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Miss November XS2 tribute
- Thread starter Raymond
- Start date
Looks like warranty might be two years then? But might vary in different markets.
True. I think that's a UK dealer I snipped. I think it always matters who you buy from.
Last Thursday, sent the YSS shocks back to Brook Suspension. No idea how long the turnaround will be, so Orange Peril sitting in garage on centre-stand. Like a diva sitting on the loo? I suppose the present unseasonable cold weather makes the waiting period less frustrating . . .
And today, I had the pleasure of paying the annual Road Tax. With a reminder letter from DVLA, it must have taken maybe, uhm, three minutes to log on, enter the 12-digit reference, confirm the vehicle details and pay. Rate of tax for a registered historic vehicle is £0.00.
Which is why paying is a pleasure.
And today, I had the pleasure of paying the annual Road Tax. With a reminder letter from DVLA, it must have taken maybe, uhm, three minutes to log on, enter the 12-digit reference, confirm the vehicle details and pay. Rate of tax for a registered historic vehicle is £0.00.
Which is why paying is a pleasure.
My XS650SK has a Mississippi Antique Motorcycle tag. I paid once. As long as I have the bike and live in Mississippi, I’m done with tax and registration. It’s a good deal.
Hi Raymond,
What's UK bike insurance cost these days?
Here in Saskachewan the Provincial vehicle tax includes insurance.
All antique vehicles pay ~Cdn$120 a year so the tax & insurance for a summers-worth of riding costs me ~$60.
If I understand Pete's conversion rate, that's about £0.97 a year?
Seriously, changed insurers to Peter James a couple of years back and get much lower premiums than the big companies - Bennetts, Carole Nash. Last year paid £174 for fully comp on the XS650, Kawasaki W800 and Honda NX250 combined policy. Includes legal costs cover, breakdown and continental travel.
Wednesday, call from Marc at Brook Suspension - 'YSS has decided to give you a new pair of shocks, so those will go out right away. You'll have them before the end of the week.'
I asked Marc if there was a manufacturing fault with the shock that leaked - 'YSS haven't given us any diagnosis, they're just replacing the shocks. But we've sold many hundreds of YSS shocks and seen very few failures. Maybe you were just unlucky.'
Box of new shocks turned up this afternoon. Wasted little time fitting 'em:
Have to say I'm pleased with the service I've received from Brook Suspension and YSS. Given the problem that happened, the action they took was very fair.
I asked Marc if there was a manufacturing fault with the shock that leaked - 'YSS haven't given us any diagnosis, they're just replacing the shocks. But we've sold many hundreds of YSS shocks and seen very few failures. Maybe you were just unlucky.'
Box of new shocks turned up this afternoon. Wasted little time fitting 'em:
Have to say I'm pleased with the service I've received from Brook Suspension and YSS. Given the problem that happened, the action they took was very fair.
That said, YSS stays on my short list. Thanks for the report!
Kinda like fate?
T'other day read with interest RustiePyles thread on opening up a speedo/tacho. Was interested because had a similar problem last year with the tacho after the fascia screws both fell out. RP's solution looks a bit neater than prizing the bezel off?
Well, it's no longer academic. You've guessed already? Today, glanced down at the speedo and was very disappointed but less than totally surprised to see one of the fascia screws has come out. ______________! Please insert expletive of choice.
From prior experience with the tacho, I fully expect that the other screw won't last too long.
So I headed home and changed the engine oil. Well the 1,500 mile service is just about due. No point in carrying on with the run and wondering if & when the other screw would fall out. Plus, doing the service gives me time to face the inevitable and decide which approach to bodging a speedo I'll adopt . . .
T'other day read with interest RustiePyles thread on opening up a speedo/tacho. Was interested because had a similar problem last year with the tacho after the fascia screws both fell out. RP's solution looks a bit neater than prizing the bezel off?
Well, it's no longer academic. You've guessed already? Today, glanced down at the speedo and was very disappointed but less than totally surprised to see one of the fascia screws has come out. ______________! Please insert expletive of choice.
From prior experience with the tacho, I fully expect that the other screw won't last too long.
So I headed home and changed the engine oil. Well the 1,500 mile service is just about due. No point in carrying on with the run and wondering if & when the other screw would fall out. Plus, doing the service gives me time to face the inevitable and decide which approach to bodging a speedo I'll adopt . . .
Adapting and combining tips from Mailman, gggGary, and Skull, I found it pretty easy to get the ring off and back on. I'll go into more detail if you like but just know, I would never cut a housing in half, that's plain rude and crude, lol.
