What have you done to your XS today?

[lakeview]

Piecin' Together an Ignition
My survivor '75 is a lot closer to the finish line than the '78SE, so here goes. I have the parts I took out of it last spring, but I canvassed assorted boxes of bits and got them all in one pIle.
Tomorrow the task is to assemble and install.

Tomorrow's Task
And probaby many tomorrows thereafter.
But I have factory paint tins that are 10 footers to keep me inspired to finish it.

 

[jetmechmarty]

New carburetor boots. Also removed jets 42.5 & 135 and went to 45 & 137.5 due to the fact there was no tan color on my plugs.

 

[5twins]

With today's gas, you may not get tan plug colors, you may be dealing with shades of gray. If you don't have pod filters and a freer flowing exhaust, the 137.5 mains may be a bit much. To get more color on the plugs, you might try just reducing the air jets a couple sizes, sticking with the stock 42.5 pilots. You could also try gggGary's needle shim mod .....

 

[jetmechmarty]

With today's gas, you may not get tan plug colors, you may be dealing with shades of gray. If you don't have pod filters and a freer flowing exhaust, the 137.5 mains may be a bit much. To get more color on the plugs, you might try just reducing the air jets a couple sizes, sticking with the stock 42.5 pilots. You could also try gggGary's needle shim mod .....

View attachment 207678

Thanks for weighing in on this. I don’t know if it matters, but I’ve run nothing but E0 since coming to Mississippi. I failed to mention, when I rebuilt the top end I replaced the exhaust. Pipe near the head is slightly blue. I also want to knock the baffle discs out out the mufflers. I did it to the original exhaust and it did not add much noise. Once this thing is all fixed up again I’ll ride and pull the plugs. If they’re black, I will follow your recommendation. Thanks again!

A big box of parts is expected from Dime City tomorrow.

 

[5twins]

There's a simple test you can run for the main jet size. In 2nd or 3rd gear, at around 3500 rpms, roll the throttle open fully and accelerate up to 5.5 to 6K rpms. What you're testing here is the midrange to main circuit transition area, say about 4.5 to 5K rpms. If you get too big on the mains, they will cause break-up and stumbling in this transition area under heavy throttle applications.

 

[MaxPete]

Avon Road Riders on my ‘76. nice but expensive. Bought “inexpensive” rubber for the ‘79… Kenda K567’s. Just getting them mounted. No seat time yet so I can’t comment honestly on the performance.

I have been using Michelin Pilot Activ (NOTE: no "e" in Activ) on all of my bikes. I get them by mail order in Canada from FortNine and they always seem to have the correct sizes of tires and tubes.

Even the BMW R100RS uses the same size 3.50-19 front and 4.00-18 rear tires as the XS650s - and they wear and work very nicely IMO.

 

[jetmechmarty]

I’ve tried a lot of tires. I did a lot of riding with my cousin. He noted some tires that increased my cornering speed. I have another friend who was a tire engineer. He told me one mold usually makes three tire sizes. I won’t mention brands, but those tires that run smaller turn in faster. You might be surprised the size difference between brands in a 100/90-19.

 

[Oldfartaussie]

Set the tappets to 6thou & 3thou and triple checked them and the boyer timing. Hard to start, idles slowly ,any throttle and it constantly spits/ backfires out the left carb ??. I triple checked the cam timing before fitting the rocker cover, all valves removed and new stem seals installed, new pistons and rings as well as all new crankshaft bearings and rods. Right cylinder runs ok. So is it carb or intake valve?. I could swap the carbs from left to right and see if that changes anything?

I synchronised the carbs after switching left to right then started it up, running rough so I checked the timing with the timing light and it was firing close to tdc mark. I loosened the nut on right side where the govener unit used to be and rotated the magnetic pick ups on the left side where the points used to be until it was firing close to the idle mark. It now runs ok, had a short 10 minute ride with no problems. When I first started it there was a lot of white smoke out of the exhausts probably from all the oil I coated everything in on assembly. When reving the engine above 3000 rpm to check the timing there is no light at all from the timing light?.may have to upgrade to a better one. Will re-torque the head in a week or so.

 

[Jim]

When reving the engine above 3000 rpm to check the timing there is no light at all from the timing light?

Try rotating the timing light clamp (sensor) 180° so it's polarity is reversed on the HT lead. Could also hook it to the other cylinder HT lead.

