Van Islander's TX650A - Quest for a Daily Rider

[TX650A Van Islander]

Fall 2020 - about the same time that I had realized the problem with the clutch, my rookie self finally realized that my mechanical advance ATU was not right and for whatever reason I was going well beyond full advance when checking with the timing light. The bike was otherwise running well but had a lot of pinging when around 3000 RPM and beyond. After much reading on the forum I realized that unless I wanted to put a hole in one or both of my new pistons, I had to deal with it. I got new weights and springs, and still no difference. I didn't feel any slop in the rod connecting to the points side so I didn't think the bushings were the issue. I got a complete new ATU and still no difference. Ultimately I built up the weights with JB Weld to limit their throw and stopped the too much advance problem, and that was ok, but I didn't see it as long term solution. The rainy season was starting so I knew I wouldn't be riding too much more on it anyway.

 

[Oldfartaussie]

Great looking bike, brings back memories. Best thing I did was get the boyer ignition kit, no points and no atu to check / adjust.

 

[Raymond]

Raymond, the bars do look similar for sure. Are yours from a Honda?

As far as I know, they are the standard European fitment for XS650. 5Twins favours similar bars and calls them Euro bars..

Don't have any history on the bike, but it was first registered in Canada.

 

[Adamc]

Thanks guys. It's been a fun project and it's not over. I'll get to current time soon. Raymond, the bars do look similar for sure. Are yours from a Honda? To clarify, I got the bike running ok, without too many problems with timing. I did have issues with the mechanical advance, which I'll describe in an upcoming post. Max Pete - a 140 Corsa as a first car must have been a handful! I could go on and on about Corvairs but that's another forum Yes, good rain tires a must! We get caught in rain too many times here.

So at the end of May 2020, this was the bike, and I still had my Honda. I got the bike insured in June 2020 and got on the road!

View attachment 201811 View attachment 201812

Great looking pair of machines Van; well done.

 

[5twins]

I don't think those are Euro bars. Euro bars tend to droop down a little more on the ends .....

Those might be Superbike bars. They're low like the Euros but stick out straighter. Not awful but not as comfortable as the Euros.

 

[TX650A Van Islander]

Hmmmm. Those do look very nice 5Twins. I'll have a closer look and see if there are any markings on them. I really have no idea what they are. They are pretty comfortable, but I may tinker with some risers which bring them higher and closer by about 3/4". Will post that later if it happens.

 

[TX650A Van Islander]

On a different note, one of the guys at work bought a Yamaha XSR700 I think spring of 2020. This is a cool photo of our two bikes together. In the spring I want to get some better photos at a better location - perhaps a barn photo.

 

[TX650A Van Islander]

Back to the ongoing build thread. Given the lousy weather, I set to doing a few more things. At this time, it was early December 2020. I had installed all new cables when I assembled the bike but the speedo jumped around a fair amount. I wanted to check out the speedo drive. Taking the front wheel off for the first time revealed that the PO had installed new wheel bearings, as stated when I bought it. I didn't doubt him; it was just nice to see. The speedo drive was pretty messy for sure. I took it apart and repacked it with grease. Worked better after that, and of course, lubrication of the cable. I guess I didn't take any photos of the freshly greased assembly. How many miles do you guys run before you lubricate the speedo and tach cables?

 

[Wingedwheel]

I think most of us grease everything when we first get the bike’s because it was NEVER done before.

 

[TX650A Van Islander]

By the time I parked the bike to do this work on it, I had put about 500 miles on it since the rebuild. Another problem which showed itself was squeaking front forks. Right after I rebuilt the speedo drive I took apart the forks to find some significant scoring on the inside and outside of one side. Thankfully my buddy with the XS2s was to the rescue again and he had a selection of XS650 fork assemblies. One pair was good and I was in business. I needed just one side and confirmed they were identical and took everything apart and cleaned it all up with kerosene, and reassembled with new springs. Getting the old fork seals out was brutal. After experimenting with 20W and 10W fork oil, I settled on 10W. This forum was again such a great resource for this work I'd never done before.

 

[TX650A Van Islander]

I should have greased everything before I started riding it. Learning the hard way again...

 

[5twins]

Yes, I think it's an age thing. Even if stuff was greased, it's been in there so long it's mostly all dried and hardened up now. That's what I'm finding in the seat/helmet locks and ignition switches I'm refurbing now. If you've not done so, the drum rear brake hub will need a servicing. The small amount of grease the factory placed on the shoe cam pivot has long since gone away, lol.

 

[TX650A Van Islander]

I will be taking you up on that suggestion on servicing that drum rear brake hub, thank you very much. I have not done that and will do so this winter.

 

[TX650A Van Islander]

Back to the build history - before I put the rebuilt forks on, I checked on the steering head bearings, as the PO had told me that he had installed tapered roller bearings. Yahoo!

 

[TX650A Van Islander]

So by this point it was January, 2021. Here in Victoria, BC at that time of the year, it's anywhere from 0 to 10 degrees C, with on and off rain, so it's a good time to take bikes apart. The earlier photos of the bike show that when I got it, there were some aftermarket turn signals on the bike, and the rear ones were mounted incorrectly into the fender, by the license plate bracket. With the bike came an almost complete set of somewhat pitted front signals. I found the parts needed and mounted them when I put the headlight back together after the fork build. I had purchased a beauty set of rear signals from member 28833 in Vancouver WA (thanks!!!) and had installed them on the rear fender with holes.
I needed a new rear fender with no holes and amazingly, my friend with the XS2s knew I was looking, and found one in his mother's attic! He had likely put it there at least 20 years ago! It had some overspray and an old sticker but way less dents and no holes - it cleaned up well.

 

[5twins]

While many of the fender bolts are special (shouldered, acorns, etc.), the one holding the front of the tail light is just a plain M6 fastener. A stainless replacement with the head buffed and polished works well here .....

 

[TX650A Van Islander]

Thank you for that suggestion 5T. I will add that item to my list this winter.
John

 

[TX650A Van Islander]

February - 2021. I got this bike with a non-stock side stand, which is still installed on the bike. This post is about me learning how different the side stands are on our bikes, from year to year. The first photo is of my bike as it was when I bought it, and still is. I bought what I hoped was the correct 1974 side stand from a forum member, but it was unfortunately not, and this was absolutely not the fault of the member who sold it to me. I just want to share my experience, and I'll post a classified for sale ad for this side stand once we figure out what year it is. I think it's for a 1976.
I installed the side stand on my bike, but it was way too short, and due to the difference in the location/orientation of the welded onto the frame mounting point, the side stand tucked in under the engine when retracted. I continued to use the slightly lame side stand I have.

 

[TX650A Van Islander]

Finally this thread is current! I rode the bike throughout this past spring and summer, and have put about 1800 miles on it since the engine rebuild. I love it but have a few more things to do. I've got a Boyer Bransden ignition on order and can't wait for that to arrive. The bike is in my shop as I need to tighten up the bushings which secure the handlebar mounts to the triple tree (loose handlebar) and and I've replaced the shocks with new Hagon shocks, made in UK. I haven't yet ridden the bike but it feels so good just sitting on it in the shop. The old ones were likely original, and had no dampening at all. The back end would bounce down and bounce right back up over any bumps. Can't wait to ride it! I may blitz on this today and get a ride in before the rain comes back on Monday.

 

[Raymond]

Hagon shocks are very popular in Britain - they come at a very favourable point on the price/quality curve plus first-rate service. I have Hagon shocks and fork springs on my Kawasaki W800.

The bike is testimony to your good work!