1981 xs650 leveling/seat questions

[burned by tailpipe]

Good evening all.

I have a 1981 xs650 special that I'm looking to make a few changes to.
Firstly I'd like to level the bike out a bit, get rid of the squat it has. If anyone can recommend the best way to do that it would be greatly appreciated.
I assume it entails a larger rear wheel/longer rear shocks.
Getting new rear shocks is pretty straight forward however finding a decent pair of rims that don't break the bank is proving to be more difficult.
The current mag wheels do not bug me, far easier to deal with than spoked, but I'm not sure if I can get a bigger one that will fit the back.
On the other hand if I had to get spoked wheels it would provide me with an opportunity to learn how to true wheels properly.
Regardless, if there are any relatively compatible wheels out there that won't leave me penniless then I'd love to know about them.
Lastly I'm looking for a new seat, the step in the current seat destroyed my lower back last summer so I'm looking for a flat one.
With the new seat I plan to get rid of the sissy bar and I'm making a new tail light out of an old indicatior which is going pretty well.
So if anyone can recommend a decent "cafe racer" seat that doesn't require an inane amount of pissing about to install, that would also be great.

This is my first post on this forum and im not entirely sure what the dynamic of it is yet. Please tell me if I'm being silly

 

[Jan_P]

That looks as stock exhaust and if so the headers are double walled
Not common those get so blue
Indicating a lean mixture
And to lean is not good for risk heating the piston which can go wrong
It can have happened long ago .but perhaps a look at the plugs

 

[burned by tailpipe]

That looks as stock exhaust and if so the headers are double walled
Not common those get so blue
Indicating a lean mixture
And to lean is not good for risk heating the piston which can go wrong
It can have happened long ago .but perhaps a look at the plugs

Pic is from last year, have since sorted the carbs out and replaced the plugs

 

[5twins]

Longer rear shocks are the easiest way to achieve what you want. Go 13 1/4" to 13 1/2" long on them. A 1980 seat will swap right on and has less of a hump. I did both of those "mods" to my '83, along with lowering the front a little by raising the tubes 1/4" in the trees .....

I tried an 18" rear wheel when I first got the bike because I read it handles better and is easier to throw into the corners, Well, I didn't find that to be true, so I've gone back to the original 16" rear wheel. It rides nicer and is more stable at high speeds than the 18", and the bike corners fine with it. I also think it looks better on the bike, probably because the bike was designed to use it (the way the side covers and seat angle down towards it).

You can't get a bigger mag, 16" was the only size they used on the 650. As far as custom seats go, Texavins makes some nice ones. Some are a bolt-on replacement, others require some modding. You can get them to fit with the stock tail light or without it (adding your own tail light) ......

https://texavina.com/xs650-heritage-special-1978-1983/

Personally, this is the one I like, no mods needed ......

https://texavina.com/1978-1983-yama...pecial-low-profile-motorcycle-seat-sku-z1533/

 

[650Skull]

If your having back problems it could b more to do with the handlebars. Never bothered me on my 83 with the same bars and seat as yours, did find I was always trying to move back and rode on the edge of the rise on the seat, (when I got my 81 it had the earlier seat like 5t mentions with lower bars). I found the lower bars made the riding position slightly lean forward puting less weight on my tailbone/lower back and more on my arse and legs and arms

 

[burned by tailpipe]

If your having back problems it could b more to do with the handlebars. Never bothered me on my 83 with the same bars and seat as yours, did find I was always trying to move back and rode on the edge of the rise on the seat, (when I got my 81 it had the earlier seat like 5t mentions with lower bars). I found the lower bars made the riding position slightly lean forward puting less weight on my tailbone/lower back and more on my arse and legs and arms

Aye, I've put some flatter bars on it this year and it seems to be helping a good bit. Still think I'm going to get a new seat, all my other bikes have flat seats and I much prefer being able to shuffle back and forth, even just for a stretch. Not to mention the seats on these bikes are a bit chunky for my liking, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Appreciate the advice!

 

[jetmechmarty]

My two cents. @Kevin Werner converted a Special to a standard. Find his thread. Here’s how to remove the squatty appearance. Yes, 19/18 spoked wheels are direct bolt on. Better would be to lace on 18/17” rims.
A standard seat. Not a modified Special seat.
The downsloped sidecovers have to go. It needs straight across standard sidecovers.
A bigger standard tank will also help.
It needs longer pipes.

This is Kevin’s avatar. I believe that was an ‘81 Special II. That’s the best transformation I have ever seen as far as Special to standard. The Special is a factory custom that took off in popularity. As for me, I learned to like the Special a long time ago.

My ‘81 Special.

 

[burned by tailpipe]

Longer rear shocks are the easiest way to achieve what you want. Go 13 1/4" to 13 1/2" long on them. A 1980 seat will swap right on and has less of a hump. I did both of those "mods" to my '83, along with lowering the front a little by raising the tubes 1/4" in the trees .....

View attachment 348388

I tried an 18" rear wheel when I first got the bike because I read it handles better and is easier to throw into the corners, Well, I didn't find that to be true, so I've gone back to the original 16" rear wheel. It rides nicer and is more stable at high speeds than the 18", and the bike corners fine with it. I also think it looks better on the bike, probably because the bike was designed to use it (the way the side covers and seat angle down towards it).

You can't get a bigger mag, 16" was the only size they used on the 650. As far as custom seats go, Texavins makes some nice ones. Some are a bolt-on replacement, others require some modding. You can get them to fit with the stock tail light or without it (adding your own tail light) ......

https://texavina.com/xs650-heritage-special-1978-1983/

Personally, this is the one I like, no mods needed ......

https://texavina.com/1978-1983-yama...pecial-low-profile-motorcycle-seat-sku-z1533/

Thanks for the advice, did you find the 18" rear made it worse? The texavina ones look like the right move, do you have one yourself?

