adrenalnjunky
XS650 Member
Hey all from freaking hot Louisiana - first day of Fall, my ass.
Anyway - at the wise old age of 35, I finally decided that I would give in to the lifelong draw that 2 wheels has always had on me. Borrowed a buddy's FZ1 to tool around on for a couple of months and get my endorsement and all. Most people freak out when you tell them you learned to ride on a liter, but screw em, it's all in the right wrist.
Anyways, I was looking for a basketcase project originally to work on all summer, decided I really wanted somthing more sportbike to wrench on, and found a old neglected 92 CBR 600 for a pretty decent deal. I've been working it back into pretty good shape, and should be about done with it after a fork rebuild and finishing the paint on my fairings.
Last week, one of my pool league buddies "remembers" he's got an old Yamaha under the carport that he hasn't touched in almost 20 years, but thinks it was running when it was parked there. Said I could have it if I wanted it.
Turns out it's a 79 XS650, dirty and rusty, but there's still a bike under there. Kickstarter wouldn't budge anything, so I poured Marvel Mystery Oil into the cylinders, and into the oil in the crankcase to try and see if everything will free up.
3 days of soaking and the kickstart still won't budge. I decide to pull the stator cover and try rolling the crank there - to my amazement the pistons moved fine - sounded a touch dry at first, but after moving a little the MMO must have coated a bit and they move well. Although here's my first question - I can only roll the crank over about 1 full rotation, then something keeps me from going farther. Both pistons are moving together up to that point. I can rotate them back the other way through to the same point.
Any clue what I'm running into there? Also - what's the prognosis on the kickstart? the prev. owner says he almost always used the kickstart, cause the ignition button is broken.
anyways - here's a pic of both my current 2-wheeled projects.
(the queen seat's gotta go, btw)
Anyway - at the wise old age of 35, I finally decided that I would give in to the lifelong draw that 2 wheels has always had on me. Borrowed a buddy's FZ1 to tool around on for a couple of months and get my endorsement and all. Most people freak out when you tell them you learned to ride on a liter, but screw em, it's all in the right wrist.
Anyways, I was looking for a basketcase project originally to work on all summer, decided I really wanted somthing more sportbike to wrench on, and found a old neglected 92 CBR 600 for a pretty decent deal. I've been working it back into pretty good shape, and should be about done with it after a fork rebuild and finishing the paint on my fairings.
Last week, one of my pool league buddies "remembers" he's got an old Yamaha under the carport that he hasn't touched in almost 20 years, but thinks it was running when it was parked there. Said I could have it if I wanted it.
Turns out it's a 79 XS650, dirty and rusty, but there's still a bike under there. Kickstarter wouldn't budge anything, so I poured Marvel Mystery Oil into the cylinders, and into the oil in the crankcase to try and see if everything will free up.
3 days of soaking and the kickstart still won't budge. I decide to pull the stator cover and try rolling the crank there - to my amazement the pistons moved fine - sounded a touch dry at first, but after moving a little the MMO must have coated a bit and they move well. Although here's my first question - I can only roll the crank over about 1 full rotation, then something keeps me from going farther. Both pistons are moving together up to that point. I can rotate them back the other way through to the same point.
Any clue what I'm running into there? Also - what's the prognosis on the kickstart? the prev. owner says he almost always used the kickstart, cause the ignition button is broken.
anyways - here's a pic of both my current 2-wheeled projects.
(the queen seat's gotta go, btw)
