Project NFI

[porterhouse]

I have finally got my butt into gear and starting my project in earnest. It is an '81 XS250. The plan is to get it running again (after 5 months of no riding), then modify while still riding. Once I am happy with how things are then I will strip to bare frame and powder, polish, paint, etc.

So far I have replaced the carby boots, clutch plates, throttle & clutch cable, flipped the handle bars and removed the seat. I put the clutch on and off 4 times with different number of plates until I realised that I had adjusted the clutch adjuster the wrong way. I was half way through replacing the indicators when I got distracted (married) and of course I didn't take any photos so now I have to work out the wiring mess I have created. I got a new seat sent from Thailand that is a copy of the Nitroheads seat. Quality is pretty good but I need to fab some custom brackets to mount to the XS.

There are so many inspirational bikes on this forum and I will be the first to admit that my bike probably wont event come close to the quality and workmanship that seems to be the norm here.

This is my first bike and I think that I am pretty good at doing things wrong the first time (hence the subject title) but I am learning along the way. I don't have a workshop or a private garage and my neighbours are starting to give me dirty looks regarding the ever increasing oil stains around my parking space.

According to Haynes there is not a lot of difference between the xs250 and the xs400 so I am planning on converting it to the larger capacity once I find the parts.

I have attached a pic of my starting point and will keep updating as things progress.

Cheers.

 

[porterhouse]

I did a quick photoshop job on the XS - what do you guys think?

 

[Yesimivan]

I like it a lot. Looks like a great starting point.

 

[VonYinzer]

Pretty cool man! Have you looked into what is needed to up the engine capacity? Can you just swap the top end and jugs, or is it more involved? Make sure you find out EXACTLY what is needed before buying parts. Also, find out if the 400 and 250 share a frame. If so, you may be better off just buying a 400 motor and swapping them out. The jump from 250 to 400 seems somewhat large though.

 

[porterhouse]

Thought I would clean up the bike a bit. Sprayed on some engine degreaser and hit it with the high pressure hose. End result is that paint on the wheels started coming off in patches. Looks pretty crappy so I think I might send them off to be stripped and powder coated. Might be a good time to replace the tires too.

 

[porterhouse]

Hi Von, as far as I know the difference is top end, jugs, jets and rear sprocket - frame is a little heavy for a 250 but 400 would be nice. The 400 seems to pretty common in the US but there seems to be bugger all on them here in Australia.

I finally got the bike running today. Drained the old fuel and put in some new 98 Ron and borrowed the battery from my wifes scoot. Kicked like crazy but no go. Went and got some "start ya bastard" which is 25% ether, and sprayed into the carbies - still no go. I thought I might check the spark plugs but 1 of them snapped in half when I was undoing it, so I went back to the store. I sprayed some start ya bastard in the plug hole before I replaced the sparkplugs. I am happy to say that the bike started on the second kick and idled nice and smoothly.

Next tasks are sort out the indicators and make adapters to mount the seat as it is designed for an SR400.

Can anyone advise on a replacement speedo? Do I have to get one that is specific to the xs250 or would anyone for a Yamaha be ok to use?

Also, I will be replacing the tyres as they are pretty old. Currently 3.0x18 on the front and 4.0x18 on the back. Are Metzler any good? or BT45?

It feels so good to have a running bike.