'80 Special Refit

[Solomoriah]

Back on July 14th I posted this "before" pic of my 1980 XS650 in the "Show us..." thread:

Here's the instrument cluster, for reference. I rode the bike less than a mile from the seller's residence to the gas station and reset the tripmeter when I filled it up, but I must have screwed up because it's only 15 or so miles from where I bought it to home.

I'm going to post my ongoing refit of this bike in this thread. To start with, I'll repost my comments (and some quotes) from the "What have you done..." thread, since I've kind of been posting my progress there.

 

[Solomoriah]

As I said above, I rode it 15 miles home, and it feels really nice. Has a head gasket oil leak the seller said was very minor that I'm not so sure about... it worries me. Needs a new front brake master cylinder, something I'm pretty comfortable doing, and three out of four turn signals are mangled. Seller claimed it was from a static fall, and there is no road rash on the damaged signals, supporting his contention... but if that is so, how did a fall on the left side damage the right front signal? Ah, the questions of life.

Not sure of your experience level... but a head re-torque will oftentimes fix a leaky head gasket.
There's a wealth of knowledge in the Tech Section and the search box on this site does a great job.

More on this later. I'm going to collect the retorque notes in this thread to remind me when I set out to do it next week.

Back on the 14th of July I posted the following:

Bought it.

Rode it home.

Took off the mirrors, and put the left one back on... because the left mirror was attached to the right side of the handlebar on a clamp, and the right mirror was crossthreaded into the mount on the left side. You all know that Yamaha bikes have left-handed right mirrors, but apparently the previous owner didn't. Gah. The collar nut is missing from the right-hand mirror, so I couldn't remount it, but after running a bolt through the left-hand mount from the bottom to straighten the threads, that mirror went on fine.

Removed the expired license plate from the bike.

Loosened one of the broken signals to examine it. The rear signals are pressed together (the stem into the formed baseplate), right? So anyway, that's where it's broken. Also the flange it attaches to is bent, but I don't expect any trouble bending it back out. Haven't dug into the headlight to remove the front signals for examination as yet... hoping the headlight bucket and mount is undamaged.

Rolled it into the garage beside my 1980 CB650 and 2008 TW200.

Looked up this site on the net, to learn how to fix my "new" bike's issues.

The next day I posted a thread about styling. As noted above, the master cylinder is pretty crappy (leaks, and so disfigured that fixing it seems a waste of time) so I knew I was going to order another "generic" unit like I put on my 1980 Honda CB650. But that MC won't work on the pullback Special bars, and I don't like them anyway. So I posted this thread: http://www.xs650.com/threads/styling-question-probably-a-stupid-one.52557/

I'm not going to quote it all, just the bits I actually did; you can read the original thread if you care. I ordered a bunch of parts from eBay using a one-day-only $25.00 coupon, and here they are:

 

[Solomoriah]

A bit more from Sunday the 22nd:

Indeed. Plan of attack: Pull the tank, retorque the head (installing the new washers as I go), install new bars and attendant bits, connect, fill, and bleed the new master cylinder, and then (and only then) put the tank back on. This still leaves the bent signals to fix, and the left turn signals don't blink as of right now so I have to figure that out yet.

Do all that, and if the oil leak is at least slowed, get it inspected and some plates on it. Gah. Lots to do...

What bars are they and how wide are they? I'm looking to replace the stock ones on the '75 and would like something a little lower and narrower.

They are these: Emgo Chrome 7/8 in. CB750K Replica Handlebar - 23-93145

Width: 32 in.
Rise: 5 in.
Pullback: 5-1/2 in.
Center Width: 6 in.
End Rise: 6 1/2 in.

I held them up over the stock bars on my Yamaha TW200; they are the same width, approximately, but angled differently, and I'm wondering if I can find bars like that which are not chromed because they'd be perfect on the TW.

 

[Solomoriah]

Jumping around a bit... back on the 14th I posted a question about retorquing the head on this bike: http://www.xs650.com/threads/head-retorque-and-brass-washers-question.52552/

I'm not impressed with how this forum does quotes, so I'm just going to copy and paste here. My original post went like this:

So I have oil leaking from the left side of my just-purchased XS650, specifically from the head gasket. It runs good, so no compression issue is evident. I saw this old thread:

http://www.xs650.com/threads/leaking-head-gasket.30135/#post-302298

The members there talk about retorquing the head bolts, which I have already been advised to try on my 1980 Honda CB650 which has a similar issue. I'm good with doing that, but the thread above is light on details, and I'm the sort who likes to have everything nailed down.

First of all, brass washers are mentioned, from Mike's XS. Is this the correct part?

https://www.mikesxs.net/yamaha-xs650-brass-cylinder-head-washer-oem-90210-10004-00.html

According to the parts fiche on CMSNL (which is the one I use all the time for my other bikes), there are 4 part no. 90210-10004 washers used, which according to Mike's XS are the equivalent parts to the brass washers they are selling. But according to the parts fiche, there are also 4 part no. 90201-10131 washers, under the other four acorn nuts. I don't find a replacement for that part... what exactly is needed here?