Any more opinions?
Yes, 5T, please feel free to go into detail.
Not the kind of bodge-it job I relish but got to be done coz I can't really use the bike without a speedo.
Yes, 5T, please feel free to go into detail.
Not the kind of bodge-it job I relish but got to be done coz I can't really use the bike without a speedo.
Hi 5T,
us rude & cruders find it far easier to pull two dremel-cut half-bezels off sideways and epoxy them back on after loctiting the gauge face retaining screws
back in than to pry up the bezel's edge and press it back down again without breaking the gauge glass while mumbling about the ease of working on the old-fashioned Smith's gauges that had screw-off bezels.
Hi Raymond,
of course you can. So long as your tach still works just make a marker line across it's face to match the speed limit rmp in top gear.
Could do that. Though the tacho is a bit vague - 'Oh, yer must be doing about 3,500 - 4,500 RPM, son!'
But apart from wanting to know what mileage I'm doing, for re-fuelling and service intervals, I would very much prefer to get the speedo fixed anyway.
OK, I'm back finally, lol. Sorry for the delay but I had to pop one of these apart, make up some items I've been meaning to that ease the process, and take pics of it all. No worries, it's something I've been meaning to do, just needed enough of a reason.
So, step one employs a tip from gggGary and that is to install a large hose clamp around the metal ring. This will support it as you pry it open, but you need to pad it somehow so it doesn't scratch up the ring. There's also usually a couple little "bumps" on the inside where the screw is. Those need to be padded or they'll dimple the side of the metal ring when you tighten the clamp. Now, Gary's "solution" was to wrap the ring with some electrical tape. This didn't work so well for me on the first few I did. First off, removing the tape tended to "freckle" the paint, the tape glue pulling specs of paint off. And second, more importantly too, it didn't protect the ring from being dimpled by the clamp bumps. Now, Gary did recommend finding and using a clamp with no "bumps", but that is difficult I think. I'm pretty sure most are made with the bumps. So, my "solution" was to cut a strip of plastic from an old food container to use as padding and protection .....
This worked very well, totally eliminating the paint damage issue and nearly eliminating the "bump" dimpling one. The container I cut it out of wasn't quite a big enough diameter to go all the way around but that was OK. I was able to cut another short piece to fill in where the screw "bumps" were .....
Now you can install the hose clamp. Keep it's top edge maybe 3/16" higher than the folded area of the metal ring so you can pry against it. So, to start prying the ring open, we get to the next tip, from Mailman, and that's to use a plain old paint can opener .....
I filed the tip on mine a little bit to make it sharper and easier to insert under the metal rim's lip. This will open the lip part way, not enough to remove the ring but enough to move onto the next step. Go all the way around with this "tool" .....
And now the final step - squeeze the lip open more with pliers. Now Gary sacrificed an old pair and ground the jaws all up. I found I had some that worked just fine with no mods, these little smooth flat nose style pliers .....
This is the big reason you need to place the hose clamp with it's upper edge above the metal ring, so you can squeeze the pliers against it. Here's the "money shot", lol .....
For this you needn't go all the way around, 2/3 to 3/4 of the way will be enough. Now you can remove the hose clamp and pop the metal ring off.
So, step one employs a tip from gggGary and that is to install a large hose clamp around the metal ring. This will support it as you pry it open, but you need to pad it somehow so it doesn't scratch up the ring. There's also usually a couple little "bumps" on the inside where the screw is. Those need to be padded or they'll dimple the side of the metal ring when you tighten the clamp. Now, Gary's "solution" was to wrap the ring with some electrical tape. This didn't work so well for me on the first few I did. First off, removing the tape tended to "freckle" the paint, the tape glue pulling specs of paint off. And second, more importantly too, it didn't protect the ring from being dimpled by the clamp bumps. Now, Gary did recommend finding and using a clamp with no "bumps", but that is difficult I think. I'm pretty sure most are made with the bumps. So, my "solution" was to cut a strip of plastic from an old food container to use as padding and protection .....
This worked very well, totally eliminating the paint damage issue and nearly eliminating the "bump" dimpling one. The container I cut it out of wasn't quite a big enough diameter to go all the way around but that was OK. I was able to cut another short piece to fill in where the screw "bumps" were .....
Now you can install the hose clamp. Keep it's top edge maybe 3/16" higher than the folded area of the metal ring so you can pry against it. So, to start prying the ring open, we get to the next tip, from Mailman, and that's to use a plain old paint can opener .....
