Yup just bulbs, done. Gotta be a bit smart about what LED 1157s you buy, some cheap LED bulbs don't have great difference between tail and brake light intensity.
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Starting from scratch 1981 xs650
- Thread starter OLD ROOKIE
- Start date
For taillights, you must use red LED lamps behind the red lens. Otherwise, you'll find the incandescent lamps brighter. I don't remember where or what I bought, but my XS11 has LED tail and signal lights. They are significantly brighter than the OE lamps.
Yeah LED with very short wavelength color bands are picky about making it through a filter.
That said pretty sure I have found "white" that are bright behind the red lens
Yup see vid here https://www.xs650.com/threads/sylvania-zevo-1157-led.58371/#post-664068
Could do one of each (red/white 1157) on a special.
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Your model has a completely separate light for the license plate so bulb color in the tail/brake light won't effect it .....
Sylvania Zevo bulbs have gotten good reviews .....
http://www.xs650.com/threads/sylvania-zevo-1157-led.58371/
Sylvania Zevo bulbs have gotten good reviews .....
http://www.xs650.com/threads/sylvania-zevo-1157-led.58371/
I bought lamps made like this. Red for tail. Amber for signals.
I think you can see the difference.
maico996
XS650 Addict
With the low draw of LED bulbs, do they do anything weird to our already sketchy electrical system? Has anyone tried them in the turn signals?
I have them in the turn signals of the bike pictured above. It's an Eleven Special but similar enough to the XS650. My Eleven has a custom made flasher card for the no load lamps and to maintain the auto cancel. The XS650 signals will work fine with a no load flasher, but the auto-cancel feature will be rendered inoperative. The LED signals do not change speed with RPM. My XS650 is all stock. At idle, with the brake light on, my signal stops flashing. That means I need to disassemble the wiring connectors and clean all of them. My XS11 was behaving the same way. The LEDs cured it. I may put LED taillights in the 650 to keep the incandescent signals working for the time being.
maico996
XS650 Addict
^ Thanks Marty!
The only issue I encountered with a LED brake/tail light on my '78 was it triggered the "Brake" warning light in my dash. Apparently the draw is so small the system thought it was burned out, lol. I "fixed" it at first by simply removing the bulb in the dash. Eventually I removed the light checker that triggers the bulb but being located between the battery box and the inner fender, that had to wait for the next time the rear wheel came off.
I forgot that there's an issue with the bikes that have the single lamp taillight. The LED can complicate things.
Thanks to this incredible community, I have been able to get the project out on the road. Registered and insured.
I've ridden about 200 miles the last few weeks.
Project update I installed Led 1157 taillights in OEM housing. Plug and Play. Done
Problems solved recently:
Problem: Hard to shift gears-
Solution: Motion Pro Clutch Cable from Ebay $14.39. I can shift with ease. This is the third cable I tried.I routed the cable per instructions . Lubed with 10w-30 . Major improvement. This is a wonderful cable.
Problem: Cheap chinese rectifier regulator (Ur brand ?)
Solution: Used regulator rectifier from Yamaha XJ650 - $18.99 ebay free shipping. Thanks 5twins did what you recommended.
Note: My battery reads 12.97 before and 13.14 volts after a 10 mile ride. Top speed 40-45 Mph Avg speed 30 mph.
This machine runs well in 2nd and 3rd gear and keeps the RPMs .
I've ridden about 200 miles the last few weeks.
Project update I installed Led 1157 taillights in OEM housing. Plug and Play. Done
Problems solved recently:
Problem: Hard to shift gears-
Solution: Motion Pro Clutch Cable from Ebay $14.39. I can shift with ease. This is the third cable I tried.I routed the cable per instructions . Lubed with 10w-30 . Major improvement. This is a wonderful cable.
Problem: Cheap chinese rectifier regulator (Ur brand ?)
Solution: Used regulator rectifier from Yamaha XJ650 - $18.99 ebay free shipping. Thanks 5twins did what you recommended.
Note: My battery reads 12.97 before and 13.14 volts after a 10 mile ride. Top speed 40-45 Mph Avg speed 30 mph.
