Bob Kelly III
Ranch Kid from way back,.... that got Old !
I just fired up the bike and warmed her up, then turned it off.... still waiting fer liscnses ! Drat!
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Bob........
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Bob........
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What have you done to your XS today?
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Michaelo
650Mick
Over the weekend i did a 150 mile run, I must say my bike is just running like a well oiled watch, its just giving and giving. loves a good belt up the highway. bent my centre stand, yeah I know, too heavy on the hoof. Did a crap weld job, please be kind I cannot weld for crap but it did the trick and I put two fillets in to strengthen it up, greased up the bolts and threw it back on.
recent oil change and filter check looked good, I change my oil every 1000 miles...
recent oil change and filter check looked good, I change my oil every 1000 miles...
Bob Kelly III
Ranch Kid from way back,.... that got Old !
it just looks like you need a bit more heat Mick or slow down a bit is all.... some times my welds look like that as well LOL
the thing is to make the weld stronger than the metal it's connected to ! you do that by joining the molten metal together...
I learned to weld using a Oxie/Accdetiline rig at about 12 yrs old and later moved on to Stick arc welding then Mig and Tig
I admit my Mig and tig welding SUK but I an alwayse confident of my welds because I make the puddles flow together from both pieces of metal being joined.... it's slower and more laborious and many will say it's not nessarry, but I've never had my welds brake and I atribute that to the puddling techneque ! .....
Most welders just Jam the rod in at real High amps and are only concerned about the speed of the Rod's movement over the metal
and in truth that does work very well... but I like the puddle method better , I can't seam to do it very good with anything but 6011 rod
so that is usually what I buy. you can glue metal together in just about any way you want but only a few methods will have the holding power your after.... usually I find that the Amps to be used with the Rod is only close ..... and I just go from there and increase or decrease amps as needed...... My welds are never Purdy.... but they HOLD i figure that's what the grinder is for if ya want purdy ! LOL !!!!!
with the puddle method in Arc welding many will tell you that's wrong because it's too cold of a weld but if you do it right and slow enough
its an unbelieveably strong weld one pass is as good as 3 fast passes with good penitration.....
this is Obviously MY opinion and not a professional welder speaking ....so experiment some on some scrap and see if you can get it to work for you.....lol
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Bob...........
the thing is to make the weld stronger than the metal it's connected to ! you do that by joining the molten metal together...
I learned to weld using a Oxie/Accdetiline rig at about 12 yrs old and later moved on to Stick arc welding then Mig and Tig
I admit my Mig and tig welding SUK but I an alwayse confident of my welds because I make the puddles flow together from both pieces of metal being joined.... it's slower and more laborious and many will say it's not nessarry, but I've never had my welds brake and I atribute that to the puddling techneque ! .....
Most welders just Jam the rod in at real High amps and are only concerned about the speed of the Rod's movement over the metal
and in truth that does work very well... but I like the puddle method better , I can't seam to do it very good with anything but 6011 rod
so that is usually what I buy. you can glue metal together in just about any way you want but only a few methods will have the holding power your after.... usually I find that the Amps to be used with the Rod is only close ..... and I just go from there and increase or decrease amps as needed...... My welds are never Purdy.... but they HOLD i figure that's what the grinder is for if ya want purdy ! LOL !!!!!
with the puddle method in Arc welding many will tell you that's wrong because it's too cold of a weld but if you do it right and slow enough
its an unbelieveably strong weld one pass is as good as 3 fast passes with good penitration.....
this is Obviously MY opinion and not a professional welder speaking ....so experiment some on some scrap and see if you can get it to work for you.....lol
.....
Bob...........
Michaelo
650Mick
Yeah I am hearing you Bob, I learnt to braze at school, stick weld later on, now Mig is foreign to me, remember the thickness of the stand was thin, the plate I was using thick. Couldn't get the puddles happening but you get that. I did however give it a good belt with a hammer when finished and it's held up. So for something you don't see much it'll do the job....I hope 
The mig welder was in the bike shop where I used to do some work when I was made redundant, now iam working full time again, easy access to a welder but no sick welder.
