1974 TX650A Restoration Project

Whew.... got pretty nerdy there haha.
I like nerdy :geek:
I spent several yrs building composite light sport airplanes. Glass, Kevlar and carbon fiber. Picked up a good working knowledge of epoxy's, polyesters and vinylesters... not to your level of expertise obviously, but I understood your explanation.
Fwiw, I've never had high temp JB Weld fail in a petroleum environment. Stands up to gas and oil as good as anything.
 
Fwiw, I've never had high temp JB Weld fail in a petroleum environment. Stands up to gas and oil as good as anything.
Nice Jim, good to know. Knew you had aircraft experience, but that's some really cool stuff. I've never done any sort of laminate/resin work (e.g. fiberglass/carbon fiber) but always thought it would be really fun. (and messy lol)
 
but always thought it would be really fun. (and messy lol)
Yeah.... emphasis on the messy. Working with it day in and day out got tiresome because of the "messiness" involved.... but just playing around with it when you feel like it is fun.... in a geeky kinda way I guess.
 
Front end:

Ok, at this point in the build we're up to about the end of April (~5-6 weeks ago), and I admittedly did not do nearly as good a job documenting as I did earlier in the project. So pics are going to be a bit more sporadic.

I had replaced the stock steering bearings right when I got the bike with tapered rollers. I managed to get them off the stem and out of the neck tube before sending off for powder coating without mucking them up, so I greased 'em up and put them back to install the trees and fork ears (wish I had done a better job blocking the chaos of my basement!)
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I actually thought the stock bars on the bike were really comfortable and looked pretty nice. The chrome was a bit pitted on mine, so I decided I would try to find a decent set of OEM-type. Found a brand new repro set on EBay and when I got them I was very surprised to learn that my old bars actually weren't stock haha. They had a bit of a swoop back, but turns out they didn't go back nearly as far as the actual originals. So turns out, I do NOT like the stock bars on this bike.Stock on left, mine on right.
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I returned them, and then had to try to figure out what the heck I had. I don't know about you guys, but I have a real hard time measuring bars. And considering my bike was in pieces, I couldn't do what most recommend and mount them on the bike. After looking around and seeing some great threads here, I think I may have had "Euro bars"? (If anyone wants to take a look at the first posts in this thread and weigh in I'd be curious).
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So I could definitely see getting another set of those (and my old ones are definitely usable in a pinch). But I also was really inspired by a pic that @Downeaster had of his Special with Superbike bars (http://www.xs650.com/threads/what-is-your-favorite-handlebars.23290/#post-227382), that I thought I would give that a try. These things are pretty badass!
Mine (top) and Superbike (bottom)
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As for the controls, I bought new, my old ones were tired and a bit bastardized from the shoddy elec from the PO. I bought a RH from Mike's and I bought a LH NOS from an XS400 that I felt really confident would fit. It had a turn signal canceling unit, but looking at the wiring diagram, I knew it would be no problem to bypass. I drilled up the bars and carefully filed the holes to make sure they were super smooth. Added some heat shrink around the wiring bundles as well to act as some extra grommeting.
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As for the forks, I had replaced the seals right after getting the bike, so I was in good shape there. I gave the lowers a trip on the buffing wheel with a tripoli compound and popped on some new dust covers. Here's the front end mocked up:
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It's coming along!

Note the components that sandwich the fork ears ("Guide, cover under" and "Guide, cover upper" in the parts manual) and hang over the lower tree ("Cover, outer") were originally chrome in the first set of pics above. I cleaned them up, but they were still a bit pitted and I just couldn't get them to look good. So I decided to try a silver powder coat in my home kit, and I think they came out pretty nice. It's not really reflective at all, but it's an even finish, and while I'd probably prefer the chrome, I thought this was a reasonable compromise considering I couldn't find any worth pursuing on Ebay. Up close you can definitely see that they aren't chrome, but they do a nice approximation from a short distance (good look at them in the last pic above)

I actually ended up doing this same silver powder coat treatment on the speedo/tach cups, which were also in pretty rough shape, and again, I think they're decent looking in the context of the bike (could have been smoother had I sanded beforehand, opposed to just degreasing)
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Tires/fenders:

Another first for me....mounted the tires by hand using a set of 3 irons and probably 5 or 6 rim protectors at a time, haha. Very surprised (and happy) to say I didn't scratch the rims whatsoever doing it, by some sort of miracle. Think it was all the extra rim protectors. There are some really good internet videos on how to do this and I'd say a good technique is go slow, and be careful and make sure you keep things wet w/ dishsoap/water spray.

One question for this group....what are people's experience with 'seating the bead". I have a brand new set of Dunlop K70's (minus one ~50 mile ride at the end of last season, which I really regret paying $120 for a mount/balance for now....:mad:). I got the tires mounted, tube in place.....inflated up to 65-70psi....the front tire definitely 'popped'. The rear didn't. The "indicator line" on the tire trails the rim all the way around evenly and I bounced the hell out of the thing. I think it's seated....has anyone had an experience with a 'quiet' bead seat? Any other techniques for confirming it's seated?? Everything I can see or measure tells me it is, but I sure would have liked to have heard that pop!

