Project Procrastination -This did not go as planned...

[cmj650]

November 2011:
1. Picked up poorly maintained XS650 Special for a few hundred bucks
2. Stripped it down with a ton of enthusiasm.
3. Life happened and the parts collect dust for 7 YEARS!

July/August 2018:
New House, new garage, and returned motivation. I grew tired of storing parts everywhere and I need to clean up/set up my new garage. The XS was taking up a lot of space with the frame, engine and front end each taking up a different area of the garage. I really think I'll be able to finish it this time...

2011:

 

[cmj650]

This is just a mockup, but at least it's progress. I have a lot of plans for it.

2018:

 

[ThatXS650Guy]

Very cool. You need to ditch the 16" rear and drop the front though...
Love non-black frames.

 

[cmj650]

An 18" rear wheel would be really nice, so would spokes. I'm not sure if I want to lower the front yet. I'm planning on 14" rear shocks and dual sport tires.

 

[59Tebo]

Dual sports? Maybe they'll cancel the vibration!
7 years? 9 years for "The Basketcase". It's never too late to start. Now that you've started, it just gets easier to keep going! Keep us posted (we're nosy!)

 

[ThatXS650Guy]

I ran dual sports on mine for a while. Switched to Avon Roadriders and would never go back to the dual sports.
You can do a 18" rear swap that will work with your disc brake and match the front wheel. http://www.xs650.com/threads/18-18.30089/#post-521402
It makes all the difference.

 

[cmj650]

Ok, I think I need a little help. I've looked over the wiring diagrams quite a bit, and I'm stumped. I intend to build a custom wiring harness eventually, but I want to learn how the stock one is setup first. The bike had a hacked harness when I bought it. It did have a title, so not stolen. The ignition was cut and the red, brown and blue wires were twisted together. The fuse box was gone and those corresponding wires were twisted together too. The run/off and start switch seem to be bypassed too, since I have voltage everywhere regardless of the position of the switch. The guy was just shorting the solenoid to start the bike. Withe the 3 wires from the ignition switch wired together, I get 12v at the red wire and the blue wire on the starter solenoid. I'm not sure why. Shouldn't the blue wire be a ground at the solenoid, and why is there voltage there without the start button depressed?

 

[cmj650]

Update, when I disconect the blue ignition switch wire from the red and brown, the solenoid works as it should. I opened up the ignition switch to see how it's wired, and it is clear that the red,brown and blue should be connected together. But doing that gets me 12v on the ground side of the solenoid.

 

[59Tebo]

It looks like the P.O. has botched the electrical so bad, you may not have the option of repair, but go directly to "rewire", whether a repro/NOS or your own (starting from scratch). You've "looked over the wiring diagrams", so I assume (you know what happens when you do that!) you have a manual. Follow the circuit paths, one at a time from beginning to end, checking every conductor and connector. Clean or replace any connector that looks green or powdery (evidence of corrosion). Same with the wires. It's not that complex, but a lot of little things can go wrong that add up. Good luck!

 

[MaxPete]

My Lucille (a ‘76 Standard) came with a messed up harness and badly corroded switches on both sides of the bars.

After f@rting around for a while trying to repair the switches and figure out what the heck the PO had been trying to achieve, I simply gave up and bought an entirely new harness and two new switches from MikesXS for a total outlay of around $175. At that early stage, I didn’t know about any of the lower cost parts suppliers....

Anyhow, they fit perfectly, look good and (touch wood) have been totally reliable. The only wrinkle is that the switches are ‘77 models (the earliest versions they stock) and so there are some extra gubbins in there for the self cancelling winkers. But once I figured out which connections in the headlight bucket to make and which to to tape-off, she works perfectly.

 

[gggGary]

Update, when I disconect the blue ignition switch wire from the red and brown, the solenoid works as it should. I opened up the ignition switch to see how it's wired, and it is clear that the red,brown and blue should be connected together. But doing that gets me 12v on the ground side of the solenoid.

That's as designed, you are seeing the +12 through the solenoid coil. When you ground the blue white through the push button to the handlebar you complete the circuit and the solenoid (relay) closes the starter motor circuit.
hint; the handlebars are rubber mounted There needs to be a wire connecting them to frame ground. Most DIY diagrams ignore grounds but providing a wired ground path from battery to frame, engine, fork mounted components, is very important for proper electrical functions.

 

[cmj650]

Thanks guys. I think my solenoid was stuck. It would not click when I had everything wired up correctly and hit the start switch. I hit it with a direct connection to the battery and it clicked, so I wired everything back up and now it clicks with the starter switch. It's a little bit of a pain to try and figure out someone else's hack job. Now I need to get some manual petcocks for the 750 tank. Once I have those, I can see if it will run and if it's charging. That Hugh's CDI PMA is looking pretty nice too. I wish it were a little cheaper.

