nexizen
XS650 New Member
I always told my kids not to buy someone else's project. I didn't follow my own advice.
I was hungry for a motorcycle, and a buddy of mine mentioned he had an old project bike he had given up on. ('81 XS650SH) His plan was to make a cafe-racer style bike. He had already swapped the handlebar, installed a dual Mikuni carb kit, new exhaust, chopped the frame to better fit a new seat, welded the fender to the frame tucked under the seat, and swapped the headlight and tail light (along with turn signal delete). He sold the whole kit to me for $500.
So how bad is it?
Started didn't work. When kicking it, he couldn't get consistent spark. Turn signals didn't work. Seat not mounted. The welds are disgusting. (Apparently he didn't have any gas for the MIG he borrowed.) And he painted most of the bike with spray paint.
Here's what I have done so far.
1. Found that the right control cluster was not grounded due to the powder coat on the new handlebar. Without the ground, the start button didn't work. I ran a new ground and got that working.
2. The starter keeps kicking out. Ordered a new number 4 starter gear and spring from Mike's. Should be here in a day or so.
3. Used the 'dead cylinder' method to figure out what was happening with the spark. The coil appears to be fried. It gets decent spark on the left, but sporadic hits on the right. New coil ordered from Mike's. Also being delivered soon. I was able to get it running pretty well for a few minutes, but the coil could not keep the right cylinder going for long. (Video)
4. Pulled all of the wiring out of the headlight and tested/cleaned everything.
5. Turn signals still not working. Pulled apart the left control cluster and found that the wires had broken free from the contacts on the turn signal selector. Re-soldered and looking good now.
6. Gave it a bath. I gave it a decent once over to clean off most of the gunk. I also found that the crap paint peeled off of tons of areas. I'm going to have to consider media blasting everything when I take it apart later.
7. Ordered front foot pegs. The previous owner was planning to move to rear-ward controls. He pulled the stock foot pegs and lost them. I bought a pair off eBay for $35 and they were delivered yesterday. They're in pretty decent shape!
To do:
1. Fuse block is dead. Two of the contacts are broken. I am replacing the whole thing with separate fuse holders and rewiring to combine headlight and turn signals through 1 fuse. (it's all LEDs now, so the amperage is low)
2. Considering a complete change to the wiring system. I want to swap to a lithium battery and compact all of the electronics into a smaller area to clean up the look. This is a topic I'm still researching. I want to keep the starter, and I know I need to change the reg/rec. I'm just not sure what to actually do to make this happen. Yet. (Advice?)
3. Replacing gauges. I want to ditch the tach and find a small, clean-looking speedo. I also want to swap the neutral/bright lights to small LEDs.
3. Full engine teardown/cleaning/re-gasketing. It obviously leaks some oil. It's not dripping, but the underside was super slimy. I have no idea how long it had been since the bike's last bath, but it definitely leaks
4. Removing unnecessary components and frame elements. ex. I won't have a passenger (single seat), so I'm cutting the frame mounts for those foot pegs. Any mounts for signals, covers, etc. Remove center kick stand, etc.
5. Fixing existing welds. Holy cow are they bad. I also want to adjust the seat mount while I'm at it.
6. Welding up a new battery/electronics box. Once I figure out how I want it wired, I want to mount all of the electronics in a small, clean package.
7. Media blasting components that are over-painted, rusted, etc.
8. Painting/powder coating.
9. New wheels and tires. I'd really like to swap to wire wheels with some fat tires. I just love that look.
Overall Goal: I want to continue some of the cafe race aesthetic and keep the whole thing looking like a home project. I don't want it super clean. I want everything to be a bit rough and well-loved.
Lastly, I'm really excited to be joining this community. There are some amazing bikes out there, and an amazing wealth of knowledge!
I was hungry for a motorcycle, and a buddy of mine mentioned he had an old project bike he had given up on. ('81 XS650SH) His plan was to make a cafe-racer style bike. He had already swapped the handlebar, installed a dual Mikuni carb kit, new exhaust, chopped the frame to better fit a new seat, welded the fender to the frame tucked under the seat, and swapped the headlight and tail light (along with turn signal delete). He sold the whole kit to me for $500.
So how bad is it?
Started didn't work. When kicking it, he couldn't get consistent spark. Turn signals didn't work. Seat not mounted. The welds are disgusting. (Apparently he didn't have any gas for the MIG he borrowed.) And he painted most of the bike with spray paint.
Here's what I have done so far.
1. Found that the right control cluster was not grounded due to the powder coat on the new handlebar. Without the ground, the start button didn't work. I ran a new ground and got that working.
2. The starter keeps kicking out. Ordered a new number 4 starter gear and spring from Mike's. Should be here in a day or so.
3. Used the 'dead cylinder' method to figure out what was happening with the spark. The coil appears to be fried. It gets decent spark on the left, but sporadic hits on the right. New coil ordered from Mike's. Also being delivered soon. I was able to get it running pretty well for a few minutes, but the coil could not keep the right cylinder going for long. (Video)
4. Pulled all of the wiring out of the headlight and tested/cleaned everything.
5. Turn signals still not working. Pulled apart the left control cluster and found that the wires had broken free from the contacts on the turn signal selector. Re-soldered and looking good now.
6. Gave it a bath. I gave it a decent once over to clean off most of the gunk. I also found that the crap paint peeled off of tons of areas. I'm going to have to consider media blasting everything when I take it apart later.
7. Ordered front foot pegs. The previous owner was planning to move to rear-ward controls. He pulled the stock foot pegs and lost them. I bought a pair off eBay for $35 and they were delivered yesterday. They're in pretty decent shape!
To do:
1. Fuse block is dead. Two of the contacts are broken. I am replacing the whole thing with separate fuse holders and rewiring to combine headlight and turn signals through 1 fuse. (it's all LEDs now, so the amperage is low)
2. Considering a complete change to the wiring system. I want to swap to a lithium battery and compact all of the electronics into a smaller area to clean up the look. This is a topic I'm still researching. I want to keep the starter, and I know I need to change the reg/rec. I'm just not sure what to actually do to make this happen. Yet. (Advice?)
3. Replacing gauges. I want to ditch the tach and find a small, clean-looking speedo. I also want to swap the neutral/bright lights to small LEDs.
3. Full engine teardown/cleaning/re-gasketing. It obviously leaks some oil. It's not dripping, but the underside was super slimy. I have no idea how long it had been since the bike's last bath, but it definitely leaks
4. Removing unnecessary components and frame elements. ex. I won't have a passenger (single seat), so I'm cutting the frame mounts for those foot pegs. Any mounts for signals, covers, etc. Remove center kick stand, etc.
5. Fixing existing welds. Holy cow are they bad. I also want to adjust the seat mount while I'm at it.
6. Welding up a new battery/electronics box. Once I figure out how I want it wired, I want to mount all of the electronics in a small, clean package.
7. Media blasting components that are over-painted, rusted, etc.
8. Painting/powder coating.
9. New wheels and tires. I'd really like to swap to wire wheels with some fat tires. I just love that look.
Overall Goal: I want to continue some of the cafe race aesthetic and keep the whole thing looking like a home project. I don't want it super clean. I want everything to be a bit rough and well-loved.
Lastly, I'm really excited to be joining this community. There are some amazing bikes out there, and an amazing wealth of knowledge!
