Wrapping up the XS transformation

[Roustabout]

She's no longer just garage decoration ;D I caved in and mounted the 38mm TM flat slides because I didn't want to mess around with the stock pieces of crap. They were intended for the 750 motor I'm building and are a bit too much carb for the tame motor. I leaned out the pilot and main jet and verified the float level with a sight tube I cobbled together that screws into the float bowl drain cap. Re-tightened the exhaust, gooped up the carb boot gaskets, lubed & shortened the tired looking springs on the mechanical advance, made a throttle cable and mounted some pod filters. She fired up but was running pretty rich at low rpm so I adjusted the air screws bit before taking her up the street. She behaved pretty well so I put on the helmet and went for a run out in country to put her through some testing.
The transmission was nice and smooth, engine strong but the front brake was a bit wooden(though I have become accustomed to modern brakes). I hit a nice stretch of black-top and got her up to probably 90mph (5th gear 7k rpm) but I believe the spedo does not have the correct ratio as it was reading well over 100mph. The clutch will need a bit of adjustment and I will get some stiffer springs. I am also going to switch the carbs to a set of 36mm Vms as they are a period correct and probably a little better suited to a mild motor. The pipes made her sing like hell on wheels above 5k rpm and every animal I passed became extremely agitated . The neighborhood dudes are all gearheads of sorts so I don't have to worry about pissing them off - they all love the racket that comes out her.
There is quite a bit of vibration transferred through the rearsets and clip-ons. I may have to go with rubber covered foot pegs and maybe some thicker grips or bar weights. If I absolutely can't stand the front brake i will install a 4piston caliper I have kicking around.
Monday will be the day of reckoning when I take it for a safety. After I have the safety my insurance company will set me up.

Port Dover or bust

 

[Tim]

If you feel like making up another of those trick chain protectors for the shift shaft or want to get rid of the old one, let me know - mine doesn't have one at all (1978 engine - must have gone missing somewhere) and Yamaha doesn't stock them any longer.

 

[Roustabout]

If you feel like making up another of those trick chain protectors for the shift shaft or want to get rid of the old one, let me know

Shouldn't be a problem. I have enough material to make a few. How did those fork caps/spacers work out for you?

 

[Roustabout]

Do you by chance have any night pics of that LED lighting up the license plate? I'm very intrigued...

Here's a picture in the dark.

 

[retaRD]

Wow.

 

[Tim]

I haven't installed the fork caps yet - need to get a socket the right size for them (any idea what they are? Haven't measured them). I don't want to muck them up with a wrench. But they sure look nice on my shelf!

Would be great to have one of your fancy chain gaurds. What is the material you use to run against the chain? I might need some on my swingarm.

 

[Roustabout]

I haven't installed the fork caps yet - need to get a socket the right size for them (any idea what they are? Haven't measured them). I don't want to muck them up with a wrench. But they sure look nice on my shelf!

Would be great to have one of your fancy chain gaurds. What is the material you use to run against the chain? I might need some on my swingarm.

22mm wrench. The material on the chain guard is UHMW (ultra high molecular weight) - slippery as hell and tough. I probably won't be able to make up a guard until this weekend as I will have to remove mine to measure it up and I'm hell bent on getting the bike to Port Dover on Friday. Let me know how big of a piece you need for the swing arm.

 

[retaRD]

I'm pretty sure you can order that through Mcmaster.com

I'd order a sheet of black delrin. That site is amazing. They have everything.

 

[Roustabout]

Last night I took the XS out for one more shakedown before the safety. I went back to my "test track" out in the country for a few laps and achieved the ton on several occasions @ 8krpm. No noises and very stable at speed ;D. I bagged off work early today to take her to a nearby shop for a safety. I waited for the rain to stop and cruised over. Turns out the guys there are "cafe friendly" and the bike had no issue other than the neutral LED stopped working. The neutral light is a requirement for a safety :-[ I rode home with my tail between my legs to fix the glitch so I could bring it back for the paper work. Fixed the light and headed back to shop only to have everything go dead as the fellow was about to check it They were cool and let me use their tools while I did some quick troubleshooting - I figured I didn't completely engage a bullet connector to the ignition or a bad fuse. The issue was not immediately apparent so I had to call my neighbour to come and pick me up with my trailer. I towed the bike home, again, with my tail between my legs As it turns out the positive battery lead broke where it connects to the starter solenoid - probably bent back and forth too many times in it's long life.

