Quick make over.......or so I thought.....The ubiquitous XS650 - UK

Yup, those side covers are a thing of beauty. Your work is very inspiring indeed, really enjoying watching and following along. What exactly is that tool you used for making the hole in the side covers?
 
Cheers guys, thanks for the positive comments.
The "tool" is home made swaging tool, I think you can buy them?
 
First time in over 2 years...using my old pull lift, it was time to get it off the work bench its been bolted to...................soon realised my estimated side stand length came up a little short..............so needed some addressing..

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Had to extend the side stand about 40mm to get it lean just right, no in progress pics, but back into the oven for some of the wrinkle finish then topped off with a stainless disc for the foot. I cannot stand seeing bikes in shows etc with the stands all chipped and scratched

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Finally under its own weight I could set up the brake pipe up front and brackets etc. Made up a stainless keeper, mounted off the caliper to keep the hose off the tyre under full compression of the forks.
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So when that was done..................first day the sun has shined in seems like 6-months, time to wheel it outside and get some better shots of it............prior to the first show which was supposed to be in a few weeks...little did we know at the time..............few gratuitous pages of some pics of the bike in the sun. I know some of you like a few pics ( 5 pages enough !!).... Lockdown in full swing so no dramatic industrial backdrops...just my front garden
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:p A Mazing detailing Chris.....the more I look the more I see. One of those bikes you can just stand and enjoy taking in the attention to detail in almost every part....in fact, every part.
Nothing is just bolted on....'that'll do' isn't in your vocabulary I'm sure.

A true show winner IMO.
 
Well done! so many great details. Really like the frame bracing.
 
:p A Mazing detailing Chris.....the more I look the more I see. One of those bikes you can just stand and enjoy taking in the attention to detail in almost every part....in fact, every part.
Nothing is just bolted on....'that'll do' isn't in your vocabulary I'm sure.

A true show winner IMO.
Ha, correct, you know me too well, without even knowing me!!............some of the bits that made the final cut were 3rd generation...thats why my builds take so long I think? The bike was due to take a plinth at this years Bike Shed Show in London, then onto the National Championships at Kickback in July, but sadly as we all know the world imploded :rolleyes:...............ive got some updates on the build to post, as its been having a few shakedown tests in between lockdown restrictions
 
Really really nicely done.
The exhaust is a work of art. As is the rest of it.
 
As promised, getting this thread up to present day................plan was keep it nice and clean before the first show of the year, not attempt to run it as I didn't want any last minute dramas, didn't want anything to fall off or tempt me into riding it and chucking it into a hedge before its first public outing..it had spark and it had fuel, turned over and nothing caught fire so I left it at that....

Anyway as we know 2020 is now a complete right off and there will be no public shows, both major shows I planned on taking it to in the UK were canned, so i set about getting it running................its not really a motorbike anyway unless it makes a noise and you can ride it .........chucked some petrol in, and gave it a shot.............mothing, nowt, nadda

Turns out I'd only forgot to drill the stainless manifolds Id made back in the winter....

That sorted onto the big moment..............2nd attempt and it fired, idled, very roughly then died........3rd go, bit more throttle, idling very roughly but kept it running..............quickly deduced something was not right...cut a long story one of the plugs was dead (easy fix), and a few days of head scratching, jets in and out, needles up and down, timing off and on, strobes and multimeter all over it...etc etc, Id realised the plug and play carbs had had the slides in the wrong way round since Id received them.......she was running pretty rich as you can see. First start click here

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Smaller pilot jets, slides in the right way round and some minor tweaks to the timing and its idling...........................idling like a 44 years old twin cylinder bike.......................got the baffles in this time though ....trying to dial in motorbike in a suburbia in the middle of lockdown is not very neighbourly, but she runs better. Running better - Click here
 
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