Ever inherited a project? Yeah, me too. 75 XS650 Frankenbuild. Brat? Tracker? What?

[buzzword]

This 1975 XS650 is gonna be a ... Brat? Tracker? What?

Somehow, I have become a magnet for derelict motorcycles amongst my friend group. This isn't the worst problem to have, but there are several confounding factors:

1) Space - I live in San Francisco, which is a small town disguised as a big city. Garages are at a premium here, and mine unfortunately houses my car/baby hauler/dad wagon. Thankfully I have a good friend who lets me keep my tools + parts + this bike at his house so I can work on it when I can escape from...

2) My child! My wife and I had our first kiddo almost 5 months ago, and she's a handful. Super cute obviously, but logistics being what they are, I don't get as much wrench time as I'd like. When I'm not hanging out with her, or cleaning up her poop/pee/barf, or whatever else, I am at my...

3) JOB. Like it or not, we all need these. Mine affords me a really flexible schedule, which is nice, but even though I live only ~4 miles away, it still takes a minimum of 30 minutes to get there regardless of vehicular method. Car, motorcycle, bicycle, bus - all a 30 minute minimum. Whatever.

So - this bike came to me when another friend of mine gave up on it. He was on the hunt for a bike, and found a builder on the East Coast who he commissioned to build him a CB360. Midway through the process, he found out about the venerable XS650, and asked the guy if he could switch it up and have him build one of those instead. After that was agreed upon, money was exchanged, and almost 2 years went by, this bike showed up.

It looks OK at first blush, but it was rife with problems from the get go.

• Battery wasn't charging, so it would die after ~3 minutes of riding
• Carburetors were off - they showed up dirty, improperly jetted, and the float heights were all wrong, so gas was leaking out of the bowls constantly
• Petcocks were leaking
• Turn signals were broken, presumably from shipping
• Rear brake lever hits the exhaust, preventing full engagement

A couple of us at various times tried to get it running better, with very little luck. So my friend who spent LOTS of money to get this bike built, and then shipped to SF from about as far East as you can get in the US, gave up. So, he called me and said to come pick it up, that I could have it. HAVE it? Yes. Of course, he has first right of refusal if I ever sell it, but this is one I hope to hold on to.

I did some research and discovered the charging system problems with these bikes, so I ordered a HHB PMA kit, installed it, and BINGO - no more charging issues! Rock solid 13V+ from idle! No pics, because no pics.

Then, I set out plotting what else I wanted to do, and that list of crap I ordered has just gotten longer and longer...

• 2006 GSX-R 750 fork + triples + brakes/MC + clutch lever (installed)
• Cognito moto upper triple + bar risers
• Aftermarket 320mm rotors
• Simplified wiring harness
• Motogadget M-unit + M-button
• Motone 2-button microswitches x2
• Fox23 battery mount (see his build thread for some next level aesthetic inspiration)
• Pamco high-output ignition kit

Things I still need/want to get or make...

• Motogadget Pin turn signals - haven't completely made up my mind on these
• Pandemonium Ya Mama exhaust
• Small black bates-style low mount H4 headlight + mount
• Electronics tray between frame rails
• 5mm radial caliper spacers - GSX-R fork uses 310mm rotors stock
• 330mm Hagon slimline rear shocks - came with 310mm, which are a bit too short for my taste
• Simple throttle tube + pull cable
• Grips
• Braided brake hoses - going to do 2 into 1 style and ditch the junction box or crossover hose

There are probably a million things I am forgetting, but that's what I think I'm up against as of now.

This Saturday, I managed to clear out some time and meant to install the Pamco I've been sitting on for close to a year now. When I tore into the harness, I realized I would be doubling up on certain aspects of the work I'm gonna do by not just tearing it down to begin with. So, I tore out all the electrical on the bike, and decided to do the fork swap instead so I could (a) sell all the old fork/brake stuff, and (b) still have a roller that was easy-ish to move around.

