My '77 had 2 different hinges...one with an extention on it to rest against the frame. Jim, I see you baby Rd uses similar hinges...
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The Free "B", a 1971 resto redux
- Thread starter DogBunny
- Start date
Excellent point.
Jim, if you've never owned a 74-79 standard, maybe you aren't familiar with this? This was by far Yamaha's best answer for side-hinge XS650 seats, and was used on lots of other models too.
After opening the seat a little past 90 degrees (where gravity will keep it open), the tab on the hinge on the left contacts the frame, preventing further opening. Simple one-hand operation, nothing to manipulate, you just open the seat and close the seat.
You just need to weld a tab to one of your CS5 hinges.
The only downside is that over time there will be paint loss due to metal-to-metal contact. But, in a very hard to see area. Could be mitigated with a little piece of electrical tape that gets periodically replaced.
Looking at the XS1B, I think that it is very possible that a similar stopper could be welded onto the forward seat hinge of a 70-73.
Edit: It doesn't contact the frame, it contacts the underside of the frame half of the two-piece hinge. That little hinge stalk sticking away from the frame in your CS5 frame picture. So, as said, the paint loss will be extremely hard to see.
This bike continues to resist me at every turn. It's beginning to get a bit discouraging.
Was doing a final engine cleaning, when I noticed that one of the right-side oil filter cover bolts didn't look right.
Because it was a 1/4-20.
Worse still, it was too long. The oil cover bolt holes are supposed to be blind. Whoever put the 1/4-20 bolt in drilled the hole all the way through the case cover.
The other cover bolt hole had already been Helicoiled. The Helicoil seems fine, so I don't know why they wrapped that M6 bolt in Teflon tape.
By the way, it seems that the big pressure release bolt that holds the filter in is narrower on early engines (top bolt, above). Never seen that before, but it's like that on the parts diagrams. In fact, they never changed the part number when they switched to the thicker filter bolt, nor did they change the parts diagram, so no idea when that change happened.
So, next up is removing the right-side case cover, which I am dreading, because no telling what else will be screwed up, or how many of the case bolts will need Helicoils.
Was doing a final engine cleaning, when I noticed that one of the right-side oil filter cover bolts didn't look right.
Because it was a 1/4-20.
Worse still, it was too long. The oil cover bolt holes are supposed to be blind. Whoever put the 1/4-20 bolt in drilled the hole all the way through the case cover.
The other cover bolt hole had already been Helicoiled. The Helicoil seems fine, so I don't know why they wrapped that M6 bolt in Teflon tape.
By the way, it seems that the big pressure release bolt that holds the filter in is narrower on early engines (top bolt, above). Never seen that before, but it's like that on the parts diagrams. In fact, they never changed the part number when they switched to the thicker filter bolt, nor did they change the parts diagram, so no idea when that change happened.
So, next up is removing the right-side case cover, which I am dreading, because no telling what else will be screwed up, or how many of the case bolts will need Helicoils.
PO: Hamhanded the Magnificent! 
This is beginning to get slightly hilarious.
Just a teaser, more nonsense to come.
At least he didn't use glue on the gasket.
Got a part left over? Looks like this is the right size shaft. Have you looked behind the clutch basket yet?
Miraculously. Gasket appears to be in perfectly good, reusable condition.At least he didn't use glue on the gasket.
That'll come next. At the very least, the sequence of the friction plates is wrong, as shown in my previous posting's pic.
It's an early 70-73 clutch as evidenced by no alignment hole in the pressure plate. So, it needs to come off anyway, so that I can put a newer year clutch on it that will accept Alto plates. I think (hope) I still have one set of Alto plates from Gary left.
In preparation of removing the right-side case cover I drained the oil. One of the oil plugs was too buggered to accept my 27mm socket -- it kept camming off when I applied pressure. Needless to say it was NOT the plug on the sump plate -- removing the plate, and then working on the stuck bolt would have been too simple.
I tried grabbing the bolt with my Rigid pipe wrench -- not worried about ruining the already ruined bolt, as I have spares. But the pipe wrench kept slipping off too.
Finally decided to lay the bike down so I could really see what was happening, before I made the situation worse.
The pipe wrench had softened the bolt faces up enough so that I was able to hammer a 1-1/6" socket on the bolt. A 1-1/16" socket is approximately half a millimeter smaller than a 27mm socket. It fits so well, that from now on, it's what I am going to use instead of my 27mm socket. We have just three applications for it -- drain plugs, rear axle nut, and (SOMETIMES) the clutch hub nut.