Tomorrow work, then a nice long ride on the mighty 650B
The mig welder was in the bike shop where I used to do some work when I was made redundant, now iam working full time again, easy access to a welder but no sick welder.
Tomorrow work, then a nice long ride on the mighty 650B
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Bob Kelly III
Ranch Kid from way back,.... that got Old !
Yah ! ain't it cool I have 2 days of clear weather coming thursday and friday and if I can I am going to take the o'l girl out for a Romp in the woods .... hahaha ! we'll see how she handles dirt roads..... ain't done that yet with her ! HAHAHAH!
Bob.....
Bob.....
Jimbo W
XS650 Enthusiast
What I did to my XS ('80 Special 2) today was something very stupid. Been reading about sealed-off mixture screws on here, decided on the spur of the moment, just before we were going out, to drill off my covers. Tackled the left side 1st, gently with a hand drill & then a pick - the cover flew off, thought I'd done well but couldn't see a screw, stuck a wire down the hole which went in a long way. We went out, all day I'm thinking oh crap - have I removed the wrong thing? Got home, checked the forum for a pic (& my carbs again with a torch this time) - yep, mixture screws are on top of the carbs, no covers. WTF have I drilled? Epoxied a tiny bb over the hole in panic mode which I hope will mean I have salvaged my carb.
Reminder to self: don't rush into something with half an idea of what you're doing, especially with a drill or power tool in your stupid hands.
Reminder to self: don't rush into something with half an idea of what you're doing, especially with a drill or power tool in your stupid hands.
Bob Kelly III
Ranch Kid from way back,.... that got Old !
LOL Good one Jimbo ! "slappie Handie" no-no ! hehehehehehhe
wish I could say I never did anything stupid like that...... but the fact is I probably have done more than most...and KEEP DOING IT ! AURGH!!!!!!
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Ahem...... today I pulled the battery out of the XS and put it back on the charger...... ....that's it.... time fer a nap man, I worked too hard !
HAHAHAHA!
Bob..........
wish I could say I never did anything stupid like that...... but the fact is I probably have done more than most...and KEEP DOING IT ! AURGH!!!!!!
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Ahem...... today I pulled the battery out of the XS and put it back on the charger...... ....that's it.... time fer a nap man, I worked too hard !
HAHAHAHA!
Bob..........
Sandblasted the swing arm and frame and finished the neck gussets and seat front mounting plate, installed steering damper and checked fork to tank clearance before drilling fork stops (69 Camaro hood bumpers) and changed my mind on using the Knight Tank-Seat combo in favor of the new Champion seat for XS650`s which involves changing the rear shock mounts and welding on a new seat loop.But,that could change tomorrow too?
Bob Kelly III
Ranch Kid from way back,.... that got Old !
WOW really nice Halfmile ! looking great !
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Bob........
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Bob........
BigJimmyW13
XS650 Guru
Not a thing....
Bob Kelly III
Ranch Kid from way back,.... that got Old !
Well I at least got the battery back in and fired it up and got it out of my tiny shop ...it's ready to go for tomorrow though ! LOL
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Bob......
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Bob......
Bob Kelly III
Ranch Kid from way back,.... that got Old !
Well I fired up the bike and went for a ride down the road (Hw97) went about 5 miles and turned right on a dirt road and went way back into the mountians... past the Railroad tracks and to a volcanic cinder quary.... I stopped a few times and gave the bike a rest and admired the view.... sure is gorgious out there ! .... I got bumped off the road on one of the hills and then the bike's rear wheel spun and it sank real fast so I got off and looked around .... the soil is mostly volcanic ash and almost like sand hard as hell to ride on with this heavy bike !
i moved about a dozen rocks and then pushed her back and then continued up the steep hill.....