Anyways....tires mounted up....went down the rabbit hole of balancing methods. I know there are LOTS of opinions on static vs dynamic. I opted for Dynabeads, which I know is a controversial choice. Gave the rotor a once over with an orbital sandpaper to knock down the grooves and reinstalled the rotor and rotor mount. Rear sprocket on (sprocket locks were in the mail, to be installed rest assured!)
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Installed the rear wheel, just to get it rolling.
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My stock fenders are certainly not in showroom condition after 46 years, and I was seriously considering trying to look into replacements....but I spend some time and elbow grease polishing them up, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised how they cleaned up! Any pits were pretty small and were minimally visible after polishing.
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At this point....this is really as far as I wanted (well, would be able) to go....because I had to bring it up a flight of stairs :eek:
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One note.....you can see I chopped the front fender. I did this last year, right after I got the bike. As mentioned previously, the bike was in some sort of crash/drop and the front of the fender was torn a bit. I actually think the chop looks really cool.....but one thing I can't get exactly right is how it sits. You can see in the head-on pic below. It's way better than it was, but it's still a little cockeyed. It's probably the best I'm going to do, haha. :shrug::shrug::shrug:
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A seriously tweaked front fender can cause some serious stiction in the front forks. The central mount (which also doubles as the fork brace) needs to bolt up without pulling in or pushing out on the tops of the forks. The closer to perfect, the better.
That rear fender cleaned up pretty good.
 
Bike is looking great! As for the fenders, I think the chrome is really in nice shape. Chrome on Japanese bikes from the 70’s really was not like modern bikes. Keep em waxed up and they’ll look as good as they ever did!
Nice work!
 
A seriously tweaked front fender can cause some serious stiction in the front forks.

Great point Jim. Hadn't really considered that, although it makes sense. It seems like the PO had been driving it around like that for quite some time. Think there would be any means of assessing stiction like that? Wear lines on one side of the inner fork tubes or something?
 
Great point Jim. Hadn't really considered that, although it makes sense. It seems like the PO had been driving it around like that for quite some time. Think there would be any means of assessing stiction like that? Wear lines on one side of the inner fork tubes or something?
I do it by feel. Install the fender last, after the triple and wheel have been tightened up. Bounce the front end up and down without the fender to get a feel for the effort it takes. You're trying to get a feel for how much it takes to get the forks moving... overcome the friction (stiction). Then install the fender and do it again. Then it's up to you to decide how much is acceptable and how much tweaking you want to do on the fender.
 
Seat:

Original seat had a tear in it covered with duct tape, so I tried my hand at recovering it. Have to say, I wasn't expecting much when I pulled the new cover out and unfurled it...but it actually ended up looking great. There was a bit of a hole in the foam where something had made a nest. When I was cleaning it out I found a mummified mouse in there, haha. I ended up stuffing the hole my old egg-crate mattress topper from college (knew I kept that for a reason!). Was really pretty surprised how well it turned out.
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Front brake:

I had rebuilt the front brake when i got the bike, the MC was toast and the rebuild kit I got from Mikes didn't fit. I ended up just buying a new MC and replacing a bunch of the lines and cleaning up the caliper and painting. The paint job wasn't great, so I figured I'd use the powder coat kit I had and give the caliper a new coat of gloss black. Like an IDIOT, when I was prebaking the caliper, I forgot to take the seals out :doh:....so that meant a new seal kit was in order. My pistons weren't great either, and I had some weeping issues previously (maybe why the paint on the caliper wasn't holding up so well previously), so I took some of the advice here and bought a set of SS replacements.

Powder came out pretty good. This was probably 3 weeks ago from the time of writing, and the last thing I really needed before starting to schlep this thing outside and seeing if she starts!
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Reassembly

So...two weeks ago. I managed to pull the beast up the stairs (alone!). No front wheel...holding the front forks and pulling it backwards up the stairs. Wasn't really "fun", per se......but wasn't horrible either. I popped the front wheel on, just so I could stand it up. I also lifted the motor up, stair at a time, then rolled on a dolly over to the reassembly point in my backyard.
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I did a bad job with pictures here....but I can definitely say it's possible to install a motor with one person, and the 'lay the frame over' is a pretty good technique for it. I protected the frame, and did a good job getting it over the motor and seated, except for one place the exhaust stud tore through and put a small gouge in the powder. I wish I had thought to put crown nuts on those studs!! The gouge is inside the upright that goes to the neck (by the headers), where it would be very difficult to see, and if I touch up, I think I will be the only one that knows it's there (but I will never forget it haha....). I was supposed to have a buddy come over and help, but I was pretty excited, and before I knew it my 'fit testing' while waiting for him, turned into having the damn thing in the frame. I think the cocktail helped...
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Hot damn, looking like a bike!!!
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Reassembly, continued:

Now a bunch of stuff is just getting put back on the bike.....electrical (signal relay, coil, CDI box) all getting buttoned up and secured, which I actually spent tons of time tweaking, adjusting, re-adjusting, and trying to optimize....I get a little nutty with that stuff, haha. Also tried to get a handle on cable routing with my new bars, and found a path that seemed to work pretty well for the throttle cables and 650central EZpull clutch cable.
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Before going too crazy here, I thought it would be best to do a compression test on the motor. As positive as I was about how it was coming together, I had this dread that I was going to have to pull the damn motor to fix something I screwed up.

