I’m starting to think the engine I parted had very low miles. I see very little indication of wear on any of the components.
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One Dakota.... XS1 fix, restore labor of love SoDak
- Thread starter gggGary
- Start date
Frame out of the paint booth. Painted it Tuesday and gave it 48 hrs in the booth to dry, then set it out in the sun today. Re-assembly starts soon.
Made some progress in the last week. Gary had already sorted the front forks, wheel, hub, bearings, etc., so it was mostly a bit of cleanup and reassembly. I'm waiting on a new damper for the ignition switch so I can install that and finish hooking up the wiring in the headlight bucket.
Looking amazing!
My project for today was to make the tank badges fit better. The set that came with the tank appear to be the ones sold by Mike's XS, etc with the part number 65-6500. I wish there was a better alternative since these seem a bit cheesy to me, especially for what they cost ( someone chime in if there are better ones out there). Anyway, for me they don't fit down nicely into the recessed panel of the tank, mostly because of the protruding lug on the backside of the screw holes. So, I set out to remove the lugs.
First, I added tape to the front side to protect it while I was handling them. Then added a couple of layers of tape to the areas around the lugs to protect those areas. The paint on these badges is applied from the backside, so any damage to it shows through on the front side. Once masked off, I used a small sanding drum in my Dremel to carefully grind down the lugs on both sides until they were flush with the surrounding areas.
Lastly, because grinding down the lugs also removed the paint, I touched up the backside with some red and black modeling paint to match. Looks a bit sloppy on the backside, but from the front it looks perfect. Now that the lugs have been removed, the badges fit nicely down in the recessed area of the tank.
I may use your trick.
Attachments
Well, she's sitting on her own two feet (wheels) again. I had hoped to do more of a Mailman type thread on this, but I get so absorbed in the actual work taking pictures gets forgotten.
Putting the engine together comes next. I've hit a snag there. I had originally planned on swapping out the crank and 26 mm small end roller bearing rods with a later crank and 22 mm small end rods taken from a XS1 parts bike I bought. Turns out the crank from the parts bike was very worn. Trying to decide whether to just use the original crank and roller bearing rods, or have it rebuilt with 22 mm rods. I did pick up a pair of NOS 22 mm small end con rods, so I'm part way there.
Looking beautiful! 
WOW!
Looks very nice
Decided to bite the bullet. Sent the crank to Roger at R&D to have it rebuilt with the NOS 22 mm small end rods. I figured since I was already this deep into the engine, it's a good upgrade.
One thing I had a lot of difficulty fitting was the seat, which is a nice looking reproduction seat. When I first installed it, it was totally skewed and the latch didn't line up well. I switched out the hinges for an OEM set that I had and that solved most of the issue, but still took a bit of tweaking those hinges to get it looking acceptable. There's also a slight interference between the rear frame hoop and the grab bar mounting points on the underside rear of the seat pan. Careful measurement and comparing it to an original seat pan indicates that the repro is about 3/8 inch shorter, likely causing the interference. The original pan I have is rusted beyond saving. Anyone have a solid original seat pan they don't need?
One thing I had a lot of difficulty fitting was the seat, which is a nice looking reproduction seat. When I first installed it, it was totally skewed and the latch didn't line up well. I switched out the hinges for an OEM set that I had and that solved most of the issue, but still took a bit of tweaking those hinges to get it looking acceptable. There's also a slight interference between the rear frame hoop and the grab bar mounting points on the underside rear of the seat pan. Careful measurement and comparing it to an original seat pan indicates that the repro is about 3/8 inch shorter, likely causing the interference. The original pan I have is rusted beyond saving. Anyone have a solid original seat pan they don't need?
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Crank came back from Roger last week. NOS rods with 22 mm small ends, and new big end rod bearings and crank pins. According to Roger, the main bearings where in perfect condition so they were reused. I can't say enough about the quality of Roger's work and his quick turnaround time.
Started reassembly of the lower end. Ran into a snag almost immediately. The caged roller bearing that supports the end of the shift drum was full of grit. The shop that cleaned the cases for me plugged that bearing, but grit somehow got in anyway. Out it came. Ordered a new one from a guy in LA as I'm just north of San Francisco. It's currently on a tour of the US courtesy of the USPS. Good thing I ordered a backup out of Ohio which arrived yesterday. Put it in the freezer overnight and it pressed right in. Put the lower end together today and tested everything. Took a break for the day; will check everything again tomorrow and then button up the cases.
SoDak has gone to a far better home. 
The shop I worked at when I was younger, I blasted a lot of cases. Plugs, tape, caps, cover, you name it, somehow we never any match for glass beads. Some of it ALWAYS seemed to make its way inside.
All the cases I do now I soda blast. A little more prep cleaning the big stuff off, no chance of damaged internals and I think the finish is nicer.