 

[jetmechmarty]

The texavina ones look like the right move, do you have one yourself?

I have a Texavina seat. It’s still in the box, but it appears to be first quality.

 

[gggGary]

for sale near me

I think that's a texvina seat

 

[5twins]

No, I don't have one because they're so darn expensive, lol. They cost more than I paid for the whole bike, lol. At the moment, I'm happy with my $60 used 1980 seat.

Don't get me wrong, the handling wasn't bad with the 18" rear wheel, just not quite as good as with the 16". As I mentioned, the bike is more stable with the 16". The frame was designed around it and it just works well. Once I wear out the tire on my original rear wheel, I'm going to re-spoke it to an alloy 16" rim. I also plan on building a TX/XS500 rear wheel with a 16" rim. I already made up an 18" one for my Standard and quite like it ......

Why did I do this? To gain the cush drive .....

The 650 solid mounts it's rear sprocket and relies on 6 little coil springs on the back of the clutch hub to damp out the drive line "snatch". Over time, and especially if abused (wheelies, burn-outs, etc.), those little springs can and do break. I figured a rubber mounted rear sprocket would help ease the strain on them and as far as wheel adaptations go, the 500 wheel is pretty easy. The sprocket bolt pattern is the same so a 650 sprocket bolts right on, and the axle diameter is the same so no bearing swapping is needed. Just some spacers need to be made up, and the old 500 (or an old 650) sprocket is the perfect thickness for this .....

 

[burned by tailpipe]

No, I don't have one because they're so darn expensive, lol. They cost more than I paid for the whole bike, lol. At the moment, I'm happy with my $60 used 1980 seat.

Don't get me wrong, the handling wasn't bad with the 18" rear wheel, just not quite as good as with the 16". As I mentioned, the bike is more stable with the 16". The frame was designed around it and it just works well. Once I wear out the tire on my original rear wheel, I'm going to re-spoke it to an alloy 16" rim. I also plan on building a TX/XS500 rear wheel with a 16" rim. I already made up an 18" one for my Standard and quite like it ......

View attachment 348423

Why did I do this? To gain the cush drive .....

View attachment 348426

The 650 solid mounts it's rear sprocket and relies on 6 little coil springs on the back of the clutch hub to damp out the drive line "snatch". Over time, and especially if abused (wheelies, burn-outs, etc.), those little springs can and do break. I figured a rubber mounted rear sprocket would help ease the strain on them and as far as wheel adaptations go, the 500 wheel is pretty easy. The sprocket bolt pattern is the same so a 650 sprocket bolts right on, and the axle diameter is the same so no bearing swapping is needed. Just some spacers need to be made up, and the old 500 (or an old 650) sprocket is the perfect thickness for this .....

View attachment 348428

View attachment 348429

Maybe I'll give the 16" another chance.
One idea i had was to try an xs400 rim but I'm not sure how compatible it would be. I have a 79 xs400 that isn't on the road at the moment and I thought If I could steal the wheel off of that temporarily it might give me an idea of whether I want to buy a bigger spoked one. But like I said I'm not sure if it would fit I'd need to take some measurements.

 

[5twins]

I'm pretty sure the axle size differs. The 650 has a 20mm diameter axle.

 

[jetmechmarty]

for sale near me
View attachment 348408

View attachment 348409
I think that's a texvina seat

IMHO, it does not transform the bike. Now, it's a Special with an ugly seat.

 

[5twins]

Well, I think it looks better than that mega-hump original, lol. Seriously, that original seat took a big hit with the "ugly stick", lol. But I will admit, it was/is comfortable.

 

[jetmechmarty]

Well, I think it looks better than that mega-hump original, lol. Seriously, that original seat took a big hit with the "ugly stick", lol. But I will admit, it was/is comfortable.

Truth. I prefer the 78/79 Special. It’s more subtle. I think it looked best on the 79 XS1100. It’s the long wheel base that improves the look. The last Specials are hard to customize. They’re already heavily customized.

 

[Jim]

I prefer the 78/79 Special. It’s more subtle.

Agree. I'd also lump the '80 in there. Yeah, the hump's a tad bigger'n the '78/'79... but not near as cartoonish as what followed.

 

[Dougie]

Good evening all.

I have a 1981 xs650 special that I'm looking to make a few changes to.
Firstly I'd like to level the bike out a bit, get rid of the squat it has. If anyone can recommend the best way to do that it would be greatly appreciated.
I assume it entails a larger rear wheel/longer rear shocks.
Getting new rear shocks is pretty straight forward however finding a decent pair of rims that don't break the bank is proving to be more difficult.
The current mag wheels do not bug me, far easier to deal with than spoked, but I'm not sure if I can get a bigger one that will fit the back.
On the other hand if I had to get spoked wheels it would provide me with an opportunity to learn how to true wheels properly.
Regardless, if there are any relatively compatible wheels out there that won't leave me penniless then I'd love to know about them.
Lastly I'm looking for a new seat, the step in the current seat destroyed my lower back last summer so I'm looking for a flat one.
With the new seat I plan to get rid of the sissy bar and I'm making a new tail light out of an old indicatior which is going pretty well.
So if anyone can recommend a decent "cafe racer" seat that doesn't require an inane amount of pissing about to install, that would also be great.

This is my first post on this forum and im not entirely sure what the dynamic of it is yet. Please tell me if I'm being silly

 

[Dougie]

Jim,
I also need a flat seat for my 1981 to replace the king&queen.
Please contact me if you have any success finding the seat, you may find2.
Dougie

 

[Dougie]

Dose Anyone have a 1989 flat seat they will sell ?
Or any other flat seat suitable for a1981 XS 650.
Dougie