New XS owner here

[wordyahurdd]

Hello all,

I purchased a 1977 Xs650 yesterday, and I think I may have bitten off more than I wanted to chew. I used to have a Buell XB9 I could jump on and ride anywhere, and I thought this bike was more "ready to ride"rather than a project.

From what I can see I need to do the following before I ride it:
1. Flush/fill the brakes
2. Wire up headlamp & mount it
3. Mount turn signals/rear brake light
4. Wire them up
5. Get mufflers & install mufflers
6. Could use a new clutch cable as it is kind of sticky

I need to do all that before I can ride it. The bike also came with the original seat, spare tank, homemade fender, new tires, fairing for around headlight, original tail light & 32' Ford tail light, F/R turn signals, new battery.

What concerns me is that the bike sounds like "marbles in a can"when I try the electric start & it is also very difficult to move when in Neutral (N lights up on instrument cluster).
Anyone know why it's hard to move even in neutral?

Is there any suggestions for mufflers? And an easy wiring schematic for wiring up my lights? Does the spaghetti wiring in the front look normal? I feel there's a lot of excess wiring here.

 

[AG650]

Welcome to the board...a set of pipes can be found cheap on ebay. The "marbles in a can" isnt that uncommon. Mine does the same but still works....i kick it anyways. The spaghetti inside the headlight bucket may not look like it but will all fit back inside. Id clean them carbs and make sure they are jetted correctly for those filters. check the air pressure in your tires.....that may be your pushing problem, or you may have a stuck caliper. Grab some beer...you're going to need some lol. A service manual will help you with the wiring and a ton of other things.

 

[Downeaster]

I know you don't want to hear this, but what you have there is a beater.

I wouldn't even start it until I'd been through it stem to stern. New tires for sure, those are toast.

Most folks here could give you a laundry list of things to check/clean/adjust/replace.

If you just put gas in it and do the minimum to get it started (and it will, it's amazing how screwed up these motors can be and still run) you'll be chasing gremlins forever.

Your call of course, but I'd take a patience pill and strip that sucker down to the bare frame and fix everything as I put it back together.

 

[nj1639]

Appears to be a '78 Special with the rear disc brake.
Looks like it could use a lot of love.

 

[grepper]

Welcome, Good to see another member from the mitten. I'm near Grand Rapids.

I would agree, that bike needs a lit of love. Tires for sure, even if they hold air, old tires can be dangerous. Those emgo air filters are crap.

Go through the tech section and start reading http://www.xs650.com/tech.php

 

[RFeng]

Hello and welcome! Take heart! That bike needs you - and all your answers can be found on this site - or from the members here You will enjoy the results of your hard work.

 

[fredintoon]

Hello all,

I purchased a 1977 Xs650 yesterday, and I think I may have bitten off more than I wanted to chew. I used to have a Buell XB9 I could jump on and ride anywhere, and I thought this bike was more "ready to ride"rather than a project.

From what I can see I need to do the following before I ride it:
1. Flush/fill the brakes
2. Wire up headlamp & mount it
3. Mount turn signals/rear brake light
4. Wire them up
5. Get mufflers & install mufflers
6. Could use a new clutch cable as it is kind of sticky

I need to do all that before I can ride it. The bike also came with the original seat, spare tank, homemade fender, new tires, fairing for around headlight, original tail light & 32' Ford tail light, F/R turn signals, new battery.

What concerns me is that the bike sounds like "marbles in a can"when I try the electric start & it is also very difficult to move when in Neutral (N lights up on instrument cluster).
Anyone know why it's hard to move even in neutral?

Is there any suggestions for mufflers? And an easy wiring schematic for wiring up my lights? Does the spaghetti wiring in the front look normal? I feel there's a lot of excess wiring here.

Hi Word and welcome,
you didn't say if the bike had it's papers, don't spend an hour or a dollar on it before it's in your name.
Before it rolls a yard, put the new tires on it.
Starter noise? There's this famous but likely apocryphal exchange from the 1920s
Unhappy customer:- "The motor sounds like a bucketful of ball bearings being poured onto an iron plate."
Ettoire Bugatti:- "From what you describe, the motor is running perfectly."
Hard to push? Most likely the brakes are dragging. Jack up each wheel in turn and try to spin it.
If the mufflers have been sawn off to show the twin-wall header ends fit the slip-ons of your choice and use a 1-3/8" to 1-1/2" muffler adapter to make sure the slip-on connects with the inner pipe.
And alas, the wiring rats nest is normal. It's amazing how the factory managed to cram it all into the headlight shell.

 

[wordyahurdd]

I plan on applying for a title after work today!

Also, I think the exhaust wasn't cut, but I could be wrong

 

[grepper]

Stock those pipes are double walled. Looks like they were cut and the walls wielded together.

 

[fredintoon]

I plan on applying for a title after work today!
Also, I think the exhaust wasn't cut, but I could be wrong

Hi word,
oh yes and not only cut.
The gap between the inner and outer headers has been welded shut.
Which is one way of dealing with the complication of connecting slip-on mufflers to the inner pipe.
Because the gap is filled with weld (which is better than using muffler paste) you can fit the slip-ons of your choice over the outside.
Right after you get the title.

 

[retiredgentleman]

I hope you didn't pay very much for that bike, because you sure didn't get much. "Ready to ride".....................no, no, no , not a chance! Looks like the previous owner just gave up in frustration, and you may also be headed down that path.

Downeaster, just gave you the best advice. A bike like that that has been neglected and maybe tortured over the years, will take a lot of work, a lot of money, and a lot of research on this site to bring it back to "Ready to ride". The electrical system, which is essential to a reliable bike, looks to be on its death bed. I hope you are good at reading electrical diagrams.

As Downeaster said, if you just do a quick fix-er-up to make it run, you'll become very frustrated as it will be nothing but a series of problem after problem.

If you plan to ride this summer, that is not the bike for you. Better to sell it for what you can get, and buy a bike that is less than 15 years old, and is actually in running condition.

On the other hand, if you plan to spend all your spare time working on the bike in your garage, and watching other people ride their bikes, this is the bike for you.

 

[Brassneck]

Before everyone scares you away (lol) take heart, other than the headlight, it may very well be a simple assembly to get it running. Without knowing it's history, hard to know what the motor is like... But a few weeks checking all the wires, connections an lights, etc... It may not be all that bad.

"Ready to ride" no, but you probably knew that before you bought it.

Advise above is solid...I'd take a weekend and go through the wires, check for compression, and determine if it's worth the effort.

Then I'd go find a modern bike to ride around with for the summer and work on the project bike over the next 6-9 months.

Good luck,