Hooked up the tester to the LH cylinder (no carbs/airboxes), gave a few kicks, and saw the following:
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YESS!!! 150psi, I will take it! Released the pressure, same on the RH....

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YES and YES! (And before you ask, I watched the gauge go up and released it each time :laugh:.....so it's not just stuck at 150psi hahaha).

Compression - CHECK! Put the carbs, airboxes and seat on:
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Put the battery in, checked switches, elec, lights, starter and safety relay....all functioning as intended. Feeling very excited at this point. Decide to check the next logical motor function - spark. Annnnnnd this is where I hit a road block.... to be continued....
 
Stator repair

...picking up where I left off. Had compression I was very happy with and no spark. Remember, I had replaced the stock charging and points/advance system with the PMA/CDI from Hugh's last summer before I started this resto and it was running like a champ. For a little context - one of the last things I did in late September (before I knew I'd be embarking on this resto) was put a new set of tires on, and since I had the wheels off, I decided to also replace the chain since I had no idea how old it was. When I did this I screwed up....I was too focused on the chain, and as a result I carelessly knocked the wiring bundle coming from the stator/source coil loose from it's routing underneath the drive sprocket in the LH case cover. Well, you might imagine. My next ride after that, and my last of the season as it turns out, I got about a mile from home and the bike died, no power. Luckily I was close enough I could push it home (although that's subjective....it was probably almost a mile which I didn't realize :laugh::doh:). When I started to diagnose I quickly found I the wires had rubbed on the chain and worn through. Stator epoxy discoloration also told me that this thing likely got pretty darn hot as well, which I imagine was a result of the stator being open circuited. While I had given the stator a resistance check after repairing the chewed up wires, I didn't go through the whole system thoroughly and was paying for my haste here w/ a lack of spark. Troubleshooting time...

Removed the rotor, and pulled the stator and pickup coil. Immediately found my problem, haha. (that was easy). One of the source coil wires (in green) had broken at the stator.

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Maybe this wasn't going to be as bad as I thought. I pulled it all apart, in any case, because at this point I really wanted to make sure nothing else was toasted. Clearly this thing had gotten hot from my mistake, as I could tell from the epoxy discoloration, as well as all the sheathing on the wires being really 'crispy' and brittle. I have no doubt that's where my failure was from with the broken connection. In any case, I pulled it into the house, stripped back all the protective sheathing at the stator to give a good examination of how the leads were terminated, and inspected everything. Checked and/or resoldered anything that looked suspect (saw a questionable splice in the second pic below) and buttoned it all up with some heat shrink and zip ties for re-installation. When I checked the source coil, I was getting a very consistent 13.8 ohm, which is below the quoted spec of low 20s, but it was very consistent (no variation at different points of measure, or when I moved the probes around) so I thought I would try it and see.
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So reinstallation time. Checked the coil, the pickup coil and rechecked the stator and source coil. All elements looking good. At this point, if I'm not getting a spark, it's probably pointing to the CDI box, which would equal a replacement, since they're non-serviceable.....

So plugs out and grounded... here goes:

In case you couldn't see from the one-handed-while-I-kickstart video....Thar she blows!! I've got spark!! Time to work towards firing this thing up for real :laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh:
 
First start

Ok...got my spark sorted.... time to see if she'll kick over... I put my exhaust pipes on. One thing I'd like to do in the future, because it's bugging me, is to replace the headers and mufflers. I cleaned mine up as best I could but they're not in the best shape, and it just sort of bugs me. I'll pick the brains of this group a little. First things first though - let's get it running and save that discussion for another day. So, stock pipes on. Tank on. Ready to go.... maybe I'll put the flashers on. And the tail light. And install and bleed the front brake. Dang, looking good, let's take a pic:
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Ok, ok.....I admit I was stalling here....I was still pretty nervous after all this work that something was going go horribly wrong. Enough stalling...get those mufflers on (for the sake of my neighbors)....moment of truth. Here's a video I took to capture the moment.....

:smoke: Holy %$^@!! It's alive!! Idle needs work, but it is ALIVE. Gave the idle screws a tweak and gave her a little gas:


Wow!! Not sounding half bad!! I was feeling like a champ here, alone in my backyard hahaha.

Put the LH cover on and adjusted the clutch play, which somehow went very smoothly, thanks no doubt to the great advice I'm found here. My old clutch lever pull could only be described as "heroic" and my friends who ride newer bikes could not believe I could even ride it. I was optimistic about my new perch and cable from MMM at 650central and I was VERY happy with the result. Little vid that gives a sense of the 2 finger pull here:

I buttoned up the adjuster screw cap and added the shift lever. Ran it through the gears on teh center stand and it shifted beautifully with a good feeling neutral...... it dawned on me that I think i might be close to actually riding this thing!!! :eek::eek:

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