What have you done to your XS today?

[Miss Alaynious]

Hi Miss A
I'll have a look at the receipts I have and the spear brass and let you know, I believe mine are TM36, I've had the bike running, idles great since I baffled the exhaust but is breaking up on revs over3 grand, think I may have to raise the needle to richen the mix, still seating new rings, pistons and bore and only have 12km on the dial so far, have allergies to cold riding these days so test rides are few and far between until days of 19c+ prevail.

Hi Miss A
I'll have a look at the receipts I have and the spear brass and let you know, I believe mine are TM36, I've had the bike running, idles great since I baffled the exhaust but is breaking up on revs over3 grand, think I may have to raise the needle to richen the mix, still seating new rings, pistons and bore and only have 12km on the dial so far, have allergies to cold riding these days so test rides are few and far between until days of 19c+ prevail.

 

[Miss Alaynious]

Hi Lucky Phil
Thanks for any help you may provide!

Looks like you all from Oz have it going on when it comes to motorcycles.
Saw MikuniOz Dual XS650 TM Conversion, looks bitchn'.
Mikuni's TM Series flat slide carburetors provide significant performance improvements over older round slide carburetors (VM's)
so that's what I want to start working with.
Cut my '83 650 in half added a KR style hard-tail rear frame (1967-1978 H-D). No carpet, hardwood...lol. Going to call her "Poor Girl" thanks to 5twins.

Still looking for a jetting starting point; TM 34mm.

 

[Adamc]

Hi Lucky Phil
Thanks for any help you may provide!

Looks like you all from Oz have it going on when it comes to motorcycles.
Saw MikuniOz Dual XS650 TM Conversion, looks bitchn'.
Mikuni's TM Series flat slide carburetors provide significant performance improvements over older round slide carburetors (VM's)
so that's what I want to start working with.
Cut my '83 650 in half added a KR style hard-tail rear frame (1967-1978 H-D). No carpet, hardwood...lol. Going to call her "Poor Girl" thanks to 5twins.

Still looking for a jetting starting point; TM 34mm.

You seem to have a real short wheelbase. Looking really cool.

 

[Adamc]

THESE BAD BOYS ARRIVED TODAY:
2 WIN Brand; custom made to the XS650, Solo /Pillion? And accounting for my Weight and riding style.
Fully adjustable. Quality and finish is excellent. Price was competitive @ £430.00 Considering quality and features etc.
View attachment 244756

They are to replace the SOLID No Movement ones ejector seat ones I have currently installed below:
View attachment 244757 View attachment 244758

Installation was straight forward and took all of 20 minutes:
View attachment 244759 View attachment 244760

Truth is told; I think I prefer the chrome ones on the bike aesthetically. In hindsight maybe should have gone with the HAGONS.
View attachment 244761
Test ride to follow once I sort the Ignition / Fuelling issues. And side by side shot of both will be loaded.
Let me know what you think when done.
Ads.

NEW SHOCK REVELATION

Some of you may recall I swapped out some old chrome shocks that were not in the least compliant; and downright dangerous for any riding beyond gentle. The new shocks I bought after some research are the 2-WIN brand. Specifically built for the XS650 and taking into account my weight and riding style; which is spirited if not outright headbanging!

OLD SHOCKS Which had no spring movement.

NEW 2-WIN SHOCKS Now installed

The quality of the units is first class. The installation has transformed the handling and comfort of the bike.
The rear wheel now properly follows the road regardless of pot holes, over-banding and tramlines.
Even under acceleration through a bend the bike tracks as you would expect; unlike the old shocks.
The shocks are about 10mm longer than the old ones; slightly quickening the steering.
All this on standard out of the box settings; and I have full adjust-ability to alter settings for possible track / off road use.

The only downside is that it has shown the Ducati front forks will need servicing and better set up.
The front end is now the weak point of the suspension set up.

If you are in the market for excellent shocks at a 'reasonable' price of around £430.00; I highly recommend them.
Quick turnaround from Bike Revival: https://motorcycleshockabsorbers.co.uk/exp.html
They also give good advice and follow up.

Ads.
ACBUILD

 

[Adamc]

Cheers Jim
I went ahead and bought a pair of these from Yambits.co.uk
View attachment 245053
View attachment 245054
Should be here by the weekend; hopeful I get a ride.
Old ones into the spares pile.

I tried curzinimage, but they wouldn't accept my payment for some reason.
Anyhow Yambits should be faster.
Ads.

NEW RUBBER DIDN'T ERASE THE ISSUE!