 

[gggGary]

Confirm your ground path. You can short the blue white to ground anywhere to spin the starter. A good quick test of solenoid.

 

[fredintoon]

Thanks guys. I think my solenoid was stuck. It would not click when I had everything wired up correctly and hit the start switch. I hit it with a direct connection to the battery and it clicked, so I wired everything back up and now it clicks with the starter switch. It's a little bit of a pain to try and figure out someone else's hack job. Now I need to get some manual petcocks for the 750 tank. Once I have those, I can see if it will run and if it's charging. That Hugh's CDI PMA is looking pretty nice too. I wish it were a little cheaper.

Hi cmj650,
good luck with the re-wire. If you scratch-build a harness according to the book you'll be OK although using a spade fuse block in place of
the stock glass tube fuse block is a good thing and simplifying the system by omitting the mystery modules eliminates several wires.
Why buy a CDI PMA to replace the perfectly adequate stock TCI & alternator? The money saved can buy you good tires instead.
And I'd say stick with the cast wheels. There's eff all difference in the ODs of 130/90-16 & 110/90-18 tires and the cast wheels
can run tubeless tires where the emergency get-you-home flat tire repair is a can of fixaflat rather than removing the wheel to
mend a tube by the side of the road.

 

[cmj650]

When I get it all back together and running I'll see how well it charges. I like the idea of a pma because you can kick it or bump start it with a dead batt.

When I first bought the bike back in 2011, I wanted to build a cafe. My tastes have completely changed now. This bike will not be a daily driver, so I'm not too worried about long distance comfort. I'm definitely going for a look. I'm sure a lot of you guys might think it is a waste of an XS, but it's not like I'm taking a mint bike and hacking it. Now I'm going for an enduro/Mad Max-ish look.

This is just me playing around, but in the back of my mind I'm thinking it could look pretty cool. Obviously it would take some work to build a manifold that actually connected to the carbs

 

[peanut]

thats a great start and it looks real cool. The inlets look interesting ,what carbs are you using ?
I think the seat might prove a bit hard unless you're planning on a decent thickness of foam under the cover which looks very nice by the way.

I really dig this street tracker look ..such a refreshing change from the seemingly ubiquitous hardtail bobs and chops
Lovely job on the tank too..... I bought a 750 tank with the intention of fitting a flush tank cap like this https://www.ebay.com/itm/Motorcycle...maha-YZF-R6-1999-2000-2001-2002-/192500435244

it would give a nice clean modern look to your tank

 

[cmj650]

thats a great start and it looks real cool. The inlets look interesting ,what carbs are you using ?
I think the seat might prove a bit hard unless you're planning on a decent thickness of foam under the cover which looks very nice by the way.

I really dig this street tracker look ..such a refreshing change from the seemingly ubiquitous hardtail bobs and chops
Lovely job on the tank too..... I bought a 750 tank with the intention of fitting a flush tank cap like this https://www.ebay.com/itm/Motorcycle...maha-YZF-R6-1999-2000-2001-2002-/192500435244

it would give a nice clean modern look to your tank
View attachment 124467

That flush cap looks great! I would love to do that, but I don't have the sheet metal skills required to do it right.
As far as the seat goes... I have know idea what I'm going to do with that fiberglass pan. I made it just to see if I could. Since then I have seen the offerings from Counter Balance Cycles, and I don't think I could make a nicer seat than them.

 

[peanut]

As far as the seat goes... I have know idea what I'm going to do with that fiberglass pan. I made it just to see if I could. Since then I have seen the offerings from Counter Balance Cycles, and I don't think I could make a nicer seat than them.

yeah i agree ........nothing sets a bike off more than a good looking tank and seat. You'd forever be disappointed looking at your finished bike, if your DIY seat turned out less than perfect

 

[Goldenboy]

Ok, I think I need a little help. I've looked over the wiring diagrams quite a bit, and I'm stumped. I intend to build a custom wiring harness eventually, but I want to learn how the stock one is setup first. The bike had a hacked harness when I bought it. It did have a title, so not stolen. The ignition was cut and the red, brown and blue wires were twisted together. The fuse box was gone and those corresponding wires were twisted together too. The run/off and start switch seem to be bypassed too, since I have voltage everywhere regardless of the position of the switch. The guy was just shorting the solenoid to start the bike. Withe the 3 wires from the ignition switch wired together, I get 12v at the red wire and the blue wire on the starter solenoid. I'm not sure why. Shouldn't the blue wire be a ground at the solenoid, and why is there voltage there without the start button depressed?View attachment 124195 View attachment 124197 View attachment 124198

Wiring harnesses are available through MikesXS.

 

[59Tebo]

What ever happened to the tank that was on it originally? That could be chopped to fab the seat "tail" for a killer café look.... kinda like this?

NO, not mine. But I bet it goes like stink! (fairing optional)