XS 850 Re Model

[Signal]

Have been quite busy but got the bike off the table today . Discovered the neutral switch is faulty the funning thing is I distinctly remember testing it.
Had a slightly dodgy one on another parts motor that works well enough to confirm the selector drum is installed correctly.
Any how that's good news as its an easy fix. Will buy a new one, for any triple or 1100 owners following the YBR 125 neutral switch is supposed to be the same part and is cheaper.
Will get one and post results.
Trimmed and reshaped the seat unit and cut a hole so that the tool compartment a is accessible and the VIN plate is readable. with the seat off. The bike has be re registered at some stage and the new VIN plate is under the seat.
Also need to make a stop for the side stand.

Looking at the photo the RHS front brake line looks a bit tight, will need to check this and correct if needed.

 

[Wagner73]

View attachment 371691
Looking at the photo the RHS front brake line looks a bit tight, will need to check this and correct if needed.

Looks very nice, definitely getting there! You see almost zero modified 750/850 triples, so this will be nicely unique!

Yes, the RHS brake line does look too short, and you might also consider re-routing the LHS line too, so it doesn't rub on the fork tube.

 

[Signal]

The new neutral switch arrived and good old Yamaha used the same one on the YBR 125 .
Coming from China, ever the pessimist I checked it with test lamp before installing it.
The 850 one on the left has a longer hex, but it identical to 750 one ( not shown)

Installing it I noticed what may or may not be a leak coming from the selector drum detent nut. Hopefully it is just run off from the neutral switch.
To tighten the detent nut I will need to make an adaptor to drive the socket as the lower frame rail makes fitting the ratchet impossible.
Other solutions are removing the sump may help, take out front mount bolts and cant engine up. Right now its fingers crossed for it being run off I did anneal all the copper washers before installing them so I am hopeful.



I wanted to do a final clean inside the fuel tank but needed a container big enough to hold it. Searched the town nothing the right size either far to big or not big enough.
Was going to make a wooden box and line with plastic but decided to weld 2 old bins together. It is rough as sacking but does the job.
I see it has already cracked. The tank is now filled with citric acid.

As you can see I have started stripping the paint and found a fairly large amount of bog, there are always surprises when working on old stuff and this bike has been a real lucky dip with lots of booby prizes. The tank will look great by the time its finished.

Was tidying up and found some thin carbon fibre left over from some experimental 2 stroke reeds and had a thought of using it inside the seat unit and fairing vents. I think it looks ok and will be easier to fit than mesh so bought a small sheet of it. Its very thin and quite flexible. The carbon sheet will be fixed in place after painting.
Also doing a few minor changes to the fibreglass.

The work continues...

 

[Jim]

Was going to make a wooden box and line with plastic but decided to weld 2 old bins together. It is rough as sacking but does the job.

Brilliant!!

 

[Signal]

Finished stripping and derusting the tank. This is a second round of derusting initially I used electrolysis and this time used citric acid. The citric acid is great stuff.
Also made a gearbox dipstick .
This evening I dropped the body work off to a mate who will tidy it up and paint. Not the final paint job just so it can be used and the tank checked for leaks and fibreglass for cracking.

 

[Wagner73]

View attachment 372705

Nice, great progress! Is the fairing originally Kawasaki ZRX?

 

[Signal]

The fairing is supposed to be for a ZRX but is a knock off. I dont know how it would go as a replacement for the genuine part but for my purposes it does fine.
The headlight is from a 80's GPZ 750 I took a put on the headlight cutout being the same and got lucky.