22's 1980 xs650 build thread

Tool for the fork inside
Taking this from memory so perhaps I remember wrong but something in this direction
a piece of pipe
a piece of all thread rod inside that pipe
3 nuts.
Lower end that goes inside the pipe double nut tightened against each other Standard nut that has the right dimensions was it 17 mm
Upper end one single nut tightening the alt thread and lower 2 nuts to / against the pipe.
With that I was able to loosen and tightening ..
Should it not work a little weld can solve it . I never needed it
The hardware is easy to find here and can be in house many times
The pipe I got from a shop nearby.
 
I think that 44.5 pound spec is for the adjustable top cap. I couldn't find any specific listing for the damper rod bolt but being an M8 bolt, 14 pounds would be good. Being a fine thread and steel bolt into steel damper rod, you could probably go a little tighter, like maybe 16 pounds.
 
Yes, I see that now .....

Qk62M0q.jpg


Looks like they got the ft/lb conversion wrong for that lower bolt and the metric listings wrong for the top cap, lol.
 
I don't replace a seal unless it's leaking. On my '78, I replaced one years ago when I renovated the bike. To this day, I'm still running with one original and one new replacement. Sometimes minor leaks are simply dirt in the seal. Clean it out and many times that will fix it. That being said, it's a good idea to take the forks apart just to thoroughly clean them. Forks don't get hot in operation like a motor so the sludge build-up in the bottom doesn't get broken free, mixed with the oil, and drained out. You literally have to scrub the insides clean, swab them out to get all the gunk out.

You can buy a nice little Allen socket for disassembling the forks. It's a 17mm Allen socket made for VW drain bolts. Jetmechmarty recently talked about this. He bought a Snap-On but there are cheaper ones available .....

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003LIX22G?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details

The key to this working is it's small diameter, small enough to fit down inside the fork tube. I have a rather large 1/2" drive 17mm Allen socket that doesn't work. It's O.D. is too big to fit into the fork.

fNPLLhG.jpg
If I understand correctly I will need two of these, one for the top and one for the bottom? Similar to the two that jetmechmarty is showing?

Another thing is the Factory Service Manual says 44.5 ft lbs on the damper rod bolt. I believe that should be 14.5 ft lbs.
Ah, okay good to know, thanks for the heads up!
 
Well, yes and no. Two different tools, yes, as they are different sized Allens, not two of the same tool. The top is that 17mm VW drain plug Allen, the bottom is a long M8 Allen I think.
 
If I understand correctly I will need two of these, one for the top and one for the bottom? Similar to the two that jetmechmarty is showing?
The 17 mm key goes on a 20 inch 3/8 extension and fits into the damper rod. The bolt going into the damper rod from the bottom is a socket head. I’m not sure if it’s six or eight mm. Do not use a ball end Allen wrench. Best to have a very long one to fit on your torque wrench.
 
MikesXS has the correct tool and it is 8 mm.
Yes, the socket head is 8mm. I chuck the fork up in a soft jaw vise and use a standard allen wrench with an 8mm combination wrench on it. Then take a 10mm combination to extend it for more force. Gives you about a foot of lever which is plenty.


za.png


zaa.jpg
 
Yes, the socket head is 8mm. I chuck the fork up in a soft jaw vise and use a standard allen wrench with an 8mm combination wrench on it. Then take a 10mm combination to extend it for more force. Gives you about a foot of lever which is plenty.


View attachment 206295

View attachment 206296
All good unless you want the 14.5 ft lbs on the torque wrench. An 8 mm crow foot will get it, just set it 90 degrees to the wrench head. I will say here that I'm sure Jim's elbow is certainly calibrated well enough for this job. YMMV
 
Just a note on clamping the fork lower in a vice. Do as Jim did (around the axle hole) or use the caliper mounts up on the side. DO NOT clamp the main round section of the lower in a vice, you can deform it, squashing it oval and ruining it. The tube won't slide all the way down into it then. We encountered this on one of my buddy's lower legs when rebuilding his forks. The lower wouldn't slide all the way onto the tube, only going maybe 2/3 to 3/4 of the way. Closely examining the lower revealed clamp marks in it where some P.O. had put it in a vice. We had to replace it.
 
I will say here that I'm sure Jim's elbow is certainly calibrated well enough for this job. YMMV
Yeah... I don't recall ever using a torque wrench on 'em.
Not to be a bad influence, but about all I use a T. wrench on is engines... and then only the critical bits. Having started wrenching in '68 and making a living at it ever since, I'm comfortable with it.
As Marty says though... ymmv. Part time wrenchers should apply liberal use of torque wrenches.
 
Just a note on clamping the fork lower in a vice. Do as Jim did (around the axle hole) or use the caliper mounts up on the side. DO NOT clamp the main round section of the lower in a vice, you can deform it, squashing it oval and ruining it. The tube won't slide all the way down into it then. We encountered this on one of my buddy's lower legs when rebuilding his forks. The lower wouldn't slide all the way onto the tube, only going maybe 2/3 to 3/4 of the way. Closely examining the lower revealed clamp marks in it where some P.O. had put it in a vice. We had to replace it.
Yes, @Mailman also encountered a PO doing that on his XS2 restore. And I've run across that a few times myself. It takes a lot LESS force than you would think to deform them.
 