I quickly discovered that despite my extensive research led me astray, and the GSX-R steerer stem was actually about 1/4" too short, so like others before me, I cut off a proportionate amount of the steerer neck on the frame after extensive measuring. It fits fine now, but all the flap wheel cleanup resulted in a tiny speck of metal in my cornea. It was annoying as crap, but I thought maybe it would just flush itself out overnight as has happened in similar episodes previously. NO such luck - I woke up Sunday morning to a burning watery eyeball, and a very evident speck that had begun rusting. I couldn't even SEE it on close examination Saturday evening, but the rust made it quite apparent! Went to ER, and 4 hours later it was out. They dilated my eye, and this is how I looked for most of yesterday:

Despite my strange appearance post-speck removal, the end result on the bike is really satisfying. Now I'm just waiting for the top triple/bar clamp/fancy nut setup I ordered from Cognito, and it'll be much easier to move around. Gotta figure out some steering stops, but that should be fairly straightforward.

That's all for now. I'm super open to feedback and ideas, so bring it on!

 

[fredintoon]

Hi buzz,
your fellow resurrectionists salute you.
About the shopping list:-
Right at the top; insert EYE PROTECTION
Make a to-do list.
At the top write WEAR THE EFFIN' THINGS
One-eyed riders lack depth perception, eh?

 

[buzzword]

oh, yeah. already purchased!

ironically - or stupidly - I have a degree in occupational safety (read: OSHA compliance) and really ought to know better.

 

[buzzword]

Moving right along! Just about everything is ordered or in hand already - still waiting on China Post to get my brake rotors to me, and maybe mildly stressing a bit about it, but all will be fine. This is a good exercise in patience.

Since I am using the glorious Ballistic mount that @Fox23 whipped up for me, I decided to make my electronics/wiring tray super minimal. I mocked it up in cardboard first using the top of a fancy donut box, and set my Motogadget in there just to check for clearance.

It's gonna work. My brother in law is a welder/fabricator, and is going to bend and TIG up a real version of this in 16ga. stainless, but for the meantime and for mockup purposes, I made one out of thin gauge galvanized steel.

After a few adjustments, I drew out a flat pattern using a really terrible drawing program on my Macbook. Sent it over today, and he's gonna knock it out after work tomorrow, hopefully.

I think I'll be much happier with the tray done in stainless, but this will work for now so that I can get my harness layout + Motogadget setup dialed. I bought some silicone jacketed 16ga/7 conductor wire today at Electronics Plus up in Marin, so I'm going to start my wiring runs next time. This store is amazing - it reminds me of what Radio Shack or any independent electronics store used to be 30+ years ago. You can still buy individual diodes, or any number of relays, all manner of switches or IEEE manuals, or whatever your heart desires!

Also ordered some Pandemonium Ya Mama pipes last night.

Got an email today saying they already shipped! Now just gotta decide whether I am going to:

• Paint them BBQ black
• Get them ceramic coated
• Wrap them.

Hint: I probably won't wrap them. I am however considering cutting them off right before the turnouts and installing baffles of some sort just to make them a bit less loud, but who knows - loud pipes save lives, right? I'm already deaf from a past life as a touring musician, so it can't get much worse. I actually wear earplugs when I ride now just because I fear my hearing will only get worse, and I hope to not be markedly less able to hear at 50 than I am now at 37.

 

[fredintoon]

Hint: I probably won't wrap them. I am however considering cutting them off at 90* and installing baffles of some sort just to make them a bit less loud, but who knows - loud pipes save lives, right? I'm already deaf from a past life as a touring musician, so it can't get much worse. I actually wear earplugs when I ride now just because I fear my hearing will only get worse, and I hope to not be markedly less able to hear at 50 than I am now at 37.

Hi buzz,
BBQ paint is cheap and easy, ceramic coat looks & lasts better but costs a lot more, wrapping looks ugly and rusts the pipes.
Don't cut 'em! XS650 needs a reasonable length of pipe and some kinda muffler to run right.
Me, I'd shove a pair of shorty muffs on the end of those pipes to give the engine that necessary touch of backpressure.
I wear earplugs to guard against wind noise, I reckon that wind noise causes more hearing damage than loud pipes, anyway.

