KJ790
XS650 Enthusiast
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Hey everyone, I've been lurking here for a while, but I haven't posted much. Great site full of great info!
Not too long ago I picked up an '81 XS650 special with 28K miles for $500. It ran, and was in decent shape. It burned a little oil, most likely from sitting for a long time. I stripped it down to the frame, painted, polished, and replaced anything that needed it. My plan was to build the bike with the engine as is, ride it for the summer, then rebuild the engine next winter. I finished the bike last week, here's some pics:
I used to work in the carbon fiber industry, so I made the side covers out of carbon fiber, as well as wrapped the tank in carbon fiber. I painted it leaving areas of the carbon fiber showing through. I'll probably make a few more carbon fiber goodies for it when I get a chance.
I put around 200 miles on it this week, and yesterday it lost a cylinder and started puffing smoke out of the head breather tube. When I dumped the oil it was black and had a very burnt smell to it (I had just put fresh oil in it that morning). I'm thinkng she scored a cylinder or something, guess my engine rebuild is going to get pushed up a bit. I guess that gives me a good reason to port the head and put in a high performance cam
Not too long ago I picked up an '81 XS650 special with 28K miles for $500. It ran, and was in decent shape. It burned a little oil, most likely from sitting for a long time. I stripped it down to the frame, painted, polished, and replaced anything that needed it. My plan was to build the bike with the engine as is, ride it for the summer, then rebuild the engine next winter. I finished the bike last week, here's some pics:
I used to work in the carbon fiber industry, so I made the side covers out of carbon fiber, as well as wrapped the tank in carbon fiber. I painted it leaving areas of the carbon fiber showing through. I'll probably make a few more carbon fiber goodies for it when I get a chance.
I put around 200 miles on it this week, and yesterday it lost a cylinder and started puffing smoke out of the head breather tube. When I dumped the oil it was black and had a very burnt smell to it (I had just put fresh oil in it that morning). I'm thinkng she scored a cylinder or something, guess my engine rebuild is going to get pushed up a bit. I guess that gives me a good reason to port the head and put in a high performance cam
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