Is this a new "Milwaukee 8" motor? They had to take some weight off the counter balancers, it was too smooth in beta testing.
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What have you done to your XS today?
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Not sure Gary - it says “107” on the RH engine intake cover which I assume is either the displacement of the engine in cubic inches or the weight of the shifter mechanism in pounds.
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It's an acquired taste but up shifting by tapping (stomping) your boot on the "heel" lever instead of pulling with your toe is addictive. That's how I ride my royal star. With a backrest that seating position is my "all day" favorite.
My daughter's Bolt has that "cruiser" seating position. Just KILLS my back. Hard to get used to the foot controls too, very awkward to shift.
Of course, I'm old and mostly ossified...
Of course, I'm old and mostly ossified...
The road glide is a big bike. I rode a friends one time several years ago and it was like riding a Cadillac. The hardest thing for me to get used to was the big fairing on front. It’s the only bike I’ve ridden where the fairing is fixed with the chassis and does not turn with the handlebars. It was a bit strange feeling to get used to, but didn’t take too long. Harley hand controls have always been that way with the turn signals on each grip side respectively. It’s definitely a different orientation than the metric bikes for sure. I’ve never ridden a bike with navigation. Seems like quite a distraction while being on 2 wheels to me.
Since you are in AZ, are you going to make good on your threats to Bob “mailman” and stop by to drink his beer???? Enjoy your trip!!!
Since you are in AZ, are you going to make good on your threats to Bob “mailman” and stop by to drink his beer???? Enjoy your trip!!!
Hate to get off topic and not talk about Harleys here, but I did a little work on the 1978 XS650 today.
And when I say little I mean it. The other day I was tracing out some wires on this bike that had been what I would call an experiment for some high school kids in a mechanics class at local tech school. I was using a small 12 volt power source to check the lights in the gauges. The ones inn the speedo all seemed to be working fine but out of four in the tach only one worked. That's when I noticed that one of the nuts that hold the tach in its housing was missing. Then I noticed the reason the threaded stud for the nut was broke. Now that's not good!
At first I thought I could just swap in the tach from the 1982 Special I have in parts but noticed that the 1982 Special did not have the neutral light in the tach like the 1978. So now what to do? I came up with the idea of fixing the broken stud. Did some digging and managed to find a small bolt with the same thread as the broken off stud would have. Then dug around in my cheep metric tap and die set and was lucky enough to find a tap the same size. I'd have to double check but think it is a 5mm X 0.8 thread.
So today the fun started found a drill bit that would drill a hole close to the right size to tap for the threads. I did a test drill and tap on a piece of scrap steel. Next was a little bit tricky as I had to drill down the center of the mounting stud that the threads had snapped off. Ground the broken area pretty flat and starting with a smaller bit got a hole started as close as I could. Not easy as this tach has a plastic case an using a center punch to mark the starting hole would not have been a good idea!
Once hole was drilled deep enough to get about 4-5 threads in the mount I temporarily chucked the tap in the drill press and turned the chuck by hand while holding the tach with one hand and worked the feed lever with my chin. I'm sure that would have made a good picture. Once I had tap started a couple turns I loosened the chuck with tap still in mount on tach. Then I put tap handle on the tap and used a small pair of needle-nose vice grips to hod the mount stud so as not put any pressure on the plastic tach housing. The I took the tap out and used some cleaning fluid to flush out any taping fluid and chips. I then used a drop of Red Loc-tite on the bolt and screwed it in good and snug. In the morning I will finish up the job by using a Demel with a fine cut off wheel to trim the screw to the same length as the good mount.
Now to get back on subject the 1978 is on a lift in the garage along with a Sportster and the 1982 Heritage Special is parked across the yard in barn with another Sportster. Is that enough Harley contenent?
And when I say little I mean it. The other day I was tracing out some wires on this bike that had been what I would call an experiment for some high school kids in a mechanics class at local tech school. I was using a small 12 volt power source to check the lights in the gauges. The ones inn the speedo all seemed to be working fine but out of four in the tach only one worked. That's when I noticed that one of the nuts that hold the tach in its housing was missing. Then I noticed the reason the threaded stud for the nut was broke. Now that's not good!
