If you want to get technical, the 1973 side covers had a mid-year change. You don't want to put a late 73 cover on your 72. Read all about it here:
https://www.xs650.com/threads/alternate-1973-side-cover-why.54732/
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Saving another XS2
- Thread starter willis
- Start date
https://www.xs650.com/threads/alternate-1973-side-cover-why.54732/
I posted a bad link……
To what?
Not much time today and it’s 90 degrees out in the shop. But I did pull the plugs and have a look in the cylinders.
Everything looked good with minor carbon on pistons. Might have been running a little rich. Didn’t see any rust inside, but I couldn’t see real well. Gave a few squirts of penetrating fluid for some lubrication and gave it a few kicks over before doing a compression test.
I’m feeling good about this being a runner. I also ordered a few essential parts. Fork tubes and seals, cables, a few gaskets and crush washers. Also started rummaging my parts stash for possible parts to throw at it. I’ve got high hopes to get started on the fork swap over the long weekend. But that depends on parts getting delivered in time.
Everything looked good with minor carbon on pistons. Might have been running a little rich. Didn’t see any rust inside, but I couldn’t see real well. Gave a few squirts of penetrating fluid for some lubrication and gave it a few kicks over before doing a compression test.
I’m feeling good about this being a runner. I also ordered a few essential parts. Fork tubes and seals, cables, a few gaskets and crush washers. Also started rummaging my parts stash for possible parts to throw at it. I’ve got high hopes to get started on the fork swap over the long weekend. But that depends on parts getting delivered in time.
Yup just the badge.
I thought I had found a cheap side cover for you but it turned out to be the wrong side so I just deleted it.
An interesting observation today as I am planning on a trip to the BMV to transfer title to my name. By the info on the title, the guy I bought it from purchased the bike in April 1991 with 8900 actual miles on it. It was last plated and registered in 1992 with tags expiring in '93. I purchased it with 9012 miles on the odometer, so this guy only put a little over 100 miles on the bike in 33 years.
On a side note I am expecting to get a parts shipment in tomorrow. Hoping to address the handlebars and fork tubes over the long weekend so it will return more to the stock appearance. At this point I think I am still just going to clean things up a little without doing any major painting/refurbishing. Main goal is to get it looking presentable and running before I make any cosmetic decisions.
On a side note I am expecting to get a parts shipment in tomorrow. Hoping to address the handlebars and fork tubes over the long weekend so it will return more to the stock appearance. At this point I think I am still just going to clean things up a little without doing any major painting/refurbishing. Main goal is to get it looking presentable and running before I make any cosmetic decisions.
It looks real good from here!
I had a little spare time so I started breaking down the handlebar assembly and gauges. There’s so much going on up there with the cables and wires. Ultimately i’d like to clean that area up a bit and run the wiring internally. That’s something I try to do on all my bikes. It just looks a lot cleaner. I’m not sure if I can make that happen here. I’ll definitely be looking closer at that as I disassemble the front end.
But the big win for tonight is how well the chrome bezels on the gauges cleaned up. I just hit it with 0000 steel wool and some lubricant. Amazingly no major pitting was left behind. I am constantly amazed at how well old chrome holds up compared to todays stuff. A good clean after and a touch of Blue Magic polish and Bob’s your uncle!
But the big win for tonight is how well the chrome bezels on the gauges cleaned up. I just hit it with 0000 steel wool and some lubricant. Amazingly no major pitting was left behind. I am constantly amazed at how well old chrome holds up compared to todays stuff. A good clean after and a touch of Blue Magic polish and Bob’s your uncle!
WOW those turned out nice!!!!
Very impressive! Those gauges look very usable! 
You need to be careful using steel wool. I would only use it on chrome pieces and not aluminum where the steel could imbed in the metal. Normally I wouldn’t have used steel wool, but this corrosion was pretty significant and I felt I had nothing to lose. It did leave some scratches, but from 10’ you don’t notice.
Thanks for the warning. I have corrosion on the left and right side alloy engine cases that I need to attend to (and alloy rims). I preliminary cleaned the right side case with Solvol Autosol but it isn't quite aggressive enough for a first clean. I am thinking a plastic pan scourer plus the Solvol would be better for the first clean up. Then a second clean up with a cloth plus Solvol. I am not looking for a highly polished case, just nice and clean.
For the chrome, what lubricant is recommended on the fine steel wool? WD40 or light machine oil or something else? I will try it first on an inconspicuous area to see how it goes.
Your engine covers and rims may still have the factory clear coat on them. If so that needs to come off first before you can polish them up. The general consensus around here is to use paint stripper to get the clear coat off. After that I use scotch brite pads and wet sand paper to get to the desired finish before polishing. Many others have different approach here. It just depends on what tools and supplies you have available to you. For the chrome I just use some sort of penetrating fluid to provide a little lubrication and will help prevent scratching.
Thanks. The old clear coat on the alloy is very thin and has gone completely in places. I don't think it's going to take much to remove what's left. Hence I'm thinking a pan scourer plus Solvol Autosol might just be enough. A fine Scotchbrite pad might be a good idea too.
I have heard it said that rubbing aluminium foil soaked in Coke/Pepsi is good on chrome. I have no idea if that's true or not.
Just use plain water. The small amount of phosphoric acid in the soft drink will be little to no advantage.
If there’s a lot of rust I apply a phosphoric acid product on with a brush. You can use Kleen Strip, drain cleaner, Milk Stone Remover, etc. Work your wad of aluminum foil afterwards. Or an aluminum or brass brush.
For just a little rust, I like Quick-Glo. Works great!
Wow those came out so well!
Started working on the front end today with the goal of replacing the fork tubes. Slowly and methodically bagging and tagging everything. The whole time trying to decide how much to clean up. Some of the chrome pieces are too far gone to look nice, so deciding to clean best I can and install or paint them. I am leaning to just cleaning best I can and let it be a survivor. I think I will also move the turn signals to the headlight bucket too.
I ordered new tubes from Niche Cycle and they look great. The old tubes measured to be 6” over stock. But now I need to replace the spacer in the forks. The ones I pulled out measured 9 1/2”. Does anyone know the length of the stock should be?
I ordered new tubes from Niche Cycle and they look great. The old tubes measured to be 6” over stock. But now I need to replace the spacer in the forks. The ones I pulled out measured 9 1/2”. Does anyone know the length of the stock should be?
