Just another XS2

[DogBunny]

As I'm sure most of you know Yamaha did make a GS650 in 72 but only 200 of them. The GS650 is not a 650 but a 750. I decided to build what Yamaha could have built.

Now it's beginning to make sense. Not really being a bikeophile, I always forget about the Yamaha GS650. I tried to figure out your thought process, so I Googled GS750, and came up with a 70s Suzuki by that name. So, somewhat baffled.

I'm impressed that Downeaster made your emblem from scratch. Very nice work.

 

[GLJ]

Sounds like the GS750 may be going to the Ozarks. Oh me too.

 

[Downeaster]

Now it's beginning to make sense. Not really being a bikeophile, I always forget about the Yamaha GS650. I tried to figure out your thought process, so I Googled GS750, and came up with a 70s Suzuki by that name. So, somewhat baffled.

I'm impressed that Downeaster made your emblem from scratch. Very nice work.

Thank you, but it's not as difficult as one might imagine. I used TinkerCAD to make the file. It's a freeware 3D CAD program that I find super-intuitive to use after failing to climb the learning curve on things like Fusion360.

The basic design was dead simple. It was made in two pieces, the "front" with the text, and the "back" with the mounting pins. That allows the prints to lay flat on the print bed so no supports are needed which simplifies cleanup and makes for more reliable and repeatable printing. The text was selected from the available fonts.

The only even remotely complex thing was allowing for slight differences in printed size vs. designed size due to calibration of the printer and shrinkage as the print cools. That was just a matter of "print, check, tweak the size, repeat".

It was a fun project.

 

[GLJ]

Went for a 40 smile ride Friday and rode another 40 today. Seems to be running well. When I rode it today I had my AirHawk on the seat. Much better may need a touch more air. I'll live with the seat as this bike is more form over function. A stock XS2 seat leaves a lot to be desired but it feels plush compared to this seat.
Need to check valves and timing chain. Then it should be ready for the Ozarks.

 

[Mailman]

Went for a 40 smile ride Friday and rode another 40 today. Seems to be running well. When I rode it today I had my AirHawk on the seat. Much better may need a touch more air. I'll live with the seat as this bike is more form over function. A stock XS2 seat leaves a lot to be desired but it feels plush compared to this seat.
Need to check valves and timing chain. Then it should be ready for the Ozarks.


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You’ve put together another great looking bike Greg! With a nice punchy motor and style to boot!

 

[GLJ]

Adjusted the valves and cam chain today. No surprises. all a touch loose. Transferred my Garmin from my other XS2 The Garmin is a nice unit, made for bikes. It has 1 annoying feature, it does not plug into a USB port for charging. It has a rather long cable going to it's charger. The charger then needs 12 volts. Needless to say it does not transfer easily from bike to bike. Also wanted to mount my USB charger from the other bike, it too needs 12 volts. Decided to kill 2 birds with 1 stone. I used a SAE splitter. Lengthened the wires on the power in side so I could run it back to the battery. Then soldered in a fuse holder. Mounted the Garmin, tied up all the extra cable going to it's charger and wire tied it all behind the headlight bucket. Looks good. Next was the USB charger. It worked ok but But I didn't like the cabling going to it. The cable was rather long and you had to use a adapter to connect it to a SAE plug. Shortened the cable and reversed the polarity going to it. Tank fits with the splitter on top of the backbone. It all looks good to me.
Tomorrow go for a ride if all good then transfer tool kit from other XS2 and pack some clothes.

 

[jetmechmarty]

Tomorrow go for a ride if all good then transfer tool kit from other XS2 and pack some cloths.

That's confidence! Straight from wrenching to trekking. I love it.

 

[GLJ]

Update:
Thanks to @gggGary and his van she went to the Ozarks, me too. I'll list the good, the bad and the future.
The good:
Everyone seemed to like it's looks. Also a lot of comments on the subtle differences between it and a stock XS2.
Motor ran great! Very responsive. Ran it up to 90+ a couple of times and never had it more than 3/4 open. Went for 70 to 90 with no hesitations. Started ok, I could tell it's a 750 with a little more than stock compression when e-starting it. Have not tried to kick start it yet as I like my right knee and ankle as they are.
Kind on the fence on the gearing. Right now it's 17/34 thinking about 17/32. I'll probably leave as is for awhile.
No oil leaks.
8 plate Alto clutch worked great.
Couple of carb things I'll list later.
Suspension was ok. Front forks work well but could use a little heavier oil for spirited riding. As they are very good for sedate riding. They are just stock 73 forks with progressive springs and a little moding on he dampers.
Rear shocks are stock XS2 shocks. Worked fine on the smooth roads there. Here in IL they leave something to be desired.
Front brakes works great. Dual early discs are pretty darn good. Good feel but not overpowering.
The frame seemed to me better than my other XS2. Ran it up to 90+ a couple of times. Solid as a rock, no hint of a webble or a wobble. Not sure if it's because of the reinforcing I did on it or the fact the frame had not been broke in 2 places and cracked in 4 other places.
Very happy with the tires. Nice feel to them in the corners.
All lights worked the whole time.
The bad:
Carbs need some work. Fuel mileage kinda sucked. Low 40s. Plugs on the rich side. I knew that before I went but I would rather be rich than lean. Left carb would run over when on side stand if I didn't shut off the petcocks.
Rear brakes sucked! I screwed up and got a cheap set.
The seat was the worst thing. Looks great butt not at all comfortable. I also forgot my AirHawk. The first day I was going to head back after the second stop. Then I heard @OHRider say he was taking off his AirHawk as it was too small for is BMr. He let me borrow it for the weekend. Saved my ass. It solved the burn and pain problem butt then a new to me problem started. Things down south would go numb after 30 miles. All I needed to do was get off and walk around for a minuet or 2. Then all was good.
The future:
Pop the carbs off and drop the needles a notch. Also check the float heights.
Replace the rear bake shoes with EBC shoes I just received.
I got a AirHawk a little different style than what Al loaned me and see if I can make it work for more than 30 smiles at a time.
Cosmetics a few thing in the future.