At first I thought I could just swap in the tach from the 1982 Special I have in parts but noticed that the 1982 Special did not have the neutral light in the tach like the 1978. So now what to do? I came up with the idea of fixing the broken stud. Did some digging and managed to find a small bolt with the same thread as the broken off stud would have. Then dug around in my cheep metric tap and die set and was lucky enough to find a tap the same size. I'd have to double check but think it is a 5mm X 0.8 thread.
So today the fun started found a drill bit that would drill a hole close to the right size to tap for the threads. I did a test drill and tap on a piece of scrap steel. Next was a little bit tricky as I had to drill down the center of the mounting stud that the threads had snapped off. Ground the broken area pretty flat and starting with a smaller bit got a hole started as close as I could. Not easy as this tach has a plastic case an using a center punch to mark the starting hole would not have been a good idea!
Once hole was drilled deep enough to get about 4-5 threads in the mount I temporarily chucked the tap in the drill press and turned the chuck by hand while holding the tach with one hand and worked the feed lever with my chin. I'm sure that would have made a good picture. Once I had tap started a couple turns I loosened the chuck with tap still in mount on tach. Then I put tap handle on the tap and used a small pair of needle-nose vice grips to hod the mount stud so as not put any pressure on the plastic tach housing. The I took the tap out and used some cleaning fluid to flush out any taping fluid and chips. I then used a drop of Red Loc-tite on the bolt and screwed it in good and snug. In the morning I will finish up the job by using a Demel with a fine cut off wheel to trim the screw to the same length as the good mount.
Now to get back on subject the 1978 is on a lift in the garage along with a Sportster and the 1982 Heritage Special is parked across the yard in barn with another Sportster. Is that enough Harley contenent?
motorbikerx
XS650 Addict
Hate to get off topic and not talk about Harleys here, but I did a little work on the 1978 XS650 today.
And when I say little I mean it. The other day I was tracing out some wires on this bike that had been what I would call an experiment for some high school kids in a mechanics class at local tech school. I was using a small 12 volt power source to check the lights in the gauges. The ones inn the speedo all seemed to be working fine but out of four in the tach only one worked. That's when I noticed that one of the nuts that hold the tach in its housing was missing. Then I noticed the reason the threaded stud for the nut was broke. Now that's not good!
At first I thought I could just swap in the tach from the 1982 Special I have in parts but noticed that the 1982 Special did not have the neutral light in the tach like the 1978. So now what to do? I came up with the idea of fixing the broken stud. Did some digging and managed to find a small bolt with the same thread as the broken off stud would have. Then dug around in my cheep metric tap and die set and was lucky enough to find a tap the same size. I'd have to double check but think it is a 5mm X 0.8 thread.
So today the fun started found a drill bit that would drill a hole close to the right size to tap for the threads. I did a test drill and tap on a piece of scrap steel. Next was a little bit tricky as I had to drill down the center of the mounting stud that the threads had snapped off. Ground the broken area pretty flat and starting with a smaller bit got a hole started as close as I could. Not easy as this tach has a plastic case an using a center punch to mark the starting hole would not have been a good idea!
Once hole was drilled deep enough to get about 4-5 threads in the mount I temporarily chucked the tap in the drill press and turned the chuck by hand while holding the tach with one hand and worked the feed lever with my chin. I'm sure that would have made a good picture. Once I had tap started a couple turns I loosened the chuck with tap still in mount on tach. Then I put tap handle on the tap and used a small pair of needle-nose vice grips to hod the mount stud so as not put any pressure on the plastic tach housing. The I took the tap out and used some cleaning fluid to flush out any taping fluid and chips. I then used a drop of Red Loc-tite on the bolt and screwed it in good and snug. In the morning I will finish up the job by using a Demel with a fine cut off wheel to trim the screw to the same length as the good mount.
Now to get back on subject the 1978 is on a lift in the garage along with a Sportster and the 1982 Heritage Special is parked across the yard in barn with another Sportster. Is that enough Harley contenent?
Now to get back on subject the 1978 is on a lift in the garage along with a Sportster and the 1982 Heritage Special is parked across the yard in barn with another Sportster. Is that enough Harley contenent?
