And for my next trick ....

[nighthog]

Well, I did do some practising on the offcuts, and found slower speed worked best on the 12mm and 17mm holes. Too much chipping otherwise.
This was the final hole - the table is actually cast, it's just a bit thin but then this is a dirt cheap drill. Vice is bolted to the table with two M10 bolts

After deburring and another visit to the polishing studio, here's the end product

I found some thick washer/spacers that I think may have been part of a car wheel bearing many kit years ago, that were the perfect thickness to pad out the 10mm plate to 1/2". Just needed to enlarge the holes a bit with some judicious filing. As you can see, clearances are still tight but clearances they are, so that will do for me.

I'm happy with how it all turned out, and am now enjoying a nice self-congratulatory beer
Cliff

 

[member28833]

Very nice work!

 

[Jim]

Yes, well done!!

 

[Paul Sutton]

Excellent job, well done!

 

[nighthog]

Road test! Popped over to a friend's garage on a weak pretext ... tried and failed to dodge the showers but what the hell.

Footrest position is now, for me, spot on. I'm well chuffed. Riding position is great, slightly canted forward but not enough to put any kind of weight on my wrists.

Unfortunately though, after a mere 26 miles, vibration white finger got to at least four of mine. Two are still tingling as I write this. Maybe ancient bar mount rubbers in the top yoke don't help - simple job to replace them, so I think I'll do just that.

Next? I just won (I was the only bidder) an eBay auction for a '78 tank with no dents. I couldn't be certain from the pics but I think (and hope) it's a Standard; it has two fuel taps and transfer Yamaha badges, not the screw-on ones like I already have, but whatever it is soon I'll be able to get on with sorting out the paintwork. Colour? Dunno. Plenty of time to think about that

 

[Jim]

Colour? Dunno. Plenty of time to think about that

Leaning any particular direction?

 

[5twins]

Decal Yamaha labels instead of screw-on badges would most likely make it a '77 or older tank. All '78 and newer ones had screw-on badges. All tanks up through '79 had two petcocks. When the BS34 carbs came along in 1980, the tanks switched to one petcock to feed the "T" fitting between the carbs.

 

[Mailman]

I love the clean look of your bike! I’ll keep my fingers crossed for your gas tank, I hope it’s a beauty!

 

[Paul Sutton]

On occasions the XS made my hands a bit numb. I found it was manly due to holding the hand grips too tight/hard. I made an effort to ride a little more relaxed and never had the numbness come back. On the Virago, which is smooth by comparison, I removed all feeling of vibration by changing the hand grips. I bought some genuine Beston made in Japan grips.

They worked nicely but may not be right or the XS. I am sure someone can recommend better grips for the XS.

 

[nighthog]

Thanks, fellas.
Jim - all I can say at the moment is Not Black. Currently wondering whether to go for a period metalflake but there's plenty of time to talk myself out of that!
5T - the vendor says it came from his 78, and I'm assuming that's a UK model. That's all I can go on, but I'll put some pics up when I get it.
Paul - I'm conscious about the gripping and really don't hold on tight. I don't have great circulation in my extremities, always had cold hands and feet even when I was very fit. Time to try new grips!
Cheers -
Cliff

 

[5twins]

Another "tell" would be the type of petcocks on it. 1978 was the first year for the vacuum petcocks. All earlier tanks would have normal petcocks. If it has no petcocks at all, you'll need to measure the mounting hole spacing in order to get ones that fit. It changed between the older normal petcocks and the vacuum ones.

 

[nighthog]

Postie delivered the eBay tank today. It's a Special, offset fuel cap, painted on/transfer badges, 46mm between fuel tap mounting holes ... I think '78 was the first year of the Specials in the UK so I guess it's from one of those. I was hoping for a Standard but for fifty quid, and including a starter motor, I'm not complaining. Current tank has a dent on the RHS where it's fallen against something hard and horizontal but this 'new' one is pretty much undamaged.

Next will be to derust the inside, which is in pretty good shape considering its age, and price up the missing bits - that's going to hurt! A quick look at Heiden Tuning and Yambits made me wince .... Still, I'm in no hurry so I have time to shop around and see if any of my spare Suzuki taps will fit.

 

[nighthog]

Whaddya know? Just when I'd given up on a Standard tank becoming available at sensible money, one turned up on eBay ... so I bought it. I'm sure the missus won't notice the extra spare tank in the garage once it arrives in a week or so ...
I've been reading through Jim's paint thread and that convinced me more than ever to give this to professionals to do once I've decided a scheme. I don't have the space or equipment to tackle the job, and I don't think rattle cans would be good enough, especially in my inexperienced hands.
Currently leaning towards dark silver details on a silver base, somewhat inspired by this beauty but a bit different. Imagine a tuning fork logo where a badge would be if this were a BSA ...

I've no idea what year this is from but apparently it's the original paint. Central filler, twin taps and a few minor dings is all I know. And it's already been derusted inside. Two Special tanks for sale later this year, all going well!
Cliff

 

[MaxPete]

Looks great Cliff - I really like those rear-sets!

Pete

 

[nighthog]

Picked up the tank and side panels this afternoon. Almost what I was after but close enough and can't be changed now without huge cost anyway!

Still some work to do to clean out the inside and make sure the taps seat against metal, but I'm happy. Also have a couple more cosmetic goodies in the post from Thailand. Nothing drastic, just a little more detail to make it a touch sharper.
I'm enjoying this

 

[Jim]

Picked up the tank and side panels this afternoon. Almost what I was after but close enough and can't be changed now without huge cost anyway!
View attachment 174489
Still some work to do to clean out the inside and make sure the taps seat against metal, but I'm happy. Also have a couple more cosmetic goodies in the post from Thailand. Nothing drastic, just a little more detail to make it a touch sharper.
I'm enjoying this

I like it.

 

[Mailman]

Me too!

 

[Jan_P]

On occasions the XS made my hands a bit numb. I found it was manly due to holding the hand grips too tight/hard. I made an effort to ride a little more relaxed and never had the numbness come back. On the Virago, which is smooth by comparison, I removed all feeling of vibration by changing the hand grips. I bought some genuine Beston made in Japan grips.

They worked nicely but may not be right or the XS. I am sure someone can recommend better grips for the XS.

I had vibrations on one XS 650 because a left side crash disturbing the crank.
I used and still use a type of
Rubber foam grips ca 50 % larger diameter than stock and softer.
I would prefer smaller diameter I have small hands.
And had / have weights --- Dampers in bar end
Stock handlebar
With one size over on pilot jet and main jet Which is probably a bit to much
Crank is now adjusted ..
The word is Perfect ..,in the vibration sense .. especially at highway speeds.
Between 50 km / h and 100 km / h
Absolutely nothing
Nothing else is perfect on the bike but there are no vibrations anymore in the grips.
Absolutely Nothing felt in the hands. Anymore.
So I am reluctant to go down on jets.

 

[MaxPete]

Cliff - the tins look beautiful - very smart indeed!

 

[Bushyeyed1]

Wow that is nice! I really like the tank.