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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
I gave it some sibling rivalry when I brought home another one Tuesday night
Today I started a front to back assessment/inspection, some bad, but mostly good, I made it about half way.
The bad
The good
I personally have never seen a stator that clean before, or a tank, None of the wiring has been mutilated and appears mostly original stock. I included the tires because I thought they were splitting on the sidewall last night but it was just a factory moulding. I still don't know how old they are but they look cool, I had yo replace a broken clutch lever and left turn signal because the PO's kid had knocked it over backing out of the driveway. Once that was done I could shift through all the gears. It was hard to roll around and I thought it was because i could only get the clutch to partially engage as it was broken. I was wrong. As it turned out the more I used the front brake the more it started to freeze completely, thankfully that didn't happen halfway down the ramp because I didn't wait for help when I unloaded it. The other project front brake works good and has a Nissin upgraded MC so I could just use that set up or I could roll like the chopper guys do. Who needs a front brake anyway right? It's only like what, 75% or so of your stopping power?
On second thought, I rarely trail brake so I think I will order some stuff from 650 Central just not sure how much to bite off at this point in time. Forks aren't leaking but are pretty spongy so they need some work and might as well do bearings too.
Today I started a front to back assessment/inspection, some bad, but mostly good, I made it about half way.
The bad
The good
I personally have never seen a stator that clean before, or a tank, None of the wiring has been mutilated and appears mostly original stock. I included the tires because I thought they were splitting on the sidewall last night but it was just a factory moulding. I still don't know how old they are but they look cool, I had yo replace a broken clutch lever and left turn signal because the PO's kid had knocked it over backing out of the driveway. Once that was done I could shift through all the gears. It was hard to roll around and I thought it was because i could only get the clutch to partially engage as it was broken. I was wrong. As it turned out the more I used the front brake the more it started to freeze completely, thankfully that didn't happen halfway down the ramp because I didn't wait for help when I unloaded it. The other project front brake works good and has a Nissin upgraded MC so I could just use that set up or I could roll like the chopper guys do. Who needs a front brake anyway right? It's only like what, 75% or so of your stopping power?
On second thought, I rarely trail brake so I think I will order some stuff from 650 Central just not sure how much to bite off at this point in time. Forks aren't leaking but are pretty spongy so they need some work and might as well do bearings too.
Wow - that's better than just a survivor. Not quite 'time machine' but what a find!
The tyres mebbe look cool but you know you need to swap them out unless you enjoy hospital food?
Most definitely and thanks for the words of caution. What I have learned about tires alone in the last couple of years definitely gives me pause when considering riding on used tires. My triumphs tires had plenty of tread left but were almost old enough to vote by the time I had them replaced last year. The Sportster's looked like this
and the wheel bearings sounded like an old click dial on a black and white TV. I did 3 sets myself last summer after what I had to pay to have someone replace the Triumph's. Thank God for Shinkos, 3 sets cost less than 1 of Pilots. Those dual sport/scrambler tires look cool and I can use them on my wanna-be flat track but they would probably ride like sh!t on roads around here as they groove alot of them and as I understand those front tiyres are known for wobbling on grooved surfaces.Made new springs holding the Air filter the ones looking like that
having lost one
Used the metal from a scrapped CD player casing
2 straight parallel edges easy to cut with hand shear
Maybe doing a set it in stainless later .
having lost one
Used the metal from a scrapped CD player casing
2 straight parallel edges easy to cut with hand shear
Maybe doing a set it in stainless later .
