What have you done to your XS today?

Just about ready for the frame:
Im up to the stage of painting the frame which means tear it all apart now that everything fits and works.
I know you are never completley done with these old bikes but at this stage I have the frame to paint, calipers to paint and motor to clean and engine cases to paint while motor is out.
Its an Aussie delivered, 6000 Klms and pulled out of a barn in the Adelaide Hills where it sat under an open shed.
Regards - Ray.View attachment 243912View attachment 243913
G'day Ray, that bike looks awesome mate.
Would like a set of those wheels for my 78 special, maybe if I win lotto.
I fitted a 13 mm master cylinder today in place of the 16 mm one that had no feedback and was woeful when riding in the rain even with new versrah pads and stainless steel lines.
The 13mm unit is a big improvement, more feel and can even lock the front wheel but just has a bit too much travel with the twin disc calipers and the lever can almost touch the hand grip but I rode it today over 300 miles with no issues.

Thinking of going to single disc and I've seen some motolana brackets and spacers online to mount a fjr1300 rotor and Brembo caliper for not too much outlay or should I try a 14mm mc first?.
 
Bosco, Mailman and Old Fart and those who took a look - thanks.
Oldfart - I use a 14mm for the twin discs - its just a bit better than the original 16mm - I think I may have to look at some different pads because all reports say the 14mm is ideal for the twins discs. The 14mm (from Mikes) doesnt really have any more movement than the 16mm but brakes a little better.
I really laboured over the decision to keep the twins because my other 77D has a single with a 12mm master and its brilliant.
The twins are so heavy, twice the lines, twice the pads and seals with reduced braking - doesnt make sense.
Regards - Ray.
 
After installing the swingarm and with the pipes still off I thought I'd try and clean up the exhaust headers, after years of riding in all weather the chrome was badly heat stained and showing some rust and I wasn't expecting too much.
I was surprised how well they cleaned up by using glennpm's recipe though I did use an old worn down green scouring pad to apply the mixture first, then a few more applications using a soft cloth to apply and polish. I found it dries quickly and took some elbow grease to clean up so I didn't give it time to dry just applied and polished.
To make the mixture I ground the compound on a course rasp to get fine granules, poured into a bottle, added about half a cup of thinner and two 10mm ball bearings and give it a shake. I figured by grinding up the compound I wouldn't need to wait overnight for it to dissolve as glennpm noted in his 2015 post.
Followed it up by using Autosol on a cotton cloth to reduce the scratches from the scouring pad and then Silvo on a microfiber cloth to polish.
I tried using just Autosol and Silvo on the second header but ended up using the mixture on a cloth then the two polish's.
I had to dig for the recipe but I found it and bookmarked it !!
Thanks
 
Took the bike out today for a run through the country. On the way home I hit the highway and ran the bike about 4 miles at 110 km/hr (about 4600 rpm iirc). Got off the highway and did a quick spark plug chop. Pretty happy with the results. Needed a flashlight but looked like a carbon ring further down the Center. Note - stains on the Center porcelain are remnants of antisieze from the plug threads.
This was done after my most recent carb adjustment of lowering the needle one notch. Now: 132.5 / 27.5 / clip second from top. ‘76 BS38‘s

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Took the bike out today for a run through the country. On the way home I hit the highway and ran the bike about 4 miles at 110 km/hr (about 4600 rpm iirc). Got off the highway and did a quick spark plug chop. Pretty happy with the results. Needed a flashlight but looked like a carbon ring further down the Center. Note - stains on the Center porcelain are remnants of antisieze from the plug threads.

View attachment 244077View attachment 244078
I must do this, I'm still slightly confused regarding correct tuning of my xs
 
A second shake down ride following clutch mods and adjustment below:
clutch re.drill.PNG

Clutch worked nicely when on the bike stand.
On the road the clutch action was much smoother and lighter than before; however finding neutral was impossible, whether moving or stopped.
More adjustment required me thinks.

A second issue raised its head on the ride, fueling has become problematic. The bike would only take a quarter throttle. Any more and it would bog down, feeling very strangled; banging and popping through the exhausts. Acceleration was impossible beyond quarter throttle.
I have checked the Tech area for pointers; but under the Carbs section half of the links do not work!
Time to take the carbs off again and see whats what. Any ideas feel free to chip in.
Ads. :umm:
ACBUILD
 
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A second issue raised its head on the ride, fueling has become problematic. The bike would only take a quarter throttle. Any more and it would bog down, feeling very strangled; banging and popping through the exhausts. Acceleration was impossible beyond quarter throttle.
I have checked the Tech area for pointers; but under the Carbs section half of the links do not work!
Time to take the carbs off again and see whats what. Any ideas feel free to chip in.
Ads. :umm:
Good Morning Ads - That sounds like a fairly significant problem. "fueling has become problematic"; so the bike did run fine and this is a new problem? And....what ignition is present?
 
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Good Morning Ads - That sounds like a fairly significant problem. "fueling has become problematic"; so the bike did run fine and this is a new problem? And....what ignition is present?
hello JP,

Thanks for the quick response.
As you know the bike is a customised 1980 bike with standard TCI ignition. New coils from Yambits.co.uk. New leads & NGK caps; new NGK BP7ES plugs correctly gaped. Both plugs are very sooty; suggesting a rich mixture?

