Went on the maiden voyage tonight!

[retroLS1]

Finally got my '83 XS hardtail buttoned up pretty much and took it on its maiden voyage tonight. I have not ridden it (or any XS) before so had nothing similar to compare it to. My old bike I had 6-7 years ago was a '95 Suzuki Intruder 800, so it was a bit different overall.

I have to say that it went well. Nothing fell off and I didn't need to get it trailered home - both pluses! First thing I noticed was my headlight was loose - oops. Main up/down bracket was tight, but apparently I forgot to snug down the two allen screws inside that hold it to the bracket so it was a bit jiggly.

Second thing was my front left blinker conked out, but I am pretty sure the connection came loose at the butt connecter I used. I remember wiring it and was about 1"~ short of wiring that I would have liked, so it still connected but was fairly tight with not much wiggle room, so I am thinking it probably came loose. I'll check it out and fix it - all the others worked fine.

First place I went was to a gas station 1/2 mile down the street, and as I was pulling in (turning in, down shifting into 2nd) my revs hung. I do not have a tach so I don't know what rpm it got hung up at but I would estimate around 3000 rpms or so. Clutch was in when they hung. I just coasted to the pump and killed it. Started it after and it was ok, so I brought it over to the air pump to get some air in the tires. I revved it and they got hung up again so I killed it since I had to pump up the tires anyways. After the tires, it started ok and didn't seem to hang anymore - any thoughts on this? Throttle cable was not getting stuck and the idle was set ok. I feel like it was maybe stuck on full advance on timing but I'm not really sure?

The last issue I had was with my tires. The tread and everything is in good shape but my front tire's valve stem is jacked. I never realized it as I had not looked at it yet. The rear valve stem is a bit long and took some finagling to get the air hose hooked up at the gas station, but it worked. It was down to about 15psi when I got there (same with the front)... luckily I don't have far to go. The front is my problem right now. The valve stem is very short - only about 1/4" of thread showing past the lock nut on there, and it seems to be mangled (not sure what the PO did to it) and the air hose could not hook onto it. How much of a pain is it to replace a valve stem yourself? I don't have many cycle shops local to me but I suppose I could bring it somewhere if need be - what does it typically run and would I need anything other than the valve stem? Wheel is the standard 19" spoked wheel.

Thanks and sorry for the long thread - didn't mean to write this much haha. Just excited to ride. I have a ride planned for this weekend that I wanted to have it ready for so time is a bit of an issue right now with the wheel stuff.

 

[I am Carbon]

hi there is no replacing just the stem on spoked wheels. there is a tube inside.
could be a few things going on with the revs.
I'm sure others will chime in.
carbs could be out of synk.

 

[XSLeo]

To check if the advance is sticking is to open the right side round cover on the head. Pull the weights out and let them snap back. If the snapback with a brisk movement then it's ok. If it's even a tiny bit sluggish you need to remove the rod.. clean it and the hole in the cam.
I was up to Harbor freight and they have a set of round brushes of different sizes and materials. A bit cheaper than the gun cleaning brushes I usually recommend. They also have a Moly grease in tubes for a grease gun. They recommend a moly grease.
Once clean you will see the bushes in the end of the cam. One is a smooth bush and the other has shallow grooves in it and call in a labyrinth seal. The grooves are a grease reservoir. Fill them with the moly grease. Spread a thin coat the full length of the rod. Reassemble and retest the snap back. Should be better.
On the short valve stem I would say that it was assembled wrong when the tube was installed. the valve stem is usually about 1 1/2 inches long. There are nuts on the stem. One closest to the tube stays on the stem the others come off. Install the tube and tire. With the valve stem sticking straight out of the rim put one nut on the stem. Leave it loose and inflate the tube then release the air. This stretches the tube then as it deflates the tube centers up in the tire. I often do this without the valve core in the stem and use the rubber tip on my blow gun to inflate the tube then just pull it away to release the air.
On a spoked wheel the rim is not very thick. Steel maybe a 32 of an inch, alloy just a bit more. Mags are much thicker.
this should leave about 3/4 to an inch sticking out.
Leo

 

[retroLS1]

I had tested it before and they seemed to snap back OK, but maybe my "ok" is not up to factory snuff. I'll have to swing by Harbor Freight and grab some of that stuff. The problem with that place is once you go in, you come out with arms full of stuff you had no intention of buying when you went in...

I don't think I have any moly grease, I'll have to get some. I do have a bunch of gun cleaning brushes however. What size are we talking? I think the advance rod looked to be maybe around a .45 or so?

