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?