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What have you done to your XS today?
- Thread starter I am Carbon
- Start date
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- Tags
- maintenance
Tank treatment completed. I emptied the Evaporust; rinsed well with warm to hot water; added 2L methyl hydrate and sloshed that around well; emptied and warmed the tank with a hair dryer; put the snorkel foam my hair dryer and let the air run from the opening to open petcock openings for 1-1/2 hours. Super dry inside. Added 1L motor oil and gave the inside of the tank a good coating. I’ll drain the oil in a day or two then reinstall the rebuilt petcocks.
I think that’s it for the XS now until riding season
I think that’s it for the XS now until riding season
I just prefer the 2 stroke oil because its typically more sticky and clingy, same reason I use it on dirt bike/dual sport foam air filters.
Jim illustrated the point very well regarding leaving tanks full of pure fuel as well.
The biggest issue I have with keeping tanks topped off believe or not is evaporation. They all tend to drop on their own in my climate controlled shop...I keep it at 53 degrees all winter, because as you might well imagine we know a thing or two about humidity here in the Northwest (Northwet!).
If I dont stay on top of it, my tanks tend to drop from topped off and rust starts forming along the backbone hump....just have to remember to keep an eye on em.
Well done.Tank treatment completed. I emptied the Evaporust; rinsed well with warm to hot water; added 2L methyl hydrate and sloshed that around well; emptied and warmed the tank with a hair dryer; put the snorkel foam my hair dryer and let the air run from the opening to open petcock openings for 1-1/2 hours. Super dry inside. Added 1L motor oil and gave the inside of the tank a good coating. I’ll drain the oil in a day or two then reinstall the rebuilt petcocks.
I think that’s it for the XS now until riding season
View attachment 343488
Thx for your advice. I didn’t have sufficient qtys of 2 stroke oil so motor oil had to do the job. I’m pretty sure it will be ok.
For long term storage of tanks I use a homebrew....
Take some plain ol' general purpose grease. Set a blob about the size of a golf ball in a container. Stir in some acetone until the grease has melted in and you have a cup or two of water thin mix.
Pour that in the tank and slosh it around.
Pour off the excess and set it out in the driveway for an afternoon.
Acetone vapors are heavier than air, so set the (now open) petcock openings at the lowest point and open the cap.. Once the acetone has boiled out of the tank, what's left is the grease clinging to the walls. It's like cosmoline and will last damn near as long.
I should have qualified that with a caution....
Acetone will eat paint... both in liquid and vapor form. Most of y'all know I'm a painter, so most of the time I don't care about paint, I'm storing a tank that needs paint in the future.
So if there's paint you're right proud of, be extra careful with that mix lest you damage the paint.
Mix 'N Match
After a January of dull days, I got back at the '76. I needed to have the instruments mounted to put on the new harness but I had to sort through a box full.
Couldn't find a green face plate tach that looked like it worked so went with a non faded one.
Tomorrow - wiring...
I have a green face Tach from a 77,
Today I resumed working on a 72XS 2 I purchased back in October “24”for my 65th birthday.Removed the rotor to send to Jim to rewind.Unsure if the charging system even is working correctly as I haven’t had it running long enough to check.Not going to assume it does so I’m sending it to Jim.His workmanship is superb.This I unquestionably do know from his prior service. I rebuilt the carbs shortly after I aquired it.A tank inner cleaning and new petcocks tomorrow.All the other proper procedures ahead before starting and a test ride.Hopefully ready for spring.
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Love that paint, Don!!
Thanks Jim. I actually cheated a bit.Unsure of what extreme a preservation or restoration I’ll do until I get it running correctly and everything working as it should I did a stripe and cleared it so it’s easier to look at while I work on it.It surprisingly came out better than expected.The PO paint job wasn’t horrible so I had a decent palette to work with.
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Rolled Taffy out of the lockup today.
Installed some new shelving to get things off the floor and make much needed space.
Then I couldn’t resist having a go at the bike. Plugs out and a little lube down the bores; a few turns to get oil pressure.
Iggy on and press fire…….. As usual Taffy fires up first press. After a minute choke to half, and nice fast idle. Then choke off and regular 900 - 1000rpm. Try some throttle and Taffy pops and bangs and don’t like the extra fuel.
Bugger…….. Same as it ever was
Installed some new shelving to get things off the floor and make much needed space.
Then I couldn’t resist having a go at the bike. Plugs out and a little lube down the bores; a few turns to get oil pressure.
Iggy on and press fire…….. As usual Taffy fires up first press. After a minute choke to half, and nice fast idle. Then choke off and regular 900 - 1000rpm. Try some throttle and Taffy pops and bangs and don’t like the extra fuel.
Bugger…….. Same as it ever was
Years ago, when I was working for a NASA contractor, this was what we were using to protect steel structures sitting outside at the Kennedy Space Center. The formula was 50 gallons of grease plus 50 gallons of mineral spirits. I expect that coating held up until the Space Shuttle program ended. That whole process makes for a great story best told over adult beverages.
And that's a salt water environment. About the harshest environment there is for untreated steel.
Mine did the same thing after sitting for too long. It starts right up and idles off the choke a little bit rough. When I gave it throttle it pops out of the left exhaust. Geared up to take it for a spin and it wasn't having it; it just dies when in gear and trying to get going. Sigh... The pilots are probably plugged.Rolled Taffy out of the lockup today.
Installed some new shelving to get things off the floor and make much needed space.
Then I couldn’t resist having a go at the bike. Plugs out and a little lube down the bores; a few turns to get oil pressure.
Iggy on and press fire…….. As usual Taffy fires up first press. After a minute choke to half, and nice fast idle. Then choke off and regular 900 - 1000rpm. Try some throttle and Taffy pops and bangs and don’t like the extra fuel.
Bugger…….. Same as it ever was
GaryInVA
XS650 Addict
Is there a thread like this for bikes we are working on that aren't XS650s? Been looking but no findy.
Just start a thread on any bike you are currently working on.
I’m currently running threads on The Brat (R1200GS); Merlin (GL1000 Goldwing); R53 Mini car, as well as Taffy (XS650).
It’s great, as many members here will give feedback on everything & anything.
