New xs owner and forum member

[Oversby94]

Hello, everyone. My names Stephen and I'm a newbie owner of an '81 xs650, and newbie forum member.

My Dad (60 yrs.) bought an 82 xj650 maxim in need of work last fall, and I was telling him about bobbers I stumbled upon, looking up old school bikes.

The more research I did for him, the more my interest in a Yamaha bobber grew.

Fast forward to this spring when we both got our street bike licences together, and after riding a bit he felt he needed a bigger bike, and was looking to get rid of his maxim. I decided I might try my hand a building a bike.

I started looking into all the work I would've loved to do to customize the bike to my taste and the cost added up quickly. The money wasn't the biggest road block, but that, coupled with work and having 3 kids (girl 7, boy 4, boy again 7 months) spare time is extremely limited, as I'm sure lots of guys/girls are aware. The dream was at a stand still for the time being.

But researching the bikes led me to find a bike for sale a few hours away. Once I rode it it was love at first feel. I've ridden dirt bikes, trikes, quads my whole life, as I grew up in the country, but this was my first taste of my own street bike, and I'm hooked. I bought the bike and am in love with it so far. I'm real keen on learning the nuts and bolts and inner workings to be able to do the work on it myself, and pass the knowledge I gain onto my kids.

Anyways I'm rambling, so here's my bike (any comments or suggestions are appreciated!)

 

[Oversby94]

More pictures,

 

[Oversby94]

Another....

 

[Oversby94]

One more....

 

[Oversby94]

Spec sheet from previous owner, (picture quality is not too hot so I apologize)....

 

[fredintoon]

Hi Oversby and welcome,
Nice bike if you like hardtails.
Even if you don't, there's been a load of work been done to upgrade the engine and the dual front brake conversion is a nice touch.
Although the photos look like it's still running fabric brake hoses?
I'd suggest upgrading to stainless hoses, they really do work better.
I'd also swap in a stock front fender and add a TKAT fork brace to keep the front end steady.

 

[scabber]

Welcome. Ready to ride the only way to fly. The stock fender is a good idea and saves you and the bike from rocks and dirt. Looks well built. Looks like a fun ride.

 

[figure8]

I agree on the brake line. As far as the dual disc up front, I think it's overkill. Those rotors are nice looking though. Just a thought but you could sell one those rotors and calipers and upgrade to a Brembo caliper. More than enough stopping power and cleans up the look a little.

 

[Oversby94]

Hi Oversby and welcome,
Nice bike if you like hardtails.
Even if you don't, there's been a load of work been done to upgrade the engine and the dual front brake conversion is a nice touch.
Although the photos look like it's still running fabric brake hoses?
I'd suggest upgrading to stainless hoses, they really do work better.
I'd also swap in a stock front fender and add a TKAT fork brace to keep the front end steady.

Thanks for reply fredintoon. A fellow canadian, how's it goin' eh?

Yeah, I like the hard tail look. Its not a long trip bike by any means but it suits my needs fine so far.

I'm real new to the xs650 game but the motor work done to this bike, would've been costly to do to another starter bike (especially with shipping and the low canadian dollar). I was happy to find one that was fairly done up by my newbie standards of course.

My first purchase was going to be a fork brace, but I was tossing the idea of a springer front end around eventually. To be cost effective I'll most likely keep the forks as is. Probably go with a HHB fork brace as I'm curious to try some of his stuff out.

Was thinking of trying out solid riser bushings as well to tighten up front end. Any thoughts?

Thanks for the input.

 

[Oversby94]

Welcome. Ready to ride the only way to fly. The stock fender is a good idea and saves you and the bike from rocks and dirt. Looks well built. Looks like a fun ride.

Hello scabber, thanks for the welcome.

I've got a fender on the front but it's a modified scooter fender I believe. Not real big. I'm not sure if it's on the stock fender mounts.



Thanks for the well built comment. I hope my gut and your opinion are right.

It definitely is a fun ride. It surprised the hell out if me when I rode it the first time, comparing it to a stock '82 650 maxim. It's hard not to take off like a bat out of hell every time I leave the garage, haha.

 

[Oversby94]

I agree on the brake line. As far as the dual disc up front, I think it's overkill. Those rotors are nice looking though. Just a thought but you could sell one those rotors and calipers and upgrade to a Brembo caliper. More than enough stopping power and cleans up the look a little.

Figure8, thanks for taking time to add a suggestion.

I hadn't really given the dual front discs a lot of thought, but you suggestion makes a lot of sense. How much would a Brembo caliper run a guy? I've heard them mentioned before.

One of my goals this winter is to clean up the front end and handle bars as they are too busy for my liking for sure. Removing a disc, caliper, and brake line is possibly a good place to start.

Brake lines are not stainless, so an upgrade of that nature is a definite possibility.

Current brake lines (is this what you guys are referring to as fabric lines?)

