CDNTX650
XS650 Guru
Does anyone have any pics of their standard model Latches for the side covers...bought new ones...cant remember how they go together etc.
-
Enjoy XS650.com? Consider making a donation to help support the site.
XS650.com receives a small share of sales from some links on this page, but direct donations have a much greater impact on keeping this site going.
jayel
#9 Guru 74 TX650A
Royboy
many roads, little time
- Messages
- 1,079
- Reaction score
- 198
- Points
- 63
Attachments
fiveohindc
'77 XS650
The rubber part inside the hole on the cover--- how in the heck am I supposed to squeeze that in? It feels impossible (I got it from mikes). And does the pin in the end of the rod come out for assembly?
This is one of those moments I feel incredibly dumb!
This is one of those moments I feel incredibly dumb!
Just reworked one of mine yesterday. See if there's a metal sleeve in the rubber bushing and if so remove that to be able to bend the bushing to fit in the hole, and then reset the sleeve. The pin should be removed to assemble. Good luck, I had to resort to some interesting tool combos and wished I had a second pair of hands to accomplish the seemingly impossible. Watch you don't lose the pin in the process of trying to get it out or putting it back in. Persistence pays........
CDNTX650
XS650 Guru
i forgot about this post. thanks all.
Put some WD40 or similar on the rubber, and helps if you have strong thumbs. The pin is a split pin, and it comes out by using some pliers.
fiveohindc
'77 XS650
Apparently yesterday (BEFORE i posted my Q to the thread) I had too many beers and thought it would be easier if I cut the rubber grommet in half.
The moral of the story: I drink too much. Har har. Now I've got to find JUST the rubber ... I wonder if Mikes sells it solo. Or, maybe I can patch it together.
My gender has thus far never slowed me down in this bike building adventure, but I fear my thumbs may be too weak. Time to bring in the big guns: dad's visiting next week.
The moral of the story: I drink too much. Har har. Now I've got to find JUST the rubber ... I wonder if Mikes sells it solo. Or, maybe I can patch it together.
My gender has thus far never slowed me down in this bike building adventure, but I fear my thumbs may be too weak. Time to bring in the big guns: dad's visiting next week.
Sil glide is your friend, a tube from NAPA has a lot of uses. anything rubber you need to assemble, protect or remove goes easier with lube.
Did Mike's ever get those knobs corrected? The last set I bought the pin wasn't aligned with the knob as it should be. (royboys pic is correct) When you would go to put the side cover on the knob would be at a 45 degree angle instead of horizontal. Typical Mike's quality stuff!
fiveohindc
'77 XS650
Honestly, I didn't get that far. I got the rubbers in, pin out and then damn near broke my thumbs compressing the spring far enough to reset the pin. I must've done something wrong -- although wtf that is I can't imagine-- because it's like the rod is too short or the spring too heavy because I can't get it to latch correctly.
I'm pretty dumb but I doubt I'm that dumb. For now cable ties will do. It annoyed the crap out me.
I'm pretty dumb but I doubt I'm that dumb. For now cable ties will do. It annoyed the crap out me.
No, you're not dumb. With Mikesxs parts, you have to remember that they sell replica parts not exact copies of OEM parts. I have found this to be true of many of their parts. Some of their parts are so bad they are un-useable, and others need to be modified.
The springs for the latch are much too long, as you have found out, making them impossible to use as is. For my bike, I kept cutting away pieces of the spring coil until I could make them work. As I remember, I think the finished length is about half of the length supplied. Yes, it can be frustrating. I used a grinding stone to cut away pieces of each spring. When you get the correct length they work quite well.
Parts from Mikesxs are relatively cheap for a reason..................they aren't made to a high standard.
Let us know how you make out.
Unless mike's changed something since I purchased my latch kits, the springs supplied worked fine. They were the same length as the stockers. Assemble everything except the roll pin, turn the cover upside down and put something under the knob, then push down on the side cover to compress the spring and insert the roll pin.
Interesting...................seems that Mikesxs has more than one supplier. One has the correct spring size and one does not
Here's a picture of the latch assembly sold by Mikesxs. You can see there are about 4 coils. I just had a look at the ones on my bike, which I had to cut down. Mine have only 2 coils now and they work just fine.
The pics that Royboy posted also show only 2 coils.
Grinder, how long ago did you purchase your parts. I purchased mine within the last year. Perhaps at one time Mikesxs was supplying the correct length spring, and now what they supply is too long.
The pics that Royboy posted also show only 2 coils.
Grinder, how long ago did you purchase your parts. I purchased mine within the last year. Perhaps at one time Mikesxs was supplying the correct length spring, and now what they supply is too long.
Attachments
fiveohindc
'77 XS650
I dont have a pic handy, but mine was WAY too long. It had almost no play in it once assembled. I'm not the strongest 120 lb. gal in the neighborhood, but I am a cop so I'm pretty sure my trigger finger still has some pull left. AND NO DICE on that thing.
Thanks, retiredgent, I'll be cutting it down later today.
When I got my right hand controls from Mikes, they were screwed up too. I don't mind fiddling with them (when the price is cheap) but for $15 a pop on those knobs which require little to no engineering and are essentially a few bits of metal and rubber, you really would like to think they are capable of not screwing them up. Oy.
Thanks, retiredgent, I'll be cutting it down later today.
When I got my right hand controls from Mikes, they were screwed up too. I don't mind fiddling with them (when the price is cheap) but for $15 a pop on those knobs which require little to no engineering and are essentially a few bits of metal and rubber, you really would like to think they are capable of not screwing them up. Oy.
Here is a pic of an original spring (right) and the one supplied from Mike's.This was purchased more than a year ago. Same size and stiffness. The problem I had was the knob wasn't aligned with the hole in the shaft for the roll pin. RG, the pic in your post shows this. The knob should be horizontal when in the latched position on the bike.
Attachments
I used a small grinding stone on a portable drill to cut the spring coils. I did'nt know how short to cut them, so I just cut a small section at a time, assembled and test fitted it. It got a bit tedious after 5 or 6 times, but once I figured out the first one, I just cut the second one the same length.
I've been down in DC a few times................it sure is a busy place. Actually I remember getting lost in downtown Washington. I was passing through on a trip to Atlantic City in 1977. I was riding my new 1976 Yamaha XS500C. I found a lot of hot air in Washington, maybe something to do with all those politicians
I can't see how those long springs could possibly work. Perhaps your covers or bike mountings are different?? On my bike I had to cut them down to about half that length.
Here are some pics of my latch spring. After cutting the spring down, it measures 10 mm in length. I'm not saying your spring will be identical, but it should end up close to that size.
Edit: Grinder has pointed out that I have mine assembled wrong. If the spring is installed into the plastic knob first, the spring is the correct length.
Edit: Grinder has pointed out that I have mine assembled wrong. If the spring is installed into the plastic knob first, the spring is the correct length.
Attachments
Last edited:
