What have you done to your XS today?

[lakeview]

Frozen Water Fix? Nope
So this spare exhaust pipe has been sitting around, chrome in good shape, but a dent made by a prior owner was real obvious.
So with the temps going down well below freezing (-9C) overnight, I propped it up to look like a J and filled the curve with water and hope and let it freeze overnight.
Neither worked.
Glad I didn't make room in my wife's freezer in July to try it!

 

[Raymond]

View attachment 342051
Frozen Water Fix? Nope
So this spare exhaust pipe has been sitting around, chrome in good shape, but a dent made by a prior owner was real obvious.
So with the temps going down well below freezing (-9C) overnight, I propped it up to look like a J and filled the curve with water and hope and let it freeze overnight.
Neither worked.
Glad I didn't make room in my wife's freezer in July to try it!

Guessing here but did you try capping the ends? Freezing exerts a tremendous amount of force if you contain it. Maybe flat plates welded on the ends? But not welded so good the pipe splits right along like a pipe bomb as the water freezes.

 

[Raymond]

PS and probably best not to try out the welded ends method in yer wife's freezer . . .

 

[lakeview]

You're right, didn't cap the ends as it was a shot in the dark, bit of a lark.

 

[JOHNDADDY]

You're right, didn't cap the ends as it was a shot in the dark, bit of a lark.

I know the metal is a lot thicker than a gas tank but have to wonder if the inner tube trick would work?

 

[lakeview]

Inner tube is much more elastic than the steel tube, so no.
The recounting of my freezing attempt was more to advertise its futility with a bit of humor than a search for a real solution, cheers.

 

[bosco659]

Inner tube is much more elastic than the steel tube, so no.
The recounting of my freezing attempt was more to advertise its futility with a bit of humor than a search for a real solution, cheers.

I’ve never tried this nor have I seen anyone do it, but could you use hydraulic pressure to push it out? Cap or weld ends, fill it with hydraulic oil then attach a power pack and pump away. The power packs I had were 10,000 psi. So the dent would be no match for that. Perhaps too dangerous? Maybe just replace the pipe is the best route. Or, cut, weld, polish and paint it black.

 

[ShakerNorm]

OUCH on that exhaust pipe..... I wonder if someone who does Paintless Dent repair might be able to help you?

I've done my own powdercoating - all you need is an oven that will fit the parts (I have a toaster oven for smaller parts!) and a decent kit - Eastwood has a good one! And there are several places you can get good powders in a multitude of colours - metallics, candys, plain and everything else you can imagine.

 

[Grimly]

Get a gas torch, heat the dent, pressurise the pipe.
Bob's yer auntie.
Wear a bomb disposal suit.

 

[Guy]

Drill an access hole behind the dent, press the dent out, plug and weld the access hole.

 

[Its been a long time]

If that is a dual skinned header pipe, it's going to be pretty futile applying pressure to inside of the inner pipe. That's just not going to touch a dent in the outer pipe.

 

[Jim]

"Speaking words of wisdom..... let it be."

 

[ShakerNorm]

That's what I was wondering - If it's original - it's got an inner and an outer pipe.

 

[bosco659]

After messing around with brakes, fork seals, handlebar weights etc I tested the bike and found the horn doesn’t work and the front brake light switch has gone bad again.

Does the positive lead for the horn originate somewhere under the tank? I was hoping the wire would be in the headlight but the pair of wires for the horn appear to be heading under the tank. The horn button works and I’m getting ground at the one terminal.

I just replaced the front brake light hydraulic switch this summer. I used a cheap Chinesium one from Amazon. I guess I should buy a better quality piece. If I squeeze the lever real hard the light will come on but not at normal braking pressure. I tried bleeding the circuit and a small amount of air came out but the switch didn’t work any better.

 

[lakeview]

Forty-Three Teeth!
Did a cursory inspection of my just in case project - 79 Special - and see that p.o. added a 43 tooth sprocket to it and lengthened chain with a second master link.
It was probably a wheely monster in its day. Didn't know of any sprockets bigger than 36, must have been a special order way back when. Reat of the bike looks bone stock.

 

[Adamc]

View attachment 342194
Forty-Three Teeth!
Did a cursory inspection of my just in case project - 79 Special - and see that p.o. added a 43 tooth sprocket to it and lengthened chain with a second master link.
It was probably a wheely monster in its day. Didn't know of any sprockets bigger than 36, must have been a special order way back when. Reat of the bike looks bone stock.

My bike came with a 40t rear sprocket and that was wheelie prone. I built up a new wheel with a 33t and disc conversion, with a hub from Cognito Moto USA.

 

[Its been a long time]

No progress with XS650 stuff recently. Today never saw the temperature rise above minus five Celsius (23 Fahrenheit for the people counting the old fashioned way). Took delivery of a Chinesium solder bath today. That's going to be a great help when I eventually get round to fixing the cables for the ER5 carburettor conversion.

 

[Adamc]

No progress with XS650 stuff recently. Today never saw the temperature rise above minus five Celsius (23 Fahrenheit for the people counting the old fashioned way). Took delivery of a Chinesium solder bath today. That's going to be a great help when I eventually get round to fixing the cables for the ER5 carburettor conversion.

View attachment 342315

That’s a helpful bit of kit. Easier to use than the large pluming brass stop end and blow torch I used to make my control cable ends

 

[Its been a long time]

That’s a helpful bit of kit. Easier to use than the large pluming brass stop end and blow torch I used to make my control cable ends

Yes, I think it's just the job. I looked at the YouTube video you recommended and I thought that as a complete novice I should make the job as simple as possible.

As an aside, just about everything is broken in this country, as you know. Well, the solder bath was ordered and came from China. The solder and the flux ordered from the UK on the same day, still not here. And the solder bath cost half the amount that the solder and flux cost me. Sometimes, I despair about business in the UK. I really do.

 

[Dunc]

Having a crack at building pipes for the Cafe bike & using the stainless ones off that to run on this Street tracker.