Last edited:
Thanks everyone, I was able to get back to the bike last night and before I started the fork rebuild I decided to swap on some new sprockets. The bike came stock with a 36T rear so I bought a JT Sprockets 33T and a new 17T front from Brooks Barn in the UK via eBay, it seemed like the best deal, approx. $60 CAD to my door. I have a new DID chain to put on as well. Anyways, with the LH cover off I cleaned up what appears to just be chain fling so it looks like my clutch pushrod seal and sprocket area aren't leaking which is great. However, I did inspect my new long clutch push rod and as 5twins warned it already has a fairly sizable dimple on the inside end after less than 1,000 miles, it is a repop and I mostly bought it because I needed something quick before riding season was over, so I guess it served its purpose but I was hoping maybe they had fixed the issue. Of course I'm now looking for a NOS one from eBay, couple questions:
1. Will any year work, as long as it is part number 256-16357-00?
2. I could be wrong but it looks like some have a stepped end that goes into the worm gear and some don't? I'm assuming I need the stepped end?

I also needed to do some maintenance on the turn signals which appears to be quite common practice. The threaded stems are all bent and the chrome oval pieces that fasten the signal to the rubber part are also all bent and broken, is there anything worth doing with these or should I just buy new ones? I was going to buy new vintage style signals but thought I'd stick with the stock ones if I could make them look good again.

Oh and I bought the 17mm hex from Amazon, thanks for the tip, I have a 8mm allen and will likely use Jim's method, hoping to move to that project shortly.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_14331.jpg
    IMG_14331.jpg
    77.4 KB · Views: 63
  • IMG_14281.jpg
    IMG_14281.jpg
    168.8 KB · Views: 64
  • IMG_14301.jpg
    IMG_14301.jpg
    98.8 KB · Views: 62
  • IMG_14291.jpg
    IMG_14291.jpg
    78.5 KB · Views: 63
I also needed to do some maintenance on the turn signals which appears to be quite common practice. The threaded stems are all bent and the chrome oval pieces that fasten the signal to the rubber part are also all bent and broken, is there anything worth doing with these or should I just buy new ones? I was going to buy new vintage style signals but thought I'd stick with the stock ones if I could make them look good again.
New ones from yamahaXS650.com are inexpensive on this side of the border. Depending on sources of parts, time, and money, my inclination would be to replace them.
 
Yes, all 256-16357-00 long pushrods should be the same and have one end stepped. I think they came stock from '70 to '75. If you run across one without the step on the end, it's not the right one. It's probably the longer inner rod from the later 2 rod set-up, incorrectly listed by the seller. Boy, your aftermarket rod went to shit fast, lol, quicker than mine.
 
New ones from yamahaXS650.com are inexpensive on this side of the border. Depending on sources of parts, time, and money, my inclination would be to replace them.
Yeah, I think that makes the most sense, I'll likely eventually do that.

Yes, all 256-16357-00 long pushrods should be the same and have one end stepped. I think they came stock from '70 to '75. If you run across one without the step on the end, it's not the right one. It's probably the longer inner rod from the later 2 rod set-up, incorrectly listed by the seller. Boy, your aftermarket rod went to shit fast, lol, quicker than mine.
Perfect, that's what I thought and yes, very fast, definitely shocked me to see it that bad. Luckily there are a few on eBay right now, it's not easy to tell their condition but I'll grab one of them.
 
As always the bike fell down the priority list over the past few months but I was able to make some progress. My goal was to be riding by April 1st, that came and went and here we are still not riding but the new goal is to be riding for Paris this weekend.

Most my progress has come with the forks, took them completely apart, cleaned the internals and did a half decent job cleaning up the exterior, it's not easy or enjoyable cleaning around the mounting tabs but they look decent from 10ft. I likely need some type of wheel to clean them up better around the tabs. That 8mm combination wrench attached to the allen wrench was a lifesaver and a new trick for me. I also added fork gaiters, the daystar brand that 5twins has recommended, and I must say I really like the look, I might need to remove one more bellow though which should be easy enough with them on the bike. I dumped in 7oz of 10wt fork oil in each leg and buttoned it all back up.

Next I got back to my chain, new sprockets installed 17 front and 33 rear which I'm quite looking forward to after having a 36T on it. I put the rear tire back on and quickly took it back off after realizing I had forgotten to put the chain guard back on.

Next up is putting my new headers on and attaching my mufflers, the headers are longer than stock but otherwise they fit great, I can still use the stock muffler mounting point but it would mean having probably 6 to 8 inches of the header inside the muffler, the commando mufflers do allow for this but are there any issues with doing that?

Following that, oil change and valves all in time for at least 1 test ride before Paris and maybe some time to switch out my knock off main jets for genuine Mikuni ones.
 

Attachments

  • 20220517_224047.jpg
    20220517_224047.jpg
    204 KB · Views: 58
  • 20220317_211025.jpg
    20220317_211025.jpg
    255.4 KB · Views: 57
  • 20220614_150523.jpg
    20220614_150523.jpg
    269.4 KB · Views: 55
Back
Top