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Re: Tim's XS project - April 26 2010 - broke a carb - so 2 new carbs for Tim
I was dragging my last set of pipes, which were 2x as long and sat further out from the bike. But I do tend to lean a bit Was always dragging the outside edge of my boots on my BMW down at Deals Gap.
Re: Tim's XS project - April 26 2010 - broke a carb - so 2 new carbs for Tim
So last night I decided to spend a few hours and did the following:
Tidied up throttle cable - didn't like how it mated with the Tomaselli throttle so I cut the housing, put on a new end and shortened it up. Much better now.
Installed cartridge emulators in the forks. Required the front end to be taken apart, dampening rods modified (holes drilled/chamfered), reassembled with emulators in place.
Took me 3 hours and made a mess with the drill press/cutting fluid but it's all buttoned back up and should yield significant handling improvements.
Been pissing rain and inconvenient to ride since I did the upgrade - will be riding tomorrow possibly, but for sure this weekend and I'll post up impressions!
Was very easy to do the mod - the damper rod is soft material and easy to drill on my old drill press. You could do it in a vice with a hand drill. I chamfered the holes inside and out with my dremel tool.
Did your emulators come with any info on adjustment?
I tore apart the forks on my $25 XS650 and whadaya know!? Racetech emulators....!
The screws on the small diameter springs are set to different depths though....
The write up for mine (Race Tech wanna-be's) say 2 turns in for street, 4 turns for racing or if you're fat. Tighten the bolt just till it touches the spring, and then start counting turns.
I also measured mine with a micrometer to make sure they were equal. I'm running 2 turns in and things feel good. I was also running with too much fork oil, so that has made a difference too.
The dampening rods are supposed to be drilled out too. The existing holes at the bottom are enlarged, and 2 more added. Can't remember the drill size and I don't think I have the instructions any more. The bit may still be in my drill press though.
hey tim, looking good. how do you like the 35mm shocks? I got the old 34's and they suck ass... also where did you get the kick start lever from. I tried to bend my stocker with a total fail
Thanks Tim. Mine seem to be installed ok, damper rods drilled etc, I was just a bit surprised to see the springs set to different depths. I'm going with different forks but these will find a home somewhere.....
hey tim, looking good. how do you like the 35mm shocks? I got the old 34's and they suck ass... also where did you get the kick start lever from. I tried to bend my stocker with a total fail
I like the 35's. It was a lot of work though, as it turns out the 35mm triple tree doesn't bolt right up to the 1972 frame. The steering tube is shorter on the older frames, and I didn't have the 34mm tree to work with at that point. So the steering stem on the tree had to be removed and lowered 3/4" or so if I recall. But then we realized it was tapered at the bottom, so the bearing no longer fit right. So we added material to the stem and put it on a lathe to make it fatter again for the bearing.
Long story short, you want to take the 34mm steering stem off the old tree and put it on the 35mm trees, if you have a 1970-1972 frame. In later years the steering tube is all the same I believe and things just bolt on.
I had the kick started modified. Just cut it, welded in a 1" section of stock (my welder is a pro and got really deep welds) and then some grinding to smooth it all out. Solid as a rock and clears the rear-sets perfectly.
Some new pics. Put new headers on it now that it's running nicely and the new pipes have been treated internally with ceramic coating to avoid discoloring.
Re: Tim's XS project - June 10 2010 - new headers and some pics
The headers are just aftermarket units from MikesXS. The silencers are English Brituro Megaton short megaphones. They have a nice sound, and a very distinct note during deceleration. Some people like it some think it sounds odd. I'll have to get a recording of it.
I treated the interior of the pipes myself with Kreem Blue Shield. I figured I'd give it a try - not sure it actually will do much.
Re: Tim's XS project - June 10 2010 - new headers and some pics
I talked to my local mechanic before about high temp paint on pipes. He suggested cleaning the insides and painting them as well, but it was after the fact.
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