 

[bosco659]

I synchronised the carbs after switching left to right then started it up, running rough so I checked the timing with the timing light and it was firing close to tdc mark. I loosened the nut on right side where the govener unit used to be and rotated the magnetic pick ups on the left side where the points used to be until it was firing close to the idle mark. It now runs ok, had a short 10 minute ride with no problems. When I first started it there was a lot of white smoke out of the exhausts probably from all the oil I coated everything in on assembly. When reving the engine above 3000 rpm to check the timing there is no light at all from the timing light?.may have to upgrade to a better one. Will re-torque the head in a week or so.

I found that too with my timing light, sometimes I would lose the light. I’ll try flipping the clamp 180 degrees. Is there a reason this makes a difference or it just helps sometimes?

 

[Jim]

The energy down the HT lead has a polarity. Some timing lights... for whatever reason, will pick up a certain polarity better than the opposite one. My timing light... an ancient SunPro has a distinct preference. If it doesn't flash, I just reverse the clamp without even thinking about it really. I can't speak to the newer ones, but mine is very polarity sensitive.

 

[bosco659]

The energy down the HT lead has a polarity. Some timing lights... for whatever reason, will pick up a certain polarity better than the opposite one. My timing light... an ancient SunPro has a distinct preference. If it doesn't flash, I just reverse the clamp without even thinking about it really. I can't speak to the newer ones, but mine is very polarity sensitive.

Thanks for the tip. I just bought this light last summer (new old stock) and thought I had a good one at last. When I checked the timing on the ‘79, the RHS worked ok, then checked the LHS - ok too. Went back to the RHS and no light. Removed the clamp and reinstalled several times but never did the flip. Will try this weekend. Thought I was buying a Sun light but turned out to be a Chinese Sun light. Lol.

 

[gggGary]

With today's gas, you may not get tan plug colors, you may be dealing with shades of gray. If you don't have pod filters and a freer flowing exhaust, the 137.5 mains may be a bit much. To get more color on the plugs, you might try just reducing the air jets a couple sizes, sticking with the stock 42.5 pilots. You could also try gggGary's needle shim mod .....

View attachment 207678

But ONLY one washer, two will bind the needle to the cover plate and really mess with your head figgering out why it's acting so weird (bet you can't guess how I happen to know this ;^)

 

[Oldfartaussie]

Try rotating the timing light clamp (sensor) 180° so it's polarity is reversed on the HT lead. Could also hook it to the other cylinder HT lead.

Thanks Jim, I will try rotating the light clamp. When I connect it to the left cylinder I get no light at idle and I didn't think to try it with the revs up. Will have to try that. Wouldn't mind not spending any money on it for a day or two..*

 

[Kevin Werner]

A friend has this bike. It has some abuse from a home invasion. While he can restore a wooden boat plank by plank he wanted to find a qualified mech to replace starter (no kick start). We loaded it on a trailer today and got it to a shop that will replace the starter motor.
I had not trailered a bike before unless 40 years ago counts.

 

[Oldfartaussie]

Went for 300 kilometres ride, mainly country back roads with 80 klmhr speed limits with the wife following on her 350 meteor learning to ride so she can sit for her licence test in a few months. The xs ran well since the rebuild and I would recommend the 5th gear upgrade to anyone that intends splitting the cases as it just purred along on the highway on the ride back home. Got to check the timing as it is a touch hard to start and the clutch doesn't feel right side replacing the cush springs and it has a whirring noise happening.

 

[Oldfartaussie]

Try rotating the timing light clamp (sensor) 180° so it's polarity is reversed on the HT lead. Could also hook it to the other cylinder HT lead.

I checked the timing and at idle it was firing late, close to tdc again so I rotated the pick up plate clockwise and got the timing light showing it firing close to the idle mark. That's with the timing light clamped to the right plug lead, when clamped to the left lead there is no light at any revs and no light on the right side when above idle. I tried rotating the clamp on the lead and there is no change and I still need to re-torque the head as it's almost 500 klms since rebuild. What's a good brand/ type of timing light i should look for.

 

[Jim]

What's a good brand/ type of timing light i should look for.

An old Sun T-light would would be great if you could find one. Other than that.... dunno. Ain't bought one in 40yrs.

 

[Adamc]

Opened a can of worms on The Welsh Flat Tracker.
The rear wheel hub and axle swap is more work than I imagined.
But Halfmile and 5T have helped look for solutions.
Check out my build thread for more.

 

[bosco659]

Thanks for the tip. I just bought this light last summer (new old stock) and thought I had a good one at last. When I checked the timing on the ‘79, the RHS worked ok, then checked the LHS - ok too. Went back to the RHS and no light. Removed the clamp and reinstalled several times but never did the flip. Will try this weekend. Thought I was buying a Sun light but turned out to be a Chinese Sun light. Lol.

Timing light worked great today, but didnt need to turn the clamp 180 degrees. Go figure????