Your tetanus shots are up to date I hope.
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1973 Super Rustbucket Resurrection
- Thread starter DogBunny
- Start date
I bought my new XS650SK in 1983. It was my primary transportation. Being that I lived in Daytona Beach, and drove on the beach, I wore the OE chain and sprockets out quickly. An independent shop recommended and installed aluminum sprockets. As far as I am aware, my bike has always worn those same lock tabs and is wearing them now.
The last time I went to the Meltdown, someone there was driving a very rusty Moto Guzzi V7 with a few hundred thousand miles on it. Hugh, of Hugh's Handbuilt was driving his extremely weathered XS1B. Sometimes that look can be appropriate, as long as the seat isn't falling apart and the lights work. I can dig it!
Unless I find patches on them, I pretty much always reuse old tubes. I've never had one give out on me. If I run over a nail or something, even a brand new tube is gonna go flat, so what's the difference, lol.
It would be surprising to me if those spokes wont come loose after a short time.
It looks fine at the inside . But not at the outside .. That rusty nut ..will most likely be rusty at the inside contact surface
against the rim . And a little movement flexing..while riding perhaps rubs that rust away.
So please be careful.
I draw the line at really rusty nuts at the fill stem or old folds where the tube was crinkled. Depends a bit on the bike use also. round town mebby, headed out for two weeks on the road, not so much. I've scrapped rusty or corroded rims too. "Crusty II" here might be a different case but any time chrome is flaking I want to dig down to shiny steel so I know how deep the rust goes.
I try to keep XS size tubes on hand to lessen the temptation to reuse a questionable one.
I'll keep an eye on the spokes. I actually think the nipples will turn after applying penetrating fluid. When the wheel was on the truing stand, there was no need to mess with the nipples. I "pinged" the spokes, and they sounded as consistent and good as any fresh laced wheel I've built.
Yes, I draw the line at rusty stem, folded tube, or rusty tube, such as when the inside of the rim rusted, and the rust got picked up and embedded in the tube.
I have mixed thoughts on this, and I considered using Rust Converter. My concern is the tube getting stuck on the primer or converter. I guess that if you use lots of talc you'll be okay. Maybe even rub talc into the primer or converter after it ha sbeen given lots of time to dry.
Preparing the front wheel for new rubber.
This rim is considerably rustier than the rear rim was. Still, I have seen worse.
Exact same spot after wire wheel.
Outside of rim. This is the worst area.
It's always bothered me that you have to remove the wheel to get the front caliper off on 1972-1976. I consider this a design short-coming.
In the past, I have occasionally had big problems removing the flare nut fitting circled above. So, I hit this one with penetrating fluid and heat. Came off easy. The banjo bolt at the master cylinder also came off easy with heat.
So easy, that I was over-confident when it came to removing this brake line holder mounting bolt (blue arrow). No heat, no penetrating fluid, and I sheared the head off. The other mounting bolt came right off.
With one bolt removed, and the other bolt sheared, the brake line holder was still stuck. I ended up breaking the holder, as shown. The holder was completely seized to the bolt shank. If I had known, I probably could have saved the holder using repeated applications of heat, penetrating fluid and vibration tapping over a 24 hour period. Not sure I would have been willing to put that much effort in, or to wait that long. In any case, it's a shame that I broke a moderately valuable brake line hose holder.
BTW, the broken bolt came right out of the triple tree, no problem at all. Whatever galvanic seizing occurred was confined to the hole area of the hose holder.
When I tried to remove the front axle, the speedo drive gear was seized to it. Took a considerable amount of strategy to free it. When I examined it, the circlip (at bottom of pic) that holds the helical gear in was missing. I sad "hmmm," and robbed the circlip shown off of an XS850 speedo drive gear that was hanging around for some reason.
Then I found the missing circlip. It was stuck to grease on the hub-side of the wheel. How does that happen? As you can see, it is pretty badly sprung.
The weirdest thing of all is this groove worn into the bottom face of the speedo drive helical gear. Not sure how you'd make such a groove even if you tried. Is it there on purpose as a grease reservoir? I have never seen this groove on a speedo drive gear before. Hmmm...
My new front tire on my beautiful RustBucket. The old inner tube and rim strip were both rusty, so they both got replaced. The inside of this rim would have been a good candidate for Rustoleum as 5twins advocated, or Rust Converter, but I'm in big time crunch trying to prepare for an upcoming show, so I had to forgo that. Similarly, I had to forgo re-packing the wheel bearings, but I will get back to that after the show. The wheel was put on a truing stand, and is very straight and true, with no bent or loose spokes. The bearings are good. Balanced the tire.
Re-built the caliper. New brake shoes. And a new caliper seal kit from the UK for about $29, shipped:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/151460544630
Arrived surprisingly fast. What seal kit is anyone else using? The only one I could find in the U.S. was Mikes, and I don't trust their rubber. This was the cheapest non-Asian one with a reasonable shipping time that I could find.
I re-used the old caliper pistons. Yeah, they had pits, but are usable, I hope. I hit the pits with some 1000 grit wet-dry sandpaper in an attempt to smooth their edges. We shall see...
