maximus
dualsporter
Hi all, I'm a newbie and it was great to come across this community.
I'm a dual sport rider but have wanted to get into building a cafe bike for some time now – love what I see other riders doing to their bikes. I took the plunge about two months ago and bought a 79 XS650 that had been partially cafe'd. My plan is to tear it down during the winter and rebuild and learn as much as I can in the process. I haven't started yet, squeezing out as much riding time before the cold weather settles in. (I'm outside of Washington DC).
Well, about a month ago I came across a great deal on a mint 77 XS650 that I couldn't pass up, so I bought it and now I have two bikes to tinker with. Figure I could tear one apart and ride the other. My plan is to start tearing down the 79 and ride the 77 as long as I can or till my fingers freeze together.
I want to do a few minimum things to the 77 while I ride it. I'd like to put a pair of clip-ons and Dime City gauges and clean up the wiring a little.
The first obstacle that I've run into is how to clean up the ignition switch? How to best mount it without the original brackets and gauges? On the 79, the previous owner had done the same thing, stripped off the old gauges and installed Dime City gauges and it has a very simple enclosure for the ignition switch. I haven't been able to locate anything like it for the 77.
Any suggestions or advice on this would be helpful!
Thanks all!
Here is a pic of the bikes (79 on the left, 77 right)
The 79 gauges - nice and clean look
The 77 gauge teardown - HELP!
I'm a dual sport rider but have wanted to get into building a cafe bike for some time now – love what I see other riders doing to their bikes. I took the plunge about two months ago and bought a 79 XS650 that had been partially cafe'd. My plan is to tear it down during the winter and rebuild and learn as much as I can in the process. I haven't started yet, squeezing out as much riding time before the cold weather settles in. (I'm outside of Washington DC).
Well, about a month ago I came across a great deal on a mint 77 XS650 that I couldn't pass up, so I bought it and now I have two bikes to tinker with. Figure I could tear one apart and ride the other. My plan is to start tearing down the 79 and ride the 77 as long as I can or till my fingers freeze together.
I want to do a few minimum things to the 77 while I ride it. I'd like to put a pair of clip-ons and Dime City gauges and clean up the wiring a little.
The first obstacle that I've run into is how to clean up the ignition switch? How to best mount it without the original brackets and gauges? On the 79, the previous owner had done the same thing, stripped off the old gauges and installed Dime City gauges and it has a very simple enclosure for the ignition switch. I haven't been able to locate anything like it for the 77.
Any suggestions or advice on this would be helpful!
Thanks all!
Here is a pic of the bikes (79 on the left, 77 right)
The 79 gauges - nice and clean look
The 77 gauge teardown - HELP!