What have you done to your XS today?

[Rider52]

Been working on this, bet you can guess what bike it's headed for. found it on CL in northern Wisconsin last winter, the wheel bearings were the worst seized I have ever seen, replacements on order. A bit corroded but cleaned up fine for a rider. The matching rear will be a bigger project, have to make spacers, and have to convert the bike to disk rear, will show some details when I get going on it.
View attachment 108980

View attachment 108982

My brother in law worked for the local Yamaha dealer for several years. While working there, he purchased a year old 1974 650 with 900 miles on the odometer. At some point that year, the dealer gave him a set of Shelby Dowd wheels for the 650. He mounted new Dunlop tires on the wheels and mounted the wheels on the bike. That was the last time the bike was on the road. In 1997, he gave it to me. I can't find any pictures of the bike or the wheels. I'm in Georgia and the bike is currently at our other house in Arkansas. However, I do have a copy of the installation instructions.

 

[kshansen]

Well what I did was very minor but might lead to something more in the next few months.

What I did was to roll the 1978 Special out of the barn it has been sitting in for maybe 10 years or more and put it up on the bike lift.

Also found out I have to do some trouble shooting on my 1982 Heritage Special, Started it to move over to the barn and now even with side stand up it shuts down every time I put it into gear. First time for that problem since putting the bike on the road this spring. Might be something simple but need to get some ideas on trouble shooting the system. First step might be to jumper out the switch, or just check to see if switch shows continuity in one position and none in the other.

 

[YamadudeXS650C]

Well what I did was very minor but might lead to something more in the next few months.

What I did was to roll the 1978 Special out of the barn it has been sitting in for maybe 10 years or more and put it up on the bike lift.

Also found out I have to do some trouble shooting on my 1982 Heritage Special, Started it to move over to the barn and now even with side stand up it shuts down every time I put it into gear. First time for that problem since putting the bike on the road this spring. Might be something simple but need to get some ideas on trouble shooting the system. First step might be to jumper out the switch, or just check to see if switch shows continuity in one position and none in the other.

Ken,
Hmmm....I'll have to give that shut down thing some thought..... maybe a short somewhere.....neutral indicator switch?.......

But regarding the '78, which sounds like a cool project, keep in mind that I bought a '78 parts bike recently, stripped it, and now have a few boxes of spare parts, most of which you are welcome to. Just send me a PM with what your needs are, once you get into it.

 

[halfmile]

Today I made and fit the reducer sleeves/spacers to go from 20mm rear axle bearings to the 17mm Radian axle and lined up the chain. Plenty of clearance for a change. Going to drop the counter shaft sprocket to 16T. Rear is 42T for now. Another week of yard work then I`ll get my ass in gear on this build. (maybe)?

 

[KC 120]

Nothing exciting here. Got the bike in the house, going to put it up on my stand for the winter.

 

[gggGary]

Today I made and fit the reducer sleeves/spacers to go from 20mm rear axle bearings to the 17mm Radian axle and lined up the chain. Plenty of clearance for a change. Going to drop the counter shaft sprocket to 16T. Rear is 42T for now. Another week of yard work then I`ll get my ass in gear on this build. (maybe)?
View attachment 109502 View attachment 109503 View attachment 109504

Nice work! 16-42 ????

 

[xjwmx]

Today? Fed my XS some turkey. Just a smidge in the tank.

 

[jradvantage]

Installed newly powder coated swing arm and center stand, new swing arm bushings, new Hagons, on my 1980. Still had enough time and daylight to do a little riding. It was a good day!

 

[willis]

Today I did a headlight overhaul. This is a 5” headlight off a Yamaha Ty250 trials bike. It was originally a 6volt unit. The conversion to 12v was as easy as switching out the bulbs. I got really lucky the local mamayama dealer had a really old box of them in their parts room. The box looked like it had been sitting since 1978 . The bulb was $5 but I decided it would be wise to get 2. I also sanded it down and painted it black. It’s not a perfect rattle can job but it will match the rest of my imperfect bike. I also cut down some spacers to mount them in the TY250 ears on my XS650 forks.

