1977 Yamaha XS750 - The Villain

[Shawkpilot]

You'll hate those EMGO pods. The lip inside on the rubber flange blocks some of the holes on the carbs. I trimmed mine out, but still didn't like them. Found some pods simliar to the MIKESXS pods, but a lot cheaper. Fit right on. I'll see if I can find the website again, but you need 52mm pods, which you already know.

 

[Sohio]

Prime Directive

Today was a bunch of washing, sanding, cleaning and priming. By the end I had the front fender, headlight bucket, headlight ring, and headlight grill all primered and ready for paint.

Few little dents, but I think they add character.​

Also did some work on my pod filters. Taped 'em up, roughed the hell outta' the chrome bits, and primered and painted. I think they look way better, and have a more retro feel to them than the shiny chrome. Watcha think?

Chrome on the left, antique brass on the right.​

Showed one to my sister-in-law and she thought it was old and dirty at first, just the look I was going for! Came up with an idea for the area on the forks between the triple tree mounts, once again going for an older look. It's faux leather, think I'll need to treat it to make it more weather resistant.

Comments

Shawkpilot- I had to take a look at my carbs and the pod filters to see what you mean. Definitely will present a problem that will have to be solved. Thanks for the heads up! Really like your Yamaha, especially they way you solved the problem of the tank indentation at the bottom. I'll have to incorporate that trick into my paint scheme somehow!

 

[CresentSon]

Lacquer the leather with a product for wood. I've done it on a few knife handles with good results.

 

[midnightcafe]

regarding those EMGOs- I believe your bike has mikunis, which would need a rejet and positioning the needles higher. I made the mistake of using emgo's on 1980 model which has Hitachi CV carbs that aren't adjustable :-\ bike ran super lean with an asthmatic powerband.

 

[Sohio]

Things have been kinda slow lately. It's too cold and wet today to do any painting, so not much to report on, but some parts did arrive in the mail.

The old steering bearings are starting to rust,so new ones it is. The LED tail light will be a much sleeker replacement for the clunky stock light. If it wasn't raining I'd be working on the seat design and how to integrate the light, maybe tomorrow!

Yesterday's weather was perfect for working on the bike, but we had an appointment with the queen...

Took my sister-in-law to the Tennessee Renaissance Fair for Mother's Day, and had a blast! They even had motorcycle only parking right near the entrance! Hopefully more progress on the bike tomorrow!

Comments

CresentSon- Great idea on the lacquer, much better than the camp-dry I was thinking of. I'll probably end up painting the forks underneath for added protection.

midnightcafe- Yeah, this one came with Mikuni's, the P/O had weird velocity stacks only on the bike, so I'm sure it will need re-jetted before all is said and done. Guess I'll have to study up on carburetors to find out just what it will need.

 

[Sohio]

Prime Time
Wet-sanded the parts I primered before, and went all the way through in a couple of spots, grrr! Back to another couple of coats of primer, we'll try again tomorrow. Used 400 grit sandpaper per instructions from this site, http://www.hondatwins.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=370&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=20 , but I think I'll move to 1000 grit tomorrow, 400 seemed too coarse and went through the primer way easy.

Did get a few things done, the top triple clamp, levers, rear turn signals, pod filters, and headlight grill are all finished. Painted the grill Rust-oleum Dark Bronze, looks a lot better than the flat black I had before. Everything else is in VHT Satin Black epoxy, and I like how it looks. It's shiny at the start, but as it cures it gets a nicer satin finish.

I've got a few choices on grips besides the standard black...

The beige ones would go with the cream color that's going to be on the tank, seat and fender. I'm thinking if I use them they would need black clip-ons to make them stand out more. The white are another possibility, as I'm thinking of making the tank indents either gloss white or bare metal. I just worry about them getting dirty, seems like it would be difficult to keep them clean. Not too sure about the red ones, although they just might work. I'll have to mock everything up to see. The natural rubber grips are my favorites so far, but once I mock up the bike when the tank is painted that could change.