Well where do I start. About 13 years ago a picked up two disassembled XS2 650 bikes. One of the frames was missing some tabs which hold the battery box and the catch for the seat and the front down tubes were slightly compressed from an overly tightened highway bar they had mounted.. Both engines had issues. With the wisdom of 60 some years (so I thought) I used the best engine and the best frame which resulted in a mismatched Frame engine combination. I sold a lot of the parts but kept the cases and the other frame. As years passed I came to realize the bike would be worth more if it had a matched frame and engine. So this was the year to correct the frame issues and move all of the parts to the correct frame. I would also correct a small timing issue from the original build. Both cranks were damaged on the original engines. I wanted to keep the characteristics of the 256 engine so I used a 447 crank and had megacycles install 256 rods. Since the 447 engine has a different number of teeth for the cam chain I used their adapter so I could use the 72 cam with the megacycle 447 sprocket. I didn't have a 447 sprocket to press on the cam. In retrospect to would have been easier. With the megacycle set up I had to dial in the cam. Well the engine ran well but it was a bear to kick start, I knew I was off a bit on the cam. If you weren't careful it would brake your leg if it kicked back so I relied on the starter. So I decided to correct the timing issue since I was also converting to a vape system . I was off over 1/2 tooth on the cam sprocket so maybe 5 degrees. So for 3 days, 8-12 hours per day I got everything moved over and cleaned and timing corrected. I also decided to install new tires. I also cleaned up a few things that had bothered me for the last 13 years. So now the bike starts on the first or second kick (the Vape system was very easy to set up and works great) and I can stay out of the hospital from a broken ankle.
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Well done! 
Just cleaned up a few things? Gave it a quick tidy, spit shine? Well you don't mess around, nice job. So how bad were the downtubes damaged? I am assuming the highway bars were those ones that clamp on with U-bolts and I only ask because I was about to mount some old ones I had from a basket case I bought years ago. I was going to try to use them as a jack point to lift the front tire off the ground as anything aft of that raises the rear tire and now I'm thinking that's probably not a very good ideah. So do you have any pics of the tubes?
I really wanted to see if the new bike would turn over but the battery was toast so while I was waiting to see if it would charge I read the trouble shooting section and decided I would do tail to stern inspection and a combination of the re start procedures I read i nn Tech. before trying to turn it over. Here's some highlights.![IMG_3504[1].JPG](https://www.xs650.com/data/attachments/361/361225-fbe03d9d864e04d9a53d026781b1136d.jpg "IMG_3504[1].JPG")
I found some myshka chewings, I committed my first act of hamfisting whilst trying to remove the fuel tank![IMG_3491[1].JPG](https://www.xs650.com/data/attachments/361/361216-e69433196067f2c372d723baaadab039.jpg "IMG_3491[1].JPG")
![IMG_3503[1].JPG](https://www.xs650.com/data/attachments/361/361217-00dc872931bf810161cbd903900d92c8.jpg "IMG_3503[1].JPG")
You know I really need to look up the origins of that phrase as I have been asked if it is fisting ham or hamming fist after having used it in conversation. My renter has a pretty twisted imagination.
Then the filter fell off the petcock into the tank when I removed it. I managed to fish it out with the help of my new toy I got![IMG_3514[2].JPG](https://www.xs650.com/data/attachments/361/361220-2d73d99cd6e5db62ff33dee3ee97789f.jpg "IMG_3514[2].JPG")
![IMG_3515[1].JPG](https://www.xs650.com/data/attachments/361/361221-e436343a622bf1efbb36da2018744687.jpg "IMG_3515[1].JPG")
![IMG_3512[1].JPG](https://www.xs650.com/data/attachments/361/361219-b201462423d90e19e3a2e6bbf5b3f512.jpg "IMG_3512[1].JPG")
I picked the cheapest one with the best reviews but didn't realize that it wasn't an actual camera like others hence the phone pics. Still pretty cool.![IMG_3516[1].JPG](https://www.xs650.com/data/attachments/361/361222-87a82a1d4c3901a56c2f97e9d448c9e3.jpg "IMG_3516[1].JPG")
![IMG_3518[1].JPG](https://www.xs650.com/data/attachments/361/361223-5d7a7576201c44efdac41e1e955d450d.jpg "IMG_3518[1].JPG")
![IMG_3524[1].JPG](https://www.xs650.com/data/attachments/361/361224-6c22c68c40ec91cec6a4d0392586522b.jpg "IMG_3524[1].JPG")
I was inspecting and cleaning electric connections but some were sealed so tight and looked so clean that I was afraid that attempting to disconnect them might cause more damage then leaving them alone. also the length of the harness going up the frame is all black tape and not the plastic wire sleeve that I had on my other bikes. I really don't want to unwrap the whole thing but I don't suppose it came like that from the factory. The fuse box will be replaced and the mouse damage insulated and anything else I discover. Let me know if anyone sees any other thing that looks suspicious. Should this be in a build thread?
