1972 XS2 Front to Back Restomod

[Cecilk]

Hey everybody. Back in February of 22 I picked up a 1972 XS650 where it sat in my garage until recently. This will be my first build so most of work will be cosmetic and replacing worn out parts. No major engine work (hopefully), front end swaps or anything like that.

First of all, I'm terrible at taking pictures. I don't even have a picture from the day I bought it but here it is before I started tearing it down. It looks great form about 25' but it needs some tlc.

 

[Jim]

Welcome to the forum!!
Looks like good bones to start with. I'm envious of you Arizona boys and your dry climate.

 

[Cecilk]

So when I say front to back I literally mean I'm starting in the front of the bike! The first order of business was removing the forks from the triple tree but I'm thinking they had never been removed once in the past 50 years. It took some percussive persuading to get them free. Got the triple tree cleaned up and have the upper fork tubes soaking in evaporust.

The fork seals were even more stubborn. I first tried using the method 5twins and Mailman posted but they wouldn't budge. I cleaned out as much gunk as I could and sprayed them in PB blaster over night and they came right out. The lower fork tubes cleaned up nicely.

 

[Cecilk]

Welcome to the forum!!
Looks like good bones to start with. I'm envious of you Arizona boys and your dry climate.

Thanks! Its originally a Pennsylvania bike but the gentleman I bought it from did have it tucked in his workshop near Sierra Vista for the last 25 years so at least it was out of the elements. Most of the rubber bits are still soft and malleable.

 

[Cecilk]

Next I moved to the wheel speed gear/housing. I can assure you that it smelled as good as it looked. I made sure to get every bit of grime out of it and will grease it up once everything else is ready for reassembly. That's where it currently sits. Front wheel and bearings are next. I'm gona soak the spokes in evaporust to see if they are worth using again.

 

[Cecilk]

Well the forks had about 8hrs of soaking time. First picture is what they looked like after only wiping them down with a old hand towel. Second is after a scotchbrite pad. I'll soak them again and then clean up the rest of the tubes.

 

[Signal]

Just a warning scotch bright will scratch your chrome. 0000 steel wool wont. Watching with interest.

 

[Jim]

Just a warning scotch bright will scratch your chrome. 0000 steel wool wont. Watching with interest.

Yeah, red scotch brites scratch chrome big time. A buddy told me that...

Brillo or SOS pads work great. They're 0000 steel wool with soap built in for a lubricant.

 

[Cecilk]

Thanks for the heads up. I did use the less coarse blue pads for the above areas though. I wasnt too concerned about scratches on that area since it will be hidden and was already pretty ugly. I'll pick up some steel wool for the exposed portion. Thanks!

 

[jpdevol]

https://www.mikesxs.net/yamaha-xs650-34mm-fork-tubes-set-2-for-72-73-oem-306-23124-60-00.html

 

[Mailman]

Hey everybody. Back in February of 22 I picked up a 1972 XS650 where it sat in my garage until recently. This will be my first build so most of work will be cosmetic and replacing worn out parts. No major engine work (hopefully), front end swaps or anything like that.

First of all, I'm terrible at taking pictures. I don't even have a picture from the day I bought it but here it is before I started tearing it down. It looks great form about 25' but it needs some tlc.

Welcome and congratulations on your new project! I’ve been to Sierra Vista many times! The XS2 is one of my favorite models, best of luck to you, I’m following with interest!

 

[Wingedwheel]

WELCOME! Nice start! FYI If you have any pitting on those upper tubes they will eat the new seals.

 

[Cecilk]

Sorry for the lack of updates, got a bad cold and haven't been doing as much as I wanted. Pulled the bearings out of the wheel and brake hub assembly and did some more rust clean up.

Question about those rubber damper pads the XS2 uses for the front rotor. Mine doesnt have them but it does have the O-ring referenced in this post: https://www.xs650.com/threads/sorry-yamaha-but-that-was-dumb.16441/post-767365.
Has anyone just run the oring by itself? I see where people still use the pads or pads+oring but not just the oring. Just wondering before I make some myself.

Thanks.

https://www.mikesxs.net/yamaha-xs650-34mm-fork-tubes-set-2-for-72-73-oem-306-23124-60-00.html

I looked at those a saw some threads from other users who got them and had issues with their dampening rods fitting. Going to try running what I got first.

WELCOME! Nice start! FYI If you have any pitting on those upper tubes they will eat the new seals.

Thanks for looking out. I'm gona do a little wetsanding on the pitting. Its just a couple very small spots that would come in contact with the seals. Most of it will be above the seals even with the fork bottomed out.

 

[Mailman]

Question about those rubber damper pads the XS2 uses for the front rotor. Mine doesnt have them but it does have the O-ring referenced in this post: https://www.xs650.com/threads/sorry-yamaha-but-that-was-dumb.16441/post-767365.
Has anyone just run the oring by itself? I see where people still use the pads or pads+oring but not just the oring. Just wondering before I make some myself.

As you said, I’m one of those that chose to run both the pads and the o-rings, they were both in there when I bought the bike. I believe the pads primary purpose is just to dampen vibration and rattling. I think you could put some small dense foam pads in there if you wanted something in there. I also thought that putting a blob of silicone caulk in those spots prior to assembly would accomplish the same thing. Here’s an album of mine with a lot of detail photos,

https://www.xs650.com/media/albums/xs2-disc-brake-detail-photos.3096/

Also here’s a link to all my photo albums, most are XS2 specific, you might find some good for reference.

https://www.xs650.com/media/albums/users/mailman.26118/

 

[Cecilk]

As you said, I’m one of those that chose to run both the pads and the o-rings, they were both in there when I bought the bike. I believe the pads primary purpose is just to dampen vibration and rattling. I think you could put some small dense foam pads in there if you wanted something in there. I also thought that putting a blob of silicone caulk in those spots prior to assembly would accomplish the same thing. Here’s an album of mine with a lot of detail photos,

https://www.xs650.com/media/albums/xs2-disc-brake-detail-photos.3096/

Also here’s a link to all my photo albums, most are XS2 specific, you might find some good for reference.

https://www.xs650.com/media/albums/users/mailman.26118/

Yeah, I'll probably make something to throw in there just to be on the safe side. And I have dug through your two threads a lot before I even started posting lol.

 

[Cecilk]

Got the front wheel all tore down and the spokes soaking. There is a bit of corrosion build up on the inner sides of the rim. I hit it with a wire wheel and it cleaned up ok. I can hear rust particles moving around inside of the rim and was able to get a bit of it out of the 3 holes on each side but there is still some moving around. I took a picture of how much came out. Is this concerning? Should I be looking for a new rim? Thanks.

 

[Wingedwheel]

IMHO that’s not that bad. As long as it cleans up and there’s no huge pits or scaling it should be fine. I’ve seen much worse.

 

[Cecilk]

A little bit more progress. Got some parts painted, wheel trued, and forks reassembled (minus oil).

I'm running the progressive springs from mikesxs. I'll include a picture of the length difference for those interested. I was having a really hard time trying to get the fork caps in with the new springs while still using that "tophat" washer. As far as I can tell it was used on the originals to keep the spring from forcing its way into the spacer? Removing it made putting the caps on so much easier, that 1/16th makes a huge difference.

Next I'll be cleaning up the stock airbox(es) then onto the carbs.

 

[Wingedwheel]

That is looking good! Are you using any type of clear coat sealer on the painted parts?

 

[WideAWAKE]

You've done a lot of work so far.

Do yourself a favor and use some proper paint.

At a minimum shoot a 2k clear over that.

Just my 2c from the peanut gallery.