 

[gggGary]

A shout out for Greg's Cericoated switch gear. I find them very attractive.

 

[GLJ]

Something I didn't mention was I did not have a center stand on the bike. I like them. Use them 95% of the time. Side stand is ok but I like the stability of a center stand. After taking it for a ride today I decided to fix that. 2 problems I don't need a big honken tab on the left side as there is no exhaust to cover it up. Also I like them cut down to make them easy to put them on it. Long story short I took the stand off of my original XS2. It's a early stand I modded when I rebuilt it. Shortened it with no tang. Didn't need a tang as there was no muffler on the left at the time (2 into 1 exhaust). All I had to do was bring the stand down with my foot to where it touched the ground, roll it backwards and up it went. Also added a stud to hit the frame when it was up. No left muffler to hit against. Worked well. Only thing I didn't like was it did not bring the rear tire off of the ground. Later I went back to dual exhaust and added a wimpy tang to bring it down.
This bike has no exhaust on left side. Decided to use the stand from my original bike on it. No sense in cutting a perfectly good tang on a good stand if you don't need to. Took the stand off of my original XS2. Long story shot again I added 3/16 to the pads, enough to get the rear tire of the ground. Sprayed it with some black. Looks good! Tang doesn't look too bad. I can always change it later.

 

[GLJ]

Been doing some work to it the last couple of weeks. Pulled the carbs off and lowered the needles 1 notch. Also checked float height, both were ok. The left one had been running over sometimes when on the side stand. Everything looked good in there. Put them back on along with the air boxes. Turned the gas on no leaks. Was getting ready to start it up and remembered I had a set of EBC brake shoes to put on it. Decided it was better to put them on before heating up the exhaust. While removing the rear wheel all of a sudden left carb starts pissing gas out of it. Damn but better now than later. Finished putting rear brakes on. Called it a day. Next day removed left carb again. Looked it over more closely. The needle has a very slight groove wore in it. Did not have a new one so I found a looks good used Mikuni needle and seat. Checked good so I installed them. Rechecked float level it was still good. Left it sit on the bench with the clear tube on it with the nurse tank a foot and a half above the carb for 2 hours. Float level never moved. Put carb and air box back on and fired the bike up. Sounded good. Gee that was fun.
Next thing was to change the front fender. The fender on it is for a 73, it does not have a recess on the left side for a brake line. I didn't like the looks of the hoses going over the top of the fender. While in the Ozarks thanks to @Bumblebee1 I got a 74-76 front fender. It cleaned up very well. Thought this would be a simple job. Wrong again. First problem the left brake line is too short if going through the recess. Ok no big deal I'll order one 10cm longer. Went to the place I got it from and the are out of the length I need in the color I'm using. Damn. They didn't have what I needed in black either. This sucks. I did find another vendor that had what I needed. There are all kinds of people selling brake lines most of them did not have the fittings angled like I need. Ordered what I needed in black. They did not have silver. Decided to route the lines over the top until the new lines came in.
Next I decided to fit the fender stays. No joy there either. It turns out the 73 fender has a different radius than the 74-76 fender. Even though the stays are the correct length. Fudge. Not the end of the world. I was going to @gggGary 's in a few days to drop off some parts. I'm sure he will have a set in the SOIR. He didn't. I rechecked all my stays. I have a small pile of 72 and 73 stays. I did find 1 74-76 rear that was in good shape but no fronts. Off to E-Bay. Found a NOS front stay. Proceed to check out do not look at price. It was on it's way. Didn't like the bolts I was using on the stays, the chrome was pretty ratty. Ordered new stainless bolts. 50 that were too long. Figured I wasted enough time on this fender I might as well waste more shortening bolts. Wasted even more time on them. They came with the raised numbers on the heads. Didn't like that so I faced off all the heads of the bolts. I also re-angled a brake line holder for the left side and found some rubber inserts to use in them as I have never found anyone that sells them.
Fender is on, lines routed I think it looks good.

 

[Mailman]

That job came out great, looks like new! It sure put up a fight though!