 

[XSLeo]

Yeah, there abouts. Only thing is using them to clean out the cam may ruin them for gun cleaning.
I understand completely about Harbor freight. I was in for a few things and came out $345 poorer. A 6.5 hp engine for one of the mini bikes and one of there aluminum floor jacks that lift with just few strokes of the handle were a big part of it.
Leo

 

[retroLS1]

Haha yup. It's tough. I'll see if I have any moly grease at my work I can snag. If not I will get some at HF. Hopefully it's just the advance rod sticking. That's what it felt like, but I can't be 100% sure. A little lube never hurt anybody.

 

[5twins]

You can clean the cam bushings out with Q-tips dipped in solvent, no need for fancy cleaning brushes. Most auto parts stores carry some sort of moly grease. Your hanging RPMs could be related to carb jetting. If you have open pipes and pods but have not re-jetted the carbs to compensate, you're probably running too lean. Make sure your mix screws are opened up to at least 3 turns out too.

 

[retroLS1]

I am running pods and an open exhaust, and if my memory serves me correctly (doubtful) I am running 145 main and 42.5 pilot jet, mix screws are 3 turns out. How does that sound? I thought it might be a decent place to start with at least.

 

[peanut]

re the hanging revs... could one of your throttle slides be sticking and not returning properly ?

 

[retroLS1]

When I had the carbs out, both slides raise and drop freely. Tested the diaphragms covering the hole on the front of the carbs and they both checked out well also.

Most likely the advance rod is sticking I think. It isn't all the time, but enough that I have to pull over and kill the bike and start it up again and hope it doesn't stick. When I had it out when I was doing my Pamco and checking my advance unit a little while ago, I don't recall there being much grease on it. I am going to check my workplace tomorrow and see if I can find some grease with high moly content, or I'll swing by Autozone and grab some.

Going for my first "big ride" on Saturday for probably 5-6 hours, so just want to make sure it's in tip shop shape. Fixed a few issues today from my first shakedown ride - tightened my headlight down, fixed a bad butt connector for my front left turn signal (works fine now), installed a 3" bar end mirror (needed for inspection), and used a bicycle pump and I was able to get about 30psi in my front tire. I have a new tube and some other stuff getting delivered tomorrow from Mike's XS that I plan on having installed on Friday after work.

 

[retroLS1]

So I just had it out for a quick jaunt between rain storms to see how it would run. I picked up some Valvoline moly grease at Autozone after work and pulled the (bone dry) advance rod and lubed it up, along with the bushings.

Took it for maybe 5 miles or so (10-15 mins... Clouds are coming in fast). Started up first kick which was nice. Seemed a LITTLE hesitant just cracking the throttle and felt good mid range. Have not gone wide open on it yet. Was waiting at a light and - of course - right as it turned green, it stalled. My idle might have been set a little low so I raised it up a bit.

Overall rode pretty well. I think my foot pegs are a bit low because I scrape the toe of my boots any time I take a moderate turn. When I pulled back into my place, the revs got hung up again. It feels like they raised up on their own though - not just getting stuck. I was coasting with the clutch in and they raised up as I was pulling to my stop. Left me scratching my head?

And of course to top it off, the switch I am using for my ignition broke. Radio shack special. Must have broke when I turned the bike off. The actual black toggle part just broke right off. I'll stop in tonight and see if they have any metal ones instead. I'll probably end up switching to a keyed ignition but eh, oh well.

Supposed to go on a 4-5 hour ride tomorrow and I'm a bit nervous...

 

[peanut]

strange that the hanging revs only seems to happen when you pull in off the road with the clutch in.?
Are you sure that there is no possibility that the throttle cable could be pulling on something when you pull the bars left or right hard ? it would be worth checking that, with the bike on the stand .

Don't worry about the ride ... go and enjoy it. any old bike can break down at any time and if it does you might need to get a tow to a garage but thats all part of lifes experiences right?
take a camera and tell us all about it when you return.

 

[retroLS1]

Pretty positive that the cable isn't getting hung up on anything but I will double check this AM when I go out. I bought a big heavy duty SPST switch to replace my ignition switch with. I'll be hard pressed to break this one. Nervous, but excited about the ride. I haven't been on a real "ride" in probably 6-7 years.

 

[I am Carbon]

have a good time and safe trip.
maybe check the tire pressures before heading out.
I all ways make sure to take with me, cell phone, cash and card too, water and snacks, and towel, tools are always on bike no matter what.
again have a good time

 

[retroLS1]

Well since I am posting here, it obviously means I didn't make it out on the ride. Starting a new thread for my issues... But I'm not happy.