Well, I guess you’ll be able to go down the road in silence while getting really good fuel economy now that your engine won’t be visibly running....
Hmmmm....perhaps there is something wrong with my logic there.....
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What have you done to your XS today?
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Well, I guess you’ll be able to go down the road in silence while getting really good fuel economy now that your engine won’t be visibly running....
Hmmmm....perhaps there is something wrong with my logic there.....
Well, speaking of screw-ups - don’t even get within a mile of mentioning alternator brushes to me.
Dammit.
Dammit.
How about Alt. Rotors? I found one for $30 delivered to the house on evilbay. Asked the sellers to ohm it. They did and it was good. It came in the mail Wed and I checked it again and it was truly a good rotor. I just installed it and cranked the SG up and got 14.1V ! I'll finish checking the wiring in the headlight and button that up and probably go for an extended ride tomorrow. Jim, I will install your rebuilt one after it comes in and keep this OEM one as a spare.
That won't hurt anything. You had me chuckling about the ring...
used rotors from FZ600-1000 and other late 80's early 90s yammies. need a 7mm rotor spacer to use them. check madness and period piece threads.
LiveSlowDieWhenever
probably broke down. Just call me greasy.
The other day I drained my oil, swapped in fresh filters, cleaned up my sump plate, fresh gasket, buttoned everything up and proceeded to pour 2 quarts of fresh oil right onto the garage floor, all the while staring blankly at my two drain plugs, which were sitting on my shop table
Running the motor with a valve cover left open "on the other side" will do a better job of thoroughly coating everyF'n thing in the shop with oil.....
...and how do you know that Gary?
Today I machined 2 alloy sleeves for that step in the exhaust ports, as I am using 38 mm OD/ 35 mm ID single wall pipes. I ended up with just above 39 mm OD, 35 mm ID, bored 1 mm offset. So thickness is 1 mm at the bottom and 3 mm at the top. And around 14 mm long. With a slight interference fit, so they had to be tapped in. Hopefully this will help a little bit power wise.
Took my bike on a couple kms run to see if the new 35mm HD fork springs and old BMW rear shocks have been a good upgrade and they have. 
real smooth drive and not much nose dive upon braking. Still too much snow/salty runoff on the roads but in a few weeks will be good to go! 
real smooth drive and not much nose dive upon braking. Still too much snow/salty runoff on the roads but in a few weeks will be good to go!
pics!
LiveSlowDieWhenever
probably broke down. Just call me greasy.
What’s the story with the beemer shocks? Same length or shorter? Same 10mm mounting holes? I’ve been looking at old sportster shocks as a cost effective alternative but I’d imagine r series shocks would be alittle more forgivingTook my bike on a couple kms run to see if the new 35mm HD fork springs and old BMW rear shocks have been a good upgrade and they have.
I say you get the award for gentle hands...........how you didn't break the glass is beyond me...........Gauge looks nice......maybe look for and buy a dud rev counter and replace the bezel on your good gauge........even if you buy a good one at least you have a good spare, if it breaks down
http://www.xs650.com/threads/70-83-...damper-replacement-replace-face-decals.52013/
Hi ramblin,
dontcha just want to beat on the cheapskate who dreamed up coining the bezel on instead of having it threaded into place?
And your tach face ain't even sun-faded either so it's well worth the effort of re-prying the bezel now that you've learned the trick of it.
Rather than prying up the bezel's rear flange to access my speedo's loose face I cut it into two C-shapes with a thin Dremel wheel and pulled them off sideways. Stuck 'em back again with epoxy. Warning! That trick only works once.
BTW, until you decide on fix vs replace, pull the tach drive cable inner.
Wrap some electric tape round the bezel then snug on a hose clamp keeps from marring, scratching it. Don't try to straighten all at once, spend the time, take a couple trips around slowly standing up the edge.
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I bought a bunch of parts from a buddy and he had them on his bench. I took them home and installed them. I can measure them but seems they are over 13". The bottom fit the swingarm, but the top had to change out the rubber bushings and inserts. I got the preload set to max and they ride quite nice.
LiveSlowDieWhenever
probably broke down. Just call me greasy.
Thanks for the information! I thought the bmw shocks were longer, the ones I was looking at were in the 13”ish range, but thought maybe you’d stumbled upon some shorter ones. I’m looking to lower, but only if I can do so cost-effectively. Since the emgo’s are notoriously stiff I think I’ll end up with somethin off a used sporty (and save some $$ in the process) btw is that your scoot in your bio picture? That thing is mean!
Wrap some electric tape round the bezel then snug on a hose clamp keeps from marring, scratching it. Don't try to straighten all at once, spend the time, take a couple trips around slowly standing up the edge.
Hi Gary,
you didn't mention the custom-ground slip-joint pliers shown in the photo.
Another blindingly obvious customization once you've seen it, eh?