This machine runs well in 2nd and 3rd gear and keeps the RPMs .
LED headlight. My goal is to keep the OEM housing and lens style. I am wondering If I could convert it to H4 and then
use a H4 compatible LED bulb. Can anyone recommend a H4 sealed beam type unit that I can fit in OEM housing with LED bulb (bulbs) ? Is this a good idea ? I plan on zero night riding.
Stay tuned - I have the parts for the fiat windy nation reg/rectifier. I am using the wiring and connector from the shitty Ur unit. I am going to compare charging capacity between the $18.99 used XJ650 unit and the $17 Fiat Windy nation custom unit.
Windy Nation 3 phase 35 amp 5 prong rectifier = $9.99 free shipping. Walmart has the Fiat regulator for $6.67. YOU GET FREE SHIPPING WITH ORDERS OVER $35.
://www.walmart.com/ip/New-Alternator-Regulator-for-FIAT-MARELLI-12V-2CABLES-IX106/892668994?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=10100136
use a H4 compatible LED bulb. Can anyone recommend a H4 sealed beam type unit that I can fit in OEM housing with LED bulb (bulbs) ? Is this a good idea ? I plan on zero night riding.
Stay tuned - I have the parts for the fiat windy nation reg/rectifier. I am using the wiring and connector from the shitty Ur unit. I am going to compare charging capacity between the $18.99 used XJ650 unit and the $17 Fiat Windy nation custom unit.
Windy Nation 3 phase 35 amp 5 prong rectifier = $9.99 free shipping. Walmart has the Fiat regulator for $6.67. YOU GET FREE SHIPPING WITH ORDERS OVER $35.
://www.walmart.com/ip/New-Alternator-Regulator-for-FIAT-MARELLI-12V-2CABLES-IX106/892668994?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=10100136
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In that case, the stock headlight is all you need. The electrical system is designed to handle it. I find the stock headlight sufficient on any rare occasion I find myself out after dark. My XS1100 is stock with what I believe is H4. It's very bright and sufficient for riding at night.
I can't make an experienced comment on LED, but based upon what I've read, my inclination would be to buy an LED headlight if I were going that way, even though most aren't consistent with old school appearance.
Rehabbed my old side covers 1981 special. Continuing to make my bike better. Out for over 300 miles everything works nice. tightened the chain. Next I will adjust the cam chain. Got a new Banggood (? BANGGOOD whatever that is, I wish it would happen to me again) stainless brake line and banjo bolts $23) I am redoing the brakes real soon.
About the side covers, I like the color. am going to keep this scheme. Delete Yamaha XS 650 badges is how I got it, and I like it that way. I also going with the unrestored survivor patina.
Somebody broke the lower nipple thing so it would not hold. The original grommets were long gone. The upper right and left grommets cost $6 each plus shipping. No way. The fix.
I had everything I needed in my junk box consisting of a hoard of old fittings. I save alot of old things and I remember were I put them.
- old dampers, and rubber washers, grommets they came off old equipment going to the dump. Junk boat trolling motor mounting hardware. Old pressure washer
- small pieces of fuel line
- old wing nut from a long gone battery ( I have alot of these some were my Grandpa's)
- a left over bolt, (3/8" ?)
- A couple of drill bits to drill a hole where the nipple was.
The job took a half hour. Taking pictures and emailing them to myself took to long.
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You may encounter carb tuning issues with those K&N style pleated pod filters. They don't work well on these CV carbs. A CV carb relies on a smooth flow of air to smoothly lift the slide. The air flow through the pleats is somewhat "rough" and turbulent. Straight foam pods work best.
Try this test ..... in 2nd or 3rd gear, running along at around 3 to 3.5K RPMs, roll the throttle fully open and accelerate up to 5.5 or 6K RPMs. Watch for any break-up or stumbling. If you get some, this is most likely a phenomenon known as "slide flutter" caused by the turbulent air flow through your pleated pods. Slide flutter is just what it sounds like. Instead of lifting smoothly, the slide "flutters", bounces up and down rapidly. This is like rapidly opening and closing the throttle multiple times and the result is a stumble or break-up.