With socket affixed, and with lots of extra pressure from a cheater pipe, was able to get the plug to slowly turn. Turned out, it was covered in yellow thread sealant, probably Loctite 577, which is fairly stout -- you can see it in the above pic. There was no copper sealing washer, just the sealant.
Was expecting to find an old style sump strainer like Jim found in the XS1B engine he's rebuilding. But no, found the one above. Note the hole in (both) magnets. I think that's slightly unusual.
The old oil was probably the worst-looking that I've ever seen.
These arrived from Ali Express today. The new spec on valve cover o-rings, 62 X 68 X 3mm. These ARE PERFECT, huge improvement over the previous fat o-rings. Thanks Gary. Had to buy 50 of them, that was the only quantity that made sense cost-wise.
I also stocked up on some M6 thread repair inserts in the length I use the most. Amazingly, I didn't need to use any on the sump plate holes, or either of the case cover's holes.
Here's what I bought:
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805337582676.html
They are so cheap that they are practically free. I found the length measurement system to be a little weird. Each size is offered in lengths of 1D, 1.5D, 2D, 2.5D, and 3D, where D = the diameter of the insert.
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That gave me a chuckle. "D" is a very common form of measurement in the airplane world.
Another teaser of fun to come. From the clutch.
But first, let's back up to the kicker.
Like you, I thought that was the clutch thrust bearing.
But no, the very early kicker had a thrust bearing, part # 9 in the diagram. Never seen that before. Supposedly it was only on the 1970 XS1.
The clutch thrust bearing compared to the kicker thrust bearing.
What I didn't notice earlier is that the tang of the kick start gear spring is not in it's recess -- red arrows. That definitely did not happen when I removed the case cover. Amazingly, the kick start worked well enough with the spring in this position for me to make compression tests.
I had that early ‘70 parts bike and when I pulled it apart I don’t remember seeing that bearing. BTW I do have some of the early internal parts still around if you need something.
Thank you!
Okay, back to that oil filter cover bolt hole that a previous owner had jammed a 1/4-20 bolt into. This is what the ruined bolt hole looked like from the other side. That splayed-out piece was hanging on by a thread...
... and broke free while I was cleaning.
Here's what that hole looked like from the front. Not much there.
The broken piece back in place.
In case you haven't looked at a clutch cover lately, the circle is what the broken-out bolt hole is supposed to look like.
Surfaces roughened. I drilled a bunch of shallow, tiny holes to provide even more tooth.
JB-Weld. I let it begin to set, and then I embedded a piece of aluminum window screen into it. Repeated the process -- applied more fresh JB-Weld, covering the screen, let it begin to set, embedded another piece of window screen, and finished off with a final coat of fresh JB-Weld.
Who knows if all of that drilling and reinforcing was really necessary. My fear was of the scab popping off during later drilling and tapping. Which went just fine, and I finished with a successful Helicoil repair.
I replaced the early 6mm rotor oil pump with a later 8mm rotor oil pump.
Along the way, I removed the tach gear drive shaft adapter, above. Note the smushed end on the stopper bolt I found (left) compared to a good stopper bolt (right). A previous owner had not bothered to align the bolt with the hole in the adapter. I mean, how sloppy do you have to be to not pick up on the adapter hole being there, and what it's for? I'm surprised he didn't strip the threads like he did everywhere else when he cranked down on that bolt.
Being curious, I did a little research on tach gear drive shafts. Yamaha changed the assembly from the early top version to the later bottom version sometime in 1971. Shown are factory replacement kits. The oil seal is held in by the separate threaded adapter on the later style. On the early style, it is held in by a bushing that will be ruined and will need replacing when you remove the old seal. Hence, the change, which makes sense. What doesn't make sense is why not include that unobtainable bushing that you will definitely need, in the early kit? And why not include the tiny adapter outside o-ring, the the shaft end shim, and the stopper bolt and copper sealing washer in both kits? How much cost could those little things possibly add? And then you'd have everything needed to replace the drive shaft assembly.
So, anyways, I replaced the early shaft assembly with a later one, and replaced the oil seal. I think that was only the second time I ever replaced that seal. Getting the old seal out took about 30 minutes, but I finally figured out a technique, and could do it again in 5 minutes. Except that I will forget the technique by the next time I do it.
Since the oil pump I replaced was the early 6mm rotor style, I thought it would be prudent to check the orifice size on the top-end oil feed tube bottom union. I expected to find the early large orifice (left), but no, I found the later small orifice (right), so that was a waste of time. At least I got to remove some Teflon tape from the union threads -- I'm finding Teflon tape all over the place on this bike. Note that the small orifice hole is off-center. I thought that was kind of weird and worthy of a picture.
