enchained
XS650 Member
Welp I spent some quality time in the garage today. The handlebars and shocks ($60 eBay China specials) made a world of difference, TOTALLY different ride, handles delightfully now. I'll probably go through the forks this winter. The shocks seem to have jacked up the rear end to the point that I need to add some material to the kickstand so it doesn't fall over - it stays up on it's own but if i stand up on the peg to get my leg over it'll tip right over!
I also went through maintenance stuff, adjusted timing chain tensioner (was a *little* loose but not real bad), adjusted valves (were tight). I hooked the vacuum back up to the petcock and it does in fact work - I left the valve in the line so I still have a shutoff, and I have reserve again, so yay. Fixed a bad ground in the taillight, only one of the two bulbs was working... rerouted the clutch cable, PO had replaced it and it was just hanging loose on the left side of the bike. The shorter bars kinda messed the cables up but I got everything working...the clutch sure is touchy, but I think that's just the way they are after reading. I think the oil seepage I was smelling is from the head gasket, it looks a little wet around there...is this something I need to deal with in a hurry? It's not leaking a significant amount, I don't think I would have noticed if not for the smell.
Here's an updated picture
I also went through maintenance stuff, adjusted timing chain tensioner (was a *little* loose but not real bad), adjusted valves (were tight). I hooked the vacuum back up to the petcock and it does in fact work - I left the valve in the line so I still have a shutoff, and I have reserve again, so yay. Fixed a bad ground in the taillight, only one of the two bulbs was working... rerouted the clutch cable, PO had replaced it and it was just hanging loose on the left side of the bike. The shorter bars kinda messed the cables up but I got everything working...the clutch sure is touchy, but I think that's just the way they are after reading. I think the oil seepage I was smelling is from the head gasket, it looks a little wet around there...is this something I need to deal with in a hurry? It's not leaking a significant amount, I don't think I would have noticed if not for the smell.
Here's an updated picture
