XS650 project

[NICKMO]

I wanted to let you all in on my little project. It's been sitting for far too long and it's too nice out not to get it done this summer. It started out as a 1979 xs650 "special". I'll give a little background and get on with it. I traded the bike and a spare engine for a compressor that I got for free from work. The guy said it ran but had wiring issues, so I took it. After a little messing around I realized that someone switched the points leads, and after I switched them back it ran like gangbusters. So I scored.

Then I started cashing in Christmas and bday gifts for bike parts, and selling the stuff I stripped off for extra cash. So far I have very little of my own money invested, maybe $150.

Anyways, here's what I've done so far:

Stripped everything that I don't need, minus the harness, which will be soon.

Changed out the 16" rear with an 18" from a '74.

Cut the rear loop off.

Installed new headlight ears, clip-ons, fork gaitors, mini speedo, new grips.

Lowered the front about 1.5 through the tripples.

Changed the rear sprocket from stock to 30 tooth.

Got a CB200 tank and a medium cafe seat w/ seperate seat pan for apholstering and started body work on both.

Thats all I can think of now, I left a few pics. One of how it was when I got it, one after some stripping, and one how it sits now.

 

[twinrider]

you are off a great start, you re lucky to have found a strong engine! I couldnt say the same about my 73 650, had to do everything from top to bottom.

how's that CB tank fit in there?

 

[stsjo]

you are off a great start, you re lucky to have found a strong engine! I couldnt say the same about my 73 650, had to do everything from top to bottom.

how's that CB tank fit in there?

The bike is llooking great. It looks so much better with the 18"rim in the back, and with that cb200 tank , it's a whole
new bike.

Joe

 

[NICKMO]

Thanks guys. The cb tank doesn't fit right on there. I bought the mounting rubbers, which are opposite from the xs. The rubber posts are on the frame, not the tank, so I had to cut the metal mounts off of the frame and mount the rubbers in place. I'm working now to figure out a good way to mount the rear of the tank. Any ideas?

 

[NICKMO]

I'd love to have an old standard btw TR.

 

[50gary]

Good job thus far keep up the good work. The XS650 is a great bike underrated by some but those who know the bike give it respect. I have a full custom XS650 and love it.
Cheers, 50gary

 

[NICKMO]

I thought I'd post a few closer pics of the tank and give a quick update. I did a little fab work on the tank so I could mount it in the rear. I cut off the area of the factory mount that goes out past the rear of the tank, and then used a small piece of steel plate to cover the hole that was there. Soon I"ll attach the strip of 1/16 plate that I'll use to mount it. I used some self cutters to hold it in place for assembly until I get it welded up. Next I'll fab up the front mounts for the tank out of threaded rod and factory Honda rubbers. Also got the 1" square tube to mount the seat, so thats coming too. I'll post that after this weekend.

 

[NICKMO]

Did a little bit more y'all. I welded some 3/4" square tube to the sub-frame to mount the seat to. Finished up fabing the rear mount for the tank, which is just a "Z" shaped strip of steel welded on. Mounted both on the bike just to make sure they jive. I used some 1/8" rubber gasket material that I found at the local farm supply to rubber mount the seat. I chopped up my original battery box so I can get it out of the way. Finished stripping everything, including the inner fender and all wiring. I also used a dremel to remove 2 links from my chain & cleaned my carbs in anticipation of the big day.

Now I'm ready to paint and re-wire. I have a simple schematic and I'm actually looking forward to it. As far as the paint, I'm going to do the base color and let my bro in law do the trick stuff. Thats it for now. Here are a few pics.

 

[diesel450]

Cool, I'm in the middle of a 78 special re-do. What are you doing with the electrics that attach to the battery box? I can't decide what to do with that stuff.

 

[NICKMO]

I'm rewiring everything from scratch and the rectifier and regulator are going under the seat. I have a simple wiring diagram, if you need it let me know.

 

[NICKMO]

Did some work to my seat pan. Got some high density foam from the fabric store, it started out as 2", but I cut it down to 1 1/4" with a bread knife. I cut the rough shape, glued it down with tacky craft glue, & held it down in the curve witha a stack of books. After it dried I did the final shaping with an electric carving knife, which worked very well. The final product is really great, now I just need to get the stones to try to cover it. I have a feeling I'm going to make a complete mess out of it. That won't stop me from trying though!

Here are some pics.

 

[NICKMO]

My pipes showed up. They're really more like hardtail pipes, I got them from Ardcore choppers. I wanted some high pipes but I didn't really like the scrambler look so I went with these.

 

[NICKMO]

Ok, I did some wiring and got it running. Had my brother take a short video. A little long on the clutch, but last time I used it it needed some adjustment and I wasn't sure how it would act.

This is its first time running in its intended form.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5RvUDO55NA&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

[NICKMO]

Not sure what happened to the link ??? . Search "nicks cafe racer" on youtube. It's the one with the motorcycle, not the boat!

 

[jackstraw650]

Hey Nick....glad to see another XS here.......Your "long in the clutch" problem might be your gearing....I noticed you changed your rear sprocket to 30 teeth.....that's mighty high...stock gearing is 17/34....I've seen people go down as low as 32 to drop rpm at highway speeds and reduce vibration but at that ratio you might have trouble getting it to pull cleanly off the line without slipping the clutch some. If you want to stay with that ratio, I would make sure your carbs are jetted perfectly and synchronized as close as possible. Just a thought..........................

JS

 

[dld]

Nick,

Like JS, it's good to see another XS on DTT. It looks cold there! I also would suggest changing the gearing, up to 32 teeth at least. Welcome.

DLD1

 

[50gary]

Ditto on the gearing, I have 17 on the counter and 32 on the rear. My XS is quite light weight though so I can get away with it and still have good off the line acceleration. Edit; note you can also fit an 18T on the counter to fine tune the ratio. I also converted to 520 chain "O" ring and sprockets. A big improvement, weight is far less and strength is excellent. My counter is chromoly and the rear hard anodized aluminum.
Cheers, 50gary

 

[NICKMO]

Thanks for the input. The idea with the high gearing was to make life easy on the highway, but I may have gone too far, we'll see. I really haven't messed with gearing before, so I went all the way with it. It didn't occur to me that they would sell one high enough to cause problems. I should have asked first.

 

[NICKMO]

Just wanted to check in with a few pictures. Painted the tank and seat with primer and threw it back on to see how it would look. When its done it will be black with the flat sides of the tank inset with an off white. Inside the white panels will be something, not sure what yet. Badges, numbers maybe?

 

[Keogan]

it looks hardcore man, I love the pipe. Why are the light and clip-ons so low?