gentlemanthief
New Member
Hello world,
Since I recently sold my car (1960 Volvo 544) I've been experiencing a feeling of loss, a gap somewhere between my belly and my heart where the mechanical anxiety over whether or not I'd be able to fix the car this time used to be. I figured this would be a good time to finally go and get my motorcycle license, and to do that I needed a ride, so here it is. 1978 Yamaha XS750, with a Marshall 3-1 exhaust and one hideous bright yellow paint. It was running fine when we picked it up, except the front brakes called it quits on the way home, it was idling at about 4000 rpm or so, and the tires turned out to be more like a pair of ice skates (and oh, it started to rain when we were half way home).
As the riding season has pretty much reached its end here in Sweden (expecting snow by tomorrow), the idea for the next couple of months is to get all the mechanical necesseties working like the brakes, the clutch, and rebuilt carbs. I figure the high idle is probably caused by the dry cracked up inlet rubbers, but I'm gonna clean 'em and change everything removable on the carbs anyways. Also I'm gonna try and get some of the aestethics right with a bare polished tank, new air filters, clip-ons, and details in fresh black paint (except the frame which will be dealt with next winter along with the engine). When it comes to the seat I haven't quit made up my mind about whether to do it with fiberglass, as a first-time welding project (probably not such a good idea, but you gotta try it to learn anything right), or just make it a long flat seat as I would like to retain the possibility of riding two on it, and the upholstery part is something I feel confident doing...
Now all the experience I have comes from a life-long tinkering with anything and everything mechanical, the old Volvo, and all the mopeds I've modded through my adolescence, so any tips, tricks and ideas are warmly welcomed.
Cheers!
Since I recently sold my car (1960 Volvo 544) I've been experiencing a feeling of loss, a gap somewhere between my belly and my heart where the mechanical anxiety over whether or not I'd be able to fix the car this time used to be. I figured this would be a good time to finally go and get my motorcycle license, and to do that I needed a ride, so here it is. 1978 Yamaha XS750, with a Marshall 3-1 exhaust and one hideous bright yellow paint. It was running fine when we picked it up, except the front brakes called it quits on the way home, it was idling at about 4000 rpm or so, and the tires turned out to be more like a pair of ice skates (and oh, it started to rain when we were half way home).
As the riding season has pretty much reached its end here in Sweden (expecting snow by tomorrow), the idea for the next couple of months is to get all the mechanical necesseties working like the brakes, the clutch, and rebuilt carbs. I figure the high idle is probably caused by the dry cracked up inlet rubbers, but I'm gonna clean 'em and change everything removable on the carbs anyways. Also I'm gonna try and get some of the aestethics right with a bare polished tank, new air filters, clip-ons, and details in fresh black paint (except the frame which will be dealt with next winter along with the engine). When it comes to the seat I haven't quit made up my mind about whether to do it with fiberglass, as a first-time welding project (probably not such a good idea, but you gotta try it to learn anything right), or just make it a long flat seat as I would like to retain the possibility of riding two on it, and the upholstery part is something I feel confident doing...
Now all the experience I have comes from a life-long tinkering with anything and everything mechanical, the old Volvo, and all the mopeds I've modded through my adolescence, so any tips, tricks and ideas are warmly welcomed.
Cheers!