'nother New Guy?

Spockwerks

Spockwerks

NAMAZU Pez de Terremoto
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Spockwerks calling, nice to see you.
New to the list, been riding my '83 XS650 "Namazu the Earthquake Fish" for 30 years. Time for a change. Just ordered a Monstercraftsman Brat Kit and am thinking 750cc kits. Turning things inside out kinda like graffiti style and that means paint. Seeing color on the frame, maybe pot black on the tins, any thoughts? I do like what I have been seeing on the web these days, fresh, bold, kids building bikes older than they are, and this is where it's happening. I am a retired Art Teacher, made a great career out of breaking the rules and getting away with it. A rebel among rebels. I can attest with pride that not one of my students has ever been afraid of me, and I have taught every Art class from PreK to 12th grade.
Cheers, Lads
 
Welcome to the forum, Spockwerks.

Earthquake fish???

I sense some seriously demented and creative potential here.
After 30 years, maybe it is indeed time to push thru that envelope.
I hope that you can balance sound engineering with creativity...
 
Hi Spockwerks and welcome,
so long as you retain the rear suspension and front brake, go for it!
 
I'm sure we'd all like to know just how many miles old "Namazu" has accumulated these past 30 years, and some of the problems you've encountered along the way. Any motor rebuilding needed during that time?
 
OK let's see if this works. Here is a photo taken about 10 years ago, there's been lots of detail changes but overall pretty consistent. For example the Virago headlight has been replaced by an early 60s BSA bucket. That swap was not easy either I had to relocate that whole rats nest the Japanese are famous for. That meant a mostly new wiring harness.
Had 2 traumatic events in our relationship. First I broke 3rd gear. Knocked one of the dogs clean off, How? Screwed up a shift really bad by revving it and dropping the clutch just as I jammed 3rd. Made a hell of a noise then went 'bang, bang, bang, bang...found that loose dog stuck to the drain plug magnet like it was supposed to be. Working the gearbox was not too bad, not easy first time. You just pull the engine, flip 'er upside down and pull the lower case half off. Everything is right their. Rule is to replace the broken gear and the one that broke it as a set because there's probably a hidden fracture in it someplace. That was fun.
2nd trauma, I had been experimenting with some old 38mm carbs from a salvage case and wound up burning a hole in a piston, the left one. I will never forget that smell. Did not realize it at the time but old corroded jets can do a lot of damage. Put the good carbs back on and everything was fine. I was on my way to a Saturday prospecting trip with a buddy of mine. It was about 4:00am out in the Pine Barrens of South Jersey when that piston caved in. It lost power but kept running, I knew not to stop or it wouldn't be starting up again and anyway, where the hell was I? So we limped on 'til we found an all night gas station convenience store where I began making phone calls. Did I mention that cell phones hadn't been invented yet? Anyhow, he showed up with his trusty pickup and hauled us both home. Y'know I couldn't force any gas money on him either.
When opened up she had a hole about the size of a dime right where the spark plug is positioned. Shrapnel was everywhere, main bearings, gears, clutch, BOTH oil filters, and a little voice in my head called Logic said,'you do realize that this means there will be bits and pieces in the oil galleries as well, don't you?'
Full overhaul from the ground up. Rebuilt crank, replace every bearing, new valves and guides, gearbox parts any doubt, throw it out. Drilled out the plugged ends of every oil passage, scrubbed with round brushes and solvent. Bought an assortment of round aluminum stock to cut, taper and epoxy back into holes. It was at this time that I added the plumbing for that spin-on oil filter. This took place somewhere around 1990 or so.
It's been running like clockwork since. I have pictures of the oil filter if anyone is interested.
 

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