I'd like to have a gravity knob...
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My 60th birthday present
- Thread starter Mailman
- Start date
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- Tags
- 1977 xs 650d chain and sprockets clutch pushrod seal cranckcase seal new front master cylinder pamco e-advance pamco ultimate high output ignition rebuild brake caliper rebuild brakes rebuilt carburetors replace clutch solid state rectifier stainless steel braid front brake line starter gear fix steering head bearings vr-115 regulator
It's already been invented. Just spot of flubber attached to the grab rail.
...and on the matter of rusty or otherwise seized fasteners.....
I love the progression! That’s hysterical Pete!
Yup - I talk to my tools, whatever I am working on and to myself all the time when I am out in the DCW.
It seems to help.
Hey - I like your new avatar - is that Bob Hale (the Skipper on Gilligan's Island?)
It seems to help.
Hey - I like your new avatar - is that Bob Hale (the Skipper on Gilligan's Island?)
In what language Pete? English, French or profanity?
Never seen the "blue wrench" fail.
Reminds me of the thought that duct tape and WD40 will fix anything....
If it moves and it ain't sposed' to, duct tape it. If it wont move and it's sposed' to, WD40 it... Problem solved.
If it moves and it ain't sposed' to, duct tape it. If it wont move and it's sposed' to, WD40 it... Problem solved.
I am trilingual: English, French and Profanity - and so I only resort to the big (or hot) tools once I have exhausted all "diplomatic" and non-violent options.
Combined with the more "hardware-based" rusty-seized fastener progression quoted a few weeks back by (I think) TwoMany:
Oh - one more thing: for those who are still using a (hopeless) Philips screwdriver on all of those fasteners on your Japanese bikes, there is an excellent source of high quality JIS drivers available from Paul Jones of Go Fast Innovations in London, ON. He charges $30 CDN for Canada and $34.95 (US - I think) for American orders - SHIPPING INCLUDED. The GFI drivers are just as nice as the Vessel brand tools (I have a set of both brands) and the GFI tools are much less expensive. If you check out his website, you will find an excellent graphic that explains why a JIS driver is what you want when working on stuff from Japan (anything - bikes, cars, cameras etc.).
I was helping a member on the ST Owners forum who wondered about JIS and impact drivers and in doing so, I wrote to ask Paul if he was ever going to make an impact driver similar to the Vessel Impacta (silver handled) driver that is so effective on those stubborn clutch holding screws and here is the message I got back from him yesterday:
On Dec 20, 2017, at 13:37, Paul Jones <gofastinnovations@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi Pete,
Thanks for your email. I expect to have my second generations Gofast Innovations JIS screwdriver sets available in a couple of weeks. Check my website.
I won't be making Impacta style drivers but am working at developing a set of JIS screwdriver bits that will fit current impact drivers.
Thanks,
Paul Jones
Gofast Innovations
Combined with the more "hardware-based" rusty-seized fastener progression quoted a few weeks back by (I think) TwoMany:
- chemicals;
- heat
- violence
Oh - one more thing: for those who are still using a (hopeless) Philips screwdriver on all of those fasteners on your Japanese bikes, there is an excellent source of high quality JIS drivers available from Paul Jones of Go Fast Innovations in London, ON. He charges $30 CDN for Canada and $34.95 (US - I think) for American orders - SHIPPING INCLUDED. The GFI drivers are just as nice as the Vessel brand tools (I have a set of both brands) and the GFI tools are much less expensive. If you check out his website, you will find an excellent graphic that explains why a JIS driver is what you want when working on stuff from Japan (anything - bikes, cars, cameras etc.).
I was helping a member on the ST Owners forum who wondered about JIS and impact drivers and in doing so, I wrote to ask Paul if he was ever going to make an impact driver similar to the Vessel Impacta (silver handled) driver that is so effective on those stubborn clutch holding screws and here is the message I got back from him yesterday:
On Dec 20, 2017, at 13:37, Paul Jones <gofastinnovations@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi Pete,
Thanks for your email. I expect to have my second generations Gofast Innovations JIS screwdriver sets available in a couple of weeks. Check my website.
I won't be making Impacta style drivers but am working at developing a set of JIS screwdriver bits that will fit current impact drivers.
Thanks,
Paul Jones
Gofast Innovations
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Well, I guess you'll never know then. I was literally amazed at how much easier the centerstand operated after I started pumping those pivots full of grease. My 650 is by far the easiest bike I've ever owned to put up on the stand and the greased pivots are a big part of that. We should consider ourselves lucky. You can't do this to most other bikes. They don't have nice wide stand pivots like the 650 does. And while they work very well if kept lubricated, the down side is they also bind up very well if allowed to dry out and rust, as Mailman has just discovered.