I found some myshka chewings, I committed my first act of hamfisting whilst trying to remove the fuel tank You know I really need to look up the origins of that phrase as I have been asked if it is fisting ham or hamming fist after having used it in conversation. My renter has a pretty twisted imagination.Then the filter fell off the petcock into the tank when I removed it. I managed to fish it out with the help of my new toy I got
I picked the cheapest one with the best reviews but didn't realize that it wasn't an actual camera like others hence the phone pics. Still pretty cool.I was inspecting and cleaning electric connections but some were sealed so tight and looked so clean that I was afraid that attempting to disconnect them might cause more damage then leaving them alone. also the length of the harness going up the frame is all black tape and not the plastic wire sleeve that I had on my other bikes. I really don't want to unwrap the whole thing but I don't suppose it came like that from the factory. The fuse box will be replaced and the mouse damage insulated and anything else I discover. Let me know if anyone sees any other thing that looks suspicious. Should this be in a build thread?
Attachments
![IMG_3509[1].JPG](/data/attachments/361/361218-bbdf6cc1a4c9885455c3f909030a090a.jpg)
The down tubes were not to bad but noticeable if you really looked , I filled them in with a bit of weld before powder coating the frame. I have had a few frame from other bikes where the gorilla really tightened them down. Never liked that look of those bars but when I was working in the custom shop back in the 70's we sold a ton of them with those cheap cast foot pegs.
When I had the cam cover off I decided to replace the tappet screws with OEM screws. The ones I used were from Mikes XS 13 years ago. The intake screws showed just a bit of wear and the exhaust screws were fine but I replaced all of them.
Pat D
XS650 Addict
Ground and polished the last 6 visible fastener heads on the bike. Went to hook up the battery tender and found a surprise, they had been in there for about 50 miles. I sure wish someone repopped the panel overlay, irritates me every time I look at it. Unfortunately mine is corroded at the bottom, so no relief with a repaint.
Attachments
Commuter
"flying is easy: aim for the ground and miss!"
I have had to lower the overall gear ratio. I had a 31 tooth sprocket fitted , however the bike wouldnt run properly at 20mph. In various areas of UK, people are having the speed limit set to 20mph whilst forgetting that the majority of vehicles on the road just arent designed to run at such low speeds. With the 31 tooth sprocket fitted, the bike wouldnt run cleanly at 20 mph, it was ok to run at 15mph in first but needed to run at 25 in second. So....back to a 33tooth rear sprocket so the bike runs nicely at 20 mph. Something which the people who live in these deserted village streets dont fully comprehend its that my bike is noisier for longer and creates more air polution at 20mph than 30 mph. I do understand the need for lower limits in urban areas, however, I dont see which lives are saved in the rural areas where these limits are imposed. In my own village, I cant recall when I last saw somebody cross the road and still they're complaining to the council about speed limits without realising that the people who scream through the village doing 60 in a 30 limit would be doing 60 in a 20 limit instead. So...new chain and sprockets and I've fitted a chain oiler which will increase polution by dropping more oil on the road ( as well as my rear wheel rim and my chain). I suspect that some of the moaners are a lot more interested in the sound of their own voice rather than doing any actual good in the world.
What do politicians know? Some stuff, I’m sure. Certainly nothing about the rules they impose upon us.
