Hello I'm Jeremy new to the motorcycle life.i just bought and old 78 xs650 and it needs a lot of work.

[azman857]

Welcome Josey90! I too have an '80 SG. It's been running around Tucson and trips to Sierra Vista, Apache Junction and many other places for the last 11 yrs. 30 minute errands to all day butt numbing rides. I think it's on it's third electronic ignition system. I do enjoy riding my SG. She never fails to bring a smile wrenching or rideing her. Mine too had sat a decade or so when I found her. If you run across a problem, check the forum here in the tech or seach forums or ask away!
We LOVE pics. Thank you for posting what you have so far.

 

[Josey90]

I got the seat off and the take to take better pictures this is what I'm working with

Hello I'm Jeremy I just bought a really rough xs 650. I'm looking to figure out where to start on the rebuild and any helpful info I can get would be greatly appreciated.

Got more pictures this evening before it got dark on me

 

[YamadudeXS650C]

Great set of photos! They expose the good and the bad.
The exhaust seems to be intact, which if so is a big positive.
The rusted drive chain is absolute toast and has to go. It could destroy your engine if you ride even a mile with it. No amount of oil will bring it back to life.
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[YamadudeXS650C]

No need to dismantle the chain; you could just cut it off with an angle grinder or such, even a hack saw.
You can replace it quite inexpensively with a basic 530 chain.

 

[YamadudeXS650C]

Air cleaners: We'll fix you up with some functional, inexpensive Uni foam pod filters.

 

[Josey90]

Great set of photos! They expose the good and the bad.
The exhaust seems to be intact, which if so is a big positive.
The rusted drive chain is absolute toast and has to go. It could destroy your engine if you ride even a mile with it. No amount of oil will bring it back to life.
.

Air cleaners: We'll fix you up with some functional, inexpensive Uni foam pod filters.

View attachment 209467

That'd be awesome thanks

 

[azman857]

Check the classifieds for missing parts you need. Wideawake has a set of airboxes.

 

[YamadudeXS650C]

If you run Uni pod filters, there is no need for airboxes; in fact, the stock airboxes can be a real pain the arse to deal with.
But we are getting ahead of ourselves; First there is the task of getting it running.
The "wake up procedure" is called for, once you are getting a spark.
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[Josey90]

I got the seat off and the take to take better pictures this is what I'm working with

Got more pictures this evening before it got dark on me

Does anyone have the wiring harness for this or wiring connectors that aren't busted

 

[YamadudeXS650C]

Does anyone have the wiring harness for this or wiring connectors that aren't busted

Take a look at what this company has to offer. A number of us (including me) use their connectors.
http://www.vintageconnections.com/
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[5twins]

The petcock on your gas tank is mounted backwards, lol. It should be mounted so the selection lever faces the outside. There's no way to operate that lever the way it is .....

 

[Jan_P]

Does anyone have the wiring harness for this or wiring connectors that aren't busted

If we are aiming for riding this summer perhaps the wiring harness shall wait
The tank
The alternator
The carburetors
The battery box with battery
And ignition

Even though the wiring can look terrible ..pulling it out and install a new is a to big job for a beginner unless
skills from other situations

Perhaps wiring needs replacement . But mostly something can be done with the old one
Soldering the broken connector wires

 

[jetmechmarty]

Does anyone have the wiring harness for this or wiring connectors that aren't busted

Here is a basic tutorial on splicing wires.

 

[Jim]

Couple questions need answering. Do you have a title? If not, is that gonna be a problem in Ok?
Does the engine turn over or is it locked up? If it spins, how's the compression on each cylinder?
Having to pull and overhaul the engine... along with all the other stuff needed... and this could get pretty expensive pretty quick.

 

[Wingedwheel]

Welcome Josey90. Your project will go so much smoother by listening to the guys on here. I will tell you from personal experience that the better your pics the more some of these guys can pick up on. Its pretty amazing when you ask a question and someone can pick out something in a photo and answer it, then add” oh yeah, there’s a spot of gnat crap inside the 4th fin from the top about .001 mm to the left of the factory casting line on the RH cylinder…….

 

[5twins]

You'll need sprockets as well. I can see the teeth on your front sprocket are worn down to little nubs, lol. They should look more like this .....

If your front is that bad, chances are the rear is even worse (fronts last longer). You might want to change the gearing slightly. Stick with a stock 17T size on the front but get a 32T (2 smaller than stock 34) for the rear.

 

[Wingedwheel]

Chrome looks pretty nice for a bike that appears to have been stored in less than stellar conditions. Other than what looks like a little battery puke on the rear of the frame paint is not bad. Cleaning things is a good activity while waiting on parts.

 

[YamadudeXS650C]

The petcock on your gas tank is mounted backwards, lol. It should be mounted so the selection lever faces the outside. There's no way to operate that lever the way it is .....

View attachment 209494

Ha! That strange petcock had me befuddled
The backwards petcock would inform me to make no assumptions that other components are configured correctly.
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[YamadudeXS650C]

If you get this bike up and running, I could probably come up with some nice used sprockets for you (freebies).

 

[Josey90]

Take a look at what this company has to offer. A number of us (including me) use their connectors.
http://www.vintageconnections.com/
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Thanks