Due to poor running I investigated the carb slide diaphragms suggested by @Jim and @jpdevol.
The 'Slow Slide Drop' test showed a problem with the left slide; It didn't drop slowly.
Removed the carb set, disassembled and cleaned the jets again.
Inspected the slide rubbers and discovered a tiny pin hole in the rubber diaphragm.

Ordered some new slides with rubber from Yambits.co.uk.
They arrived on Thursday. I swapped out the needle old to new slide; and I installed carbs on Friday.

Out for a short test ride on Saturday over varied roads around my shop. Up hill, down hill; fast and slow roads.
Gradual throttle application and quick application showed great results, just a little momentary fluffiness through half travel of the throttle.
I was happy with the results, knowing I may need to fine tune the jetting to the exhausts and Uni Filters.
Returned to the shop with a big grin; confident the bike would now get me to a destination.

Sunday I planned a route to a bike gathering in Abergavenny; a round trip of 80 miles on picturesque A & B roads.
Kitted up, Bike properly warmed up, choke off and away.......
30 meters along the road and shes not going too well, feeling a little bogged down. 2 miles along and shes popping and banging; and running like worse that before the swap. Aaaaarggghhh!!!! Returned to the shop; put her away and went to the pub .

Back at the shop today to go through the tests again; remove the carbs to investigate yet again.
Ads.
ACBUILD

 

[40north]

Just coincidence, or maybe there's some sort of burr that lies to blame for both perforations? Microscope time?
Fascinating adventure in troubleshoot.

 

[magoo66]

Media blasted a set of tins and a few smalls for an upcoming project/s

 

[magoo66]

Media blasted a set of tins and a few smalls for an upcoming project/s

May I add;ALWAYS do a fill test after media blasting before proceeding with your paint process even if you did one prior.

 

[magoo66]

NEW SHOCK REVELATION

Some of you may recall I swapped out some old chrome shocks that were not in the least compliant; and downright dangerous for any riding beyond gentle. The new shocks I bought after some research are the 2-WIN brand. Specifically built for the XS650 and taking into account my weight and riding style; which is spirited if not outright headbanging!

OLD SHOCKS Which had no spring movement.
View attachment 245543

NEW 2-WIN SHOCKS Now installed
View attachment 245546
View attachment 245544
The quality of the units is first class. The installation has transformed the handling and comfort of the bike.
The rear wheel now properly follows the road regardless of pot holes, over-banding and tramlines.
Even under acceleration through a bend the bike tracks as you would expect; unlike the old shocks.
The shocks are about 10mm longer than the old ones; slightly quickening the steering.
All this on standard out of the box settings; and I have full adjust-ability to alter settings for possible track / off road use.

The only downside is that it has shown the Ducati front forks will need servicing and better set up.
The front end is now the weak point of the suspension set up.

If you are in the market for excellent shocks at a 'reasonable' price of around £430.00; I highly recommend them.
Quick turnaround from Bike Revival: https://motorcycleshockabsorbers.co.uk/exp.html
They also give good advice and follow up.

Ads.

Lovin’ what you’re doing.

 

[Oldfartaussie]

Finally got around to replacing the seat cover that was torn in several areas around the edges and was actually half red when I bought it.
Been putting it off for years as I've never done any upholstery work and didn't want the bike off the road for any extended amount of time but after reading mailman's write up on his xs2 seat recovering and getting a couple of quotes from the pro's I decided to have a try.
It took a fair bit of time and effort to remove the original cover as I was trying not to damage it any more in case I wasn't happy with the new one and wanted to put the old one back on.
I used some epoxy thinners to soften the old contact adhesive and a thin paint scraper to scrape/ lever the cover off after folding up the diamond shaped barb's that hadn't been broken off.
Lots of cleaning with a wire brush and emery paper to remove the rust then a couple of coats of paint I then put two layers of cloth tape over the edges to stop the new cover tearing and started fitting it at the front and back then alternating from side to side applying Car Builders adhesive spray as I went. Great stuff, spray's well, adjustable nozzle and dries in one or two minutes so I got it all on then removed a section at a time to ad the glue.
The new cover took a lot of wrestling to get it in position without creasing and getting it tight enough as it was slightly too big, probably because the foam should have been replaced as well but I couldn't find any and I'd already spent enough on the cover and chrome/ plastic edging.
I couldn't get the original cover pattern but the new one did have more foam padding sewn into the top seat area and didn't turn out too bad. I would've been happy with a standard seat but their like hen's teeth around here.