Yes, it's a bit of a zero sum game lowering speed limits to supposedly reduce emissions. On a main road with a 70mph limit versus the same road and same traffic conditions with a 50mph limit, I think academic studies have shown the increased time it takes to travel through at 50 v 70 means there's no improvement in air quality. Even worse, many of these reduced speed limit areas are monitored by average speed cameras. So any application of common sense is entirely out of the window. The road can be empty, but the lower speed limit is enforced.
They've had the same mania in Scotland for longer - 20mph urban limits started in 2016. Then they added the idea that there must be a cycle lane on all urban roads, which leads to ridiculous situations where a wide section of road is lined off for bicycles only but the remaining car/motorbike/van/lorry lane is too narrow and it's impossible to make progress. You either sit well in, which means you're 'intruding' on the cycle lane. Or you drive well out so you're intruding on the opposing traffic lane. All carried out at very slow speeds of course. So all classes of road user are delayed and fractious and you see 'siily' overtakes at 10mph by motorists frustrated by having to follow slow people on bicycles but lacking room for a proper overtake. And there's the sizeable minority who perhaps understandably conclude that the speed limits and lane markings are wrong and ignore everything except getting through the town or urban are as quick as they can. The drivers are frustrated, I'm sure the cyclists are too, and as is the nature of things the cyclists are the ones most at risk of harm.
Two policies divised out of innapropriate political correctness to make life safer for cyclists and pedestrians but which in practice probably have the opposite effects.
You do not have a 74 TX650 gauge cluster. You have a 1973-1975 RD250/350 gauge cluster.
The tell is the distance between those bottom two red indicator lights. The center-to-center lens distance on a 1973-1975 RD250/350 cluster is 38mm. The c-to-c distance on a 1974 TX650/1975 XS650 is 44mm.
Also, the tach red line on a 1973-1975 RD250/350 is 8.5K. The tach red line on all XS650s is 7.5K.
They do not make repop gauge faceplates for the 1974 TX650/1975 XS650. However, you can buy a RD250/350 face plate that will fit your current gauge cluster here:
https://hvccycle.net/yamaha-rd250-rd350-1973-1975-ignition-trim-plate-hvc20087-9-360-83519-41-98/
Of course, the "High Beam" label is wrong. For a 74 TX650 that indicator's label should be "Brake Lining."
One more thing. Your entire gauge bracket appears to be held on by a single allen bolt. That's a lot of cantilevered weight for a single fastener.
Pat D
XS650 Addict
That's because the other allen bolt was in the process of being ground and polished when I took the pic. The bike was a bit of a mashup when I bought it, it took me a while to sort out things like the rear signal mounts (didn't have 'em, lights were attached through the rear fender mounts), and it had the wrong side stand. As far as the overlay, I actually bought the exact repop shown w/o noticing it was for the RD250/350, it looks great, but it doesn't quite fit my gauge cluster. Sounds like I should dig it out and compare some measurements to what is provided here, and see if we can determine exactly what is what. I was sorely disappointed when the repop simply would not fit- that's when I looked harder and saw it was for the RD series on the web site. This is good stuff- knowledge of the most arcane of details is how we gain our expertise. My true expertise is AMC/Rambler from '65-'70- I can look at any specimen and know what is right and "wrong" with it- I'm not to that point on these XS/TX bikes yet, having only owned one so far.
Yes, I would really like to know what the fitment issue is. Please let me know, thanks.
Pat D
XS650 Addict
So- as noted, the bike was a bit of a mashup when I got it in 2013. I just recollected that it had a small headlight, which I later learned was likely RD. The proper bucket fit much better. But- the small headlight tracks with your observation about the gauges being RD. As to the aftermarket RD(?) overlay I have, the distance center to center for the lower warning lights is 1 3/4" roughly. The center to center distance on my gauge set is 1 7/16" roughly. No fit my gauges. Also, note my repop has the "Brake lining" light rather than the "High Beam" lettering shown on your example. Finally, on my cluster, the "High beam" light is lower left, "Brake Lining" is lower right. I bought the repop overlay 13 years ago, memories are hazy.
