sgallaty
Antihero
yeah pretty much what I was planning to run too. straights with a scrubbing pad stuff in em.
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new to forum, new bike, pics!
- Thread starter coughing skunk
- Start date
yeah pretty much what I was planning to run too. straights with a scrubbing pad stuff in em.
coughing skunk
XS650 Addict
I've been in the middle of a horrific move the past two weeks and haven't been able to post any progress. The house we moved into looked like the previous tenants didn't know what a broom/mop/cleaning supplies were, and needless to say the house was un-inhabitable and going through a remodel as we speak. One plus is that we haven't had to pay rent yet and are getting prorated until the place is done 
. Now that things have settled down slightly I've got new news, both good and questionable.
I've had some time to put a couple of miles on the bike and really find out what she needed and wanted, and I'm happy to report that she is in relatively good shape for a 40 year old bike.
I did some research in regards to the parts on my bike and found out that the carbs I have are two right hand VM34 roundslides. After I found this out I smacked myself in the head for asking all of those "where did my choke go" questions. Everything else, as far as I can tell, is/was stock besides the obvious (seat, fender, etc).
Things fixed:
Carb holders -- replaced with TC Bros alum intakes which are awesome, perfect fit for the VM34 roundslides on my bike.
Charging system -- replaced with a PMA swap using a Honda VTR250 stator and the other typical Banshee parts. This mod kicks ass, my bike idles soooooo much better now.
Tail light/brake light -- the PO gave me a taillight with no cover and shoddy connections. I went to O'Reillys and got a turn signal marker and wired it up with some diodes to act as my running/brake light. I used the diodes instead of resistors so that the voltage difference to the bulbs was consistent regardless of current output from the alternator. Looks real good IMO (but maybe I'm biased?
).
Slipping tranny /false neutrals -- I had a hunch that my transmission problems were coming from the shft selector drum spring being broken after reading this thread. My symptoms were spot on to those described in that thread. When I took the right side cover off I found that one side of the spring had snapped off and was just hanging. Once replaced my tranny was able to hold all gears throughout the RPM range.
Speedo -- My speedo was god-awfuly jumpy and predictably unreliable. I had feared that the PO just put a random cheap speedo on and called it good, but a good cleaning of the cable housing brought the speedo back to life. On a side note, the cable housing was FILLED with dirty grease. Like you couldn't blow air through it, gross.
Carbs -- for shits and giggles I took off the carbs and cleaned them, they were spotless when I opened them, but it was good to see the insides regardless.
Various oil leaks -- Replaced the clutch seal, tightened the nut on the front sprocket. Now the ground under my bike is nearly spotless (occasional drip from the breather hoses)
Oil -- Changed it. Old oil was free of contaminants, but smelled like gas and was very very very thin. After some cycles on the new oil the bike sounded better, ran better, and the oil smells fine.
Fuel lines -- replaced with 1/4 inch ID 1/2 OD lines with spring clips.
Okay, now the questionable and unfortunate:
Front brake -- when I bought the bike the front brake was dead. It would grab and then immediately release when the lever was pulled. PO said it could use a bleed, what a moron. I went to bleed the brake with a buddy before a ride and after 15 minutes of back bleeding with no luck
banghead we found that the seal around the M/C piston was eroded and the piston rusted and pitted. -- Can anyone suggest a new M/C?
Exhaust pressure -- At idle the right cylinder fires great. It is consistent and doesn't miss at all. The left cylinder on the other hand tends to miss every couple of cycles and the pressure coming out of the back of the left pipe is significantly lower than the right. That being said, there is a small amount of white smoke out of the left exhaust from a cold start, but it disappears shortly after. The engine pulls hard through the entire RPM range, but I suspect that the left cylinder is limping through it all. No pop, crackles, backfires or anything though. I'm going to test the ignition system first (swap plug wires, get new plugs if that doesn't work). The plugs look good and are not wet with anything. At most they are ever so slightly dark. To me this rules out carb problems, but I'm no pro. Next I was going to check the compression. My fear is that the compression on the left cylinder is going to be low whether due to rings or valves. Any help with this would be amazing.
Oil seepage from the block -- I have definite oil seepage out of the lower main engine gasket. It doesn't leak enough to run or lose any appreciable amount of oil, but I can visibly see the seal getting wet above the left side cover.
All that being said, I am most likely going to overhaul the engine over the winter depending on the compression test. It, if nothing else, will give me a project to keep me out of trouble while I'm not out riding the mountains.
I'll post some pics tonight of the changes once I get home from work.
. Now that things have settled down slightly I've got new news, both good and questionable.I've had some time to put a couple of miles on the bike and really find out what she needed and wanted, and I'm happy to report that she is in relatively good shape for a 40 year old bike.
I did some research in regards to the parts on my bike and found out that the carbs I have are two right hand VM34 roundslides. After I found this out I smacked myself in the head for asking all of those "where did my choke go" questions. Everything else, as far as I can tell, is/was stock besides the obvious (seat, fender, etc).
Things fixed:
Carb holders -- replaced with TC Bros alum intakes which are awesome, perfect fit for the VM34 roundslides on my bike.
Charging system -- replaced with a PMA swap using a Honda VTR250 stator and the other typical Banshee parts. This mod kicks ass, my bike idles soooooo much better now.
Tail light/brake light -- the PO gave me a taillight with no cover and shoddy connections. I went to O'Reillys and got a turn signal marker and wired it up with some diodes to act as my running/brake light. I used the diodes instead of resistors so that the voltage difference to the bulbs was consistent regardless of current output from the alternator. Looks real good IMO (but maybe I'm biased?
