XS650 R, built from scratch

Tim, thanks for the tips. I think my brother in law is going to Tig weld it for me. Discoloration shouldn't be an issue for me since I'm likely going to paint the cases. Stupid question alert: will gasket remover be the most effective for removing the side cover gaskets? And how about for loosening the rubber seal where the electric starter connects?

So, a couple updates. I took my head into a a shop up here that does good work to see what they thought. Valves are good (need a grind) but guides need to be replaced and seats reground. Bead blasted and a light port and polish and the bill looks to be around 500 bucks. Hmm.................kind of what I expected but still a bit dissapointing. So between that and new rings (if i can find a set), gaskets, seals, and other motor parts I'm going to be well up into the 1500-2000 range. Normally, I would just barge through it but this fall has not gone as anticipated.

With the drought in the down south where you American brothers and sisters are, many of the ranchers in Montana and Washington are sending their lambs up north here, drastically dropping our prices as well. Hence cash flow is a little tight. And I want something to ride in the spring!! This is obviously not going to be ready for the spring!

Which brings us to the next stop I made when I was in town. After finding out the cost of refurbishing my head I figured I would go take a look at another project bike I had found on kijiji. And for less money than my head, I picked up this.



A poorly hacked but smooth and quiet running '84 vf1000. Kinda excited about this one. New build thread on this to ensue.

So it will likely take on a GP style and this one will change direction into something stock-like and more conducive for seating two.