So it begins. xs650 build

Hi Josh,
post #6 sez you already have two gas tanks, do neither of them suit your build plan?

Mornin Fred. I have the original tank, which wont fit anymore. And some other tank of unknown origin that PO was going to use, it fits right on but doesnt fit my style.
I have an ad up in the classifieds selling the original items that i dont need, to fund more parts. Really all i need is bars, tank and fenders. 20170613_174220.jpg 20170614_085608.jpg
 
Mornin Fred. I have the original tank, which wont fit anymore. And some other tank of unknown origin that PO was going to use, it fits right on but doesnt fit my style.
I have an ad up in the classifieds selling the original items that i dont need, to fund more parts. Really all i need is bars, tank and fenders. View attachment 101124 View attachment 101125

Hi Josh,
the first photo is of an XS650 Special tank, most likely the one that the bike originally had.
If it's looks agree with your build plan it will drop straight onto the bike if you remove those
PO-relocated tank location ears and weld them back onto the frame in their proper place.
First place I'd look for 'bars is a bike swapmeet.
Ain't been to one yet that didn't have a guy with a tableful of them.
Caveat.
Take a caliper. The 1" H-D 'bars are easy to see but the seldom seen
22mm (7/8" = 22.2mm) BMW 'bars will drive you nuts wondering why your 'bar hardware
won't tighten down properly.
Aluminum aftermarket fenders save weight and are easy to work with.
Two caveats.
Rubber-mount the fender to stay attachments to lessen the risk of fatigue failure.
The XS650 stock front fender is also a fork brace. An aluminum fender,not so much.
Think about fitting an aftermarket fork brace.
 
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Ok team. I am struggling with the rear end. I have the Haynes manual, and this amazingly resourceful forum, But...I have questions yet. When I intall the rear tire I have two issues. Firstly, the wheel clearance is so very small in the forward section of the swingarm where it tapers in, and this is with the wheel smashed back as far as the adjustments will let it go. I checked forum threads on tire size, and from what I gathered the tire on here should be ok (130/90 16)shinko. I can only imagine when the chain is on I will need some room to adjust.

Secondly the axle has a gap of about 1/2 inch, and I think I am missing a spacer from the exploded diagram of the rear axle. I have read and seen spacers on ebay and heard talk of custom spacers,. I have the top hat looking caps on either side. Just need some spacers I think, number 11 and 23 in the exploded diagram. Am I missing something obvious, or shall I order the spacers if I can.
The tubing of the rear end (34mm)is much larger than my frame, and it did not get the same cosmetic love as the frame from the po . I am starting to wonder if this is not the stock swinger. Head scratcher for sure. Any answers would be great.
One picture is also how close the disc of the rear brake rides to the swing arm. So close!
rearaxlegap.jpg
 

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The spacer you are missing is the bracket that holds the rear caliper.
Tire size is correct, tough to tell what the issue is from pic.
 
The spacer you are missing is the bracket that holds the rear caliper.
Tire size is correct, tough to tell what the issue is from pic.
Thanks! totally makes sense. As for the front to back adjustment, whats the typical amount of play? If I have to move the tire forward even three turns of the adjuster bolt I will hit the swingarm.
 
Post up some pics that show the whole swing arm if possible please. Can't tell if that's an xs or not.....
 
Looks xsish, lol. Is that by chance a shinko 712? Those look just tires I had before. The clearance will be tight in the swingarm but should fit.
 
Thanks! totally makes sense. As for the front to back adjustment, whats the typical amount of play? If I have to move the tire forward even three turns of the adjuster bolt I will hit the swingarm.

Hi herman,
the XS650 swingarm was designed to fit the Standard's 110/90-18 rear tire.
When Yamaha's fashion police introduced the Special they musta had a warehouse-full of Standard swingarms to use up so they shoehorned in
the fattest tire that'd go in there and indeed, some makes of 130/90-16 are too wide to fit unless their wheel's axles are mounted right at the rear of their adjustment.
Had that trouble myself when I installed a 38T sprocket but was too cheap to buy a longer chain.
The Shinko 130/90-16 would NOT clear the swingarm when the wheel was moved forward enough to get the chain on.
Switching back to the 36T sprocket fixed it.
 
Herman, to answer your question about if that king sportster tank will fit your xs650 or not, the answer is yes. For the front mount you will just drill a horizontal hole through your neck gussets and run a bolt through the tank and gussets to mount it. For the rear mount you can leave un-used, you can fabricate a mount for the bolt to run through and secure it down, OR drill a hole through the frame in which to run the bolt through, but that will bring the rear of the tank up to much in the rear. The king sportster tank on the xs650s looks extremely large, which is just an opinion, but many others agree. It will also look especially large on a xs650 frame with no stretch. If you want a sportster tank to use on your build I would recommend this http://www.tcbroschoppers.com/tc-bros-2-4-gal-sportster-gas-tank-fits-1995-03.html
It will look a lot more proportional, most people who run a sportster tank on an xs650 use this one, or one of the older model sportster tanks which just have smaller mounting holes that dont use rubber isolated washers inside of them.
I am running this tank on a hardtailed xs650, look in my album for some pictures to see what it looks like in proportion to the frame.
 
Thanks Fred, thats good to hear you experienced the same issues with this tire. I'm afraid i was going crazy! This is my first build and i got it all stripped down so it's all trial and error reassembling. Im not dead set on these tires, there in new condition and they look cool but I may go a bit skinnier and more tread...this is a Northwest bike so I'm gonna need traction first, looks second!
And, B, good looking out..i actually did decide to go with a regular sportster tank afterall. .order went in yesterday! i was looking at the dual cap Mustang style but they were too long or too expensive. The stance of the bike in the thread you linked is spot on for what I'm looking for.
Thanks for the help!
 
Alrighty, time to drop the motor in. Got the mounts from an excellent forum member, thanks partner. The motor looks clean to me, has ben painted so that helps...but I am curious what to check before its installed in the frame. The side covers are off and the starter bolts are loose..I will run through the torque specs and tighten up any loose bolts. Any motor install tips and tricks please!!!

Heres a few mock up Pics with bars/tank/fender. I have since cut off the old tank mount tabs so the tank sits about two inches lower than this picture and hugs the frame nice and tight. Ive decided to run a full rear fender, not trying to do the duck tail. Need to acquire a rad sissy bar and sort out the front fender, the po chopped the original to bits. xsss.jpg hank on a chop.jpg
 
Some people do and can drop it straight in, I've done it but it wasn't easy. Going this route get a friend to help if you can. Another route is to lay the frame on the side and finesse the motor in that way. You've found loose bolts so definitely check all bolts and torque to spec. There are how to's on here on how to retourqe the head, may not be a bad idea do that while your at it.
 
Update! Life has been busy lately, but I've made some good progress on the xs. Learned to weld! Some vital bits had been chopped off, the rear brake return spring and return height setup, as well as rear master cylinder mounts. I made a new mount for the rear fender on the swingarm, still waiting for a sissy bar to mount rear fender..haven't found one yet and an attempt to make my own was less than successful. Mounted the motor, the lay down method worked well..did it by myself. Fabbed up the dual headlight mount and a speedo mount. Rebuilt the brake system completely, down to the pistons and every bolt and washer. A bunch of odds and ends done and a few left to go. Building an electrics box under the seat and starting the wire up, my favorite part no joke. The goal is to ride up to the One Moto show in Portland in February.

Thanks to this forum for getting me this far! On here lurking every day for knowledge!
 

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