What have you done to your XS today?

Pulled the engine last night and stripped the top section ... Today i cleaned and prepared the components for rebuild need new head gasket set. new rings and to hoan the cylinders.
 
I fold a piece about the size of a sheet of paper into 4ths the way you would fold a piece of sandpaper. If it is wadded up it breaks up quickly. Folks on here mention using the dull side. I don't know what the difference is, but also use the dull side.
 
I did a bunch today.... I took the o'l girl for a ride and everything was great on the bike.... it ran perfect I have no complaints and I am being really picky!
I went for about 10 miles one way returned home about the time my back and shoulders started hurting big time....
so I took a break and then pulled the plugs for a color check... they were WHITE !!!! NOT GOOD !!!! i am at 3500ft ASL and I think that has allot to do with it.... so I pulled the carbs and took my torch cleaning tips and opened up the main jets to the next torch tip size using a go no-go stragity....
not far enough to get into the cutters on the torch tip but big enough to get on the tip easy..... which is bigger than they were I'm guessing that their both about 134's now and were 132.5's.....
I put it back to gether mostly...I ran out of get up and go...... so I'll finish tomorrow and take it for another ride
I pulled the clutch plate and the back upper motor mount and put the wires where they were supposed to be, i got in a hurry and missed that when I put the engine back in a while back.... so that's done right now.... I just have the air boxes to go back on now and the gastank and then I can try it again
those plugs being white with only a tiny hint of tan was too lean to me and I know 4 strokers can go really lean and survive but not that lean
it is air cooled after all ! ..... we shall see what my make shift jetting did to the burn tomorrow I hope
the smallest drill bit i have is 1/16" and that was too big so I used the torch tip cleaners and reamed them out that way..... took a while but i don't have to wait for parts either !!!!! heheheheheheh ! ( i did a bunch of jetting in my younger days only once did I have to change the pilot jet...that was on a Suzuki 250cc single that I ported and polished radically and...man, did that puppy Run after that !!!!!!!)
i'm hoping I won't have to do the pilot jets too.... if I do I'll just buy new ones.
.....
Bob.........
 
I did a sync and tune on the SG's carbs and a quick chain adjustment. Then took her on a 180 mile ride this afternoon. It was a good day for a good ride.
 
Put new grommets in the foot peg mounting brackets and test fit the steel YZ foot pegs for the scrambler project and made seat rail and neck gussets. Lots more to do.
XS Today 006.JPG XS Today 004.JPG XS Today 001.JPG XS Today 008.JPG
 
It was finally warm enough today in the garage to pour some pewter. People just keep giving me bags of old pewter mugs, gotta do something with them.
Now for the fun part, all that filing and sanding........

5.JPG
 
I'll say! Resto's emblems will have place of pride on my cafe build - they really are beautifully made!

Pete
 
indeed Pete !
.... well today I didn't do too much , just buttoned her all back up took the front forks back to their softest setting and lowered the rear shock to try and soften the ride some.... it felt like it was sprung like a truck !!!!
i re-adjusted the pilot air screws just a bit ago....doing the dead cylinder test,..... sure did improve the crispness feel, ( this time I did it with the air boxes on and they had to adjust out much further than before!)
runs good though ! .... if it's not raining tomorrow (it might be) I'll take her out again and see how the o'l girl runs this time....
I hope it will be softer this time as I'm still kind'a sore from the last ride..... go figure ! that steel seat I made SUX !!!!!
Hopefully that seat from BBQRider will get here before next month and I can work at getting it mounted properly...
I'm hoping I'm done working on it..... and can concentrate on riding it now....HAHHAHA!
the bike is 450lbs ( i've been corrected! LOL) but it seams heavier than that.... lowering the suspension should help a small amount with that !
.....I tightened the Cam chain tensioner last night as well, and it made a big diference in the noise and the run of the engine.... seams it was a long way off .....like about 5 turns !!!! I doubt it has ever been adjusted in the past. HAHAHAH !
....Bob.........
 
I finally managed to find a real nice backrest after 3x years of hunting ebay. Not sure if these are oem or aftermarket but they sure do look great .
I wanted this type of backrest so that I can stuff an old Army bag ,sit it on the pass seat, strap it to the backrest and use it to lean back against . Hopefully it will support my lumbar and allow me to go on some longer rides maybe a tour.
I'll probably fit a standard seat with it as I won't need the step on the special seat anymore as back support.
On reflection looking at the side view it might be set too far back to lean back on ?
xs650 backrest.jpg
xs650 backrest side view.jpg
 
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In the 1970's, I too used a sissybar and a duffel bag or sleeping bag strapped on there to lean against..... you'll probably have to tilt your handle bars back about 6" though to make them reachable !
Nice looking Ride there Peanut !
on my 1100cc honda I made a backrest that could be removed by pressing a clip i made out of a hacksaw blade.... it fit betweent the front and back seatin the gap between the seats.... it worked great for years before the fire that took them all....
here's a pic...
Honda Shadow 1100cc.JPG

the back rest was a backrest from an office chair that was adjustable in height.... this was a very cumfortable machine to ride...i miss it!
Bob.........
 
thats a brilliant solution Bob.

That looks like an excellent lumbar support. I have looked at a couple of mid-seat backrests but couldn't see how I could fit them to my special stepped seat.
I think you're right about setting my bars back a bit . They may have been further back originally and have been forced forward from man handling the bike around . I've got this vision of those easy rider choppers from the movie . They just looked so comfortable for touring and cruising.