).Slipping tranny /false neutrals -- I had a hunch that my transmission problems were coming from the shft selector drum spring being broken after reading this thread. My symptoms were spot on to those described in that thread. When I took the right side cover off I found that one side of the spring had snapped off and was just hanging. Once replaced my tranny was able to hold all gears throughout the RPM range.
Speedo -- My speedo was god-awfuly jumpy and predictably unreliable. I had feared that the PO just put a random cheap speedo on and called it good, but a good cleaning of the cable housing brought the speedo back to life. On a side note, the cable housing was FILLED with dirty grease. Like you couldn't blow air through it, gross.
Carbs -- for shits and giggles I took off the carbs and cleaned them, they were spotless when I opened them, but it was good to see the insides regardless.
Various oil leaks -- Replaced the clutch seal, tightened the nut on the front sprocket. Now the ground under my bike is nearly spotless (occasional drip from the breather hoses)
Oil -- Changed it. Old oil was free of contaminants, but smelled like gas and was very very very thin. After some cycles on the new oil the bike sounded better, ran better, and the oil smells fine.
Fuel lines -- replaced with 1/4 inch ID 1/2 OD lines with spring clips.
Okay, now the questionable and unfortunate:
Front brake -- when I bought the bike the front brake was dead. It would grab and then immediately release when the lever was pulled. PO said it could use a bleed, what a moron. I went to bleed the brake with a buddy before a ride and after 15 minutes of back bleeding with no luck
banghead we found that the seal around the M/C piston was eroded and the piston rusted and pitted. -- Can anyone suggest a new M/C?Exhaust pressure -- At idle the right cylinder fires great. It is consistent and doesn't miss at all. The left cylinder on the other hand tends to miss every couple of cycles and the pressure coming out of the back of the left pipe is significantly lower than the right. That being said, there is a small amount of white smoke out of the left exhaust from a cold start, but it disappears shortly after. The engine pulls hard through the entire RPM range, but I suspect that the left cylinder is limping through it all. No pop, crackles, backfires or anything though. I'm going to test the ignition system first (swap plug wires, get new plugs if that doesn't work). The plugs look good and are not wet with anything. At most they are ever so slightly dark. To me this rules out carb problems, but I'm no pro. Next I was going to check the compression. My fear is that the compression on the left cylinder is going to be low whether due to rings or valves. Any help with this would be amazing.
Oil seepage from the block
-- I have definite oil seepage out of the lower main engine gasket. It doesn't leak enough to run or lose any appreciable amount of oil, but I can visibly see the seal getting wet above the left side cover.All that being said, I am most likely going to overhaul the engine over the winter depending on the compression test. It, if nothing else, will give me a project to keep me out of trouble while I'm not out riding the mountains.
I'll post some pics tonight of the changes once I get home from work.
coughing skunk
XS650 Addict
Some pics to go with the update:
New tail (no its not crooked, I'm just awful at the photo thing)
Some of the weeping from the lower gasket
Left carb and new intake and my finger
Right carb
Regulator/rectifier in a temp spot, notice the one screw
Dash setup -- anyone seen this speedo before? Has an odometer on it and reads 65MPH = 22xx RPM
New tail (no its not crooked, I'm just awful at the photo thing)
Some of the weeping from the lower gasket
Left carb and new intake and my finger
Right carb
Regulator/rectifier in a temp spot, notice the one screw
Dash setup -- anyone seen this speedo before? Has an odometer on it and reads 65MPH = 22xx RPM
Synch the carbs next. Good chance that will even up how the cylinders act at idle.
There are a couple of recent threads on tightening cylinder head bolts. Done properly it has stopped leaks much worse than yours.
Yes I certainly suggest a new master cylinder.
There are a couple of recent threads on tightening cylinder head bolts. Done properly it has stopped leaks much worse than yours.
Yes I certainly suggest a new master cylinder
.coughing skunk
XS650 Addict
I've been contemplating this. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but once I tighten the head bolts I would need to adjust the cam chain then adjust the valves then adjust the timing?
Thanks for the help!
Also, I read somewhere that it is possible to swap the idle mix screw from side to side on the VM34's. Does anyone know if this is true, and if so is there any documentation available on how to do so?
Cam chain if you're anal. Valves, no. (if you have done them already) The main trick is loosen each acorn nut until it "cracks loose" before tightening.
coughing skunk
XS650 Addict
Looks like I know what I'll be doing after (my last day of!!) work today. I checked the valves last week and they were within spec, and I'm certainly not worried about the cam chain if you don't suggest I be. I just wanted to ensure that my timing wouldn't be too incredibly off as I don't have a timing light (albeit I have more multi-meters than I would like to admit) and I've never done timing on a motor before and don't want to dive into it just quite yet.
pregrid
XS650 Guru
That speedo is from Mike's XS. I have a similar one on my tracker ('cept with a trip), says the same thing. Makes no sense.
Timings is easy AND important. Check static time with your VOM then idle speed and high speed (3000 RPM) timing, watch for the advance to be smooth and consistent. I think a sticky advance may be the #1 cause of holed pistons on XS650s not to mention a few aching knees, ankles, and insteps.
coughing skunk
XS650 Addict
I feel confident enough to do the static timing with my multimeter, but will I be able to test the idle and high speed timing with it? My instincts tell me no as the meter will be in a constant state of flux.
You are right you need a timing light but they are cheap to buy, used on ebay looks like a good way to get a good one cheap, the harbor fright ones are junk stay away.
I went with brass wool pads for one reason: most of what is sold as Stainless Steel is very low grade Stainless and will rust just like steel wool. Brass wool will last longer.
Now if by chance your stainless still won't stick to a magnet then you might have the good stuff.
Either way, as long as it remains in the pipe, both will work the same.
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