Since I had two 650’s and the performance was pretty similar, I had decided to use my lower geared XS2 for around the neighborhood and change the gearing on my ‘77D to a 31 tooth rear sprocket for better performance on the highway. While I really like that taller gearing when I’m running 60-65 mph, it does lug a little at low speeds.
And since my XS2 is down ,for Gawd knows how long, I decided to re gear my ‘77D for better around town performance.
So, that leads me to “
What I did on Thanksgiving instead of stuffing my face with a big delicious dinner.”
I dropped the right side exhaust and pulled my rear wheel off the bike.
Changed my rear 31 tooth sprocket back to my ( barely used ) 33 tooth sprocket.
I was surprised to find out that my newish o ring chain fits
both sprockets perfectly.
I cleaned underneath my left side cover.
Adjusted my rear brake and clutch.
Aired my tires.
And gave the bike a wash.
I also wanted to take the opportunity to inspect a couple of custom components that Greg
@GLJ had made for me a while back. He machined a custom one piece clutch rod out of tempered aluminum that has done a remarkable job of limiting heat expansion / clutch falling out of adjustment , when the motor gets hot.
And also his custom made shift shaft guard that just slips over the shift shaft. You can read more about that here,
http://www.xs650.com/threads/shift-shaft-chain-guard.57631/#post-650756
The aluminum clutch rod shows no wear, it has merely taken a shine where it makes contact with the seal, the bushing, and the clutch basket, there are no edges that you can feel with your fingernail.
The shift shaft guard, shows a slight amount of scuffing from the chain, but has lost no thickness. And it is a marvel of simplicity, when you want to work or clean around the sprocket area, you simply slide it off.
So that was my
Big Old Day! Gobble Gobble Baby,
Bob ![Wink ;) ;)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)