 

[ThatXS650Guy]

Fitting the XS750 tank on the Special. I ground off the old mounts and drilled and tapped for the new rubber on the frame. I am using rubber mounts from a Kawasaki H1. Still need to fab up a rear mount that doesn't rock on the frame.
Can't use the stock seat anymore so I am fitting the Road Race 3 seat from Hotwing Glass. The wood is a mockup so I can see if I can use the stock hinges and latch. I think I can. Not sure if I will be using a rear fender or no which is why the wood is notched.

 

[MrBultaco]

Today I made and fit the reducer sleeves/spacers to go from 20mm rear axle bearings to the 17mm Radian axle and lined up the chain. Plenty of clearance for a change. Going to drop the counter shaft sprocket to 16T. Rear is 42T for now. Another week of yard work then I`ll get my ass in gear on this build. (maybe)?
View attachment 109502 View attachment 109503 View attachment 109504

16/42...I didn't think Kansas had any 'mountains' needing to be climbed. I know you're building a scrambler though.

 

[Denisesewa]

Finished modifying the YZ forks and setting up the R6 mono shock with the rest of the bike mocked up enough to ride , suspension is really good , I took it up the street to a field with some rough trails and it needs just a bit of tuning ( not much), I'll raise the forks in the trees just a bit to lessen fork angle a little but all in all I'm happy. the rest of the build will have to wait till next spring when I get back from Surfing the coast but its a good start!
this video is just in my yard but you get the idea.

 

[rick1956]

Tore some more things apart today, assessing the amount of time I need to spend sharing my VISA card with online suppliers...

I love finding stuff like this:

 

[Mailman]

Now that's some master mechanic work there Rick!

 

[rick1956]

Now that's some master mechanic work there Rick!

Haha, don't credit me with that... I'm still in "unearthing treasures" mode as I disassemble!

 

[Mailman]

Haha, don't credit me with that... I'm still in "unearthing treasures" mode as I disassemble!

Oh no, I knew that wasn't you man. It looks very much like some of the treasures I've unearthed in my headlight bucket! I was just commiserating. Haha!

 

[peanut]

View attachment 109907

Fitting the XS750 tank on the Special. I ground off the old mounts and drilled and tapped for the new rubber on the frame. I am using rubber mounts from a Kawasaki H1. Still need to fab up a rear mount that doesn't rock on the frame.
Can't use the stock seat anymore so I am fitting the Road Race 3 seat from Hotwing Glass. The wood is a mockup so I can see if I can use the stock hinges and latch. I think I can. Not sure if I will be using a rear fender or no which is why the wood is notched.
View attachment 109780 View attachment 109781 View attachment 109782

nice job Jim ... Thanks for the images they should help me fit mine.

I just bought the same tank this week after 2 years of looking . They look great on a XS650 . I hadn't appreciated how much bigger they are than a xs650 tank. It has a few rust spots on the seams and a small depression in one side but the inside is like brand new .

Which petcocks did you fit to your tank?

I'm hoping to fit one of these gas fill caps to mine I think they look cool.
I'm also thinking about fitting a Triumph chrome tank rack to hold my tank bag when touring .

 

[Doug79]

These are the engine castings stripped and ready to go out for ceramic coating. Today I took the first reassembly "baby" step. got the rocker holding assembled. At the rate I'm going, give me another 2 or 3 years and I might have an engine.

 

[halfmile]

Shortened the rear frame loop.

 

[ThatXS650Guy]

Which petcocks did you fit to your tank? I'm hoping to fit one of these gas fill caps to mine I think they look cool.

Hey peanut, I am using the stock 750 petcocks. I cleaned and rebuilt them but have not tested them yet. I suspect they will work as well as any other Yamaha petcock that is to say, barely adequate.

That cap is awesome but a bit beyond my fabrication skills. I used the 750 cap but used the tumbler from my 650 so I could keep the same key.
What are you doing for a seat? Rear fender?