This project has officially hit the what the hell was I thinking stage:
Unfortunately, the XS front wheel will not work with the 2nd gen forks. 2nd gen axle is too thin for the wheel, and the XS 750 Special discs are too small. The XS650/Virago 1st gen discs are a bit too big, and I don't have access to a lathe to bring them down to size. If there is anything I hate more than the swirly original wheels, it's spokes, although these are tubeless spoked wheels. I will install this one for now and see if I can score a proper mag. I could put both spokes on I guess, but the rear would be offset to the right by I think about an inch. I also don't want a 15" rear wheel. Some of the XJ guys like spoked wheel for their bikes, so maybe I can sell these on after a while.
Everything on this 1100 got the murdered out treatment though, so I have been scraping paint for hours. Luckily, the guy wasn't much of a painter (or mechanic), and painted directly over the chromed covers, so it's coming off pretty easily.
I had a spare set of All Balls steering head bearings, so I switched out the old ones. The 2nd gen stem is not identical to the old one, and for awhile I though the bottom triple was binding on the frame, but after tightening up the whole assembly until the forks were stiff, I found I could still fit a .0015" feeler gauge in there. That's some amazing clearance. The 2nd gen triples do not have the proper bosses to mount up the headlight and fusebox, so I was toying with the idea of having the original triples reamed out to take the 38mm stanchions. There's plenty of meat on the old triples. Probably easier to mount up some adapter bracketry.
Like sausage, it's better to not see how project bikes are made. I am trying to keep subassemblies together as much as possible, hence the hanging light and dash/fusebox combo. I think I'll snag a pressure washer from work and see if I can blast off the remining paint from the engine covers.
I was trying to mount the original footpegs with the new engine since they are a few inches further aft. The left one and gearshift lever can be made to fit by removing the center bulging cover and replacing it with some flat plate. Unfortunately, the right side is not so easy. I could pull the cover, install the 750 clutch and put the original 750 cover on, but it it nowhere near as shiny as the 1100 case, and would look out of place from one side to the other. I also don't want to tempt the clutch slip demons.
Ebay seat cover turned out pretty good. It was harder to install thank you think. I originally took it to an upholsterer to have a pro do it since I couldn't source a stapler or the fine wire staples, but he wanted $150 to do it! Eff that. I sucked it up and did it with a T50 and some 1/4" staples. They worked awful, so a lot of hammering was required to get a decent result. Not a fun evening.
The murdered one has just about given it's all. I'm hoping the center stand will swap, since the 1st gen's is quite rusty. The 2nd gen sidestand had to be swapped in to get everything to fit right with the rounder cases. Still a few niggling issues to take care of with the rear engine mount bolt. The 1100 one is way too long. We'll get there.
One thing's for sure, I have to take a break and round up all the tools and bits and bobs strewn all over the place. I get so single minded taking stuff apart, when I stop to look around I realize 3/4 of my tool box is strewn throughout the garage and miscellaneous parts are everywhere!