The Stovetop Scrambler: 1974 tx650 Scrambler Rebuild

[Tron]

Well its time for a winter redo of my ol' xs so here we go.

I have just returned from Southeast Asia broke, hungry, and jobless. Good news is, I scored some shop space with some rad local dudes I met on a ride earlier in the fall.

So that means I get to ACTUALLY build! Woohoo. I actually have somewhere to put my tools, make loud noises, and be smelly!

So the plan is a scrambler, similar to what it currently was only way better! Since I pulled the bike out of some dudes shed at the start of 2012, I managed to throw together something that was rideable, looked rad, and was super fun. I beat the living shit out of it and now am going to upgrade it, make it more reliable, and basically build a bike that looks like it could be off the showroom floor, so I can beat the shit out of it again!

I have developed some oil leaks so a motor rebuild is in the cards, along with a carb rebuild of course, fork rebuild, front brake rebuild, drum rebuild, etc etc.

Shouldn't take to long

So here we go..

Rolled er in

Took some shit off

Little view of our dirty little shop

Choppy choppy

Gross carbies

Choppy choppy

 

[Tron]

Clean slate! (well not clean exactly..)

Parts galore

Shit where did these come from again??

Heres one of 4 little tabs I made for a front skid plate

Parts awaiting polishing..

Got a wee little bit of polishing done

I gave the carbs a quick little soda blast but I ran out of soda.. Could definitely use a bit more..

 

[Tron]

Annd just a shot of the tops of the carbs..

Ill be painting the brace with brass. Im thinking mostly black parts on the bike, white tank with some sort of accents, and then some nice brass highlights and accents through out.

Sound alright so far?

Im about a week in.. (well 2 solid shop days but..)

 

[jdizon]

Subscribed! Can't wait to see the finished master piece!

 

[Tron]

Shes gunna be a nice one for sure. Im going to really try and be patient with this one, and do everything properly, and precisely. Very stoked!

 

[Lasper01]

Subscribed!! My kind of style! Nice pictures Keep up the good work!

 

[GeorgeKillianLett]

Shes gunna be a nice one for sure. Im going to really try and be patient with this one, and do everything properly, and precisely. Very stoked!

Don't know what's harder! Being patient and doing everything properly or sticking to a limited budget and having an image in your head that you can't get to fast enough!

Subscribed and watching patiently!

 

[the_nutt]

THIS is relevant to my interests!

 

[osteoderm]

Yes! I always liked your bike and your attitude; it's gonna great seeing the detail work come together.

 

[Tron]

Yes! I always liked your bike and your attitude; it's gonna great seeing the detail work come together.

thank you for the kind words, I really appreciate it!

hoping to break down the carbs today if I find some time between me two jobs, so I can sort out what gasket kit I'll need to pick up. My goal was to have a painted/powdered rolling chassis by feb but I've just been accepted into Welding level C to start in march so O may just build the motor first now so I can take care of the frame mods myself later.. although waiting that long.. I don't know!

 

[osteoderm]

thank you for the kind words, I really appreciate it!

My pleasure... Besides, I have a particular soft-spot for improbable projects taken on by underfunded yet determined individuals in sub-optimal Victoria shop space...

 

[gggGary]

Yeah go man! There should be a on off road XSOTM coming up in a few months....
Hey what tires were on last years build, Brand and model? is that a 19" front?

 

[Tron]

wow osteoderm how have I never heard that story! I'm a sailor myself and have been meaning to visit the maritime museum since I first moved here 1.5 years ago.. now I really need to go! maybe I'll stop by this week on my way to my bike (if I ever get a day off!)

and Gary, front is a tw39 Bridgestone and rear is a tw42. I'll keep them untill they wear ou then I'd like to move to a knobbier rear. I'm not a believer in buying unneeded tires at this point though! they ate great tires just the rear end gets a bit loose in the messy stuff when you get on it

 

[Tron]

Got a chance to get back in the garage today after a big work week..

Dove into the carbs..

Hello there you dirty bastards

Diaphragms look good

Inside, these carbs have seem some better days,

Heres some after shots from one of them

Moved onto the drum..

Pulled the caliper apart to see what I had to work with, with the help of some fire, a bench vice and a hammer. The bolts were seized in pretty good but I got it apart. New pads, hardware, and pistons on order.

Then to a bit of fork cleanup.

Im ordering a bunch of parts right now so I can start getting some more done..
Its going to be like christmas..I just got payed

 

[Tron]

Soo many new goodies to come in the mail from xs650direct!

A bunch of new hard ware, bronze bushings, fork boots, and brake stuff..

Also ordered a YZ master cylinder, and hydro clutch.

Tomorrow is frame stripping day, and clean up some more parts while I wait.

 

[bobber_xs]

650direct are for canadian customer right?

so where are you located in canada?

im from qc

 

[Tron]

Victoria, B.c.

 

[Tron]

And the polishing continues.

I think im going to stop at what I have done so far for the polishing side of things. I will maybe polish the ignition cover, but Im thinking I will powder the main engine covers black.

I started to strip my frame of paint, with some paint stripper and a wire wheel on a grinder but decided f*ck it. There is a DIY blasting place in town that im going to go to. They have glass, bead, walnut, and sand blasting, at a buck a minute.

I also got my front brake master in the mail. Its off a yamaha YZ, brand new.

Unfortunately, as you can see, the brake switch housing was cracked, and there is a big paint chip when it arrived, but I contacted the seller and he is just going to send me an entire new unit for no cost. Great news!

 

[jdizon]

That master cylinder looks like the one That mikexs sells. How much did you get yours for?

 

[Tron]

25 bones or somethin!