I know there was no stick in the road when I left that spot.... but on the way back something had put a rather large stick in the middle of the road LOL..... I guess Mr.Big foot didn't like me up there and it was his way of saying..."and don't come back !!!!!"
it really was a purty place no water up there that I could see anywhere.... no creeks running lots of valleys and large pines and rocky out-croppings..... next time I will take my camara ! LOL
anyway when I hit the pavement again headding back I took it up to 5th gear and 4000rpm and that was a constant 65mph to cruse at 70 it will have to be closer to 4500 to 5000 rpm.... a bit low geared for the long haul i think.....
all in all the bike ran like a top and never even hickuped ! she did get a bit warm running in 1st going up the 8 or so miles up to the Quary
I could smell it so I decided to give her a break and let her cool down...
It was a COLD ride.... probably only 65 degrees out there now and it warmed up allot from what it was earlier ! HAHAHAHA!
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Bob.......
i moved about a dozen rocks and then pushed her back and then continued up the steep hill.....
I know there was no stick in the road when I left that spot.... but on the way back something had put a rather large stick in the middle of the road LOL..... I guess Mr.Big foot didn't like me up there and it was his way of saying..."and don't come back !!!!!"
it really was a purty place no water up there that I could see anywhere.... no creeks running lots of valleys and large pines and rocky out-croppings..... next time I will take my camara ! LOL
anyway when I hit the pavement again headding back I took it up to 5th gear and 4000rpm and that was a constant 65mph to cruse at 70 it will have to be closer to 4500 to 5000 rpm.... a bit low geared for the long haul i think.....
all in all the bike ran like a top and never even hickuped ! she did get a bit warm running in 1st going up the 8 or so miles up to the Quary
I could smell it so I decided to give her a break and let her cool down...
It was a COLD ride.... probably only 65 degrees out there now and it warmed up allot from what it was earlier ! HAHAHAHA!
.....
Bob.......
Had breakfast with the Mrs. and then took off for a ride through the desert mountain foothills South of where I live. Stopped by the spring training facility for the Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds on the way. Had a blast, perfect weather and the bike was really humming.
This is the road going to Phoenix International Raceway , the stock car track. I was going to get a photo at the track but they have really tightened security there. It used to be you could drive right up to it, but they have built chain link fences way out from the track now and you have to pass through guard shacks to get near it. Damn terrorists have ruined everything.
When I was in high school I used to ride my dirt bike on that hillside in that photo. When that track was first built it was for Formula One cars. A. J. Foyt won the first Indy style race there in 1964. My dad and brother were at that race.
This is the road going to Phoenix International Raceway , the stock car track. I was going to get a photo at the track but they have really tightened security there. It used to be you could drive right up to it, but they have built chain link fences way out from the track now and you have to pass through guard shacks to get near it. Damn terrorists have ruined everything.
When I was in high school I used to ride my dirt bike on that hillside in that photo. When that track was first built it was for Formula One cars. A. J. Foyt won the first Indy style race there in 1964. My dad and brother were at that race.
TimeMachine
SeventyEighte
Beautiful Bike, skies and scenery mailman . So different from the Northwest ! the pics and experience sharing is appreciated. You sure deserve the ride ! -RT
Thanks, this is just about the last of the really nice riding weather here. It's already passed 100 degrees here a couple of times and is expected to be past that again by the end of the week. Yesterday a weather front pushed through here and I woke up to 53 degrees and clear and sunny! I just HAD to go for a ride!
queenslegs
XS650 Addict
Damn that looks awesome Mailman, both the bike and the day. Twas colder than a witch's tit round here today.
Dam.......I'm liking that color more and more every time i see your bike.... Is it an off white? Either way the white and decals really set the bike off .....great pics
Michaelo
650Mick
Great story Mailman, your bike really looks the goods, was also a fan of A.J Foyt, them's were the days.
