New guy intro and build

[NastyBeads]

Guess it's time to quit being a creeper and just lurking around this site. Names Ryan from Tucson. I was in the market for a bobber and quickly found myself attached to the xs650. After looking for one to buy, I decided I would rather build something than buy one. I ended up horse trading my 49 ford F-1 rat rod project for a 78 hardtail roller. The po had recently picked it up from another guy who bought it as a project but for whatever reason couldn't complete it. The motor is a 72-73 based on stamp. Been at it for a little bit and finally have just about everything to finish. Everything is just about done and ready to start wiring. Hopefully I can keep y'all updated, and also thank you so much for all of the help/knowledge I have gotten from this site. You guys are great. Here's a couple pics of when I got it and where it sits now. Looking forward to my next "build done, bike won't start" thread!

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

Welcome to the forum, Ryan.

Looks like you're ready for the sand traps...

 

[cruzin]

looks good. how do you like the seat springs? are they noisy at all? keep up the pictures.

 

[NastyBeads]

Thanks Cruzin. Hindsight, I would have put them at a slightly different angle. They aren't too noisy at all, and with the bike running I don't think ill ever hear them. I haven't sat on a solo seat with regular coil springs, so I cant compare.

Got the PAMCO put in and gonna start the HHB PMA this week. Hoping the stars align and this thing will fire up soon. I didn't go through the motor at all except a compression test. It has been sitting a while (not sure how long) but got 135 on both sides.

 

[chizler62]

paint on the tank is killer!

 

[NastyBeads]

Thanks Chizler. I painted the rear fender to match. I was originally going to paint it gold, then found that blue. Didn't really like the clean look so I scuffed it up to reveal the gold underneath, pretty happy with it.

 

[westonboege]

welcome! Bike looks great! I second the tank... looks sick

 

[NastyBeads]

Well got to hear her make some thumps today! hooked up the PAMCO to a battery to test the PMA and its putting out just fine. Time to hardwire this thing. Found a carb issue though, looks like something with the floats (pours out fuel). Time to dig into that, but it sure feels like I hit a milestone. One step closer to the road!

 

[ekalf33]

 

[NastyBeads]

Got the carbs apart and the bowls were a lot worse than expected. I was gonna start ordering parts, but after reading through some carb threads, I don't wanna start throwing jets at an unknown problem. Got them all cleaned up and hopefully can get it running decent enough to find out if it'll be lean and in what area.