 

[buzzword]

Hi buzz,
BBQ paint is cheap and easy, ceramic coat looks & lasts better but costs a lot more, wrapping looks ugly and rusts the pipes.
Don't cut 'em! XS650 needs a reasonable length of pipe and some kinda muffler to run right.
Me, I'd shove a pair of shorty muffs on the end of those pipes to give the engine that necessary touch of backpressure.
I wear earplugs to guard against wind noise, I reckon that wind noise causes more hearing damage than loud pipes, anyway.

Yeah - probably going to do the BBQ paint. Ceramic coating is going to run me nearly as much as buying the exhaust, and I totally agree that wrapping is not the way to go. This bike came with a set of wrapped pipes, and I just hate the way it looks, and how that stuff just gets everywhere when it starts to degrade or rubs against anything.

As an aside, I wrapped the equal length header on my Subaru STi, but it's stainless and less likely to rust. My only concern there was accidentally spilling oil or some other flammable on it, whereby it might become trapped and then heated causing a fire hazard. Luckily I am meticulous and anal retentive, so even the tiniest oil leaks (or even weeping) were chased down within an inch of their life. Functionally, keeping the heat in the exhaust pre-turbo on that particular application makes it spool much faster. If I get motivated I'll dig out pre- and post-wrap dyno plots. I digress...

To be clear, I am not looking to cut the Ya Mama pipes dramatically, just enough to lose the turnout so it runs straight back. That way, I can install baffles or short reverse cones. I don't want super short pipes. Dan @ Pandemonium told me that the right side is 42" and the left is 34" -- anything over 31" long should sound great and have a really nice torque curve considering the tubing diameter.

My helmet doesn't let in much wind noise, but I also never ride without a full face.

 

[figure8]

Please do give props to the original bike builder. Great score though!

 

[ninskrillz]

Damn not bad for a freebie!

 

[5twins]

I don't think I'd "give props" to the builder. They did a terrible job and basically ripped your buddy off. If it was me, I'd be broadcasting their name on the world wide net and warning future customers to stay away. They sound like crooks. It seems they did mostly cosmetic stuff and none of the mechanical stuff needed to make it run correctly. The carbs were a mess and it didn't charge. Honestly, I don't know how they could even let it leave their shop that way. Unless your buddy contracted to have it done like that? Just cosmetics and he would do the mechanics?

 

[buzzword]

I don't think I'd "give props" to the builder. They did a terrible job and basically ripped your buddy off. If it was me, I'd be broadcasting their name on the world wide net and warning future customers to stay away. They sound like crooks. It seems they did mostly cosmetic stuff and none of the mechanical stuff needed to make it run correctly. The carbs were a mess and it didn't charge. Honestly, I don't know how they could even let it leave their shop that way. Unless your buddy contracted to have it done like that? Just cosmetics and he would do the mechanics?

Yeah, I feel you - and I'm not really positioned to give the guy props. Reading some of the questions the original builder posted on DTT after some sleuthing was an eye opening experience, but I will say that he has been helpful the couple of times I've emailed with him.

I wouldn't say he got ripped off per se, but I'm not exactly ready to broadcast the previous builder's identity positively OR negatively. Early pictures provide a subtle clue if anyone really cares...

In some ways, I'm just making it better, and making it mine. No big deal - not gonna argue with free! Well, free until I started dumping all my discretionary income into it

 

[figure8]

I don't think I'd "give props" to the builder. They did a terrible job and basically ripped your buddy off. If it was me, I'd be broadcasting their name on the world wide net and warning future customers to stay away. They sound like crooks. It seems they did mostly cosmetic stuff and none of the mechanical stuff needed to make it run correctly. The carbs were a mess and it didn't charge. Honestly, I don't know how they could even let it leave their shop that way. Unless your buddy contracted to have it done like that? Just cosmetics and he would do the mechanics?