Incidentally, I did find this part: https://www.mikesxs.net/yamaha-xs65...0430-06014-90210-10004-00-90201-10131-00.html

It claims to be a "Bottom end" kit in the title, but it says "top end" in the description, so I'm more than a little confused.

Mainly, I just want to know what the procedure is before I start. I assume the nuts get removed one at a time, replacement washers fitted, and then retorqued to 30 foot-pounds for the acorn nuts, and the factory 14-16 for the other head bolts/nuts. Do I have this right?

Parts Fiche:
https://www.cmsnl.com/yamaha-xs650-1980-a-usa_model8759/partslist/A-05.html

 

[Solomoriah]

5twins replied to my question about retorquing with some advice on different washers that might work, and ended with this very useful rundown of the procedure:

"Yes, remove one at a time, clean and lube the threads (anti-seize), then torque. I bring them up to about 25 in a couple steps, then once all are done, go back and bring them up to 28. The only other bolts that contribute to sealing the head gasket are the 2 under the spark plugs and that little 6mm at the rear. The other smaller bolts in the top cover only hold that cover on. You probably don't need to disturb those."

JimD54 added a link to his engine buildup thread. Lordy, I wish I had those skills. He recommends 27 ft-lbs torque on the acorn nuts and 72 INCH-lbs on the little one at the rear. He says 14 ft-lbs on the other bolts, but the diagram he included shows 16 so I'm not sure what's best there. 5twins didn't weigh in on the torque for those either. Yamaha's manual says 16 ft-lbs, so I suppose that's the answer, and the little bolt at the rear calls for 7 ft-lbs; if I haven't messed up the math, 72 in-lbs. is 6 ft-lbs, making JimD54's recommendation pretty close to the manual.

SO at the moment I'm planning on going with this:

Studs/acorn nuts 28 ft-lbs
Bolts under spark plugs 16 ft-lbs
Little bolt at the back 7 ft-lbs

 

[Solomoriah]

Things I did on July 24th:

I pulled the bent left rear signal, ran three nuts onto the stud, slipped it into a piece of iron pipe and bent it straight. Bent the mounting point (tab? flange?) straight with vice grips, put it all back together and here it is:

Sorry I don't have a "before" pic. So now I have to disassemble the headlight to do the same thing to both front signals... and straighten the headlight lens while I'm in there. Later.

Next, I carefully threaded the new left mirror into the damaged clutch perch threads. I think it's going to be okay. The new master cylinder has a silver-colored lever, so I pulled the stock black lever from the clutch and put on the one from my TW200, which isn't a perfect match but it is close.

The TW got a set of shorties a long time back, and as we all do, I threw the old ones on a shelf in case I ever needed them.

Last, I took a look at the wiring under the seat. Don't think it's supposed to look like this...

Not sure what happened here. I've read that the Specials have a fuse box on top of the battery, so the location is right, but the box has been replaced by this ugly hack. The left-side signals don't blink, so I'm assuming it's something in this area. The previous owner(s) should not have been allowed to touch tools. (I'm not sure I should either, but I know better than this.)

 

[Solomoriah]

Downeaster replied first with this helpful note:

"That "fuse box" was an open board with glass fuses in brass clips. It was a major source of electrical gremlins. What you see there is a pretty standard fustercluck in an attempt to fix the problem.

"A MUCH better fix is to go to a blade-type fuse box something like this and clean up the wiring.

"How I did mine. It's under the left side cover."

A few others replied in kind. I've decided to leave that mess alone for the moment, as the only electrical issue is the non-functioning blinkers, and I'm pretty sure that's the switch.

 

[Solomoriah]

Things I did on the 25th:

I put the new bars together in a "preliminary" fashion:

The left side blinkers used to not work... now neither side does. Never disconnected anything, so I'm not sure what went wrong. I haven't removed the old master cylinder completely, as I need to open up the headlight and sort out the wiring... and of course, remove the tank before actually disconnecting the brake line, to avoid damaging the paint.

Here's my next task:

Open up the headlight, remove and repair each signal, sort out the excess wiring, and figure out why the blinkers don't work. And then put it all back together.

And of course, I still have to retorque the head. Waiting for anti-seize to arrive, and then I'll pull the tank and get on with it.

 

[nj1639]

Be especially careful with that small bolt at the back of the engine. Don't strip it.

 

[Solomoriah]

So now this thread is up to date. I'll post more as it happens.

 

[Solomoriah]

Be especially careful with that small bolt at the back of the engine. Don't strip it.

That's the plan. Being careful, not stripping it. I'm definitely not going over on torque... I may stop at 6 ft-lbs. Depends on how it feels.

How do you get a socket on those bolts under the spark plugs? There's not a lot of clearance there. I mean, I know the plugs come out (duh) but it still looks pretty tight.

 

[weekendrider]

A wobble socket might help. RE: brake fluid damage. Rags/towels soaked in water and laid on or over things helps prevent damage.

 

[5twins]

Yes, for those bolts under the spark plugs, a wobble extension works well .....

Obviously, you have to remove the spark plug, but the chrome covers above that on the points and advance housings will also be in the way. Remove them and the housings themselves will still prevent a perfectly straight shot at those bolts. The wobble extension will allow access to them.