Lots more work to do, and next week I'll be on a CC vacation, camping and coasters, as we go to Holiday World, Cedar Point, and Kings Island! Can't wait, just wish I could pack up the bike and take her with me!

 

[Sohio]

Vacation

Vacation was cut short by the weather, some people can only take so many days camping while it's wet. Only made it to Holiday World, missed Cedar Point and Kings Island, maybe later this year. At least I have some free time to work on the bike!

The front fender is almost finished painting, just need to get the little "buttons" painted bronze. Looks OK so far, but still need to get some pinstripes and I am thinking a picture of a cow skull to match the one on the Villain's entrance sign might look nice. Found some vinyl ones, but they're 5"x5", too big.

Rust-oleum Sand and Dark Bronze​

Put some Bondo on the tank, first time using the stuff, so I hope I don't mess it up too much. Also started stripping the frame. There are a couple of rusty spots that will need sanding, but it's coming along nicely.

Not a dancing penguin this time​

After looking for a while, I've steeled on what tires I'm going to use. While I like the Firestone Deluxe Champions, I really think they only look right on spoked wheels. I'm going to go with Duro HF317 front and HF318 rear on the Villain. I think thgey look just as good as the Avon Speedmasters but cost a whole lot less.

If I have enough time, might get some primer on the tank tomorrow, just depends on how long it takes to finish stripping the frame. Back to the grind!

 

[CresentSon]

I'm all giddy excited about this one.. I think we need to start talking about a deadline, or maybe I just have to learn about patience.

 

[Makr]

That looks like spot putty on your tank. Did you mix it with an activator(hydrogen peroxide)?


If it is spot putty, it will shrink, and crack if it is that thick. It is essentially a pasty primer. Okay for small stuff, but you need plastic filler for he big areas.

Front fender is looking good.

 

[t71ford]

I can't believe I have missed this build!. Great progress, and color choices too.

On the carbs, I think the 750 has the same carbs as my 1100. If it had stacks, you should be ok with that jetting for the pods, unless it was way off in the first place. I did not change jetting on mine at all for the pods, as at my altitude it was running rich on stock jets. You really won't need to mess with the needle, agian, unless it was really wrong to begin with. The needle taper on the stock needle is already pretty steep, so raising it makes BIG changes to your midrange. I am running the Emgo pods with no problems at all. I did not have to modify them either, although I have heard of problems with them.

I will be watching this from now on!

 

[Sohio]

Progress Continues

Frame is fully stripped now, a very time consuming task! So many little nooks and crannies to get! Finished the Bondo on the tank, also something very time consuming, but very rewarding. Having the patience to sand, put another thin layer on, and re-sand until it's as smooth as ice is very much like sculpture, working a material until you get out of it what your mind has conceived. Have to finish sanding the tank to get the bits of flash rust off, and then it's paint time. I'm thinking of putting a base of appliance epoxy silver, waiting a week (probably two knowing my propensity to miss a few spots), and then putting a wide stripe (full width of the tank) of the Rust-oleum Sand color running down the middle. We'll see as it goes, may have to let The Villain decide that for me as it progresses.

Also scored this keychain off of eBay, along with a few other Villain goodies that may or may not be incorporated into the build.

Comments

CresentSon- I wish I could set a deadline on this build, but finances are the dictating force here. Patience is not something i have in abundance, but this is really teaching me to slow down and do stuff right. I spent part of today repainting part of the fender that no one will ever see. That means another day waiting for the paint to cure instead of clear-coating it today. Is it worth it? I guess it is to me.

Makr- Yes, that is spot putty. There's already Bondo filling in the dents, I'm just smoothing out what I damaged when I stripped the tank. It's very thin coats, in fact I've probably sanded through the coats multiple times getting it smooth. There's just not that much to fill in, but the first pic does look like I slathered that stuff all over the top of the tank. I was trying to get it as thin as possible and ended up covering a much larger area than needed.

t71ford- I don't really know how well the carbs are set up, never rode the bike because of the deterioration of the tires and no baffle if the muffler. I'll probably end up needing the help of my local Yamaha dealer when all is said and done, there's just so much about carbs I don't know. I'm no too worried about it, that's a bridge to cross in the future.