That may not have been as transparent as I hoped, I was being sarcastic. Cool looking bike, terrible job making it functional.

 

[ninskrillz]

That may not have been as transparent as I hoped, I was being sarcastic. Cool looking bike, terrible job making it functional.

I was thinking "this guy fuckin serious?" I'm glad you weren't serious.

 

[buzzword]

Oh man. I had the fool idea of using these fancy momentary switches to control signal to the Motogadget. As such, internal bar wiring was a must, using the Motogadget M-button.

For those unaware, this little jammer allows you make all your electrical connections inside the bar and then run one wire back to the Motogadget "brain". In a perfect world, there's a really good way to ground the switches inside the bar - well, there probably is, but I haven't thought it all the way through yet.

So, I mocked everything up with my throttle, brake and clutch levers, and grips, then drilled some holes in my bars. Then I ran all the wires to each of the 4 respective switches, and started making connections. Best way I could think to ground everything was to just use some spare 18g wire and run an individual ground to each switch then out the bottom of the bars. I'll probably connect them somehow so that only one wire runs back under the tank, but it was late last night and all the missteps that finally got me to here just broke my will so I gave up around 12:30am.

As of now, I'm waiting on brake hoses for the front, turn signals, and this little guy from Cognito Moto...

Can't really mount my bars until that thing shows up, so I'll have to mess with wiring the back of the bike next. Pretty stoked about how clean and fairly simple the bar setup turned out, but wow - again - what a pain in the neck.

 

[buzzword]

spent 4 hours or so in the thick of my least favorite part of any build...

I don't have any photos of the rest of the wiring. It's all set for turn signals, headlight is wired, and bike-side ignition wiring is done as well. All hidden by the tank!

to be fair, the Motogadget stuff does make it easier, but I'm still hoping I can make some aspects a bit cleaner even. I'm gonna order a mess of nylon braided cable sheath to use rather than this shiny black stuff.

what's left? I made a list!

finish
1. adjust cam chain
2. adjust valve lash
3. establish TDC + set static timing
4. install pamco
5. paint and install exhaust
6. fasten battery mount
7. wire up battery + solenoid
8. toggle/relay for power on/off - no key switch
9. mount and wire turn signals
10. hope and pray brake rotors show up someday

order
1. brake hoses
2. caliper bolts
3. braided wire sleeve (1/4" + 1/2")

Trying to get this thing on the road before the end of the month. Ambitious? Probably.

 

[wherearewe]

Ive got one of those Motogadget M-Unit and M button combos. Don't see them much on here to be honest. I wasn't happy with the clunky wiring on my build first time round. Hard to disguise it all going to the bars and back so that's my solution. They are expensive as hell but seem clever. Ill be installing it in the next few months.

I see you have opted for their switches too - 4 button config. How are you configuring your kill switch? The button press combo or a sep kill switch on the ignition circuit? Do you know if the double button press kills the aux circuit until its pressed again (toggle on/off), or is it a momentary cut just to kill the motor?

Watching your setup with interest.... I wish someone would give me a project like that.

 

[buzzword]

Ive got one of those Motogadget M-Unit and M button combos. Don't see them much on here to be honest. I wasn't happy with the clunky wiring on my build first time round. Hard to disguise it all going to the bars and back so that's my solution. They are expensive as hell but seem clever. Ill be installing it in the next few months.

I see you have opted for their switches too - 4 button config. How are you configuring your kill switch? The button press combo or a sep kill switch on the ignition circuit? Do you know if the double button press kills the aux circuit until its pressed again (toggle on/off), or is it a momentary cut just to kill the motor?

Watching your setup with interest.... I wish someone would give me a project like that.

I've built/rewired a few bikes now, and really wish that the Motogadget would have been around the whole time, or at least that I had sprung for it before. While a clever piece of kit, albeit expensive, the value it's providing me is that I don't have to expend QUITE as much mental energy determining how I am going to lay out each individual circuit, connect all the requisite components, or any of that. In other words, the value to me is in its simplicity. Well, that and cool factor - and the fact that every circuit also has a built-in auto-correcting circuit breaker that will reset once any fault has been corrected. Also, at some point, recognizing that my time is worth something - whether money, or the opportunity cost of not being able to spend as much time with my wife and daughter - has definitely offset the cost for the Motogadget bits.