 

[Adamc]

As the carbs are off, yet again!
I did a compression test with my new compression tester thingy.
A cold one due to the above; no oil in the bores.
I got 130psi on both sides; I think I'm good with that.
ACBUILD

 

[jpdevol]

NEW RUBBER DIDN'T ERASE THE ISSUE!

Due to poor running I investigated the carb slide diaphragms suggested by @Jim and @jpdevol.
The 'Slow Slide Drop' test showed a problem with the left slide; It didn't drop slowly.
Removed the carb set, disassembled and cleaned the jets again.
Inspected the slide rubbers and discovered a tiny pin hole in the rubber diaphragm.
View attachment 245547

Ordered some new slides with rubber from Yambits.co.uk.
They arrived on Thursday. I swapped out the needle old to new slide; and I installed carbs on Friday.

Out for a short test ride on Saturday over varied roads around my shop. Up hill, down hill; fast and slow roads.
Gradual throttle application and quick application showed great results, just a little momentary fluffiness through half travel of the throttle.
I was happy with the results, knowing I may need to fine tune the jetting to the exhausts and Uni Filters.
Returned to the shop with a big grin; confident the bike would now get me to a destination.

Sunday I planned a route to a bike gathering in Abergavenny; a round trip of 80 miles on picturesque A & B roads.
Kitted up, Bike properly warmed up, choke off and away.......
30 meters along the road and shes not going too well, feeling a little bogged down. 2 miles along and shes popping and banging; and running like worse that before the swap. Aaaaarggghhh!!!! Returned to the shop; put her away and went to the pub .

Back at the shop today to go through the tests again; remove the carbs to investigate yet again.
Ads.

As the carbs are off, yet again!
I did a compression test with my new compression tester thingy.
A cold one due to the above; no oil in the bores.
I got 130psi on both sides; I think I'm good with that.

Best wishes on your current carb endeavor.........
I remember you've checked the pick-up resistance and verified the advance timing with a strobe, replaced vacuum slides..........
So if the current effort doesn't get results, it's kinda shaping-up to be a suspect TCI Igniter Unit. That bit about ok on Saturday, bad on Sunday; leads us back to electrical issue (as it's intermittent).

I happen to have a known-good Igniter boxed-up and ready to ship if needed for diagnostic purposes

 

[gggGary]

a known-good Igniter boxed-up and ready to ship

Or graft in a Gonzo box....

 

[Adamc]

Best wishes on your current carb endeavor.........
I remember you've checked the pick-up resistance and verified the advance timing with a strobe, replaced vacuum slides..........
So if the current effort doesn't get results, it's kinda shaping-up to be a suspect TCI Igniter Unit. That bit about ok on Saturday, bad on Sunday; leads us back to electrical issue (as it's intermittent).

I happen to have a known-good Igniter boxed-up and ready to ship if needed for diagnostic purposes

Thanks JP it’s great to know you guys watch my back. I’m no mechanic, just a guy trying to solve problems with logic and forum support.
ACBUILD

 

[Adamc]

Or graft in a Gonzo box....

Yeah I seem to remember Jim had these for sale?

 

[Jim]

I sold all of them.

 

[jpdevol]

Mine ain't for sale, but you can borrow it

 

[gggGary]

It's an easy DIY to wire a Gonzo on a TCI bike..
should be plenty of them available from GB sellers, the small bore zookies they are made for no doubt popular round those parts

 

[Flash1977]

Got the forks polished,and the +4 fork tubes with gators installed today . Also the new Firestone tires one with an inner tube and one with a valve stem. ( Couldn't get the front bead to seat) For your info they do not say use without tubes or whatever and did come with tubes so we'll see. I know this has been a big topic on here. Anyway, been awhile just figured I post an update on the bike.

 

[Adamc]

Thanks JP it’s great to know you guys watch my back. I’m no mechanic, just a guy trying to solve problems with logic and forum support.

Best wishes on your current carb endeavor.........
I remember you've checked the pick-up resistance and verified the advance timing with a strobe, replaced vacuum slides..........
So if the current effort doesn't get results, it's kinda shaping-up to be a suspect TCI Igniter Unit. That bit about ok on Saturday, bad on Sunday; leads us back to electrical issue (as it's intermittent).

I happen to have a known-good Igniter boxed-up and ready to ship if needed for diagnostic purposes

I found this whilst looking for a TCI and/or Gonzo info in the UK

Any of our members had experience of this?

Of course I need to reinstall my Carbs and test other stuff before considering the above. But I was interested if anyone had installed one?