As with the head nuts, pull those bolts out, clean, and anti-seize, then re-torque.

That small bolt at the rear is an M6. The usual torque spec for that size bolt is 5 to 8 ft/lbs. Being that these are 30+ year old machines and that the bolt is going into alloy, you don't want to use the max (8 ft/lbs or 96 in/lbs). Best you stay lower, at 6 or 7 ft/lbs. For many years I was using 80 in/lbs (6 2/3 ft/lbs) with good results. Recently, I've started going a little less, to only 6 ft/lbs (72 in/lbs). Since I just started doing this, the jury is still out on whether it will be tight enough to properly seal and stay tight. If not then it will be back up to 80 in/lbs.

And speaking of in/lbs, you should get yourself a small torque wrench that is calibrated in them. You will use it all the time, more than all the larger ones you may have combined. There are many M6 fasteners on these that benefit from being torqued properly. A few important ones that come to mind are the bolts on the oil sump plate on the bottom of the engine and the side cover Allen bolts. The right side in particular should be evenly torqued because it holds oil.

 

[lakeview]

Note that the bars ground your switches so thoroughly clean the area on the top triple where the bars bolt on, also each switch will have a tab that grounds to the bar to give a good connection.
Direction lights are a bit fiddley so start with the obvious, bulb ok? then see that each light has a separate ground going to the harness and so on. The wire from the bulb can chafe on the end of the threaded attachment too.

 

[MaxPete]

Right on Lakeview and just to reinforce: the place where the turn signal wire goes into the threaded rod that holds the whole assembly on the bike - has a sharp edge and can easily rub through the insulation - creating an intermittent short.

That short circuit, in an early 1-fuse bike (like say....a 1976 C-model) - will STOP the bike and in a later bike like your '80-81 which as four fuses, it will blow the fuse on that circuit which will likely knock out all of the lighting on the bike.

Please don't ask me how I know all of this....

 

[5twins]

The way your front signals are both so badly bent, there's a good chance it's a ground issue. They have ground wires with washers attached to them under their mounting nuts just like the rear signals.Those may be broken.

 

[Solomoriah]

Thanks for all the help, guys! I hadn't thought of a wobble extension... have to get one of those, and probably a small torque wrench as well.

Just about to go out and open up that headlight... I'd say I hoped the former owner hadn't been in there already, but given that the lens is crooked it seems likely.

 

[5twins]

That may be a car sealed beam in there. That could explain why it's crooked. There's 3 little 'bumps" around the outside edge of the reflector and the retaining ring has cut-outs to lock onto them. The car headlight "bumps" may be in a different spot compared to the original.

 

[Solomoriah]

HOKAY DOKAY. I did some things:

First, I unscrewed the headlight and tried to open it up. Tried, and failed... it would come out half an inch and catch. Took me a bit of messing around to get into it, and when I did I discovered the problem was those screws that allow the sealed beam (as 5twins mentions) to swivel when you adjust it side to side.

See, the large rubber washer thing and the metal washer were on the outside, and there were no nuts on the inside. Seriously. I had to go back and review the fiche to make sure I understood how it was supposed to go together. As I was marveling at how screwed up it was, I found the missing nuts (and those two little bushings)... lying in the bottom of the headlight bucket, trying to fall out on the floor.

I brought all the bits into my office (where I normally service computers), laid it out on my workbench and took it the rest of the way apart. The rubber ring that goes around the sealed beam? Not lined up with the bumps. Nor were the bumps lined up with the reliefs in the metal ring where they were supposed to be.

So I carefully put it all back together as indicated in the parts fiche, and it looks a lot better now.

Then I turned my attention to the turn signals. Here is the right signal, before:

And after:

And the left, before:

And after:

I fixed the warped baseplates (whatever those are called) by putting them in a vise with a flat, smooth piece of cheap metal pressed against the top side to protect the finish. The studs got fixed by the same means as the left rear... I threaded three 13mm nuts onto the studs to protect the thread, then slipped the assembly into an iron pipe and bent it straight. That last one, the left front, had to be readjusted several times because it was bent in two distinct places, and it's not perfect but I don't think it shows too much.

Finally, I turned my attention to the faulty blinkers. The right blinkers started working again, mysteriously, but no left blinkers. I rearranged the connections in the headlight so that it would activate the left blinkers if I signaled right, and lo and behold, they worked. Thus, it had to be the switch. I started disassembling the pod and discovered that yes, there is a bad solder joint... two, in fact, one on the left turn side and one on the common connection. The common connection must have been cutting in and out, which explains the intermittent failure of the right turn signals.

I also found this:

Note the loose connection hanging there. I'm not sure what it is. I've accounted for both signal wires, and all the other lights and indicators work (or at least, they did before I took the left pod apart) so I don't have a clue where it is supposed to go. Anyone have a clue to give me?

 

[Jim]

He says 14 ft-lbs on the other bolts, but the diagram he included shows 16 so I'm not sure what's best there.

Thanks for the heads up. I used 14 ft-lbs on the bolts. I fixed the diagram to reflect that.
Thanks again.