xs650 'standard' build

drummingpariah

drummingpariah

Building a bettery daily.
After my last bike ended up in the driver's door of an idiot girl who surprise-uturned me, I promised myself I'd wait 'till next season to pick up another (only borrowing bikes, it isn't like I've given up riding altogether).

Without getting into too many details, I broke that promise to myself. I loaded a non-running bike onto a pickup last night, dropped it off, and promptly got it running. Now I'm just waiting to register it and get back on the road this week.
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Needless to say, I'm pretty happy with this purchase. I think it looks pretty darn good, and it already runs better than my CB ever did.
 
Yeah looking good already, if you need anything let me know. I might have something.

Sent from my DROID RAZR
 
That bike is super clean. Good on ya. If you can swing it, pick up the rephase kit. The XS650 can vibrate like crazy. Add clip ons, thin seat padding, and other cafe bits and it can get uncomfortable pretty quickly. Otherwise, you scored a kick ass machine. Can't wait to put together another one myself.
 
I've been surprised by the finds that I turned down. An XS1B, a Bonneville (brazed frames terrify me), and a handful of old GSXR's (I love old-school aluminum-framed sportbikes).

After all was said and done, I paid $575 after borrowing the truck, buying lunch for my buddy, putting gas in the truck, and putting fresh gas and mystery oil into the XS650.

Right now, I need a new coil, as I don't expect these plug wires to hold out much longer.
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I took apart the airbox today, and found that the 'air cleaners' are just gross old socks. Do these (awesome) Mikunis take pod filters without major modifications? I think I still have some jets lying around here somewhere, but I don't even know if I'd need to rejet them with different filters.

I need new handlebars. These things are crazy. Just obnoxious. The same goes for the mirrors.

I suppose I'll end up going semi-cafe with Superbike or Drag bars on this, or I might even put dirtbike bars on, since they tend to be pretty comfy. The XS has some SWEET exhausts out there, but until this exhaust starts to rust, I don't really care to spend money on upgrades.
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Other than that, I can't come up with too many things I'd even want to change. Perhaps a sportbike front end for better brakes, and maybe 17" wheels for more modern, sticky tires.

For the rest of the season, I just plan to enjoy the hell out of this little thing. Autumn is just beginning, and I can see myself spending a lot of time with a camera bag on the back seat, just cruising around in my free time.
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Here's a good place to find all you'll ever need to know about the 650:

http://xs650temp.proboards.com/index.cgi

Great bikes- and Yinz is right, vibrate is an under statement, but that's all part of the character of these bikes. They sound great and have good streetable power. You can really trim some fat off of them too if that's the direction you want to go.

Have fun with it! Matt
 
Nice find, you stole it for that price. Get some drag bars on there and you will be amazed at the transformation. My KZ has ridiculous bars like that when I got it, did not feel good to ride at all. I threw some clipons on (above the top clamp so the same height as drag bars) and it was an instant improvement, was actually controllable.
 
Very nice find, and you got it for a song really. I suggest ditching those FUCKING BS34 carbs right the fuck now.
 
Re: Re: xs650 'standard' build

ProSimex said:
Very nice find, and you got it for a song really. I suggest ditching those FUCKING BS34 carbs right the fuck now.
Click to expand...

.... Lol that's the first thing I did too. The vm34. Makes a world of difference

Sent from my DROID RAZR
 
You guys are kidding, right? These Mikunis are pretty much my favorite carbs ever made. Of all time.

Ever.

They're the same as what I had on my GSXR, and basically the same as the BST's I swapped onto my CB750 just before it went through the driver's door of a Corolla. With that being said, I have absolutely no intention of swapping these two carbs out. I just cleaned them, and the bike runs like a top now (had a little bit of throttle hang when I took it out for a ride this afternoon).

In other news, I think I'm going to get superbike bars. This bike is so tiny I'm not sure I'd actually like drag bars or clip-ons (that don't rise) but I liked the superbike bars on the CB750 a lot. I may end up going bar-end mirrors again too, since they were far less inconvenient than I had expected on the CB (most of my experience riding an old-school bike will stem from the CB, so feel free to correct me where I'm wrong).

I've been strongly considering joining the xs650 forum, but I think I'm going to hold off until I have a question I can't solve myself, or a part I can't just order. I'm already on far too many forums as it is, and overall, I really like this place.

Because photos are always a necessity:
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The '80 and up BS34 carbs aren't as good as the earlier BS38, but if yours work fine then no reason to change them. I put Bikemaster 'European' bars on my '79. Either those or superbike bars would be great.
 
speedfourjoe said:
The '80 and up BS34 carbs aren't as good as the earlier BS38, but if yours work fine then no reason to change them. I put Bikemaster 'European' bars on my '79. Either those or superbike bars would be great.
Click to expand...