I will try again tomorrow.... at least I haven't paid the shop anything yet.

 

[Roustabout]

I got the bike safetied, insured and plated I didn't make it to Port Dover but used the time to sort a few things out on the bike. I had a n oil leak on the points end of the cam and as it turned out the previous owner forgot to install the o-ring behind the cam seal housing. Yesterday I installed the new petcocks (thanks Tim!), a tool kit and headed out for a 60 mile run. Today I went for a country ride through Halton region and ended up at Rattlesnake point.

 

[Tim]

Hmmm - o-ring.... have to go have a look at my engine! Glad the petcocks are working out - I really like them but just couldn't work with the 90 degree turn.

 

[cbcafe]

Top notch project Roustabout. I have a pic of your bike on my background on the computer. The proportions are just right with quality workmanship throughout. If you're going on 60 mile jaunts, the bike must be pretty much debugged. I'm still doing short runs on mine until it proves to me all the problems are settled. Your bike makes me want to find an XS.

 

[Roustabout]

Glad the petcocks are working out - I really like them but just couldn't work with the 90 degree turn.

They don't have a traditional look but they work great and have a good quality construction. I'm very happy with them.

 

[Roustabout]

If you're going on 60 mile jaunts, the bike must be pretty much debugged. I'm still doing short runs on mine until it proves to me all the problems are settled. Your bike makes me want to find an XS.

Thanks for the vote of confidence. Having never ridden an XS650 before this project, I was unaware of how much vibration the motor makes. I was used to classic Honda multis that were silky smooth by comparison. I originally thought that the most annoying vibration was coming through the bars but I found out that the worst of it is coming up from the seat into my bony ass : It's most annoying while down shifting and trying to read a road sign with your vision blurred. I'm going to try to alter the seat mounts to dampen things a bit. I can't wait to get the re-phased motor started!

 

[chrisf]

That's a great bike. The taillight really seals the deal. Well done.

My Honda twin vibrates way too much too. I feel it through the clip-ons, though. I too need thicker grips. The CB360, by comparison, vibrates very little.

--Chris

 

[Roustabout]

I finally got the 36mm VMs installed and they work like a dream ;D. The jetting is pretty close and the bike idles properly now. I had a bit of a glitch with the throttle cable splitter that was requiring a kung-fu grip to get the throttle to open Got it straightened out but the carb slide return springs are a bit on the stiff side for long rides. I went out today for a country ride to the Forks of the Credit area - that place is bike Mecca - bikes everywhere . Took in the twisties, the sights and an espresso in Belfountain.

 

[Tim]

SWEET! I was plugging away on mine a bit today. Got the coil mounted up and some other bits. With luck we'll have to take both bikes back up to the Forks this season! Would be nice to see them side by side.

 

[guitargeek]

NIIIICE!!

 

[Roustabout]

With luck we'll have to take both bikes back up to the Forks this season! Would be nice to see them side by side.

There needs to be a Do The Ton ride - Do The Forks

 

[coolatula]

Looking good! How does it handle overall?

On a side note:
My throttle hand would get fatigued on long rides and the older I get the worse it is so I bought a throttle rocker/Cramp Buster thingy(the smaller one) for about $10-12 a few years ago. It clamps/rotates on onto the throttle grip using tension/friction and you can use the heal of your hand or a light grip to activate the throttle. It saves me a lot of joint/hand pain and you adjust it into the position you want/need it.

I don't use it in the twisties though because with my hand resting on it all the time you have to turn your wrist up more than normal to let the throttle close. This was BAD if I forgot to take it off when I had my FZR1000(read lots of torque off idle) and would accidentally hit it/push it with my palm on a slow speed corner.

One time I bumped it while turning into a little right hander at slow speed(10-15 mph),it lifted the front tire off the ground ...not my kind of fun while going INTO a curve. I brought it back down and made the corner,but I easily could have dumped the bike if I had went deeper into the corner than I was. This isn't nearly as big of an issue if I forget and leave it on my wifes Ninja 250. Even if you whack the throttle open on that bike it's still very tame in the torque producing department.

Unless you have tall handle bars you can't just simply turn it down out of the way either because if you turn tight to the right the device would come into contact with the fuel tank,VERY bad as it would cause the throttle to open while you are turning and the more you turn the more the throttle would open. Yes,did that too!

So,it's just easier to just take the damn thing off if I know I'm going to be hitting the twisties hard and put in back on when I'm done playing.