Bought 78 xs650 now the learning begins. All help/comments welcome

[ItsDanielVM]

Hi everyone, I'm Daniel and I just bought my first motorcycle. I have ridden quite a few sport bikes in my day but never owned a bike myself. I have always wanted to buy a project and am extremely excited to start this one. I bought a 78 xs650 non-running from a guy out here in Dallas and I am trying to bring it back from the dead and build a cafe racer. I know very little about what I'm doing and I am just trying to pick up knowledge and learn on the fly. I do have a pretty good idea of how engines/mechanics/electronics work and what I don't know I try and teach myself. All that said, I wanted to create a build post where I can ask questions and show pictures of my progress. (Hopefully I'm posting in the right place).

The pictures show what the bike looked like when I bought it. It did not run but the engine would turn when I kicked it. We tried to diagnose the problem, but it seems everything on the bike is broken/falling apart. As a result we decided to disassemble everything. First I removed the wiring and all electronics. Then came the swing arm/rear wheel. Remove the engine/carburetors last week. Now I'm almost to a clean slate with the frame. The carbs had this white rust in them that I had to clean off, but seem to look ok. The engine has the white rust inside of it as well. Any ideas what it is? I read on some forums that it is zinc rust from gas sitting for too long.

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[ItsDanielVM]

Also, I am to the point where I need to strip and detab the frame. Are there any specific tabs I should be careful not to take off?

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[RFeng]

Hi Daniel - Welcome to the forum!
There might be a few people here cringing that you didn't get it running before you took it apart... I think you've complicated your life a little. Still, if you look around the forum and ask questions as you need to you'll find a lot of help here to get it going again. At the top of the pages here there is a link to the Tech section - LOTS of info there that is easy to find. Look for the Carb Guide and commit to many hours of study there

The stuff you found in the carbs and engine is probably aluminum oxide. Unused gas left in the system turns to varnish - brownish in color.

I didn't de-tab much on my '77 bobber until I knew for sure I couldn't use it. I'm riding it for the summer and changing things as get to know the bike better. I still have a few on the bike I'll probably remove, but it's easier to chop them off later than put 'em back on.
Good luck and have a good time building!

 

[ItsDanielVM]

Thanks for the information RFeng!

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