Newbie Starting a Father/Son Project

[bparsons]

Hi... new to the forum and getting ready to start a new project with my 5-year old son (a bucket list item for me). Planning to pick up the bike this morning... anxious to start diving into it and documenting the process. Will post pics shortly.

The bike is a 1974 650 that's been in storage for years but looks pretty straight and currently runs. I don't know much more than that. My plan is to spend a week or so assessing the bike and planning our approach. At this point, I'm thinking of a stock restoration but am open to suggestions. The primary goal being to get my son and I turning a wrench together and getting into a project we can handle.

This will be my first bike and restoration so pardon my ignorance! All feedback and advice welcome.

Wish me luck - headed out to pick up the bike now.

 

[nj1639]

Welcome aboard and Good Luck! Consider resto-mod as in stock but improved.
Post some pics when you can. Exciting, ain't it?

 

[crashcourse]

Welcome to the forum! I'll second the resto-mod. Take it slow, fix what's wrong, and change what you don't like (look in the tech section for ideas).

 

[Machi]

Sounds like a great project. My son is a 'bit' older, but here's a thread to our project:
http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23837

 

[bparsons]

Thanks for the feedback. I will look into the rest-mod approach.

Machi - thanks for forwarding... very cool bike.

 

[bparsons]

Well, managed to pick up the bike and trailered it home. It fired right up (kick starter, e-start doesn't seem to work) and sounded good. The bike looks pretty straight but has definitely been sitting for a lot of years. See pics below. Hope to get some better ones.

 

[CDNTX650]

Probably the worst color of the whole xs/tx 650 range...okay it is..

Good find.

Posted via Mobile

 

[nj1639]

The root beer '74......as unique as them all. Very nice and in what appears to be stock form. Good score!

 

[bparsons]

Ha... the color is pretty bad!

I've had a day to poke around and so far, so good. The bike is very straight and is running pretty good. Lots of petina (read - super dirty) and standard road wear, but I think it has potential. Here are my notes so far:

1 - the bike fires up pretty quickly with the kick starter and idles easily. The E-starter is not working... sounds like a flat spot or something. It does try occasionally, but normally just produces a buzz-type sound.

2 - all of the electric seems to work - headlight (low and high beam), blinkers (front and rear), brake light (both hand and foot brake), and horn are in good working order.

3 - the bike is numbers matching - SN 447-004512 on both steering column and engine. Looks like sticker on column is intact but I haven't cleaned it off to try and read it. Does this show build date and any options?

4 - speaking of options, did these bike have any optional equipment? The bike has a sissy bar on it, which I assume is aftermarket. I'm planning to remove because I'm not crazy about the look of it. Thoughts?

That's the latest. Next up - oil change and check the plugs. All advise welcome!

 

[Machi]

Nice - looks solid. Cleaning that will take some careful work but should pay off. Plenty patina! And as Neil Young says, 'Rust never sleeps.' (At least here in NM it takes long naps).

Optional equipment is available all over the place, tho not much is Yamaha original. hundreds of thousands of these made over 13 years means there is a great after market out there.

The electric systems on these bikes are notorious under powered and over loaded. There are lots of great mods for that. (I just installed a PMA on my '75). Your starter problem could just be old cracked wires, corroded connections and/or weak voltage.

Do you have a repair manual?

Here's a link to the very essential parts manual (God bless Biker.Net): http://www.biker.net/74-76_650_parts/650abc%20parts%20main.html

Get to work!

 

[DozerDan]

When I got mine I could not get the electric starter to work either, new battery fixed that.

 

[bparsons]

So here's the latest (following the steps in 650SKULL's thread - thanks for the step-by-step, Skull):

http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=367

- Oil change didn't raise any new worries... oil didn't show any odd colors, debris, smells. Just dark and old, but nothing to worry me.

- Checked plugs (which seem to look new) and they seem to fall under the category of "wet plugs - oil fouled (due to excessive choking)" per the link to dansmc.com. See pics on next post (sorry, they aren't the greatest). Now for a couple of questions on this topic:

1) what do you make of the look of these plugs - am I correct that they are oil fouled? Is that a big deal or not a big deal. I haven't put any miles on the bike yet... does that impact it? Should I be worried about this at all?

2) these plugs that came with the bike are NGK B8ES, which seem to be the factory correct/recommended plugs. Most discussions here or on 650 Central seem to recommend BP7ES plugs however. I have also seen on 650 Central that the Iridiums (BPR7EIX) are highly recommended and help with starting the bike (see above regarding E-starter issues). Should I be changing to the 7ES or the iridiums, or should I stop worrying about it and move on?

Last question... the E-starter comments above are saying to go for a new battery. The current battery does seem to be old and in need of replacing. Should I go with the AGM-style battery? It sounds like a 14AH battery is recommended - is this enough? What's my best bet if I want the battery that will give me the best chance of resolving the E-starter issue?

 

[bparsons]

Here is a pic of my plugs:



Oil Fouled or OK? Thoughts?

 

[Machi]

I'll leave it to others to respond about the plugs.
I switched to sealed AGM battery on my '80 over 5 years ago. Just replaced it a couple of months ago. Then got another for my '82. Model X2-14L.
Both these bikes are electronic ignition and need upgrades (like PMA, PAMCO etc). But with these batteries I have been able to put that off (yeah - I'm cheap and lazy).
The batteries are worth the extra cost to me.
(Of course, I tend to pull the headlight fuse on the '80 when riding around town in daylight.)

 

[MVLUV]

For a quick check on your starter hook up jumper leads to a car or known good battery and if it turns over consistently it's your battery.
Check all earth points first.
Is that a shelby cobra in the background?

 

[bparsons]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll test the battery as you suggest MVLUV... hoping this fixes the starter. If so, will go with the AGM battery.

MVLUV - yes on the cobra, good eye! I'm actually a car guy and this is my first bike.

 

[bparsons]

Just got the Oil filters out and found them to be in good shape.

Side Oil filter:
[/ATTACH][/ATTACH]

Sump Oil Filter:
[/ATTACH][/ATTACH][/ATTACH]

The sump was brutal to remove. The six screws came out easy but then had to hammer and pry the filter cover off.

Any suggestions on how to clean? Use a solvent? And how about how to seal it or should I have a new gasket?

Once I get the filters cleaned and reassembled, I'll get new oil in and then can test the starter and do compression test.

All comments or suggestions welcome.