What have you done to your XS today?

[Shovel Jockey]

Beautiful looking ride. It’s no 74, but it’s damn nice

Thank man. we have two cool years for this series. especially with the frame upgrades your year. I know of a 74 in a shed 10 miles from here.

 

[Shovel Jockey]

Got my 76 XS running yesterday. First time in years that it has run and run well. I was gifted the bike from a friend who got it from the widow of the original owner. Wanted to take it out for a short shake down ride but thunderstorms and a tornado watch were issued. Going to give it a go again today.
Report to follow.

Good to hear; my neighbor had a 76

 

[AndersJ]

Thank man. we have two cool years for this series. especially with the frame upgrades your year. I know of a 74 in a shed 10 miles from here.

Snag that bike!

 

[atom4488]

Fellow riders........It's ALIVE!View attachment 339140View attachment 339141

Beautiful machine and fabulous countryside in the second pic! Must be some epic riding roads in those hills.

 

[jetmechmarty]

Took It on a hundred mile run in the mountains above the house to see how the carb rebuild took.

Did we ride together a few years ago? XS650 meetup at Suches.

 

[TX650A Van Islander]

Love the 1975 plate you have too. Super cool. Nice bike and go and grab that '74 before it's gone!

 

[jaybar6]

The centerstand stop on my ‘76 consisted of a rubber pad that rested on the bottom side of the left muffler. That had deteriorated and needed replacement. I observed the spot that this pad rested against, had some rust staining and perhaps a bit of chrome loss. I decided a better stop was needed. It’s difficult to see in these pics, but I made up a short “L” shaped bracket that I mounted to the muffler mount flange, using a short 8mm bolt. Where the stand contacts the bottom of the bracket, I attached some rubber pad material. Works great and the side of the muffler is protected from further damage. The red paint is to cover the cut edges - I was too lazy to go out to the garage to get another colour. Sorry for the poor pics.

View attachment 338987View attachment 338988View attachment 338989

Hi bosco, I use old bicycle brake blocks on my side stand. just drill a hole in the bracket and bolt it on. I don't have one on my center stand as it doesn't make excessive noise yet, but when it does start making a clunky metallic bang, I will do the same thing. I don't have a photo. It is the easiest way rather then sticking bits of rubber on the bracket.

 

[Zonie]

Got my 76 XS running yesterday. First time in years that it has run and run well. I was gifted the bike from a friend who got it from the widow of the original owner. Wanted to take it out for a short shake down ride but thunderstorms and a tornado watch were issued. Going to give it a go again today.
Report to follow.

Took my 76 XS out for a short ride yesterday around the hood. A bit of popping on the over run, going to see if I can balance the carbs. Might be sucking air but the manifolds are new and tight. I will spray a little carb cleaner at the joints to see if that shows a difference.

 

[Getgot]

First time poster really, but today I finished the majority of the seals on the bike with the engine assembled.
The crankshaft was really really difficult and required the edge of the seal opening to be chamfered so much before the seal would even think about going in. Ended up splitting a side so not confident it wont leak going forward but we'll see.
I had a question also. My kit came with the seal 17-28-8 and according to the seal thread its for the 'starter shaft' but where on earth is that? I can't find any information at all looking through this entire forum. No mentions either...

 

[Its been a long time]

I think the starter shaft seal you refer to is the one you cannot see without removing the start motor.

 

[Getgot]

I think the starter shaft seal you refer to is the one you cannot see without removing the start motor.

Thanks for the reply mate! Are you referring to this one in the bottom right that you can remove by taking out the starter, and attaching the new one to the starter during instillation? That one is a 34-46-10.5 which I did install, but couldn't find anything for this smaller seal from just below that from the chart 5twins gave.

 

[Tiggertoo]

@Getgot Does this help?

 

[Its been a long time]

@Getgot Does this help?

@Getgot that's the one I'm thinking of.

 

[Getgot]

@Getgot Does this help?

Wow this is brilliant. Thank you so much guys. I had no idea there was a seal on the inside of the starter as well as one it goes over. Thank you again. Love this forum.

 

[Mailman]

Wow this is brilliant. Thank you so much guys. I had no idea there was a seal on the inside of the starter as well as one it goes over. Thank you again. Love this forum.

Sorry I didn’t see this earlier, I know your question has already been answered but here’s a couple photos,

https://www.xs650.com/threads/good-question.58799/#post-672849

 

[Getgot]

Sorry I didn’t see this earlier, I know your question has already been answered but here’s a couple photos,

https://www.xs650.com/threads/good-question.58799/#post-672849

Mate, just wanted to say thanks for those helpful seal threads you made 6 years ago. Incredible how handy they were for me. This website is a wealth of knowledge. Thanks for linking me to that also. I'll change that one on the next go round.

 

[Mailman]

just wanted to say thanks for those helpful seal threads you made 6 years ago

You’re very welcome. You’re right about this forum being a wealth of information. The members here are some of the most helpful folks I e ever come across, good luck with your bike!

 

[bosco659]

Spent about an hour cleaning up the bike getting it ready for winter storage. I still need to get some fresh fuel in the tank with some stabilizer. Hopefully I can get that done before the crappy weather arrives. So far it’s been nice but looks like overnight it will get close to freezing. I left the heat on in the garage. Steering damper came off for a quick polish too.

On the winter “to do” list is fork seals, valve adjustment, most likely a new front tire and pop the side cover off to check over all the clutch components.

 

[bosco659]

Hi bosco, I use old bicycle brake blocks on my side stand. just drill a hole in the bracket and bolt it on. I don't have one on my center stand as it doesn't make excessive noise yet, but when it does start making a clunky metallic bang, I will do the same thing. I don't have a photo. It is the easiest way rather then sticking bits of rubber on the bracket.View attachment 339157

I like this. Coincidentally I also removed the centerstand stop to paint it so putting one of these on will be easy. Thx for the tip.

 

[lakeview]

Hi-Tech Background Today
Checked the valve lash on the rebuild today, minor tightening up the exhaust a bit and opening the intake a tad, probably runs the same but I think it's better, got rid of a slight lean backfire but that could also be the full tank I just got....
10 degrees and overcast today, went past the ethanol plant on the way out of town, barring the unforeseen, the '77 probably ready for a cold weather nap.