Ahhh yes, well this answers my other question about fluid ounces to mls and as to just where this site is based!
Closet HDers lurk in here too I see, they're amongst Victory forum members too, strange but true.
Now back to XS650...What have I done today...nothing, well except admire its lines
As a matter of fact, Mailman, Daniel Black, AZMan357 and I are planning a meet-up on Saturday - and I am hoping that Bob will bring beer...
More on that later. Amended Harley Report
The bike is actually a Street Glide and not a Road Glide (who knew....) and so the fairing turns with the bars. Having said that, a frame mounted fairing isn’t a big deal after 10 minutes of riding - at least IMO. The seat on the Harley is excellent - fit me to a tee.
Today was a blast and I put well over 200 miles on the Harley riding from Phoenix through the mining town of Superior AZ to the town of Globe. There we had an excellent Mexican lunch at a famous restaurant in the old part of town and then returned via Winkleman AZ on Hwy. 77. We stopped at the lookout to see the huge Ray Mine - one of the largest open pit copper mines in the US.
It was a great day and I finally figured out the GPS unit and the cruise control. Tomorrow - the stereo! I must say, I’m getting used to the HD And I really can see why people are so devoted to them.
Pete
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The one running bike I have is a 90 fxrs. I’ve had sportsters, and a heritage softail. They’re ok. Mine is loud, vibrates a lot and leaks a lot of oil..... I like to play a game when I see harley guys and count how many times the words “harley Davidson” is written on their gear.
Hate to get off topic and not talk about Harleys here, but I did a little work on the 1978 XS650 today.
And when I say little I mean it. The other day I was tracing out some wires on this bike that had been what I would call an experiment for some high school kids in a mechanics class at local tech school. I was using a small 12 volt power source to check the lights in the gauges. The ones inn the speedo all seemed to be working fine but out of four in the tach only one worked. That's when I noticed that one of the nuts that hold the tach in its housing was missing. Then I noticed the reason the threaded stud for the nut was broke. Now that's not good!
At first I thought I could just swap in the tach from the 1982 Special I have in parts but noticed that the 1982 Special did not have the neutral light in the tach like the 1978. So now what to do? I came up with the idea of fixing the broken stud. Did some digging and managed to find a small bolt with the same thread as the broken off stud would have. Then dug around in my cheep metric tap and die set and was lucky enough to find a tap the same size. I'd have to double check but think it is a 5mm X 0.8 thread.
So today the fun started found a drill bit that would drill a hole close to the right size to tap for the threads. I did a test drill and tap on a piece of scrap steel. Next was a little bit tricky as I had to drill down the center of the mounting stud that the threads had snapped off. Ground the broken area pretty flat and starting with a smaller bit got a hole started as close as I could. Not easy as this tach has a plastic case an using a center punch to mark the starting hole would not have been a good idea!
Once hole was drilled deep enough to get about 4-5 threads in the mount I temporarily chucked the tap in the drill press and turned the chuck by hand while holding the tach with one hand and worked the feed lever with my chin. I'm sure that would have made a good picture. Once I had tap started a couple turns I loosened the chuck with tap still in mount on tach. Then I put tap handle on the tap and used a small pair of needle-nose vice grips to hod the mount stud so as not put any pressure on the plastic tach housing. The I took the tap out and used some cleaning fluid to flush out any taping fluid and chips. I then used a drop of Red Loc-tite on the bolt and screwed it in good and snug. In the morning I will finish up the job by using a Demel with a fine cut off wheel to trim the screw to the same length as the good mount.
Now to get back on subject the 1978 is on a lift in the garage along with a Sportster and the 1982 Heritage Special is parked across the yard in barn with another Sportster. Is that enough Harley contenent?
