My not a build thread 1980 XS650G

[Jan_P]

Speaking of feel .
I Have had 2 x XS 650 SE US Custom 1980
Should be the same bikes.
Points on both originally
Both bought used as "Last owner " bikes
I am not certain that they were stock but I do believe so.
But strangely rather big differences in how they behaved on the road

No 1 had stiffer suspension most likely after a crash giving the fork a hit And more on /off snappy throttle response even though compression was not so good. at the end Bumpy on highway but better cornering
Rock and Roll ...

No 2 had soft suspension especially in front ..softer cruising .But opening up on going out of a roundabout
Fork extending and having some leaning on the bike.
You needed to be awake ..and a couple of times after curves I was on my way off. Both sides of the road
More like a Gentleman's bike.
There are adjustments possible to do and I did not work that much on the carburetors.
That is the plugs looks right and no vibrations but not the same Snappy response
No 1 was mostly ridden with points and No 2 with Boyer Bransden I suspect the points be a reason.

I now have No 1 fork tubes on No 2 bike stiffer front and handling is better.
I suppose it would be possible to adjust and replace. But the impression is that the bikes can
change characteristics. With time and wear.


.

 

[650Skull]

The US customs are the euro Specials not Standards.

Brochure from Holland early US Custom


80 and later US Customs Retained the nice 80 Special seat the US had as a one year only seat

 

[5twins]

Yes, I did put an 18" rear wheel on my Special but have now gone back to the original 16". I like it better and plan on sticking with it. I've got a new alloy rim and stainless spokes for it once I wear out the tire. I swapped the 18" on there because it was supposed to improve the handling, make it easier to throw into corners. Honestly, I didn't find much difference. The 16" corners just fine, is more stable in a straight line, and I think it looks better. It goes better with the "lines" of the bike, the angled side covers and stepped seat. I think it also works very well with the 32T sprocket I put on there, even better than the 18" with a 33T.

 

[gggGary]

Madness is a hotrodded special it handles well. Prolly best of any XS I've been on. But a a lot of that is wide 18" rims front and back with appropriately sized low profile tires.
@RustiePyles Sorry about the name calling. I was looking right at your pics of a SP II and calling it a Special. Oops. I've never looked at the shop manuals to see what they call the SP IIs

 

[RustiePyles]

Mounted up an un-dented front fender I got from @Jim. Installed a set of gaiters and new from brake pads. While I had it up on the table I decided to Heli-coil the right front tappet cover bolt that’s been stripped out since before I got the bike. Strangely enough it never leaked a drop of oil even with the a missing stud.

 

[gggGary]

Coming along very nicely!
I've also found that with a good O-ring two studs are enough to seal a valvecover. (til a fix is done)
I think over 75% of all stripped out valve cover studs are that lower stud on the RH exhaust cover. There just isn't much meat in the head between the flange and the exhaust port there. I've never checked to see if that stud is shorter than the others.

 

[RustiePyles]

Comiong a long very nicely!
I've also found that with a good O-ring two studs are enough to seal a valvecover. (til a fix is done)
I think over 75% off all stripped out valve cover studs are that lower stud on the RH exhaust cover. There just isn't much meat in the head between the flange and the exhaust port. I've never checked to see if that stud is shorter than the others.

Truly, not much casting to get purchase on. I really prefer time-serts but I was really concerned that I didn't have enough casting left to drill a hole big enough for a time-sert. So Heilicoil it was. I used Red loctite on the coil and the stud so I'm pretty certain they aren't going anywhere. As far as I know the O-rings are the original ones and still going strong, I grease em every time I have em off so I haven't needed to replace them (yet). I have a spare set just for that occasion.

 

[RustiePyles]

Well I painted the side covers to match the rest of the bike before I took calendar photos. Put some Maund Speed decals on em, I think they look pretty snappy.

 

[5twins]

I assume you painted the motor and carbs? They weren't black on the '80 model. How did those Cruzinimage clutch plates work out, OK?

 

[RustiePyles]

I assume you painted the motor and carbs? They weren't black on the '80 model. How did those Cruzinimage clutch plates work out, OK?

I did not, my father in law painted them in 1981. They're about due for a repaint, but I'm holding out until the motor needs a freshen up. So far the Cruzin Image clutch plates have been great, no complaints yet.

FWIW, I would not have painted the carbs myself, but what're ya gonna do...

 

[jetmechmarty]

FWIW, I would not have painted the carbs myself, but what're ya gonna do...

Pretend it’s an ‘82 or ‘83. It looks good!

 

[RustiePyles]

Today’s word is STICTION. Brought to you by the letters M,X, &S (Mikes Xs). Well I got my fork brace mounted up. Hindsight being 20/20, it would have been less effort to make it myself out of SS. I’m not sure how long it will stay on the bike… if I’m speculating, not long. This thing is an irredeemable piece of junk. It was not square, the holes were not properly drilled, the welding is garbage, and looks like the welding was “touched up” after it was plated. The tube cuts were NOT de-burred. It was a mess. I spent 3 hours straightening it out. It does “fit” now. I will be making one out of SS to replace it. The only positive thing I have to say about this brace is that it looks GREAT on the bike. I haven’t ridden it because it’s a little too chilly for this fair weather rider and I don’t have enough faith in my 40yo tires to really ride this thing hard (new tires coming soon). In summation, if you don’t have the means to shape, straighten, and bend metal to your will don’t buy this brace.

 

[5twins]

Typical MikesXS quality (as in "none", lol). That's why I shop for used ATKs on eBay. Around $40 and with a little polishing, they're good .....

A little disc drilling would really improve your bike's looks, not to mention the front brake's function .....

 

[RustiePyles]

Typical MikesXS quality (as in "none", lol). That's why I shop for used ATKs on eBay. Around $40 and with a little polishing, they're good .....

A little disc drilling would really improve your bike's looks, not to mention the front brake's function .....

I have no doubt that the billet braces in general preform way better. But I’m not a huge fan of how they look, I don’t think they aesthetically fit my bike. I’m planning on adding a left rotor/caliper to the bike, I’ll be drilling both rotors at that time. I’ve got a nice hunk of naval bronze I plan on turning swing arm bushings out of as well.

 

[Jim]

There's some disk patterns here. They need a little tweakin' but worked pretty good.
http://www.xs650.com/threads/jims-1980-sg-miss-september.50545/page-94#post-604386

 

[RustiePyles]

I printed them, but found out my scaling was off. And haven’t reprinted them yet.

 

[jetmechmarty]

In summation, if you don’t have the means to shape, straighten, and bend metal to your will don’t buy this brace.

We should keep a thread on junk like this. A lot of this junk has been fed to us for years. They have to know some of it is junk, but send it to us anyway, believing we have ne where else to go.

 

[RustiePyles]

We should keep a thread on junk like this. A lot of this junk has been fed to us for years. They have to know some of it is junk, but send it to us anyway, believing we have ne where else to go.

There is a list, here’s a link to it
www.Mikesxs.net

 

[jetmechmarty]

The Revival parts group is guilty of dishing out a a lot of junk for sure. Certainly, not all of it is junk. It’s a shame it’s up to us to know better.

 

[Jim]

There's a MikesXS thread here somewhere's....