What have you done to your XS today?

Much of the fender interior plating is gone in the 7 day section. You see the mottled dull silverish metal. I am thinking it was not very thick and road use degraded it. When the other side has 7 days soak I will rinse clean and shoot a rubberized undercoat from a rattle can. I will save some of the vinegar to soak sockets in. Many of mine are rusty in the 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 square drive. Can't complain about that rust though, I bought a fairly complete Craftsman set in Cold Lake Canada in 1986 when I needed to rebuild my 2 liter BMW 4 banger from my 76 2002 sedan. So I have most of them still except the 10mm.
A coat of POR15 would provide good protection of the newly cleaned surface. Then the rubberized undercoat could provide good abrasian resistance. The vinegar thing has me thinking. The floor pan of my ‘57 beetle has lots of surface rust but is not yet perforated. Maybe I can pour a couple of gallons of vinegar into the floor pan and let it sit for a week. That may provide a great solution (excuse the pun) for removing that rust!
 
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Howdy everyone,
Plan was to take it apart cleaned, inspected and sealed.
Well have a look what I found. The pistons and cylinder have scratches and one of the rod bearings look bad.
Where do I go from here ? machine to next size piston and new rod's? or dig deep and get 750 with rephase?
Its all a question of money like a lot of other things.
I agree with Jim, you re going to need new pistons and at least one new conrod. Which unfortunately means engine out and split the cases. But does not necessarily mean going to 750 and a rephase. Depends on what you want to use the bike for.
 
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...and 7 days later I flipped today so the rusty side is in vinegar. I did scrub it periodically with a wire tooth brush. And my bucket is 1 inch too shallow to get all of the remaining rust. I will carefully over it to a 5 gallon bucket and get more vinegar.
So one day into soaking the other half of the fender, the cleaned up half has a coat of new rust.:( I think maybe spray WD40 on it now. Then when other half is done , protect it and re soak the first side. Then wash and undercoat.
 
So one day into soaking the other half of the fender, the cleaned up half has a coat of new rust.:( I think maybe spray WD40 on it now. Then when other half is done , protect it and re soak the first side. Then wash and undercoat.
This is why I use phosphoric acid. I’ve got a rusty fender in my garage I treated months ago and it still hasn’t returned to pre treated state. Most of that is still black phosphate.
https://www.xs650.com/threads/phosphoric-acid-for-rust-on-chrome-parts.58237/
 

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This is why I use phosphoric acid. I’ve got a rusty fender in my garage I treated months ago and it still hasn’t returned to pre treated state. Most of that is still black phosphate.
https://www.xs650.com/threads/phosphoric-acid-for-rust-on-chrome-parts.58237/
Thx. Looks like the acid works well and I could use it on small parts that could be immersed in a bucket. For my car floor pan I’d end up with a surface area of over 30 sqft and that much acid would be nasty. Would also be difficult to remove and neutralize.
 
Thx. Looks like the acid works well and I could use it on small parts that could be immersed in a bucket. For my car floor pan I’d end up with a surface area of over 30 sqft and that much acid would be nasty. Would also be difficult to remove and neutralize.
For a four gallon gas tank, I filled the tank with water and added 2 cups of acid as described in the other thread. Depending upon temperature and depth of rust, it get the job done overnight for me. A weaker solution is better if you want more control. Bottom line is, you don’t get flash rust with phosphoric acid. The photo shows how I chose to finish my previously rusted XS650 fender.

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For a four gallon gas tank, I filled the tank with water and added 2 cups of acid as described in the other thread. Depending upon temperature and depth of rust, it get the job done overnight for me. A weaker solution is better if you want more control. Bottom line is, you don’t get flash rust with phosphoric acid. The photo shows how I chose to finish my previously rusted XS650 fender.

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That looks great. I know flash rust is a problem with muriatic acid. I use that for removing aluminum deposits on the cast iron bores of 2 stroke engines. Need to coat those surfaces with oil right away or the bore rusts in minutes. I’m going to look for this acid locally.thx

Just searched on line and this acid is not readily available around here. I’ll have to ask around next week.
 
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Calendar bike. It was time to change the fork oil. One thing leads to another. I have to do oil change too.
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I may put steering head bearings in my bike this winter and am interested how you have the bike supported on the lift. With your jack placement, did you need to strap it down in the rear to prevent it from tipping forward, or is the jack far enough ahead, that you are well past the balance point with the forks and front wheel still attached?
 
I may put steering head bearings in my bike this winter and am interested how you have the bike supported on the lift. With your jack placement, did you need to strap it down in the rear to prevent it from tipping forward, or is the jack far enough ahead, that you are well past the balance point with the forks and front wheel still attached?
The jack is forward on the frame. Straps are tied to the footrests for safety.
 
SeaFoam + Heat = Unstuck
Last fall I bought some stuff from a guy in London that included 2 old motors, said to be seized. The one turned out to be "rebuildable" (crank and pistons rotate but cam does not and metal chunks on the magnets), but not by me; the other, a 3U6- 00219x has had several applications of penetrating fluid but no joy into the new year.
Wheels Through Time on its UTube channel had mentioned in passing that they would stick a hot plate under a tight motor and it usually freed the motor.
I put my 40 Watt heater right close to the motor till it was almost too hot to touch, put it in first gear and tried to turn it but still no luck.
Squirted some more SeaFoam in it and left it overnight as it cooled. This afternoon, moving it to anot her spot dragging the rear wheel, it started to turn and bit by bit was able to get full rotations with the wheel and then with my hand on the kicker.
First one I have freed up without disassembly!!
 

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Bosco659, that pit stand works well eh? Nice. I had one for my Honda 919 because it didn't have a centre stand. More interesting though, is what is that rear tire? That looks really nice. I presume the front matches? I plan to get some new rubber for next season.
 
Bosco659, that pit stand works well eh? Nice. I had one for my Honda 919 because it didn't have a centre stand. More interesting though, is what is that rear tire? That looks really nice. I presume the front matches? I plan to get some new rubber for next season.
I’ll get you all the specs later today. Yes the front and rear are the same brand and tread.
 
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