What have you done to your XS today?

[lakeview]

And a big thanks to Max Pete for his 5 line summary of clutch cable adjustment!

 

[MaxPete]

Cool! Have you taken her out for a ride?

P

 

[azman857]

I got a new Fiat regulator in the mail some time back. ebay purchase. A even longer time ago I got an 3 ph rectifier. also an ebay win. Recently after installing the new rotor, no charge still. I have decided to make a new Rec-Reg plate. Now if I could just find that rectifier.....

 

[lakeview]

Did a lap around the back yard till the carbs ran dry. So I am reenergized. Then dug out from storage a set of plastic air boxes. Think I am getting a sort of Stockholm syndrome with this machine.

 

[MaxPete]

Excellent!!

Somebody is going to get a pretty darned nice bike there.

 

[Solomoriah]

Okay, this was yesterday... didn't get a chance to post until today.

I pulled the bent left rear signal, ran three nuts onto the stud, slipped it into a piece of iron pipe and bent it straight. Bent the mounting point (tab? flange?) straight with vice grips, put it all back together and here it is:

Sorry I don't have a "before" pic. So now I have to disassemble the headlight to do the same thing to both front signals... and straighten the headlight lens while I'm in there. Later.

Next, I carefully threaded the new left mirror into the damaged clutch perch threads. I think it's going to be okay. The new master cylinder has a silver-colored lever, so I pulled the stock black lever from the clutch and put on the one from my TW200, which isn't a perfect match but it is close.

The TW got a set of shorties a long time back, and as we all do, I threw the old ones on a shelf in case I ever needed them.

Last, I took a look at the wiring under the seat. Don't think it's supposed to look like this...

Not sure what happened here. I've read that the Specials have a fuse box on top of the battery, so the location is right, but the box has been replaced by this ugly hack. The left-side signals don't blink, so I'm assuming it's something in this area. The previous owner(s) should not have been allowed to touch tools. (I'm not sure I should either, but I know better than this.)

 

[Downeaster]

That "fuse box" was an open board with glass fuses in brass clips. It was a major source of electrical gremlins. What you see there is a pretty standard fustercluck in an attempt to fix the problem.

A MUCH better fix is to go to a blade-type fuse box something like this and clean up the wiring.

How I did mine. It's under the left side cover.

 

[lakeview]

I can almost promise you that your blinking problem will not be resolved under the seat, but the stuff under the seat is not so bad for now. Chase one gremlin at a time.

 

[gggGary]

solderblob on TS switch gone loose, open LH control, dig in, find, easy resolder, done.
A radio shack real cheap n easy solder in, fuse box, I'm think'n these are YOUR kind of fixes..

 

[Solomoriah]

I have to take the left side controls apart anyway, so I suppose I'll find it if it's there. Thanks guys.

 

[lakeview]

Well the 80 is now done and listed on Kijiji. Even put the plastic air boxes back on it! I am going to get first hand knowledge of the local market on these machines. I am asking $2,199.00 and will see how realistic that is in a few days.

 

[robinc]

I am asking $2,199.00 and will see how realistic that is in a few days.

Well, not that I keep track of the market or anything lakeview but I can say that there have been 21 Specials listed for sale on Kijiji (in Ontario) this year. Top price, $4000, Lowest, $1000, average price $2640.00.

Of course I have no idea how much they sold for.

That's certainly very reasonable and maybe a bit low to start considering the great condition it is in based on the others I've seen.

 

[Tom]

Made a coil mount and attached the dual coil for soon arriving PAMCO....

 

[Solomoriah]

I put the new bars together in a "preliminary" fashion:

The left side blinkers used to not work... now neither side does. Never disconnected anything, so I'm not sure what went wrong. I haven't removed the old master cylinder completely, as I need to open up the headlight and sort out the wiring... and of course, remove the tank before actually disconnecting the brake line, to avoid damaging the paint.

Here's my next task:

Open up the headlight, remove and repair each signal, sort out the excess wiring, and figure out why the blinkers don't work. And then put it all back together.

And of course, I still have to retorque the head. Waiting for anti-seize to arrive, and then I'll pull the tank and get on with it.

 

[Mailman]

Those bars look good on your bike. You’re making good progress. You should consider starting a build thread where you can document all your progress and have all your photos in one continuous thread.

