Wherein I either make a seat or a fool of myself, and also other things with the bike

Congratulations Nash! You’ve got yourself a one of kind there! Lots of nice details too, never noticed that custom XS2 gauge mount before seeing it on the video. Well done!
 
Lookin good Nash. Anyone got any Calendar nominations left?
Bueller?.....
 
Yes, question does Ben “mad-maxim” get an opportunity to submit a pic after taking possession of the newly acquired Special II ?
Cheering ! :er:
 
Lookin good Nash. Anyone got any Calendar nominations left?
Bueller?.....

HaHa, I appreciate the compliment. I like my bike, and it works for me since it just sits outside fairly frequently. The attention to detail on my bike doesn't come anywhere close to the bikes that have been nominated for the calendar. Though maybe if it only has pictures of it from far away....:thumbsup:
 
Now to whore out more of the pictures I took this morning.


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There is another one I'd like to share but for whatever reason it won't upload.

edit: the last picture is apparently .2MB too big
 
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That #2 picture would be a good one for the calendar project in my opinion!

Not sure, maybe Jim could comment, but I think I read somewhere that the best time to take some pictures are on a light overcast day. Think it had to do with reducing the shadows.
 
That #2 picture would be a good one for the calendar project in my opinion!
It's funny, I don't care too much for that angle as my focus instantly goes to the brake line that looks ugly to me. The funny being I have access to everything I would need to replace the hard line at least and it would take an hour at the most, but I just haven't bothered to do it. Of those four pictures the vertical one is my personal favorite, though it doesn't work most places being a vertical shot.

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The picture above is blown up 20"x16" poster size and hanging on my den wall as of this afternoon.
XS650-1.jpg

I really like this picture too, I tried to take another picture from the same spot zoomed in to have the bike mostly fill the frame that I thought would've really looked nice but it was blurry for whatever reason.

As always, thanks to everyone for the kind words and likes, they truly are appreciated.
 
NashGTI, referring to your title of this thread, proves you no fool. That is one sweeet ride you built there. Very sweet indeed. Go ride with pride.
 
While it's not directly seat related, I believe I mentioned one time in here that the clutch was slipping and needed to be addressed, that and I guess I'll just reused this thread for anything I do to the bike from here on out. I got a clutch kit and some new handlebar controls for Christmas (thanks Santa) and went ahead and changed the clutch last night as the slipping was getting real bad. Well technically it would be described more as a shift flare, when attempting to shift under load especially without using the clutch it would slip. As long as you babied the shift though it wouldn't slip once everything was set.
Anyway, taking it apart if became almost immediately apparent what the issue was. The clutch plates are worn but not excessively so, and the steel drive plates were fine without pitting or scorching, the clutch springs were absolutely done though. There was almost no tension left actually clamping the clutch together as the springs were sagged to be nearly a half inch shorter than the replacement ones. Got everything sealed up at about 9:30 last night so I haven't had a chance to test ride it yet but I'm looking forward to it. Need to put oil in it and I'll probably fit the new handlebar switches first then try to go for a ride this afternoon.

Another development that I thought people here may be interested in is that shortly after finishing the seat up my boss called me to his office and gave me a two dollar an hour raise. He didn't specifically mention the bike, but he did mention all the work I'd been doing with welding and metal work as being largely responsible for the raise. In the time since I've been doing much more metal work and decorative work for the business. There is no doubt in my mind it's due to the bike though as this is an easily viewed piece of evidence to skill and dedication.
 

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Also, I ran out of time earlier and had to leave for church, but I think I'm going to buy the battery and rewire the bike this spring/summer. I need to get a new radiator and battery for my Catalina and do that first, but my just buy the other stuff I need at the same time.
 
Great news on the raise Nash - well done indeed! You are absolutely right about taking the initiative and learning something new. It nearly always pays off that as you make yourself more valuable to your employer - a good employer will value you more.

Those clutch springs definitely were shot - I’m sure the bike will have a lot more go-go now!

Finally, as the initiator of the thread, I am pretty sure that you can edit the title to better reflect your on-going build. Perhaps look in the thread tools menu.

Pete
 
...the clutch springs were absolutely done though. There was almost no tension left actually clamping the clutch together as the springs were sagged to be nearly a half inch shorter than the replacement ones...

I wonder if those were the shorter 447 7-plate springs put into a newer 6-plate 80-on clutch?

5Twins' post #486.
http://www.xs650.com/threads/on-the-road-again-at-40-the-bike-that-is.49360/page-25#post-529264

And this.
http://www.xs650.com/threads/clutch-springs-difference-xs650s-vs-xs650sk.40574/
 
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Anything is possible, the retaining bolts only had about a single turn under spring tension coming off which I assumed had to have been a result of sag though I haven't seen any actual measurements describing the springs. The new springs started to tension about a turn in on the retaining bolts and don't coil bind during operation, the bike rode great yesterday.:shrug:If it's wrong it isn't noticeably so now so I'm not gonna worry.:cheers:
 
Timeless Classic look ! Must be a thrill to ride too.
Well done
;)
Thanks, it's fun to ride. All the more better now that the clutch isn't slipping anymore, the muffler sound is harsh off the bike but through a helmet and on the bike I find the sound intoxicating. Being able to upshift without the clutch now while actually accelerating quickly makes it all the more better.

It's funny....I stopped at a CycleGear out riding yesterday and bought some front turn signals to put on when I finally redo the wiring, but while there I got two different people complimenting my helmet which is just an HJC CL-17 that I paid like $100 for on Amazon, but the only comment I got on the bike was that a guy liked the exhaust wrap. Strangers will walk up to it and look it over, people in traffic will wave and thumbs up, but for the most part people won't comment on the bike unless they knew me previously. People don't seem to appreciate the things that make sense anymore.
 
I ordered a tiny battery today, so I'm one step closer to the rewiring. I'm really look forward to being able to get that done Without even getting to the point of starting on that though, I've been thinking about pod filters. I love the look of pod filters on old bikes and want to put a set on my bike, visually I like having the area under the seat opened up. The question I've had rolling around in my mind though is how practical are they from a weather perspective? It seems like getting rain on the filters with them being completely exposed would be an issue and I'm unwilling to make my bike a fair weather queen. the best solution I've come up with so far is to remake the side covers adding some extractor style louvers to them. Something that would keep water from being able to directly come on the filters but something that can be open enough to see through to the filters. Plus if done that way on days where there is no actual chance of rain I can just take the covers off and ride that way.
I will say, I actually have like the look of the blacked out side cover more than I originally anticipated. Back when I was waiting around on things to be bodyworked and painted I first thought about doing the louver thing and just never liked the idea enough to do it. The idea of making an adapter and putting the pods is far more appealing to me than modifying the covers.
 
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