean the tanks & carbs, overhaul the brakes, fit new tyres, change the oil and hit the road - hopefully.
 

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Good Morning, Will (if I may?). Welcome to the forum.

My story not dissimilar to yours. Few years ago, bought a 1970 TR6 - one of the very last pre-OIF Triumphs. To ride, absolutely everything a gentleman's motorbike should be. Compact, looked and felt just right, good handling, enough power, at least for the quiet country roads we have around here, nearly enough brakes and a wonderful soundtrack. Four speed, which was all the easy going engine needed.

But - and why is there always a but? - even after I completely rebuild it, still developed oil leaks. Could never make the push rod tubes reliably continent. Or the rocker boxes. And occasionally wet-sumped, which made it impossible to kick over. In the end, it had to go.

Bought an XS650 and although I didn't consciously think of it as a replacement, it plays the same role as a practical classic motorbike which I can just jump on and enjoy whenever I want to.

That soon-to-be-yours XS, a 1977 if I'm not mistaken, looks lovely and I'm sure you will be happy together.

You might add giving the electrics a good going over to your list. But you will have a good reliable bike. Keep us up to date and post loads of photos - the folk around here love pictures. Cheers, Raymond
 
Hi Ray. My T140 needed a complete rebuild really. And much as I love fiddling I just don't have the time at the moment. Besides, I figured that even after the rebuild it would still be unreliable - and I was assured it would be by several mates who had the things from new. They also said that one day when they were gathered in the local town, a local lad who'd got a well paid job as a lighthouse keeper turned up on his new bike. He'd always ridden Triumphs, but had just bought an XS650. He never looked back.

A practical classic motorbike is exactly what I want. And I'm pretty confident that once I've got the XS sorted, it'll stay sorted. Something that sadly couldn't be said for the Triumph.

And yes - it's a 1977 bike.
 
Welcome to the site. Nice looking machine that you are getting. XS650's are kind of like Triumphs but they don't leak. lol I messed with Triumph's a lot but finally sold them and my Whitworth tools. Parts are very available and much less expensive with the XS's . Also there is no place better on earth than this site for getting help and encouragement...........

tim
 
Welcome to the madhouse. Shame you thought so little of your T140, but a good second is the XS650, you may miss the urgency of the Triumph engine, that can by the way be made very reliable and leak free. Of course it takes time and experience to sort out a Triumph, equally so an XS, just take a moment or two sift through the posts and see how many people have many problems.
I do like my XS but by the same token I like the lightness of my Triumph, electric start is a bonus on the XS as years roll on.
You will find no better place than this for any concerns you have, the folks on this site are very knowledgable and free with their advice.
I’m sure you will enjoy your new baby. Have fun.
 
Rasputin said:
Welcome to the madhouse. Shame you thought so little of your T140, but a good second is the XS650, you may miss the urgency of the Triumph engine, that can by the way be made very reliable and leak free. Of course it takes time and experience to sort out a Triumph, equally so an XS, just take a moment or two sift through the posts and see how many people have many problems.
I do like my XS but by the same token I like the lightness of my Triumph, electric start is a bonus on the XS as years roll on.
You will find no better place than this for any concerns you have, the folks on this site are very knowledgable and free with their advice.
I’m sure you will enjoy your new baby. Have fun.
Click to expand...

I always wanted a Triumph, but it just required too much of my time. I also have old cars and I'm doing up our house. Plus work, of course. It's sat a year now with me not finding time to work on it. I'm hoping the XS will be a little less demanding of my time.
 
Welcome to the forum Will,
I had a couple Triumphs myself, still a fan , oil leaks and all. I’ve also had three XS650’s , I don’t think you’ll regret getting one. Sometimes they take a little effort getting them dialed in , they are over four decades old, but usually once you get them sorted they tend to be eminently reliable bikes. Good luck with your new bike and I hope to see you around the forum!
 
Nice bike, and one of the most desirable models as you'll probably discover as you get more into these bikes. But, being old bikes, they all need a good going through when you get one. As mentioned, check over the wiring and electrics. The wiring isn't necessarily bad on these, it's just that the vibration is prone to rubbing wires bare in spots and loosening connections. So, check it all out from stem to stern. I start at the tail light and work my way to the front, up into the headlight bucket.

As I mentioned, you have a very good model, but there's still lots of little low cost tweaks and improvements you can do to it, most outlined on the site here somewhere. You can upgrade the reliability and function of the charging system by installing an automotive regulator, improve the front fork function by implementing the basically free Minton Mods, and improve the front brake function by installing a stainless line and drilling the disc. Many of us also change out the MC to one slightly smaller to get better brake "feel" and modulation.
 
Thanks for the tips. I will go through the loom, clean the connections and add a little electrical grease to them. I plan on fitting a stainless brake hose as I wouldn't;t trust the old one and I can make one cheaper than buying a genuine one. The Minton Mods sound cool - I'll have to look them up.
 
Willholmania said:
I'm hoping the XS will be a little less demanding of my time.
Click to expand...

Welcome from KC as well! Having owned my fair share of Triumph's, BSA's, Norton's and XS650's... I'll give the reliability to the XS hands down. But.... (ain't there always) as others point out, it most likely won't be less demanding initially. Unless you get a lot luckier than most of us poor sods here, you're gonna put in a fair bit of time making it reliable. I don't say that to discourage you... I say that so that you won't get discouraged when the inevitable pile of little things crop up. Forewarned is forearmed as the saying goes. Stick with it though and you'll be rewarded with an antique classic that will reliably take you anywhere you want to go.
 
That 77's a Beauty ! Lucky find to get a hold of one so complete. You may have discovered just how wonderful that stock exhaust sounds ? Look around in the gallery etc and You'll figure out how rare it is to have those mufflers !
An original 77 is one of the best :cool:
 
Yes, it usually takes me a couple seasons to sort through one of these. Once you have it up and running, you can "ride and wrench" on the thing. After sorting my 1st one, it's served me reliably for nearly 15 years now. It recently developed a charging issue but I can't complain after all the years of good service it's given. I've got a couple seasons on my 2nd one now and it's nearly sorted. So far it's been good.
 
Nice bike Will. These late 70's standards seem to be the high water mark for desirability, for me at least. As you will see in in the various garage threads, there is almost no "shortcomings" on these bikes which can't be permanently and effectively remedied. Brit bikes are such a love-hate thing. So pretty. So light. So infuriating. It's sad that something that was in production from the mid 30s still had so many problems, but a war and chronic under investment in r&d will do that I suppose.
 
5twins said:
Many of us also change out the MC to one slightly smaller to get better brake "feel" and modulation.
Click to expand...

To pick up that point 5T made - my XS, is a 1978 SE and one thing I did not like about it was the 'wooden' brakes, no feel. You squeezed, and the bike slowed down, but barely any lever movement. So in addition to replacing the two-section rubber brake hose with a single run of Hel stainless line, cost me £30, I also replaced the whole master cylinder with an RD250 one, £36. This was money well spent and has greatly improved the front brake feel.
 

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