!!FIRST POST!! XS500 cafe build. i could use your help!

N

Newyorker2080

New Member
Hello Everyone,

This is my first post on this forum and im really glad ive found it. It has given me a lot of inspiration and great ideas for my project. Beginning of last summer i came across a 1975 yamaha xs500 for 275 dollars. It is a little crusty which is expected of most bikes that age but the surprise to me is that it has less than 7,000 original miles. And it runs great! After doing research off and on about cafe bikes all summer i decided it was time to start the project mostly becuase the weather doesnt want to let me ride right now. And we just had our first snow today!

Right now im compiling a Parts list, well basically a BOM so i can see where i stand with money and approximately how much everything will cost and so i can see visually what i need/want. Ive been having trouble making my mind up with certain parts or even finding a decent supplier.

One thing im really having trouble finding is a get exhaust/muffler setup. im looking for something with decent sound but not to expensive. recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Please Post any links that you may think are important for a project like this. Good parts suppliers, accessories, mufflers, etc.....

Any help would be really appreciated! :)

and here is a picture of my bike. ill add more pics of the build when i get deeper into it.
 

Attachments

the xs' seem to be a pretty good platform, I'm surprised there aren't loads of them here.

mikesxs.net

old used tanks / seats / etc for yamaha, kawasaki, suzuki, honda.
http://www.alfaheaven.com/AHI_Text_Pages/bikeindx.html
 
I am just about done with my TX500 73' check out the link in my sig man... how does the heads look! that is the main prob wth this bike
 
Thanks for the input. will universal mufflers fit? suggestions on those? such as those Dunstan ones? ill check out those links too. The heads on the bike seem fine as it is. like i said there really arent that many miles on them.
 
From what I remember reading, the heads are thin between the valves and are prone to cracking there, especially when the bike is allowed to get really hot. You probably won't have any trouble with the heads with that low mileage, just remember not to let it get too hot.

As far as an exhaust goes, you're probably gonna be stuck with the stock head pipes, but most universals can likely be fitted without too much trouble. Mike's XS will be your new friend, alot of the parts from the XS650 are interchangeable, just make sure you cross reference the part numbers to make sure you end up with the right parts.

Your bike looks pretty clean, I'd start off with a can of WD40 and some #0000 steel wool and get'er nice and shiny.
 
JRK, i just spent probably the last hour and a half browsing through your tx500 build posts. That is very impressive work and it cleared up a lot of things i was thinking about doing. I currently have the bike stripped all the way down to frame. and im gonna be bringing it to powdercoating as soon as i clean it up a bit. Im going to go with a white powder for the frame. what do you think? let me know how that oil cooler works. This is my first bike and first time doing a project like this. Luckily i have what seems to be endless resources such as this forum and My professors at michigan technological university. Im not to worried......yet. haha.

Thanks!!
 
ha, when I dropped my frame off with JRK to get powdered we had a talk about color and we were both like "ya, annnnything but black". So I think white is a good choice. Joe made a good point in that when you paint/powder your frame something besides black it lets people know that the engine came out.. that you really put some work in and tore the bike all the way down :)
 
white is good but make sure your coater knows what they are doing... some whites HAVE TO have a clear on them...while others like a super durrable (what i would use on it) do not and if they are cleared will peel and look like crap!

here is the super we use and the super black... does not get any better than this!
lrg-267-may_09_035.jpg
 
that white does look really nice. but i may be having second thoughts about the white frame. Ive seen the work that this powder guy has done and he does a really good job. he powdered my friends whole f150 truck frame and it turned out about as close to perfect as youre going to get.

I have a another question that maybe you can give some guidance. i want to put my battery under the seat and get rid of the side covers. I want to fabricate a small box that hugs the frame that sits below the seat directly under where your butt would go on the seat. Do you think that this is feasable. i know that ill have to extend the ground cable and probably a few other wires. but i think it would look pretty rad if that area was opened up.
 
Well removing the side covers will expose the airbox, so you'll need to remove those as well to "open it up". That requires filters or stacks.

The actual battery relocation is pretty straight forward. Some guys make new boxes, others just make a tray that they mount where-ever and then strap the battery to that tray.

Opening up that area also exposes lots of nasty wiring and a few other electrical bits that may need relocated so they don't get hit with waters or dirt.
 
Yeah, im going to get some k&n filters and mount the wiring mess under the seat (or at least try haha). i just want to make sure what im thinking will work before i go de-tab the frame and add to it in other places. The only thing im real worried about right now in this project is the wiring. but i dont think itll be that bad once i start reconnecting everything. What are your experiences with wiring?
 
I suck at wiring as well... learned alot on this last one.... in the past on my other builds i have always just cut what i am not going to use out of the main harness... this one i made my own.

i would sugest for your first build that you keep the main harness, look it all over and repair any bad wires and/or clips. then just mark where it all plugged into and wiring is just a matter of plugging it all back in. that is what i have ALWAYS done in the past an never had a wiring issue... i learned that doing your own harness is not as easy as i had hoped!
 
You want our help >:( Here cop this >:(

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260544369922&viewitem=&sspagename=ADME%3AB%3ASS%3AAU%3A1123#ht_4281wt_1167

Just doing my bit ;D hope this fits.

Rod from OZ 8)
 
JRK5892 said:
ooh hell no! those are wicked! where where those when i was making mine!
Click to expand...

I know how you feel, I feel like buying them, just because there so sweet ;D them looking for a bike to fit them too.

Rod from OZ 8)
 
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