Matt's '76 The Bike I Shouldn't Have Sold

[LEGEND_10]

Some of you may remember this bike from my original build thread back in 2018. I was also lucky enough to get it into the 2019 calendar. I ended up selling the bike in 2021 due to some life changes, and moving out of state. 5 years later, I managed to buy my bike back.

The guy who purchased it rode it home, where it then sat under a blanket in his garage for the last 5 years. We had communicated in early 2025 as he needed some assistance to get it up and running after sitting for so long, and again more recently. He was looking to sell it and I couldn’t pass it up, so we made a deal and then got it shipped from San Diego to Dallas.

She isn’t exactly where I left her as she hasn’t been running for a while, so there’s some work ahead. I’m also looking forward to changing some things I wish I had done the first time around. I’ll post some pictures and details as I get back into the bike and get it on the road again.

For anyone who hasn’t seen the original build, you can find it here:
Thread 'Matt's '76'
https://www.xs650.com/threads/matts-76.52641/.

Here is the day I let it go vs the day of being reunited. Can you tell which is which?

 

[willis]

Good looking bike. Is that an R6 front end?

 

[Wagner73]

Can you tell which is which?
View attachment 376517View attachment 376518

Top must be then, bottom is now (Cali plate vs TX plate on cars).

 

[LEGEND_10]

Good looking bike. Is that an R6 front end?

Yes, it’s the 99-02 R6 front end.

 

[LEGEND_10]

Top must be then, bottom is now (Cali plate vs TX plate on cars).

Thought the tears in one and smile in the other would give it away.

 

[RC4MAN]

Great story, I bought back the 73 Street Tracker a few years back that I never should have sold but my story isn't so sweet. Bike was totally disassembled and in rough shape.

 

[LEGEND_10]

I’ll start with the good news, Got the bike started up today!

First issue needing to be addressed was the ignition switch. The Motogadget keyless ignition switch crap’d out, so I got a new switch on the way. But in the mean time, I jumped around/bypassed the ignition switch to fire it up.

I didn’t dig too deep as far checking valves, timing, etc. before trying to start her up, just gave the bike a quick once over. Checked oil, put some new inline fuel filters on, fresh battery, checked spark, fueled her up and she started on the first kick, just like the first start up after the rebuild in 2017!

She sounds good, but also seems to be running weak on one cylinder. The right cylinder was about 120F at idle and would get up to 150F when revved. The left cylinder was sitting around 270F at idle and 300F when revved. I swapped plugs and the issue remained. Both plugs were a dark brown, not sooty or wet, but I’ll need to replace them to get a better idea of what’s going on. There was no smoke out the exhaust, but I’m thinking it’s fuel related so I will be digging into the carbs next. Maybe not getting enough fuel? Not sure if anyone has had a similar issue. For reference, It’s 700cc with JE pistons, rephased, vape ignition, pwk carbs.

 

[cra-z1]

Great story and nice looking bike

 

[Jim]

She sounds good, but also seems to be running weak on one cylinder. The right cylinder was about 120F at idle and would get up to 150F when revved. The left cylinder was sitting around 270F at idle and 300F when revved. I swapped plugs and the issue remained. Both plugs were a dark brown, not sooty or wet, but I’ll need to replace them to get a better idea of what’s going on. There was no smoke out the exhaust, but I’m thinking it’s fuel related so I will be digging into the carbs next. Maybe not getting enough fuel?

After sitting all that time, I'd suspect a restriction in the pilot circuit.

Nice bike, btw!!

 

[atom4488]

Really like your bike, working on something similar at the moment (Project XS). Hope mine turns out as nice!