Reunited with XS650SH

jetmechmarty

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A friend of mine offered to bring my XS650SH from storage in Atlanta. So, here's the history on it.

I had a coworker who bought the bike in 1983. It had been squished between a car and garage wall. I assume it was totaled, but it has a regular Minnesota title. Nothing on it says "salvage" or "rebuilt." The list of replaced parts is as follows:
Frame - throttle top housing - latch & seat - left shock - chain guard - hold bar - fuse box - lt & rt sidecovers - left pipe - gas tank -rear fender - lt buddy peg - rear taillight and holder
After repair, he rode it this far:
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The bike ended up in Atlanta, disassembled in the basement as a future chopper project. Russ had long since moved on to Harley-Davidsons.
Anyhow, I had been long time encouraging him to do something with it, like build the chopper. He took a new job and was moving. He called me and said if I'd come get it, I could have it. My daughter had recently expressed an interest in having a motorcycle. So off we went and piled all the bins into my El Camino.
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We hadn't had it too long when this photo was taken. This would have been 2008.
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This is probably 2009 or '10. It was painted black with purple glass in it. I held the bike until 2018 at which time I was moving and insisted she take it. So, it sat in her shed until now.

Here's how it arrived on Sunday.
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I gave it a bath, swapped the handlebar and the grab bar.

I can't remember where I am with this thing. AFAIK, I need a battery, tires, and some grips. The fork oil needs replacement, and I need to grease the steering bearings. The petcock and carburetors need attention. All I need is some time.

The swingarm feels tight. Based upon my recent swingarm experience, I may need to shim it as I did in my SK.
 
Another thing. My daughter never transferred the title. It was signed in 2008. I'm glad she kept track of it. This bike got a new frame. There is no serial number on it. The engine number matches the title.
 
Does the "American Manual of Psychiatric Disorders" have an XS is the index?
The four in my signature now all live in my garage, and probably enough parts to build another. And then there are two derelict XS1100 Specials and the Eleven Special that I ride regularly.
 
Well, I suppose it's possible, but early 650s speced regular "B" type plugs and they started OK as far as I know. It might be plugged choke jets. Then the choke doesn't work and cold starts are difficult. Drop the bowls and have a look .....

View attachment 236140

I have a set under service
How do One clean it if No light in Hole ??
If i fill up with liquid from the top it slowly runs trough . But I suspect still dirt in there.
Tried ultrasonic cleaner and solvents.
Dont have compressed air.
 
Well, I suppose it's possible, but early 650s speced regular "B" type plugs and they started OK as far as I know. It might be plugged choke jets. Then the choke doesn't work and cold starts are difficult. Drop the bowls and have a look .....

View attachment 236140
The carburetors will go into the ultrasonic cleaner before I fuel it. I don’t remember what I did to them, but I did ride the bike once upon a time.
 
I have a set under service
How do One clean it if No light in Hole ??
If i fill up with liquid from the top it slowly runs trough . But I suspect still dirt in there.
Tried ultrasonic cleaner and solvents.
Dont have compressed air.
This is how that passage is made.
#1: Go find compressed air, use it.
I had one that was REALLY plugged; :poo: made a little hook out of some safety wire.
Took some digging but got a bunch of varnish/gunk out of there and got it reopened and working again. :thumbsup:
 

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Yes, you really need compressed air to clean this jet. It's pressed into the bowl and can't be removed for cleaning. It's also near the bottom of a pretty deep passageway as Gary's drawing shows, and as I've indicated in this pic .....

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I have an assortment of needle tips for my blowgun. These allow me to get at jets like this. I can press the needle tip right down onto or into the jet and give it a very good blast of air .....

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If i Recall right I bought something like that Oil -- cant remember exactly ..And the bottle is to far in in the Storage room cant check it now.. .. at the gas station But I do remember pouring it into the Fork
It was for Lawn Mover in smaller bottles 0.5 l or so Not the special fork oil.
But it would be possible to use it.
 
Back on the jack. I’m completing disassembly. You know how it goes. Top clamp needs painting. Chrome needs polish. Left fork ear needed hammer work. It is my hobby after all.

After this task, I’m going to start stocking up on some consumables like fork oil. There’s nothing available locally for me.
 
I always centerstand the bike on the lift before taking wheels off. Then for the front, it's just a matter of propping the front wheel up off the lift a little. That can be done with the jack under the two front down tubes, or straps at the rear. For the rear, strap down the front and pull that rear plate off the lift so the rear wheel can be dropped down through the opening.

Also, I don't use those little "feet" on my jack, I just lay a piece of wood on it. I got the idea from my dealer. That's how he does it.

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My last job was R&D tech in a Materials Test lab. They went all out the last couple years I was there with some high end rheology testing equipment. Rheology is essentially measuring viscosity across temperature and pressure. I should have developed routines to plot a bunch of different oils.
On a side note I did Gas Chromatography on @Ben1 made Whiskey and it was more pure than off the shelf Johny Walker scotch.
 
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