 

[figure8]

Yes on the brake lines, contact Dan at Pandemonium. He sells new and used brembo calipers along with the adapter kit you would need. Selling a rotor and caliper would help make up the difference. I think I paid around $140 for my used brembo and adapter kit from Dan.

 

[figure8]

http://www.pandemoniumc2.com

 

[fredintoon]

Hi Oversby,
your fender photo looks like it's a stock XS650 fender's inner mount with a smaller lighter blade bolted to it.
That inner mount does give some fork support, a fork brace will give more.
I've nothing bad to say about Pandemonium except that they are located in the USA.
What with cross-border hassles and the way the Canadian Dollar is sliding down the crapper I'd suggest going with a Canadian supplier instead.
These guys (this is their brake line page, BTW) :-
https://www.canadasmotorcycle.ca/street-bike/parts.html?cat=1167&gclid=CJ7x_Nf5tb0CFewRMwod83wAcw
are OK to deal with, have a great returns policy and stock most anything you'd want.
If you decide to go back to a single disk, they also stock front brake master cylinders.
You'll need one with a smaller piston diameter, say 13mm or 14mm, because the stock m/c you have is way too big to work nicely when only operating a single caliper.
IMHO, dual disks look better and they'll fade less on continuous braking but they do add to the bike's unsprung weight which will adversely effect handling.
However, these differences are only noticed on the extreme edge of hard riding, so go with the look you like best, eh?

 

[Brassneck]

Good looking bike, and welcome to the group!

for the look, I'd keep the dual brakes...there already there, and doesn't cost you anything to keep them.

I'd switch to SS brake lines as suggested, really easy to do..cost is cheap, and noticeable improvement.

And personally, I think your bike would look AWESOME with clip-ons to replace the renthals, or whatever those handlebars are.

Have fun!

 

[fredintoon]

- - - I think your bike would look AWESOME with clip-ons to replace the renthals, or whatever those handlebars are. - - -

Hi Brassneck,
not if the rider was all hunched over with his brewer's goitre squashed onto the gas tank it wouldn't.
The ONLY important thing about 'bars is that they give the operator an ergonomic riding position.
And fitting 'bars is like buying shoes; what fits one won't necessarily fit another.
Took me a few tries to replace my bike's rototillers with something more suitable.
Eurobars:- too low. CB750 bars:- too high. GT750 bars, perfect!
But only for riding solo. Took me a few more swaparounds to get the perfect sidecar bars.
If Oversby ain't happy with how his bars fit, perhaps he should try a swapmeet?
Winnipeg should be the closest if there ain't one in Portage or Brandon?
Amongst all those Hell's Angels prospects selling each other used parts of dubious provenance there's almost always a table full of used bars to pick up and check out.
But take a caliper!
Sure, you can eyeball the difference between a 1" bar and a 7/8" bar but BMW bars are 22mm (7/8" = 22.2 mm) and that small difference will give you large problems.

 

[Oversby94]

Hi Oversby,
your fender photo looks like it's a stock XS650 fender's inner mount with a smaller lighter blade bolted to it.
That inner mount does give some fork support, a fork brace will give more.
I've nothing bad to say about Pandemonium except that they are located in the USA.
What with cross-border hassles and the way the Canadian Dollar is sliding down the crapper I'd suggest going with a Canadian supplier instead.
These guys (this is their brake line page, BTW) :-
https://www.canadasmotorcycle.ca/street-bike/parts.html?cat=1167&gclid=CJ7x_Nf5tb0CFewRMwod83wAcw
are OK to deal with, have a great returns policy and stock most anything you'd want.
If you decide to go back to a single disk, they also stock front brake master cylinders.
You'll need one with a smaller piston diameter, say 13mm or 14mm, because the stock m/c you have is way too big to work nicely when only operating a single caliper.
IMHO, dual disks look better and they'll fade less on continuous braking but they do add to the bike's unsprung weight which will adversely effect handling.
However, these differences are only noticed on the extreme edge of hard riding, so go with the look you like best, eh?

Sorry I've been away from forum for a bit.

Thanks for advice and link to a canadian supplier fredintoon, I appreciate it.

I ended up ordering a Hugh's hand built fork brace and am anxious to put it on.

 

[Oversby94]

Good looking bike, and welcome to the group!

for the look, I'd keep the dual brakes...there already there, and doesn't cost you anything to keep them.

I'd switch to SS brake lines as suggested, really easy to do..cost is cheap, and noticeable improvement.

And personally, I think your bike would look AWESOME with clip-ons to replace the renthals, or whatever those handlebars are.

Have fun!

Thanks for the compliment Brassneck, it's nice to hear it from people with knowledge and appreciation for the bikes.

I'm going to go through my bike this winter, and from forum members suggestions, ss brake lines are on my list of to-do's.

The bars definitely have a rental look, but they fit my height well as I'm just a little guy (5'6") I don't have any experience with other bars so I'm kind of going with what I've got for now. (Plus I blew my wodd on buying the bike so I've got to tread lightly on buying more. Or so my wife tells me!)