My 79 is an import from Iowa came over the pond in 97 and is largely original so I'm inclined to keep it that way
 
The gremlins are after me again!! Started going thru my, carefully labeled and stored, parts to get everything I need to complete the front wheel assy. My speedometer drive has apparently vaporized. And I also can't find he rotor that was on the front wheel that I bought for the rear wheel conversion. Maybe that used wheel didn't have one but I'm pretty sure it did. I would like to put dual discs on the front so it would be nice if that rotor showed up. very frustrating!!
 
Thanks Peanut !
I just took the bike out for another shake down run..... she RUNS PERFECT ! no soft spots that I could see in the throttle, she definately pulls harder sense I opened the mainjets a small amount and the plug color is tan now so I'm going to leave the carburation alone now.... I think that's all sorted out ! WOOO HOOO ! ..... However .... I did notice something new... I also adjusted the cam chain and now there is a High pitched Wrrrrr sound from the top end area.... I'm wondering if I adjusted it correctly.... the manual said just to adjust the inner adjusting nut to be level with the inner rod... it did not say Where the crank should be positioned though ! I looked at the rod and slowly turned it over till the rod was as far in as it would go ...Then I adjusted the adjusting nut so the rod was level to the end.... locked it back down and buttoned her back up..... i had to go an extreamly LONG way with the adjusting nut.... about 5 turns .... almost 1/4" to get the rod level with the back part.... I'm thinking it was never adjusted before....sense my Brother-in-law bought it way back in 1983.... But it did adjust up and sounds less noisy than it was berfore... but there is a new sound like a high pitched Wrrrrrrr coming from the top end and almost a Squeek at times.... I know I'm getting oil up there on the valve system...lots of it ! so it shouldn't be dry....but it sounds it !
.... i'm probably being paranoid and its just the sound she makes when running.....
there was hardly any viberation in the handlebars today doing the "DeadCylinder"adjustment really helped that and smoothed the run out completely
My riding was better today LOL more confident I guess and relying on instink LOL.....i went about 20 miles one way today and don't have a single complaint about the bike other than the noise it makes.....
I do love the way that twin pulls and her exhaust sound..... there is more than enough power there for my wife and I to ride it at 70mph up hill ...i'm fairly certain of that..... not that I could ever talk her in to getting on it ! HAHAHAHAH!
......
On that 1100cc 's back rest.... I realised shortly after I bought the bike from My Dad thatI needed some back support on it....
and I set about making it removable so I could pop it off for 2 up riding...just incase she did deside to come along ! LOL
I wound up making a box out of about 1/8" to 3/16" thick plate steel that had a small gap the width of the seat back rest's barstock post....
it was a 2"x3/16" by 12" long piece of plain o'l barstock....The box was about 4"long
the box i made I simply laid the barstock inside the long box and tacked it together made sure the fit was loose enough to get in and out easy
and then welded it up.... it was held to the frame of the motorcycle by 2- 7/16"bolts on either side, the bracker welded to the box had to be at an angle leaning back .... then I simply made a pin about 1/4" long and 1/4" in diam.... and drilled a hole in the backrest post when it was bottomed out in the box.... I filed down the sides of the pin to make a step about 1/8" in diameter .... I then drilled a hole through a piece of hack saw blade and rivited the pin into that hole.....so it would stay... then rivited the hack saw blade to a small over lap of the box....
once it was finished I could simply put my hand between the seats and feel for the hacksaw blade and push it backwards and it would release the backrest post..... It worked very well....and was quick and easy to remove or put on.... I had Plastic saddle bags on it for most of the time
and I could toss the back rest in the saddle bag....
I did make the box a bit too wide though and it allowed the backrest post to flop from side to side a bit only about an inch or so but I found when riding the machine that that was just perfect as that was about how far I leaned LOL.... So all in all it did work out fantastically
no need for a sleeping bag and bunji-cords after that ! And sense I wasn't about to need it for extra curicular activities any more I left the sleeping bag home ! LOL......
....Hope that gives you some ideas on how to make up one.... their a god send , those backrests ! you can ride all day if ya have back support !
HAHAHAHAH!
Bob.........
 
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Doug79 : Man I hope you can find it ! My dad always said Keep looking fer it Son, it'll be in the last place ya LOOK !!!!! LOL
.....Bob......
 
LOL I know the feeling Doug !!!!
Isn't it amazing how something as simple as droping a bolt in the shop can make it TOTALLY Dissipear !?!?!?! I have on many occasions dropped a bolt and it's as if it fell into a black hole ! gone..... completely not there ! ...only to find it has re apeared 3 weeks later on the shelf !!!!! how did it get there no one knows ! certainly not Me ! ..... I think it has something to do with the practical applications of the quantum field theory ! LOL where for a miniscule amount of time a partical can be at 2 points in space at one time..... but I think it don't have to be just a partical !!!!!!! its just plane STRANGE !!!!!!
.....hehehehehehe !
I'm also almost certain that Lost socks in the Dryer, Re-meterilise as coat hangers in the closet !
Bob........
 
Nice looking Resto ! well done
Are you using Green sand for the molds ? I got into doing aluminum a bit and love it....
but I still havn't set up my forge sense we moved up here ! LOL .....
Bob...........
 
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