Great way to save the Tach. I have seen many of these with cracks in the plastic around the mounting bolt area. I presume this is from the amount of stress on theat bolt when mounted properlty and the vibration. Shame your fix is not posted where it can be accessed and not get lost in this thread.
motorbikerx
XS650 Addict
I got a 1982 Sturgis shirt....am I one of da bros? On my scoot....hehe
Go for a putt on my scoot bro
Go for a putt on my scoot bro
Pete’s Excellent Desert Adventure - Part II (and apologies for the continued Harley saga - but I didn’t know where else to post this)
On Thursday, my cousin & I rode from Phoenix to Roosevelt Lake stopping for lunch a cool place that is a combination diner, hardware store, butcher shop, gas station and saloon. Wow - only in Arizona!
We stopped at the Roosevelt Dam and inspected the very picturesque steel arch bridge over the mouth of the Salt River which provides a good portion of the water supply for metro Phoenix. What a magnificent setting and on such a beautiful day!
So, that was another 200 miles or so on the rented H-D Street Glide - and I like it.....not as much as my XS650, but it’s more than OK.
Part III - coming up and it’s nearly ALL XS650!
Pete
On Thursday, my cousin & I rode from Phoenix to Roosevelt Lake stopping for lunch a cool place that is a combination diner, hardware store, butcher shop, gas station and saloon. Wow - only in Arizona!
We stopped at the Roosevelt Dam and inspected the very picturesque steel arch bridge over the mouth of the Salt River which provides a good portion of the water supply for metro Phoenix. What a magnificent setting and on such a beautiful day!
So, that was another 200 miles or so on the rented H-D Street Glide - and I like it.....not as much as my XS650, but it’s more than OK.
Part III - coming up and it’s nearly ALL XS650!
Pete
Glad you are enjoying the Harley, Pete !
It wasn't the experience I had in 1999, when I met a woman online who lived 150 miles away in Ellenville, southern Catskills, and she said that she had two Harleys, one that I could drive. Figuring that if the date soured, at least I'd have the opportunity to spend the whole afternoon on the beast riding one of the nicest touring areas.
I drove down there on my 1985 FJ1200.
At her house, she had an old Sportster chopper in her shed, which we pulled out with a good deal of effort, having to clear out a lot of other junk. Then she drove me to where the new, '99 Road Glide was (Hmmmm, I thought, this is a bit suspicious), which was her recently-divorced ex's house. She told me where the key was to the garage, and she waited in the car. It was a sparkling clean red jewel, started right up, and I followed her home where we picked up the chopper. We travelled the winding roads in the Shokan Reservoir area. I found the Harley to be a lumbering, underpowered bike that felt like it needed air in the tires (it didnt).
As I was riding home, I realised that I had stolen the Harley from her ex for her. And he was a cop.
But I hadn't given her my last name.
.
.
It wasn't the experience I had in 1999, when I met a woman online who lived 150 miles away in Ellenville, southern Catskills, and she said that she had two Harleys, one that I could drive. Figuring that if the date soured, at least I'd have the opportunity to spend the whole afternoon on the beast riding one of the nicest touring areas.
I drove down there on my 1985 FJ1200.
At her house, she had an old Sportster chopper in her shed, which we pulled out with a good deal of effort, having to clear out a lot of other junk. Then she drove me to where the new, '99 Road Glide was (Hmmmm, I thought, this is a bit suspicious), which was her recently-divorced ex's house. She told me where the key was to the garage, and she waited in the car. It was a sparkling clean red jewel, started right up, and I followed her home where we picked up the chopper. We travelled the winding roads in the Shokan Reservoir area. I found the Harley to be a lumbering, underpowered bike that felt like it needed air in the tires (it didnt).
As I was riding home, I realised that I had stolen the Harley from her ex for her. And he was a cop.
But I hadn't given her my last name.
.
.
Yikes! Well, we’ve all had our adventures - but that is a scary one indeed. Glad you came away in one piece Dude!
yup, it was an adventure. But I like to live dangerously.
Aaaahhhggggg - I can’t bear to look at that picture!!!!! 
wrenchjohns
XS650 Addict
Made her jealous again! Put her on the tender and rolled out the King to put on V&H twin slash slip on's, Arlen Ness high flow intake, and fp3 tuner. The last time I made her jealous she made me kick A LOT to restart at the Indian dealer (which is 25 miles from home). john
dingo_dan_22
XS650 Member
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dingo_dan_22
XS650 Member
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