Try this test ..... in 2nd or 3rd gear, running along at around 3 to 3.5K RPMs, roll the throttle fully open and accelerate up to 5.5 or 6K RPMs. Watch for any break-up or stumbling. If you get some, this is most likely a phenomenon known as "slide flutter" caused by the turbulent air flow through your pleated pods. Slide flutter is just what it sounds like. Instead of lifting smoothly, the slide "flutters", bounces up and down rapidly. This is like rapidly opening and closing the throttle multiple times and the result is a stumble or break-up.
5twins
Is this a pop pop pop from one side exhaust ? Would a change likely necessitate jettting work ?
I would change to uni-pods tomorrow if I knew I wouldn't have any make an immediate jetting change. Its hot outside and I do all my work sitting or laying on my driveway. I have no idea what jetting I currently have. I think the baffles
have been cut out or back on the pipes this bike has.
However now that you mention this I m going .to order unipods today..
For your BS34 carbs, you will want UNI part #UP4229 or UP4229ST (dual layer). Personally, I don't see the need for the dual layer version but some like it. Your carbs have an inlet bell O.D. of about 2 1/8". The UP4229 has a 2 1/4" I.D. mounting flange but it tightens down nicely with just a few turns of the clamp screw.
Yes, I can see you have shorter and most likely freer flowing mufflers, so along with air pods some minor re-jetting will be needed to get the bike running it's best. Yes, the popping out the exhaust could indicate a jetting issue (too lean). These BS34 carbs were very lean (borderline too lean) right from the factory. Any little change you make to intake and/or exhaust usually throws them off. If the bike is running somewhat OK then some jets may have been changed already. But, maybe not all that needs doing has been done. First you'll need to check and see what size jets are installed now. Stock, your carbs had a 132.5 main, 42.5 pilots, and 135 air jets. For mods like yours, I would recommend going 2 up on the mains to a 137.5, one up on the pilots to a 45, and one down on the air jets to a 132.5. Mix screws should work well set about 2.5 turns out.
Yes, I can see you have shorter and most likely freer flowing mufflers, so along with air pods some minor re-jetting will be needed to get the bike running it's best. Yes, the popping out the exhaust could indicate a jetting issue (too lean). These BS34 carbs were very lean (borderline too lean) right from the factory. Any little change you make to intake and/or exhaust usually throws them off. If the bike is running somewhat OK then some jets may have been changed already. But, maybe not all that needs doing has been done. First you'll need to check and see what size jets are installed now. Stock, your carbs had a 132.5 main, 42.5 pilots, and 135 air jets. For mods like yours, I would recommend going 2 up on the mains to a 137.5, one up on the pilots to a 45, and one down on the air jets to a 132.5. Mix screws should work well set about 2.5 turns out.
UDATE and a questions:
thanks to the knowledge shared in this community, brake up grade completed. new hose, MC, pads, rebuilt caliper
thanks to the knowledge shared in this community, brake up grade completed. new hose, MC, pads, rebuilt caliper
- Stainless hose from Banggood and two banjo bolts (unused I must have ordered fine thread instead of course) =26$.
- Rebuild caliber kit = $22.
- Cheap chinese master cylinder $23.
- VERSASH PADS $15.
- Stainless caliper frame washers = $3.
- Brake fluid dot 3 =$6
- Stopping power iS GREATLY increased, better feel.
- Time research and planning, cleaning, installation , bleeding etc = 15 hours.
- bleeding TOO LONG
- The piston (used grease gun hose in the banjo bolt method to get it out) had a few small spots without chrome and it had rust speckles on the bottom.
- Would a less than perfect piston be enough to make a difference ?
- Crush washers, I put two together like I saw OLDBIKER on you tube do.
- What is my reason and goal with crush washers ?
- Used on old banjo bolt (shorter so I used only one thick crush washer) and the new one that came with master cylinder.
- What about banjo bolts ? Should I have upgraded them ?
- done it, I'll do it again and make it even better.
- thanks again
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