XSWestgate
XS650 Enthusiast
Yesterday was a good day with the bike, i got 'er running! With a lot of excellent help from the forum, huge amounts of time and frustrations were saved and I thank you all a ton 
.
It's been a while since i've posted since i'm on to more manageable parts of the project and I wanted to do a review of the progress.
History of the Bike:
- Owner got the basket case passed on to him from his dad who had two very nice rebuilt bikes. This one was more of a parts/donor bike than anything else.
- Owner says it was given to his dad before he can remember, when someone moving out of town said it was dead weight to them.
- I wasn't able to check registration history or status, only to confirm that it wasn't reported stolen (luckily it was active status when I went to register it).
The Bad:
- Of course through my rose colored glasses I missed a few things when I went to buy it, but at $400 purchase, how could I go wrong!? it can't be that expensive to fix up, RIGHT!?
- Sitting outside and unridden for at least ten years
- I'm pretty sure it was on fire at some point since all the connections from the horn down to the reg/rec connections were broken/bubbled, and the horn was charred/flaking
- It threw a chain at some point and cracked the case, broke off part of the engine-side guard
- Wood screws holding front master cylinder cap on
- nail used as cotter pin for rear axle
- brake fluid gummed up and clogged all the lines
- wheels ended up being bent and one was even cracked
- wiring was a hack show
- vacuum petcocks leaked like a sieve
- rusted tank
- smashed up guages
- stuck clutch plates
- busted up primary filter
- dents, dings, and rattle can paint job
- corroded control cables
- every. single. thread. had to be chased/cleaned
- what i'm trying to say is, there isn't a single component on this bike that didn't need care and attention
The Good:
- The online support and aftermarket/replacement parts selection for this bike it the best i've ever seen which was huge in the decision to go ahead with it.
- Most of everything was salvageable: Calipers, master cylinders, all fasteners (the ones that werent missing), frame, and engine. Wait a second, basically nothing was salvageable! I honestly thought the list was longer until i started typing it. Oh, i guess the coils, stator, rotor, safety relay, suspension (needs rebuild) and axles were good.
That's all i've got for now, i'll upload a video of it running.. i call the running/rideable stage 1 and some customizing will be stage 2 but don't hold your breath waiting for that stage.
Thanks again for all your help. i'm sure i'll be back for more sooner than I think
Kyle
.It's been a while since i've posted since i'm on to more manageable parts of the project and I wanted to do a review of the progress.
History of the Bike:
- Owner got the basket case passed on to him from his dad who had two very nice rebuilt bikes. This one was more of a parts/donor bike than anything else.
- Owner says it was given to his dad before he can remember, when someone moving out of town said it was dead weight to them.
- I wasn't able to check registration history or status, only to confirm that it wasn't reported stolen (luckily it was active status when I went to register it).
The Bad:
- Of course through my rose colored glasses I missed a few things when I went to buy it, but at $400 purchase, how could I go wrong!? it can't be that expensive to fix up, RIGHT!?
- Sitting outside and unridden for at least ten years
- I'm pretty sure it was on fire at some point since all the connections from the horn down to the reg/rec connections were broken/bubbled, and the horn was charred/flaking
- It threw a chain at some point and cracked the case, broke off part of the engine-side guard
- Wood screws holding front master cylinder cap on
- nail used as cotter pin for rear axle
- brake fluid gummed up and clogged all the lines
- wheels ended up being bent and one was even cracked
- wiring was a hack show
- vacuum petcocks leaked like a sieve
- rusted tank
- smashed up guages
- stuck clutch plates
- busted up primary filter
- dents, dings, and rattle can paint job
- corroded control cables
- every. single. thread. had to be chased/cleaned
- what i'm trying to say is, there isn't a single component on this bike that didn't need care and attention
The Good:
- The online support and aftermarket/replacement parts selection for this bike it the best i've ever seen which was huge in the decision to go ahead with it.
- Most of everything was salvageable: Calipers, master cylinders, all fasteners (the ones that werent missing), frame, and engine. Wait a second, basically nothing was salvageable!
I honestly thought the list was longer until i started typing it. Oh, i guess the coils, stator, rotor, safety relay, suspension (needs rebuild) and axles were good.That's all i've got for now, i'll upload a video of it running.. i call the running/rideable stage 1 and some customizing will be stage 2 but don't hold your breath waiting for that stage.
Thanks again for all your help. i'm sure i'll be back for more sooner than I think
Kyle