And there you have it, everything repaired and upgraded, and the clutch cover ready for installation.
One last thing. This is what happens when you live in Texas, and it's 100 degrees, and you leave your polishing cakes in the sun. I was able to reclaim these after they re-solidified in the shade.
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I've painted the recessed clutch cover lettering many times, but I finally figured out the right way.
Several years ago, I bought for cheap a big syringe assortment, probably on Ali Express. Lots of different capacities. And I bought a bunch of 14 and 18 Gauge blunt needles.
The paint I used was Rust-Oleum Stops Rust Gloss Sunrise Red Interior/Exterior Oil-based Industrial Enamel Paint ( 1-quart ), which was really cheap at Lowe's, I guess because it must currently be a clearance item. I used my smallest size syringe with an 18G needle. The paint seemed maybe a little thick, but I didn't thin it, and it turned out to be perfect. This was crazy easy and fast compared to using a brush. Next time I'll make a video to prove it.
My first attempt, using brake caliper touch up paint in a little 2 ounce bottle, and a brush. This stuff was pretty thick, and I had to lay down a thick coat to get it to self-level. It looked beautiful for a few hours, and then it orange-peeled because the coat was too thick.
I tried to thin it. Effing Google AI told me to thin it with Xylene, big mistake. It should have been thinned with water. In all fairness, Google AI has become pretty amazing and helpful. But, it hallucinated on this one.
The caliper paint, once cured through engine heat cycles, would have been bullet-proof. We shall have to see how the Rust-Oleum holds up.
With my bottle of caliper paint ruined, I tried to overcoat the "Y" in the above picture with this:
I sprayed it in the little plastic cup so that I could then brush it on. It was way too thin, and you can't really let it thicken because it will skin over and become a mess. But, thin though it was, I tried it anyways. It ate through my plastic cup. That was interesting. I use those cups for all kinds of solvents and resins, never had an issue. It also melted the Red caliper paint in the letter "Y," which is why it's missing in that picture. Uncured, it was pretty easy to remove the remaining caliper paint prior to using the Rust-Oleum.
@Signal is also a fan of syringes. He posted some great uses for them here:
https://www.xs650.com/threads/tips-and-tricks.69012/page-4#post-919668
They are useful with or without needles, and are an indispensable shop tool that everyone should have. Not just for adding fluids, but also for sucking up fluid, like old brake fluid out of a master cylinder prior to doing a brake line flush. Also great for precision application of glue, resin, and grease.
Sorry, had to laugh at that. Did the same to the cup when I was lettering the fork badge on my SG... 'bout 8 yrs ago...
Nice!
Bottom of an aluminum pop can makes a great place for mixing glue or small amounts of paint, I tend to semi crush twist the can so it's short, more stable. But my go to for spraying rattle can to use with a brush is a cut open quart oil bottle, I've seen nothing short of fire that will touch that plastic.
Bottom of an aluminum pop can makes a great place for mixing glue or small amounts of paint, I tend to semi crush twist the can so it's short, more stable. But my go to for spraying rattle can to use with a brush is a cut open quart oil bottle, I've seen nothing short of fire that will touch that plastic.
I bought an assorted pack of the Ziploc containers. I use the different sizes for all sorts of things and the are pretty chemical resistant. I like having a lid if something needs to be put aside while it soaks or it will be a minute before I get back to it.
They're probably made of LDPE which is a pretty resistant grade of plastic despite being cheap.
Wrapping up some engine carnage odds and ends. I found the cap piece for the busted out oil filter cover bolt hole. Unfortunately, I already made the repair, or I would have used it.
Remember this pic?
I found one of the pieces trapped behind the clutch spacer. It's a little hard to make out in this pic...
... here it is with the clutch spacer removed. The rest of the broken washer was in the sump area. The incorrect placement of that spacer made absolutely no intuitive sense.
I found a fourth and final small piece. Now, I just need to weld it up! Except, I don't weld, so I guess I'll be using JB-Weld.
This is that other fragment that I found.
I closely looked at a spare case to try to figure out where it came from.
This is my best guess, but that's all it is, a guess. I cannot conceive of any logical scenario where it breaks off and ends up in the sump. However, its specific location in the sump area supports this theory. Very mysterious, and more than a little troubling.
Good grief. I think the previous owner of that motorcycle is probably the only surviving neanderthal on the planet.
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