IMG_0206.JPEG


BS34 Carbs were cleaned and rebuilt with Yambits.co.uk kit: Standard jets - Main 132.5 / Pilot 42.5 / New needle / gasket etc.
I think these may need to increase due to running genuine UNI filters. Exhaust it quite long with minimal baffling.
But increasing the jets would enrich the mix more.

I can confirm it was not running great before my rebuild; it would barely start and would not rev.
The bike now starts on the button with steady idle. Take off from standstill is good. But I'm forced to change up at relatively low revs. It will not cleanly run at higher revs. like its flooding / popping and banging through exhaust. It almost feels like it is being strangled, like a sock has been shoved in the system.
ACBUILD
 
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The carbs could need some jetting; given your mods though it should be a bit lean currently.

With your symptoms, I'd first be verifying ignition timing, especially the advance function above 2000rpm (strobe light). Also, you did say coils (plural); the TCI should have one dual tower coil.

BTW - I have the original carb guide saved as a PDF, should you need it.
 
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With your symptoms, I'd first be verifying ignition timing, especially the advance function above 2000rpm (strobe light). Also, you did say coils (plural); the TCI should have one dual tower coil.
Yes, put a strobe on it and see if it goes bonkers at the same time the banging and popping starts. That'll give you a pretty good indication on where to look... carbs or ignition.
 
Yes, put a strobe on it and see if it goes bonkers at the same time the banging and popping starts. That'll give you a pretty good indication on where to look... carbs or ignition.
Thanks for the lead @jpdevol and @Jim
Jim always says Ignition first so that’s what I will do.
I will borrow a strobe of the garage mechanic across the road.

JP I’m sure the carb guide would be handy to have.
ACBUILD
 
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Good Morning Ads - That sounds like a fairly significant problem. "fueling has become problematic"; so the bike did run fine and this is a new problem? And....what ignition is present?
Hi @jpdevol,

I kinda overlooked your question I'm sorry.
When I rebuilt the bike for the 2022 calendar it actually did run fine. The 40T rear sprocket meant it ran at higher revs most of the time without a problem.
I since rewired the bike and installed a Motogadget M-Unit -basic. Also changed the sprocket to 33T rear. Had the Stator & Rotor on and off a couple of times to sort out a lack of charging; all good now. I may have dislodged something when pulling the stator/rotor.

As advised by you and Jim I have ordered a strobe timing light to check whats what.

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ACBUILD
 
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Hi Adamc,
When checking with strobelight,
At rpms below 1900 the timing mark should stay near the firing mark on the chassis. There is no full advance mark on these bikes. I added one on my bike when I was doing my TCI testing and building. Still you should see it advance up to about 3400 rpm on a properly working TCI. Most faults with a tci module result in a complete failure. There are some faulty boards where the components have not failed, but instead have degraded, causing the advance curve to shift. My money is on carb issues with your bike.
 
Meant to add a note about what I am working on.
I ran my arduino tci all last summer. I hooked up my original tci module for the last few rides last fall. I concluded that the design was about 90 -95 % effective. Most of the time it worked flawlessly, but over the summer and accumulated rides, I noticed some instability at idle and the occasional problem starting. Back to the drawing board, or in this case, back to the IDE. Anyway this spring, I noticed that my idling and starting issues were getting worse. Tried some carb cleaner additive. Bike shop who sold it to me called it Jesus in a bottle... I guess it does miracles. It got it idling better,but still lots of popping in the exhaust at deceleration. So I currently have the carbs on the bench and refurbishing them. At least one of the throttleshaft seals are leaking. The mixture screw o-rings are crap. Will also replace float needle valves and pilot jets. Also..fuel line tee is cracked. Currently waiting for parts to arrive.
 
Meant to add a note about what I am working on.
I ran my arduino tci all last summer. I hooked up my original tci module for the last few rides last fall. I concluded that the design was about 90 -95 % effective. Most of the time it worked flawlessly, but over the summer and accumulated rides, I noticed some instability at idle and the occasional problem starting. Back to the drawing board, or in this case, back to the IDE. Anyway this spring, I noticed that my idling and starting issues were getting worse. Tried some carb cleaner additive. Bike shop who sold it to me called it Jesus in a bottle... I guess it does miracles. It got it idling better,but still lots of popping in the exhaust at deceleration. So I currently have the carbs on the bench and refurbishing them. At least one of the throttleshaft seals are leaking. The mixture screw o-rings are crap. Will also replace float needle valves and pilot jets. Also..fuel line tee is cracked. Currently waiting for parts to arrive.
Hi @sleddog83
thanks for the tips. May I call on your advice if needed?
Ads.
ACBUILD
 
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Most faults with a tci module result in a complete failure.
In the last 4-5yrs I've dealt with about 6 bad TCI boxes. I have two on the shelf right now and recently tested one for Gary. They all start and idle just fine. They start breaking up as you add throttle and the advance curve kicks in. In short, I've not seen a single one that just completely failed. So... that may have been your experience, mines been completely opposite.
Fwiw, I hope it is the carbs Adam. That's prolly the cheapest fix.
 
In the last 4-5yrs I've dealt with about 6 bad TCI boxes. I have two on the shelf right now and recently tested one for Gary. They all start and idle just fine. They start breaking up as you add throttle and the advance curve kicks in. In short, I've not seen a single one that just completely failed. So... that may have been your experience, mines been completely opposite.
Fwiw, I hope it is the carbs Adam. That's prolly the cheapest fix.
@rickthefix repaired mine a few years ago. It was doing the same thing. Start and idle just fine. Then, no go. I have a lot of miles on his repair.
 
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