Those look great on there! I should have a set of black Superbike bars tomorrow evening. I'm going to TRY to salvage the current grips I have (I don't have an air compressor, so it could be a challenge) and re-use them on the new bars.

After I finally registered it tonight, i dialed in the carbs as best i could and took a chance and took the bike out for a proper ride this evening.

I had missed riding so much.

I plan to take it in to work tomorrow. Wish me luck, starting it is still a little rough.
 
It's too dark for photos, but I got my new bars in today. Black BikeBandit (noname) Superbike bars. One of my mirrors proved stronger than I am, and I'm leaving it to soak in PB Blaster overnight, but it went well otherwise.

I've been riding whenever I have time, and dialing in the carbs after each ride. To my surprise, my adjustments seemed to go catastrophic last night. As soon as the bike warmed up, it started sputtering and resisting moving, and when I slowed to stop at a red light, it stalled. I was able to limp it home (my rides haven't taken me far from my house 'till I have more confidence in my tune), but didn't figure out what happened 'till tonight.

Apparently one of the float bowl drainage bolts wriggled its way loose and made it out the bottom.
Whoops!

Tomorrow morning, the plan is to replace that and go for a few long rides. The weather should be beautiful, and our fall foliage is just starting to show itself.
 
On the too tight mirror, Yamaha used left and right hand threads so the mirrors tighten against the wind and won't come loose- make sure your turning in the correct direction- wouldn't be the first...
 
I stand by my earlier statements regarding the BS vs. VM. However if those are working for ya then by all means, no sense in dropping money. Next time there is a VM group buy on here though you should consider making the switch. Great bike, I don't know how much adjustments you really need to be making to your stock carbs since it seems like you're running a stock set up. Have you checked how well your alternator is putting out the juice? If you need a new rotor or any stock charging bits I have a couple here from PMA swaps I could let go for peanuts.
 
Great bike XS650 are bomb proof. I also like the XS650 forum, I was a moderator on that board for some time. I would at least take a look at the "M" bars used on the current Triumph Thruxtons I have a set on my CX500 cafe and a set of Superbike bars on my XS650 (my avatar bike) and prefer the M bars, a bit more pull back and you can flip them up or down to adjust the drop. My 650 is fairly smooth running make sure you sync your carburetors with a vacuum gauge. For improved handling and cheap to do is the mandatory swingarm bushing fix, stock is plastic, and of course tapered roller head bearings. Next to Harleys the XS650 is probably the most modified bike there is. Have fun.
Edit: I notice your title is XS "Standard" build your bike is a 650 Special, I would look for an 18" rear wheel and lace up an 18" front, Avon Roadriders.
Cheers, 50gary
 
50gary said:
Great bike XS650 are bomb proof. I also like the XS650 forum, I was a moderator on that board for some time. I would at least take a look at the "M" bars used on the current Triumph Thruxtons I have a set on my CX500 cafe and a set of Superbike bars on my XS650 (my avatar bike) and prefer the M bars, a bit more pull back and you can flip them up or down to adjust the drop. My 650 is fairly smooth running make sure you sync your carburetors with a vacuum gauge. For improved handling and cheap to do is the mandatory swingarm bushing fix, stock is plastic, and of course tapered roller head bearings. Next to Harleys the XS650 is probably the most modified bike there is. Have fun.
Edit: I notice your title is XS "Standard" build your bike is a 650 Special, I would look for an 18" rear wheel and lace up an 18" front, Avon Roadriders.
Cheers, 50gary
Click to expand...

I'm still waiting for my activation email for the xs650 forum. New bars make all the difference in the world:
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Carbs are sync'd and tuned now, running well. When I said "Standard" I really just meant a standard style bike, not a base-model. I believe my plan will be 17" modern wheels and a modern sportbike front end, either this winter or next. That swingarm bushing sounds like a bad thing to make out of plastic. Disappointing.

Wahoo650 said:
On the too tight mirror, Yamaha used left and right hand threads so the mirrors tighten against the wind and won't come loose- make sure your turning in the correct direction- wouldn't be the first...
Click to expand...

That ... makes so much sense. I'll check in the AM.

ProSimex said:
I stand by my earlier statements regarding the BS vs. VM. However if those are working for ya then by all means, no sense in dropping money. Next time there is a VM group buy on here though you should consider making the switch. Great bike, I don't know how much adjustments you really need to be making to your stock carbs since it seems like you're running a stock set up. Have you checked how well your alternator is putting out the juice? If you need a new rotor or any stock charging bits I have a couple here from PMA swaps I could let go for peanuts.
Click to expand...

The charging system is working well enough for my needs, but I just ordered a new coil from mikesxs. The stock plug wires were dry-rotted and cracked (internally and externally) and were generating a lot of resistance. The bike's running well now, but still misses more often than I'd like.
 
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