Young boy vs Xs650

Lanz, ¿puede decirnos si las carrozas están estampadas con el cuadrado oficial de Mikuni en sello cuadrado? Sería bueno saber si son piezas genuinas de Mikuni.

 

Sorry - what gap are you asking about?

It might be the little slot in the aluminium wheel hub which is for the speedometer drive. It is supposed to engage with the small squarish block cast into the lower end of the fork slider - and your photo shows that it is engaged properly.

So - if that is the concern - it all looks fine to me.

Pete

 

I agree with Pete. As long as the slot on the speedometer drive is engaged with the tab on the fork, you're all set. The little gap on the axle between the speedometer drive and the fork leg is not important.

 

That gap is a little wide. That could be down to a slight bent tube, (they get bent over time, natural occurrence), and as long as your forks don't bind then it would be ok..............if you wanted to close the gap then loosen the axle nut, then the fork tube bottom clamp and slide the fork closer to the speed'o drive, the re-tighten every thing and check that the forks are not binding when compressed.

What can cause more fork tube bending is there is no front guard, (it acts as a fork brace), to stop the tubes from flexing when the brake is applied. Having a single front disk will also exaggerate the twist on stops due to the pressure on one fork alone

 

YUP - I agree with that statement too: leaving the front fender off is a bad mistake on an XS650.

That fender is there for two reasons:

1. it keep road debris from flying off the front wheel and messing up / damaging the engine
2. it stiffens the forks and makes the bike handle more steadily.

LanzSilva: if you have any sort of wobble with your bike - I'll bet it is related to not having a fender on the front.

Pete

 

Have a look under the front fender where it bolts to the forks. there is extra bracing across that area and the guard can be cut front and back to shorten it while still retaining the bracing qualities. Can make the guard style to suit your look.

A coiple of examples where the front guard has been cut to suit a look without compromising the bracing


this is an early guard on a 74/74 that has used the guard braces to make a fork brace and also bobbed the guard for a look.

 

Check to see if your fork tubes are bent, causing them to spread out at the bottom. That would account for the front end feeling a bit strange (a lot of stiction) and the excessive gap at the bottom of the left lower.

 

It certainly would put me off too.

 

That’s a shame, but all is not lost. Search EBay for forks for your bike. There are a bunch of bike dismantlers there, I was able to buy a complete set of forks for my XS2 restoration for $100. Of course they still needed rebuilding and shining up. Alternatively, new replacement tubes, from Mikes, or Franks.

 

There are machine shops that straighten forks. Check around your local area. Best if they are disassembled first.