 

[Sohio]

Progress

Got up this morning and finished the headlight shell and bezel. Also finished painting the front fender, now it just needs wet sanded and clear coated. Here's some pics so you can see how the color scheme is working out.

Shell and fender 1​

Shell and fender 2​

Seems to be working so far. Not sure about the antique brass on the bezel though, may repaint to dark bronze if it doesn't grow on me. Hard to see the fender color good, tried adjusting the photos but nothing really worked.

 

[dakine_surf]

damn... I love the color... I mean love it! I have wanted to do a bike up like this for a while...

If you don't mind divulging, what colors are you using?

 

[midnightcafe]

where'd you get the headlamp grill?

 

[silrod]

About changing the wheels .......

stick with what you have. As it's a shaft drive you will find it impossible to get any better wheels. Only other choices are those from xs1100's and they were all hideous. You are stuck with a skinny rear and cast rims.

I think the wheels look cool, especially as you are going for a bit of a locomotive look. They look like they came from Casey Jones' shed anyhow. ;D

 

[Sohio]

SWMBF&B

With the in-laws arriving for the holiday weekend, little progress was made today, and in fact I found a couple of flaws on the fender that will have to be remedied before clear-coating. But hey, the house is nice and clean! She who must be feared and obeyed deemed it so, and so it shall be!

Comments

dakine_surf - Fender is colored Rust-oleum Sand, with Rust-oleum Antique Brass Metallic for the "buttons" and Rust-oleum Dark Bronze Metallic for the arms. Headlight shell is Krylon Satin Brown Boots and the bezel is more of the antique brass. Glad you like the colors, I experimented with several color combos before I got one the way I wanted.

midnightcafe - Headlamp grill came from Moss Motors. http://www.mossmotors.com/Shop/ViewProducts.aspx?PlateIndexID=40697

silrod - I agree with you on the wheels, they do have somewhat of a locomotive look to them!

 

[Swagger]

Just to muddy the waters with some info....

An XS650 front wheel is just about a direct bolt in (spokes) and the Virago has the same wheel splines and axle specs and the XS triples so grab a hub and lace up whatever size spoke wheel you want.

 

[dakine_surf]

dakine_surf - Fender is colored Rust-oleum Sand, with Rust-oleum Antique Brass Metallic for the "buttons" and Rust-oleum Dark Bronze Metallic for the arms. Headlight shell is Krylon Satin Brown Boots and the bezel is more of the antique brass. Glad you like the colors, I experimented with several color combos before I got one the way I wanted.

Thanks, I really like these colors, and the brass really makes the sand just pop! I can't wait to see more, it will look great when you are finished!

 

[JS550]

Im diggin the colors. Should look cool together. What size front tire are you going to use? I have a 19" Continental RB2 that is about the exact tread pattern as the one you have in the pic, only has a couple hundred on it, still has the nips! if youre interested, I'll give you a sweet deal. pm me an adress & I'll get a price to you.
Jim

 

[Sohio]

Wiring

Been working a lot of overtime lately, with hardly any time for The Villain, and funds are really tight, so I haven't accomplished much lately. Labeled a new wiring harness I had picked up a while ago for cheap.

Our evil robo-cat about to attack the harness!​

Of course, discovered that the harness is for an XS750 Special, not the standard, and that might be a problem. The Specials used a transistor ignition system, while the early standards used points, so I don't know how much of a difference that will make. There's also a Light Checker (Yamaha Part No. 2G2-84708-01-00) that my bike doesn't have. Anyone know just how compatible the harness will be, and if it is will I have to buy the light checker or re-wire to eliminate it? The original harness is in a fairly rough condition, and I'm having trouble finding one in good shape.

Comments

JS550 - The front tire is a 3.25-19, and you're right, that Conti looks a whole lot like the Duro!