1981 XS650 Basket Case

[TbirdIV]

Put in a little time cleaning up my new-to-me Honda MC, there is a little minor pitting in the bore, but it holds air pressure against my thumb so I will run it for now. I did apply a little red-rubber grease to the seals, so that may be masking the issue and it might be cooked. We'll see. I was able to salvage the lever and brake light switch from the previous MC I received, So not a total loss on that front thankfully.

I'm intending to use some small bar-mounted switches for lights/signals/horn/kill, so I wanted to get rid of the big stock throttle housing. I found this motion pro unit for reasonable money and gave it a shot, and picked up a DIY cable kit to make a new throttle cable. Haven't made the cable yet, but I like the feel of the new assembly. It looks a little short on the end of the bars, but I think it will look better once the switches are mounted and I get some bar end mirrors or signals

At the same time, I received a new custom front brake line: 45 degrees on the caliper end, 90 at the MC, and 920mm long. So I started working on routing. I tried a couple options but I think I need to pick up a slider/guide a-la dirt bike brake line to go behind the headlight bucket. Really happy with the line, though, a really nice looking piece. I think I would go with a 22 or 30 degree end on the caliper in the future though.

And shortly after that, I left town for work, so that's where she sits for now!

 

[5twins]

There's two tapped M6 holes on the front of the lower triple tree that you can bolt a guide to. It can be as simple as a piece of strap steel (I used stainless) .....

Or if it's not going to show, one of these wire clamps works well. This is on my '83, hidden behind the "beauty" plate .....

 

[Its been a long time]

Yes, I put one of those P clips in that bottom yoke threaded hole too. Perfect, made for the job

 

[TbirdIV]

I like that spot, I'll work something up and maybe I can tag the speedometer cable in there too.

 

[TbirdIV]

Also, Got fresh wheel bearings installed in the front a few days ago, the old ones were slathered in anti-seize, so I didn't really trust them. on removal they looked pretty rough, but they did clean up well and still feel smooth/tight, so they will go on the spare parts pile. Packed the new ones with some red wheel bearing grease and sent them home.

I also ordered a set of tapered steering head bearings, since there's no instructions included, I assume installation is pretty straightforward, is there a good writeup around?

 

[TbirdIV]

Haven't gotten much physical work done on the XS lately, at some point I made up a new throttle cable, mounted the new grips and throttle assembly, and I was able to take the bike on a short ride, maybe a video to come?

The main thing I've been focused on is the gauges, though. I'm fortunate to have access to some decent modeling software at work, so I've been working on a new gauge mount after hours. This is probably my third iteration, had to add a gap in the face plate so the speedometer can be installed without removing the trip odo thumb wheel. It will be laser cut out of 1/8 Aluminum, then it can be bent in a vise and assembled.

This version mounts to the triple as it comes from the factory, once I have it made I'll see if it is stable enough, if not I may mill off the top of the two smaller mounting ears and drill/tap for mounting to the upper surface.

Printed off the profiles and mocked it up on some paper/cardboard:

(I wish I could find a tach that had a more reasonable range. 12,000 seems like a lot)

Mocked up on the bike, (tape roll poorly edited out, lol)
I feel like the headlight mount may need to be higher, not sure if I like the airspace between the gauges and the housing.

View from the seat (I swear I'll clean the garage one of these days)

I should get the parts ordered soon, then I'm hoping to get wired up and riding to see what else shakes loose before working on the aesthetics.

 

[Kevin Werner]

Unless you race, dump the tach. Move the speedo to the right, add a DVM to the left on the face plate. Not a negative comment, but why have a tach when we upshift before it becomes painful and downshift before it stalls?

 

[jetmechmarty]

Unless you race, dump the tach. Move the speedo to the right, add a DVM to the left on the face plate. Not a negative comment, but why have a tach when we upshift before it becomes painful and downshift before it stalls?

The tach tells me the oil pump is turning.

 

[5twins]

Your headlight ears are mounted upside down, that's why the bucket is so low, lol.

Nice to see many of my little "improvements" being implemented. A couple more I'd consider are an XS400 "1L9" worm gear and Minton Mods to the forks. A Honda MP08 coil is another nice upgrade.

 

[TbirdIV]

@Kevin Werner, that's a good point, I would defend it, but I just like to have a tach. Scratches an itch in my brain. I may pick up a voltmeter though, I hadn't thought about that. It would be nice to know I have a charging problem before ending up stuck on the side of the road.

I didn't know the tach drive came off the oil pump, so that is a nice secondary benefit.

@5twins, that makes sense! good eye, I'll swap those around. Those clutch threads are one of the first things that brought me to the forums, the 1L9 worm had slipped my mind. I'll keep an eye out, what's a good price for one of those?
Going back and forth on the Minton Mods vs cartridge emulators and some stiffer springs. Thoughts? I know it will never be a race bike, but I do like to put things through their paces.

 

[5twins]

The stock forks work OK once they get pumping but don't respond much or very well to the little stuff. The Minton Mods really help with this and, in fact, Joe Minton even mentions it in his article. And if you do them, that doesn't stop you from adding emulators later on if you want. For the Minton Mods, you slightly enlarge the holes in the damper rods so they flow better and more oil. For emulators, you make the holes really big so they don't have any effect on damping. I always recommend trying the Minton Mods first because I think they really help, and they're basically free, lol. They really smooth out the every day ride. If it's not enough then you could do the emulators, but I probably never will because I'm happy with the modded forks. And add about a 3/4" to 1" preload spacer to the stock springs and that will stiffen them up, saving you the cost of new springs. And add more oil too, about an ounce more. These forks just plain work better with a little more oil in them. I put 7 ounces in then set the level to 6" from the tops of the tubes, springs removed and forks fully compressed.

I don't like to pay any more than about $20 for a "1L9" worm assembly. If you watch eBay, one will pop up eventually, and maybe for even less. I try to get a complete assembly that includes the nylon female part because the 400 one is usually black nylon. This is harder than the white nylon one you usually find in the 650, so it should last longer.

 

[jetmechmarty]

I put 7 ounces in then set the level to 6" from the tops of the tubes, springs removed and forks fully compressed.

I put even more. Mine are set to 135 mm or 5.3 in. It really helps under hard braking.