Steering neck item

[jspoe13]

Can anyone tell me what this is that I have pointed out in the picture. It's mounted under the neck and I can't find anywhere in the manual that mentions what it is. I'm cleaning up the frame for my bobber project, can I just take it off or is it necessary?

Thanks!

 

[XSLeo]

That's the steering damper. On the top of the steering stem there is a black knob. This knob controls the tension of the damper.
It was used on the early bikes. 70-71 I think.
Leo

 

[jspoe13]

Thanks XSLeo, this is a '75 and there is no knob on the top for adjustment. I wonder if removing it completely would have any negative effects.

 

[5twins]

That looks like the one that came on the TX750. What diameter are your fork tubes? If they're 36mm, those might be TX750 forks.

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

The `70-`73 XS650's used a dry plate friction type steering damper, exposed to the elements, adjusted by that large black knob. They engaged a post welded to the frame.

I've never seen that type of damper...

 

[5twins]

Like I said, it's the one off a TX750, I know, I've got one (the damper, not the bike). I was given a rolling 750 chassis a few years back (frame, forks, and wheels). I took it for the wheels but then discovered the swingarm swap. I saved the forks as well, tossed the frame.

 

[gggGary]

5twins beat me to it, TX750 is my thought also, is it just the forks or is the whole a bike a TX750?

From the 74 TX750 fiche

 

[jspoe13]

Well I just measured the fork tubes and sure enough they measure 36mm. So i guess this thing has a TX750 front end; it has an XS650 motor.

The picture shows the state of the bike when I bought it to make a bobber out of.

 

[jspoe13]

I found a 34mm triple tree on ebay. My question to you all is, can I just pull the TX750 front end off and throw this one from ebay on there. I know I will need new 34mm forks but I found those on ebay as well. Any suggestions are much appreciated.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TX650-XS650...Parts_Accessories&hash=item46156f6346&vxp=mtr

 

[gggGary]

The answer is not obvious. There are two different frame neck lengths, from 70-73 use what I will call the 6 1/2" neck the 74 on have a 7" neck. So...... We don't know what year frame you have AND we don't know what year the fleabay triples are. I am somehow bothered by the look of the neck/bracing on your frame, and your frame has the peg for the TX750 damper that the XS/TX 650 did not have.
Don't quote me on this, I didn't run out a measure but I think the TX750 used the longer neck.

 

[jspoe13]

Last night I took the below picture of the VIN number on the neck and matched it against the list from this thread: http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=42&highlight=VIN+number

It's seems that my frame is a an XS-B, '74-75 which is what I originally thought it was, and the title says it's a '75.

With this new information do you think that triple tree from ebay would be a safe bet to work with this frame?

 

[gggGary]

I don't know what length stem the flea bay set has, do you?
Why not use the TX750 forks on it now? Yes you "can" get rid of the damper. It think the TX750 tubes are an 1" or so longer than the XS650 units.

 

[jspoe13]

Yeah I guess I could use the TX750 front end. It's just harder to find replacement parts for those tubes such as seals, dust covers, etc.

 

[XSLeo]

I have never seen either the early 650 damper or the 750 dampers in person, so I was just guessing on which it was.
As far as a different set of trees. The earlier short neck was used from 70 -73. In 74 they did major changes to the frame to increase the stiffness of the frame. One of the things was the longer neck. As well as increasing the bracing all over the frame.
So any 34 mm tree from 74 - 76 will fit your frame. Any 35 mm tree from 77 up will fit your frame.
As far as removing it from your front end, I can't see why not. The damper was there to help control head shake while cornering. I think on your bike with the way you will probably ride it, it won't be a problem.
Leo

 

[jspoe13]

Thanks for all the info XSLeo; you obviously have a lot of knowledge regarding these bikes. I'm new to the XS and trying to learn as much as possible while working on this project. I'm still going back and forth on whether I want to change out the triple tree or not.

The biggest thing for me is I want the ride height to be right around 5 inches. Having the extra 1 inch on the tubes from the 750 shouldn't affect that too much, right?