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Ya know.... in a weird sorta way, the new tire looks oddly satisfying on that rusty wheel. Good stuff!!
You gonna make your deadline.... the show?
You gonna make your deadline.... the show?
I'm fond of K&L seal kits. Not sure if they make 'em for your year though.
My kind of bike. Looks as though it has had a previous life, however abusive that was. Make it safe and ride it.
If patina was sold in an aerosol it would be £40 a can.
If patina was sold in an aerosol it would be £40 a can.
Yes, I will make the deadline. Bike will be rideable, and will be outwardly complete. But, will have lots of loose ends, and won't even be close to being legal. There is a story here, more to come.
I'm pretty sure that K&L doesn't make this kit. All the kits I can find are from the U.K and Australia. The caliper is the same as the RD250, RD350, and RD400. I just think those bikes have a much bigger following in the U.K. and Australia, and thus have better support there.
I'm pretty sure that K&L doesn't make this kit. All the kits I can find are from the U.K and Australia. The caliper is the same as the RD250, RD350, and RD400. I just think those bikes have a much bigger following in the U.K. and Australia, and thus have better support there.
I’m really enjoying your thread, I know people have saved really rusted , disaster looking bikes before, but I’ve never seen it done. And the idea of only restoring the mechanical parts and none of the finish is so foreign to me, that I find it to be very interesting.
In my XS2 thread I made an observation about that same gear. To my eye, it was intended to feed lubrication into the inner part of the gear.
In my XS2 thread I made an observation about that same gear. To my eye, it was intended to feed lubrication into the inner part of the gear.
No truer words have ever been spoken.
Excellent info. I don't think I've ever seen that groove before. The XS850 speedo drive that I stole the good circlip from definitely did not have it. Your 1972, my 1973, maybe only the very early year hydraulic brake speedo drives have the groove.
I can't tell you how liberating and satisfying this resurrection is. Once you've done several bikes, the cosmetic restoration part becomes really rote and tedious. The fun part is diagnosing and refurbishing the mechanical side. So nice to fix something and move on without prettifying it.No truer words have ever been spoken.
BTW, I finally got my title. This was a process that I began in December. Took 6 months to complete, thanks to COVID.
I like this .. I think these types of simplified .." Low budget " restorations is something that Younger
Enthusiast can find info from.
Me coming from the low budget side of the hobby.
I remember the start .When few had the cash to ride on fine bikes.
It was C*rap bikes or No bike at all. for many .
Some of them should have been scrapped .. In hindsight.
And some deals was rip offs.
But some starting points was there .. After a couple of years an upgrade could be done.
And the mint tanks and Paint jobs These days .Then I believe it is past $ 1000 dollar .And we enter the No bike Zone
Some chrome we can be past $ 2000
Some yuppies put $ 5000 on the exterior but have a motor no one wants and wont get their money back.
Personally I also like the time stamp If not to much change in the appearances done
Here at a parking lot. Today All cars are Gray. or Silver or White Hatchbacks.
If some one has a brush painted yellow frame and a red tank with a dent but still rides I like it.
I have sympathy for that . It was a couple of years ago. But at times I meet people looking for cheap twins
preferably English
They don't want any race bikes : are prepared do the work : But if the bill / cost is to high they cant do it.
Here on the forum advice can be found .And get out on the road
Which is not certain otherwise a Motorcycle can be a black hole where all the money goes into
Electrical problems hauled to the shop .every time .then it can be over before it has begun.
After the $ 2000 is gone in chrome and parts
.
Enthusiast can find info from.
Me coming from the low budget side of the hobby.
I remember the start .When few had the cash to ride on fine bikes.
It was C*rap bikes or No bike at all. for many .
Some of them should have been scrapped .. In hindsight.
And some deals was rip offs.
But some starting points was there .. After a couple of years an upgrade could be done.
And the mint tanks and Paint jobs These days .Then I believe it is past $ 1000 dollar .And we enter the No bike Zone
Some chrome we can be past $ 2000
Some yuppies put $ 5000 on the exterior but have a motor no one wants and wont get their money back.
Personally I also like the time stamp If not to much change in the appearances done
Here at a parking lot. Today All cars are Gray. or Silver or White Hatchbacks.
If some one has a brush painted yellow frame and a red tank with a dent but still rides I like it.
I have sympathy for that . It was a couple of years ago. But at times I meet people looking for cheap twins
preferably English
They don't want any race bikes : are prepared do the work : But if the bill / cost is to high they cant do it.
Here on the forum advice can be found .And get out on the road
Which is not certain otherwise a Motorcycle can be a black hole where all the money goes into
Electrical problems hauled to the shop .every time .then it can be over before it has begun.
After the $ 2000 is gone in chrome and parts
.
X77S
Let's do this!
I dig the stripes as well. Better than I've ever slopped on any piece of metal. They don't necessarily match anything on the tank, but with this bike they seem to just fit in. It kinda reminds me of the truckers that seem to buy 75% more pinstriping decals than the area permits.