The '77-on post mounted side stand also benefits greatly from a grease fitting, and it's a very simple mod to do. Simply drill a hole in the side, tap it, and screw a fitting in.
Problem:
What to do with my time until the XS swingarm bushing and RD master cyl rebuild kit arrive. This am changed the oil in all 5 bikes, had lunch, now what to do?
Solution: try out the new tap set. After all, Jimi the '80 is already up in the air with the swingarm dismantled.
As Pete says, easy peasy.
...and there at the top of my scrap metal pile was a section of an abstract art work that looked kinda like a gusset:
fired up the 'ol '70's Craftsman oxy-acetylene torches, and ...
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Hey hey! The funs contagious! 
Looks very nice indeed Dude!
I guess I should have mentioned this earlier. The problem I've encountered when trying to put the grease fitting just through the pivot tube is that the fitting usually ends up being a little too long. It sticks into the inside of the pivot tube and rubs on the pivot bolt. So, I put it through the weld where the leg meets the pivot tube. But first I build that weld up a little more with a blob of weld. Then grind a flat spot on it, drill, and tap .....
Yup, this issue quickly became apparent.I guess I should have mentioned this earlier. The problem I've encountered when trying to put the grease fitting just through the pivot tube is that the fitting usually ends up being a little too long. It sticks into the inside of the pivot tube and rubs on the pivot bolt. So, I put it through the weld where the leg meets the pivot tube. But first I build that weld up a little more with a blob of weld. Then grind a flat spot on it, drill, and tap .....
I just filed down the length of the zerk, then re-fitted it.
Nice mod, 5T.
Now, I've only got 3 more centerstands to go...
I've always wondered how these 'stand parts fall apart, and now I know:
The tubular metal drilled and tapped like it was butter.
Mild steel, one could say.
.
.
.
.
.....and shortening the length of two of the centerstands (the "difficult ones") by 3/4 to 1" is also in the works, in accordance with the research done by you and others in previous posts. I want to get all my XS's to shift up onto the 'stand as super-easy as my '76 and '75.
Look before you leap!
Or how to avoid spending $60 on crap you probably didn’t need in the first place!
I like to think I’m providing a public service here. I don’t hold back, I show you my mistakes, not just my accomplishments. That’s really how I rationalize this. So after the umpteenth time of having my carburetors apart for various reasons, I finally had it running REALLY sweet! That lasted for several weeks, then my right carb developed a drip, that slowly turned into an intolerable amount of gas pouring from my carburetor.
I decided to fix this once and for all by buying new Mikuni floats from 650 Central, new bowl gaskets and new Mikuni float valve assemblies
From Boats.net. There! That’ll fix it once and for all!
Here is what I found.
I’m thinking about changing my avatar title to
Don’t Be Stupid!
Or how to avoid spending $60 on crap you probably didn’t need in the first place!
I like to think I’m providing a public service here. I don’t hold back, I show you my mistakes, not just my accomplishments. That’s really how I rationalize this. So after the umpteenth time of having my carburetors apart for various reasons, I finally had it running REALLY sweet! That lasted for several weeks, then my right carb developed a drip, that slowly turned into an intolerable amount of gas pouring from my carburetor.
I decided to fix this once and for all by buying new Mikuni floats from 650 Central, new bowl gaskets and new Mikuni float valve assemblies
From Boats.net. There! That’ll fix it once and for all!
Here is what I found.
I’m thinking about changing my avatar title to
Don’t Be Stupid!
Dang!!! I hate it when that happens.
Condolences.
Condolences.
Lol ...... look at the bright side, now you've got a stash of good spare parts. And I doubt the prices on this stuff will do anything but go down in the future. I often wish I would have stocked up years ago on needed maintenance parts when they were lots cheaper. As an example, points sets for my old BMWs used to be $6 or $7, they're now near $20. Also for those same bikes, a heavy duty clutch plate could be had for about $30. Now, just the standard plate is near $100, lol.
Yeah I carefully wrapped up all my old parts and put them away. I don’t really mind having new floats in there and original Mikuni parts for the floats and float valve assembly. And I gotta say the new bowl gasket is so much nicer that that repro one I was running, it fits better and is much thicker.
Got the float heights all set, everything buttoned up and ready to go back on.
Got the float heights all set, everything buttoned up and ready to go back on.
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