I'm actually not using the Motogadget branded switches - I found some Motone ones (another gadgetry company) that I like better visually, as they're a bit less boxy and seem to attach more securely. Still a pain in the butt to wire internally, like anything, but I've also had bikes - or worked on them - that have stock wiring inside the bars, so it's not entirely unfamiliar.

As far as button function, I know I may get crucified for this here, but I am not installing a horn on this bike as of now. I may change my mind, at which point I'll probably just install another momentary switch on the battery box as a kill switch. As such, I'll still only have one button for start/kill with this 4 button setup. Left side will be L signal (bottom) and headlight high/low/off (top) -- right side will be R signal (bottom) and start/kill (top).

As an aside, I'm trying to decide now whether I want to tear it down fully to get the frame powdercoated. Ugh. Maybe later.


EDIT: also, per your sig, yes - beer IS good!

 

[ninskrillz]

Moving right along! Keep up the good work mang.

 

[buzzword]

I'm on a complete tear right now. As such, I tackled a good bit of my list last night:

1. Removed chain - new X ring 530 chain is going in shortly.

2. Removed stator cover + cleaned extensively behind it - hoping the oil and stuff is not indicative of any leaks, and is just related to the chain. When I installed the PMA a few months ago I cleaned it up pretty good, and it was dirty again. I'll probably install a new clutch rod seal when I put it all back together more permanently.

3. Removed old exhaust. There was one crush washer in there, on the left side. The right side had no washer. The last guy's shoddy work just keeps making itself very apparent.

4. Removed the HHB PMA + re-installed old stator/flywheel just to double-extra-triple verify TDC. Re-installed PMA and marked it as appropriate. I have now lost TWO of those nifty stickers that Hugh sends out with his kit, so after digging through my entire toolbox + spare parts bins and not finding it, I just sent him a pleading email asking for a couple more just in case. I am the worst.

5. Removed stock timing plate + advance rod, cleaned advance rod + lubricated the advance mechanism before re-installing.

6. Installed Pamco ignition. Now just waiting on some heat resistant sleeve for the wiring.

7. Mocked up Pandemonium exhaust just to take a look and verify clearances. I sincerely cannot say enough nice things about this, and about the incredible customer service that Pandemonium offers. This showed up packaged extremely well, with each runner individually sealed in plastic, a bag full of stickers, and another bag with new crush washers and all the hardware you need to install it - including new exhaust nuts and lock washers. Amazing! Seeing them installed, I think I am actually going to paint them with a high heat satin clearcoat rather than the BBQ black I was initially planning. This is one of the parts of this build that I am most excited about, so thanks to Pandemonium for being awesome

Finally, a couple pictures...

I kinda hate my seat -- gotta figure something else out. There's a guy here in SF that does really nice moto upholstery with an unbelievable turnaround. I'm thinking of using perforated vinyl on the top part, and standard black on the sides. Not 100% decided yet, as I can keep using this seat indefinitely despite it not being ideal. Not mechanically important!

I just wrapped up a fairly mild build on a '79 GS750E for a good friend of mine and had the seat pan I made upholstered by him. It turned out pretty great I think, though I wish the light brown was a bit darker.

And finally, me being irresponsible with tire rubber.

 

[figure8]

Have you seen these seats?
http://counterbalancecycles.bigcartel.com/

 

[fredintoon]

Hi buzzword,
if you didn't fit new sprockets to go with your new chain the old sprockets will eat it up real quick.
And sealed chain keeps the lube IN. A chain needs it's roller/sprocket interface lubed too.
I installed a Scottoiler to do that chore mebbe 5 years back and haven't had to adjust the chain tension since. I reckon that chain will outlive me.
When you get the seat re-done the color choice is up to you but I reckon the design keyword here is thicker