 

[willis]

Nice work. I was wondering if a 75 fender and stays would fit. I have one in the parts bin that is a lot better than my 72. But I also noticed the difference in the radius. The 75 is more flat and 72 is more curved. Good info and your timing was impeccable for my current project. What type of fittings do you use into those calipers to eliminate the steel pipes?

 

[GLJ]

Nice work. I was wondering if a 75 fender and stays would fit. I have one in the parts bin that is a lot better than my 72. But I also noticed the difference in the radius. The 75 is more flat and 72 is more curved. Good info and your timing was impeccable for my current project. What type of fittings do you use into those calipers to eliminate the steel pipes?

75 stays will not work on 72 legs as they will be to short. The lines have 22 degree fittings where they go on the calipers.

 

[Adamc]

Ben doing some work to it the last couple of weeks. Pulled the carbs off and lowered the needles 1 notch. Also checked float height, both were ok. The left one had been running over sometimes when on the side stand. Everything looked good in there. Put them back on along with the air boxes. Turned the gas on no leaks. Was getting ready to start it up and remembered I had a set of EBC brake shoes to put on it. Decided it was better to put them on before heating up the exhaust. While removing the rear wheel all of a sudden left carb starts pissing gas out of it. Damn but better now than later. Finished putting rear brakes on. Called it a day. Next day removed left carb again. Looked it over more closely. The needle has a very slight groove wore in it. Did not have a new one so I found a looks good used Mikuni needle and seat. Checked good so I installed them. Rechecked float level it was still good. Left it sit on the bench with the clear tube on it with the nurse tank a foot and a half above the carb for 2 hours. Float level never moved. Put carb and air box back on and fired the bike up. Sounded good. Gee that was fun.
Next thing was to change the front fender. The fender on it is for a 73, it does not have a recess on the left side for a brake line. I didn't like the looks of the hoses going over the top of the fender. While in the Ozarks thanks to @Bumblebee1 I got a 74-76 front fender. It cleaned up very well. Thought this would be a simple job. Wrong again. First problem the right brake line is too short if going through the recess. Ok no big deal I'll order one 10cm longer. Went to the place I got it from and the are out of the length I need in the color I'm using. Damn. They didn't have what I needed in black either. This sucks. I did find another vendor that had what I needed. There are all kinds of people selling brake lines most of them did not have the fittings angled like I need. Ordered what I needed in black. They did not have silver. Decided to route the lines over the top until the new lines came in.
Next I decided to fit the fender stays. No joy there either. It turns out the 73 fender has a different radius than the 74-76 fender. Even though the stays are the correct length. Fudge. Not the end of the world. I was going to @gggGary 's in a few days to drop off some parts. I'm sure he will have a set in the SOIR. He didn't. I rechecked all my stays. I have a small pile of 72 and 73 stays. I did find 1 74-76 rear that was in good shape but no fronts. Off to E-Bay. Found a NOS front stay. Proceed to check out do not look at price. It was on it's way. Didn't like the bolts I was using on the stays, the chrome was pretty ratty. Ordered new stainless bolts. 50 that were too long. Figured I wasted enough time on this fender I might as well waste more shortening bolts. Wasted even more time on them. They came with the raised numbers on the heads. Didn't like that so I faced off all the heads o the bolts. I also re-angled a brake line holder for the left side and found some rubber inserts to use in them as I have never found anyone that sells them.
Fender is on, lines routed I think it looks good.

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Its always the seemingly 'simple' jobs that turn out to be a tiresome PITA. Perserverance pays off in the end however. Nice job.

 

[GLJ]

Posted about this in another thread today. Figured I should also post it here. I've been working on prepping parts that I hope I will need in the near future.
Cleaned and rebuilt a couple of early petcocks. I used OEM 4 hole seals, wanted new o-rings for the tank to petcock seal. You can still get new ones from Yamaha but they are pricey, $28 apiece. I got lucky and found some on Amazon that I thought might work. Looks like they will. Fits the slot perfectly. Also looks the be thick enough. Best part 60 cents apiece. After getting the o-rings I found 2 new OEMs and 2 kits from Mike's in my parts that I could have used. I'll try these be good to know if they work or not.

Other parts I also got ready were the bolts for the side cover. Lots of pieces to them. Started with new bolts and found new washers for under the head. Then made rubber washers out of a old inner tube. Then came the other 3 pieces for the other end. Lock washer not a problem. The other 2 washers I had to make from fender washers. If you are not familiar with early bikes the thick washer is threaded. It wouldn't have to be but it's nice if it is. When removing the covers you don't have to worry about it falling off.

 

[GLJ]

Side cover emblems a gas cap done. Now if I could just remember what I did with the tank and side covers.

 

[Wingedwheel]

GLJ just out of curiosity, where did you get the sidecover bolts?

 

[GLJ]

GLJ just out of curiosity, where did you get the sidecover bolts?

The bolts are NOS from EBay the washers I made from the larger SS washers. The rubber dampers I made.

 

[GLJ]

Packages came today. Hmm