I rode the bike today and the rear brake feels pretty good. Harder to lock up, good thing. The changed/adjusted leverage ratios are pretty good for WAG engineering.
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XS650 Adventure Bike?
- Thread starter Kevin Werner
- Start date
The bike had a varying "rumble/vibration" that I could not pin down to Road speed or RPM. Gone entirely with a new chain.
I visited my machinist today to cut new mounts that will move pegs forward 2" and down 2" from your pictures. I have a very low seat height. What I jave is nice but might e "tight" after 1/2 hour
The bike has also become to "tall" for me. The 13.25" Triumph (mid 2010s) shocks have nice feel but inseam challanges will cause me to go with a 12.5" shock and drop the (@Jim front) fork tubes 10-12 mm.
The tires look great but seem to be noisy
Sirprise?
Can see the smile from my house!
Backsets 2.0. New brackets are drilled and the fiddling with install is more oops. The new location gives good brak pedal position but the shift linkage has interference issues with the frame mount studs. One option is putting the link below the peg though that leaves it exposed. I will try shimming some clearance.
Can you effectively operate the brake with the lever that short.
Added a little over and inch to the drum accuator arm and the ratio is pretty good. 
The shifter was cumbersome. Pedal too high meant missed/imprecise shifts. The link geometry was a little off. Played a bit and came up with this. It is a thing of beauty and precision (as much as we get from this gear box). Down side is the sidestand tang resides behind the shifter in the retracted position. I guess I will bend up some rebar and make/weld on some sort of extension.
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Sidestand extension complete.
![20240826_165921[1].jpg](https://www.xs650.com/attachments/20240826_165921-1-jpg.333930/ "20240826_165921[1].jpg")
Why are you hiding your weld behind that shift lever?
Lol
Lol
For God and everybody to see. Hi res, zoom in and laugh... Thisis an adventure bike... Adventure in crappy weldiing...Why are you hiding your weld behind that shift lever?
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Mikey
got muscles in his head that ain't never been used
1 of a kind Kevin !
Kinda like a an old barmaid sturdy but nice to look at
I was going to say nice to look at thru the bottom of a beer mug but that would be givin you the business
Kinda like a an old barmaid sturdy but nice to look at
I was going to say nice to look at thru the bottom of a beer mug but that would be givin you the business
Ugly but effective... Give me the business all day long! I deserve it. You should see the welds chronicled in the "Red Bike" build thread... https://www.xs650.com/threads/its-time-to-start-a-winter-project-the-red-bike.62447/page-161 of a kind Kevin !
Kinda like a an old barmaid sturdy but nice to look at
I was going to say nice to look at thru the bottom of a beer mug but that would be givin you the business
My Highschool Metal Shop teacher friend said "You can't make a pretty weld with flux core wire" so I got that...
Mikey
got muscles in his head that ain't never been used
It holds the bike up when it needs to
Tucks under when it's supposed to
And it's painted black
What's not to like
Tucks under when it's supposed to
And it's painted black
What's not to like
I'll respectfully disagree. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't get caught dead with one, but you can do passable-ish welds with flux core. If it pops and sputters, reverse the polarity. Most all of 'em have wire lugs and instructions inside the cover on how to swap it. Give it a shot...My Highschool Metal Shop teacher friend said "You can't make a pretty weld with flux core wire" so I got that...
Tje leads are swapped, I am still on the learning curve with this little welder. I did a ton with gas shielded wire 1994-2008 so I do have the feel. This is a wimpy little 120 ac unit. I have to move MUCH slower, and I am getting accustomed to that and getting better.I'll respectfully disagree. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't get caught dead with one, but you can do passable-ish welds with flux core. If it pops and sputters, reverse the polarity. Most all of 'em have wire lugs and instructions inside the cover on how to swap it. Give it a shot...
I am a little disheartened. The Tracker is a striking bike whether it is your style or not. Well it is obvious now that it was a dealer "Display" bike. There are sections of paint flaking of the frame and swing arm. Maybe in winter I will look into that. I spent alot of time 2 years ago learning about carbs, charging, brakes and the scheme of the electrical on this bike. It runs really well and the midrange is a wet dream. So this effort was to make it more functional for me as the "bloom is fading on the rose" so to speak.
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YOU will need to ride this bike in two weeks. Even if it is just a 5 minute up and down the local road test drive. 750cc is impressive.
I should say, I hope you will ride it... to give me some feedback.
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