It started with buying a $1,000 1984 XS650K that was stock except for the handlebars. It was showing 37,000 Kms., the compression was 150/150 and I drove it enough to know that the motor and transmission were solid, but it leaked some oil and needed a clutch. After lurking here quite a bit and figuring out what I wanted, I stripped down the XS650 to the frame and started building a street/dirt/hooligan/brat/tracker. I’m not quite sure how to categorize this but, in a nutshell what I did was:
Engine:
ü 2-1 intake manifold and jetted Mikuni VM36 (from Joewiseguy, great to deal with).
ü 2-1 Chrome XS Performance Headpipe Set
ü Headpipe Torque Inserts
ü Free flowing Taper Tip Muffler
ü Kevlar clutch with high performance springs and one pushrod, changed the bearings, bushing and seal
ü Starter delete using a frost plug (
whoever came up with that ... what a great idea!)
ü New oil filters
ü New seals and gaskets everywhere I could without splitting the case
ü Engine painted with VHT barrel paint
ü Side covers stripped, polished and clear coated with VHT clear coat.
ü High output coil, wires, plugs
Frame:
ü Thruxton 14.4”rear shocks, (
and a delrin chain guide on swingarm)
ü Brass swing arm bushings and new seals
ü New wheel bearings
ü Seat hoop and seat from SCO Kustoms
ü Home made electric and battery box
ü Center stand and brackets removed, some other frame cleanup
ü Frame painted with VHT roll bar and chassis paint.
ü Simplified ignition and charging wiring harness from TC Bros., homemade wiring for everything else
ü Fork brace from Hugh’s Handbuilt
ü Fork boots
ü Magura 314 throttle
ü Simplified the hand controls
ü Mini speedometer
ü Changed the lights and signals
ü Tank cleaned, sealed, de-badged and painted, new petcock.
ü Forks and rear brake drum stripped, polished and coated with VHT clear coat.
Once I had reassembled it all it roared to life after a couple of kicks. Couldn’t sound better .... took her out for a 30Km exhilarating ride, it runs like a scared cat. Tons of revs and power, handles as well as I could have hoped, although I haven’t tried crossing a mud bog (
yet). I had read on dimecitycycles.com ....
“Riding one of these old bikes can be a lot like getting in the ring with a bare-knuckle gypsy. In the beginning it seems like a good idea. He's small and wiry, looks to be somewhat tattered and should be easy to handle. That is, until he unleashes a hell bent whiskey fueled fury on your face and knocks your teeth out..”
Sounds good to me .... I’ll try to keep my teeth though ....