 

[MaxPete]

Well the 80 is now done and listed on Kijiji. Even put the plastic air boxes back on it! I am going to get first hand knowledge of the local market on these machines. I am asking $2,199.00 and will see how realistic that is in a few days.View attachment 122820

Looks very nice Lakeview - as I said above, someon is goi g to get a darned nice bike!

Pete

 

[MaxPete]

Well, it was a big day for Lucille and I. We left Windsor at about 9:30 AM on a sort of “shake down” cruise in preparation for the big Vintage Yamaha Rally Expedition of 2018. By the end of the day when we wheeled into my driveway at home (23:58 local time), we had covered 417 miles (about 670 km). I will admit that I did spend several hours working on a couple of Daddy-do projects at the new apartment of Daughter #3 - but the remainder of the time was spent with my darling Lucille.

Lucille is not a beautifully restored museum piece. She has....patina...by the boat-load - and while I am working on tarting her up, I have faced the fact that I am really more into the functionality of the machine than her appearance. I bought her to ride - including long distance touring - and my first big trip will be to the VYR rally in Stecoah NC in September. So it was time to check her out on a long ride to ensure that any problems happen relatively close to home.

Our day included a 75 MPH blast (speed estimated - it was likely just at or under the 100 km/hr speed limit), a bunch of city riding including some stop and go, and a good deal of back road 70-90 km/hr, 4000 RPM pottering along in the pretty countryside of Elgin, Norfolk, Middlesex, Kent and Essex counties, plus a damned good fish & chips dinner at Port Dover (site of the famous Friday the 13th biker events) and even a very sudden, but heavy rain shower, which is always fun on a dark twisty road when your headlight is flickering.

I filled Lucille’s patina encrusted red ‘76 tank several times and averaged about 56 mpIMPg, which is good in my books. Oil consumption was nil and she started on the first or second prod of the button every time. She didn’t make any funny noises or smells, nothing leaked and not too much fell off (see below), and she handled like a lady.

I also tried some touring equipment that I have acquired. I used my trusty old MotoCentric tailbag and a cheap magnetic tankbag which has the typical clear plastic map window pocket on top. Inside the map pocket I stuck an old Garmin automotive GPS unit which I powered off a Chinoise dual USB/volt meter handlebar mounted unit that I bought on eBay for about $7.00 a while back. All of the gear worked like a charm and, even without any sort of windscreen, I was comfy and not too fatigued.

The key point is that she and I should certainly be capable of the VYR trip when the time comes. I returned home just before midnight with a bit of a sore bum and list of minor snags that needs to be addressed:

• one of the instrument lights in her tachometer is burned out (surprise!!);
• her horn is MUCH too wimpy for a trip to the home of the brave and the land of the texting Escalade twit;
• Lucille’s headlight flickers sometimes (amazingly, I’ve never ridden her on a really dark night before) - that needs to be fixed - chop-chop;
• her head gasket is weeping a bit - time for a re-torque;
• her drive chain needs an adjustment;
• her rear brake is a bit soft - adjustment needed;
• it is time to replace the fuel lines as they've been on & off many times and the ends are getting soft;
• it is also time to check the sump strainer again.

and last, but not least:

• after 42 years, for some reason, the nice little round chrome cover-cap over top of the clutch adjuster fell off - does anyone have an extra cover with which they would part?

Anyhow, nothing life threatening (hers or mine) happened and nothing that presages any dire unreliability. Basically, she performed everything I asked of her today in a reliable, effective, cost efficient, ladylike and graceful fashion. I’m impressed and I’ll call it a definite win.

As for Lucille, her reaction to the day can be summed up as:

Pete

 

[rsor]

Clutch cover
http://www.xs650direct.com/products-22.html
way down near the bottom of the page.
I have one, seems to work fine.

 

[lakeview]

Don't fret the little clutch cover, Pete, I have a couple you can choose from.

 

[Solomoriah]

Those bars look good on your bike. You’re making good progress. You should consider starting a build thread where you can document all your progress and have all your photos in one continuous thread.

Hmm. I suppose I should do that... thanks!

... the home of the brave and the land of the texting Escalade twit

THIS. Right here. I like this... so consistent with my experience!