Lucille - mostly-stock custom 1980 Special II

[CoastsideXS650]

I want to share a new project I picked up. I saw it last minute on craigslist and decided I had to have it. I drove all the way from San Francisco to Modesto to pick it up. Ive been looking for a new project to make a slightly customized but mostly stock tracker kinda build.

Bringing the bike home. Front wheel off and strapped in the back of a minivan without seats.

The bike is a 1980 xs650 Special II. It had a few problems from the get go.

Front and rear brakes were shot, battery isn't charging, turn signals don't flash, leaking head gasket (and a few others), and a super loose swingarm.​

A few shots as soon as I got her home:

Overall it is pretty good. Very little rust, low mileage, ran ok for the short time I rode it in the seller's parking lot. It should be a great donor bike for something new.

I also decided to name her Lucille. I have never named a vehicle before but I feel that it is time to rectify that.

 

[CoastsideXS650]

Doing a little more work I wanted to get rid of the stock air boxes and battery holder.

Also putting in new bronze swingarm bushings to get it road-worthy

Pulled the motor to replace the head gasket and a few other leaking gaskets as well. Going to replace the cam chain guide, sump filter, and do a valve job. Also installing a new clutch pushrod oil seal.

 

[CoastsideXS650]

I used some Ospho on some of the rust on the frame and a wire brush to remove excess oxidation. Then a quick rattle can black to keep the moisture out. It was really more of a temp fix on corrosion until everything is tested and ridden for a while. Real frame paint job to come at a later date.

I also played around with attaching an old standard seat pan and foam to the special frame with a little help from this thread:

http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22157

I wanted to shave down an inch or two off the top to give a sleek and sexy look while retaining enough cushion for long rides and still using stock mounting points.

And a few with the swingarm and a few other body parts re-installed:

And the quick and dirty naming of the steed

 

[EvenmoreXS]

Good find.

Good name too....

People ask me all the time what I call mine....i have a few names in mind but haven't laid one on her yet. Leaning towards Sophie....

 

[I am Carbon]

Premium bike ya got there coatside

 

[CoastsideXS650]

Its gonna be a real sweet little canyon carver when I'm done.

Got some new shocks coming from MikesXS. And planning on upgrading the front brakes with a semi-floating rotor and maybe a Brembo or R1 caliper.

The goal with this bike (unlike the chopper I made) is to have a very well handling machine for the twisty roads. I also want to change from a 16" rear tire to an 18" rear for more of that classic look and riding performance.

 

[CDNTX650]

It's amazing what switching from that God awful special seat to a standard type seat can do for the looks of a special.

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[CoastsideXS650]

Rebuilt the carbs today. Someone had already been in there before as the BS34 air screw caps had been removed previously.

They weren't in bad shape to begin with. But after opening them up there were a few semi-clogged passages that needed a little more help to get to 100%.

Its important to keep the left and right carb separated and not mix and match the internal parts.

Got them all cleaned up and added some flat black paint to the brackets to prevent rust as well as add a little flair.

 

[5twins]

If a very well handling machine is your goal then the MikesXS shocks are a poor choice. They're not much more than $79 spring holders. You'll need something that actually works, lol.

 

[CDNTX650]

If a very well handling machine is your goal then the MikesXS shocks are a poor choice. They're not much more than $79 spring holders. You'll need something that actually works, lol.

You could buy new bonneville shocks used for less the are as good as stock and bit longer too.

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[CoastsideXS650]

Damn. And I thought I was getting some kind of deal. What kind of shocks would you recommend?

 

[Uhlaf]

I have an 81 Special II,

Good looking bikes once you un-80s them in regards to the seat and bars. You get that sleak special tank, those great spoked wheels.... I just don't like the side panels, but that's nit picky.

 

[Brassneck]

Damn. And I thought I was getting some kind of deal. What kind of shocks would you recommend?

I have a '79 Special II, and did a similar change with regard to stance...18" rear, 110/90 Avon's on the back, which helped so much with it wanting to turn, but the 18" rims don't really change the rearward stance. The other major help was raising the back about an inch...I got 13.5" progressive's (Series 12 I think? I got them from Michael at 650 central). Huge improvement in handling.

 

[CoastsideXS650]

I stripped the tank tonight as well as the side covers. I used some paint stripper them. A few beers later I was able to easily scrape away wrinkled chunks of black paint.

I want to fill in a few dents with Bondo, as well as fill in the tank badge bracket. I want the bike to have a nice smooth tank. I'm not sure how I want to paint it yet. I want to keep it simple.

 

[CoastsideXS650]

Some more updates on the project.

Getting the motor back together after replacing the head gasket and doing some valve lapping.

Then I got to rebuilding the forks. When I was trying to get one of the fork seals out I jammed a screwdriver in there and put a large-ish gouge in the seat for the seal. I filled it with a little JB Weld and smoothed it out when it dried. (You can see the dark grey line at the bottom, thats the JB Weld)

The fork oil that was in there was black as sin. Gross.

Got some Monza Shocks from MikesXS. Im told these suck but they are at least cleaner than the ones that came on the bike. So for now they will stay.

Upgraded rotor from a modern Yamaha front end. Stainless brake line as well. Eventually I would like a Blue Dot caliper or Brembo or something.

Trying to get the front end back on

And finally some pictures of it back together with the ugly seat and no paint. But at this stage it is a running project again. And now it is safe and mechanically sound. The engine still needs some tuning but the bike is really coming together and things are starting to work like new.

I even got to take it out to lunch and on the road for the first time

 

[gggGary]

Nice project with a great end game in mind. Just heads up; I don't see any spacers between the caliper and the fork bosses. The rotor you have on there has less offset than the stock rotor so the caliper needs to be spaced closer to the centerline of the wheel. Memory sez a couple of 3/8" bore machine bushings and slightly longer bolts from the local hardware will do the job. A pair of cartridge emulators really improves damping on the stock tubes.

 

[CoastsideXS650]

Nice project with a great end game in mind. Just heads up; I don't see any spacers between the caliper and the fork bosses. The rotor you have on there has less offset than the stock rotor so the caliper needs to be spaced closer to the centerline of the wheel. Memory sez a couple of 3/8" bore machine bushings and slightly longer bolts from the local hardware will do the job. A pair of cartridge emulators really improves damping on the stock tubes.

Why do I need a spacer? It bolts up fine and doesn't interfere with anything.

 

[gggGary]

Just what I have found to be a good idea, it won't always have thick new pads in the caliper, but it's your bike. MikesXS includes spacers with his rotor kit that has less offset....

Caliper Spacers
Caliper Spacers Photo Brass Caliper Spacers (Pair) - A Replacement Set
Used to space calipers when installing upgraded front brake discs (XS# 30-3065)
2 pc. used per caliper ( Note: Now Included with XS#30-3065 brake discs ).

Fits: 77-84 XS650 Calipers when our performance discs #30-3065 are installed.
Part #30-3066 $5.95 USD Set

 

[CoastsideXS650]

I got some carb diapraghms from JBM Industries. Very nice looking stuff. You can see the improvement over the old stock ones.

Old one:

new one:

side by side:

I am hoping this will help with my hanging idle problem. I have taken off the rubber intake boots and added some yamabond to aid in my journey.

 

[CoastsideXS650]

I also spent a bit of time polishing a few parts and pieces. I didn't go for anything more than a light polish with tripoli compound. After all its going to be a runner and not a show bike. I just want it to look a little better going down the road.

Before:

After:

Polished up the top triple and added solid riser bushings. Thing is rock solid now.