I filed the tip on mine a little bit to make it sharper and easier to insert under the metal rim's lip. This will open the lip part way, not enough to remove the ring but enough to move onto the next step. Go all the way around with this "tool" .....
And now the final step - squeeze the lip open more with pliers. Now Gary sacrificed an old pair and ground the jaws all up. I found I had some that worked just fine with no mods, these little smooth flat nose style pliers .....
This is the big reason you need to place the hose clamp with it's upper edge above the metal ring, so you can squeeze the pliers against it. Here's the "money shot", lol .....
For this you needn't go all the way around, 2/3 to 3/4 of the way will be enough. Now you can remove the hose clamp and pop the metal ring off.
OK, let's put this thing back together. But first, let's look at what you'll find in the metal ring. You needn't disturb these parts unless the ring needs some work (like dent removal or maybe a paint job). You'll find 3 parts in there. First (at the bottom) is a thin rubber washer. That fits onto and into a stepped plastic ring (rubber washer goes into the step). The top of the plastic ring is flat and fits up against a rubber grommet type ring that goes around the lens .....
This grommet around the lens is flat on the bottom but the top is shaped so it will match and fit up into the rolled over upper edge of the metal ring .....
Due to all this rubber and plastic padding around the lens, I've never had an issue of breaking the glass like Fred worries about from prying the unit open or tapping the edge of the ring with a small hammer to close it back up.
Yes, hitting it with a hammer to close it back up, lol. You need a small hammer, I use a 4 ounce ball-peen and highly recommend that if you don't have one, you get one .....
Start by gently tapping the edge down all the way around. This won't close it up all the way and tight but will get it about half way there. Finish by using a 1/4" drive extension or spinner handle to get the lip down tight .....
..... and the finished product, not real pretty but nobody sees it anyway .....
This grommet around the lens is flat on the bottom but the top is shaped so it will match and fit up into the rolled over upper edge of the metal ring .....
Due to all this rubber and plastic padding around the lens, I've never had an issue of breaking the glass like Fred worries about from prying the unit open or tapping the edge of the ring with a small hammer to close it back up.
Yes, hitting it with a hammer to close it back up, lol. You need a small hammer, I use a 4 ounce ball-peen and highly recommend that if you don't have one, you get one .....
Start by gently tapping the edge down all the way around. This won't close it up all the way and tight but will get it about half way there. Finish by using a 1/4" drive extension or spinner handle to get the lip down tight .....
..... and the finished product, not real pretty but nobody sees it anyway .....
Using my method the bezel ring retains the edge lip that I think is important to keep the pressure on that holds the glass in place and also seals it from moisture. It also makes it easy to return it to its original form
Full tutorial here
http://www.xs650.com/threads/70-83-...damper-replacement-replace-face-decals.52013/
Close ups for show.
Factory
Finished reinstalled
Small increments each lift and going around the bezel 3 or 4 or 5 times times. Can be seen on the left that the first pass was just enough lift to be able to get the under the lip to be able to get some lift for the second pass
each pass i set the screwdriver between the previous pass pries point to keep the lip even and to stop it from splitting or getting stretch points
There is a lot of flex in the case where the lever leverages against. I was uncomfortable the first time expecting the case to split under the pressure. it didn't because it is soft and has a lot of flex.
As can be seen here the lip isn't opened flat. By levering the bezel again, (it will push out then spring back), quite hard I got just enough opening for the case to be able to be popped out by using the screwdriver to pop it out
Note you can still see the edge of the bezel lip, (concave), that curves around the lip on the case
What the ring look like removed
Had to squeeze the case back into the bezel. Again quite a bit of flex in the case to be able to do this. gain you can see the angle of the bezel dedge
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Wow, thanks Guys! A lot of detail and plenty of photos - should be able to approach the task with more confidence.
When I did this job on the tacho last year, had some confidence due to having bought a NOS tacho. Which I still have in reserve in case it's ever needed.
Luckily, or was it foresight, when I repaired the tacho I bought two of the rubber buffers which cushion the instrument so I now have one for the speedo. The old one was completely perished - had to pull it away in little strips. Yambits gets them manufactured to their own spec.
Should have time to do this in the next few days and I'll report back on how it goes.
When I did this job on the tacho last year, had some confidence due to having bought a NOS tacho. Which I still have in reserve in case it's ever needed.
Luckily, or was it foresight, when I repaired the tacho I bought two of the rubber buffers which cushion the instrument so I now have one for the speedo. The old one was completely perished - had to pull it away in little strips. Yambits gets them manufactured to their own spec.
Should have time to do this in the next few days and I'll report back on how it goes.
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