Sumotrack

[Ratranger]

I'm really happy with the overall look so far. The rear was lowered 3/4" to get the rake into the acceptable range.

Having the knowledge and tools that I do now makes this so much simpler. Even 5 years ago this couldn't have happened because going to a machine shop for all the little parts would have killed me.

 

[Scripto VU]

unique, cool, love those velocity stacks !

 

[halfmile]

The stance of your bike is perfect. It has that "Forward Motion Look".

 

[Ratranger]

Thanks! I'm hoping to be able to ride it in 2 months or so.

 

[Ratranger]

Well the frame is at powder coat. So I decided to clean the engine up, and part of that is replacing the gaskets and seals as multiple ones were weeping. It turned out to "save" me some work by opening it up. The front cam chain stopper has no rubber, but doesn't look like it got cut up by the chain. And checking the cylinders I'm .0005 over max standard bore and about .005 taper.

So 2nd over pistons from cruzin are on the way, and the full tear down has begun. I'm glad I caught it now and not after I final assembled everything.

 

[MaxPete]

Looking good Ratranger!

 

[Ratranger]

Welp, rods are done for. No copper left on the little end. Since the crank has to come apart I might as well do the rephase now instead of later.

 

[650Skull]

Caution on the 277Degre re-phase. A lot of guys who have done it wouldn't do it again. The vibrations move to a different frequency, not eliminated.Just because the mirrors don't show the vibrations doesn't mean there isn't any.

 

[Ratranger]

Yeah, it seems like a love/hate thing. Some people seem to defend it as the "best thing ever!!!" while others say don't waste your time. I think the best way to do it would be to send the crank off to someone like falicon and not only have it rephased, but balanced as well. I every bike I have ever ridden has vibrated, from the lowly honda rebel, to the ducati. Even the smooth running fzr would put your hands to sleep after a while. I think part of this is seeing just how much I can really do myself.

 

[Ratranger]

Well no picture, didn't think about it till too late, but I finally got the drain plug out of the lower case. It was so badly rounded that no wrench could fit. So put it in the mill, drilled through with a 1" drill and then used a boring head to get the remainder nice and thin. Once I did that I was able to peel the plugs threads out without damaging the case.

 

[Signal]

If you are going to go to the expense of a balanced crank and rephase why not go for the 270.
Rephasing gets expensive when you include cam, and ignition. I prefer the sound of a standard firing XS over that of a 277 rephased but the reduced perceived vibration is a big plus.

 

[Ratranger]

I'm doing the crank myself, if I had the money I'd send it out to be balanced. For the cam I'm going to take it to work and throw it in the mill-turn. I'll rephase following the way mrriggs does. With the microsquirt I just have to change a few settings for the firing order to work with the rephase.

 

[CoconutPete]

D@mn. Looks great!

 

[motorbikerx]

All the ladies Ive had on the back of my many XS650s over the years LOVED the vibrations,
many to the point of climax.
One woman nicknamed my TX650 "The Hitachi" after the industrial grade mains power 'massager'....why ruin a good thing, when the bike does half your work for you I reckon

 

[Ratranger]

Lol, my wife hates motorcycles. I've had 8 different ones while we've been together and still haven't gotten her to even sit on one. And this one is solo only, no provisions for a passenger.

 

[Ratranger]

Well, no turning back now.

 

[Ratranger]

Cam is done. Waiting on rods to get here for the crank.

 

[grizld1]

Don't regret not having the balance job done, Ranger.Having the crank balanced may be worthwhile on an all-out race bike, but on a street engine the extra expense won't buy you much if anything. A balance job won't reduce overall vibration, it will only move the harshest vibes to a different part of the rpm range, and same goes for the rephase work. If you want to reduce overall vibration, have the rods and pistons beam balanced, true the crank for as little runout as possible, and tack weld the flywheels.

 

[Ratranger]

Yeah. I have a small scale and planned on making the pistons match, and to use a mag base to get the rods nice and close. Its going to be street only, probably won't even do very much highway as its not part of my commute.

 

[Ratranger]

Well took the big end pins out today, probably a good thing with how deep the grooves from the thrust washers are.

Once I start assembly a welder at work will tig it for me. In return I'm making a few parts for him.