and finally it rumbled back into life

XSiveAl

Hi everybody!!

I really want to thank all of you for such a great compilation of information. You have every idea, I'm sure, about how useful this forum is to those of us so obsessed with our machines.

And now, just like you, I've used my trusty good book the great
"Yamaha factory service manual" and this site's forum search option to breathe new life back into a beautiful example of Japanese iron.

I've gathered my '76/'78/'79 over the last 3 years. Scrimping and scrounging and digging.. lots of digging. Trips up and down Vancouver Island, over to the mainland, on Ebay late at night.. scouring the clasifieds for anything XS... XS obsessed.

I've been up til daylight tearing out all the un-needed electrical.. no more light checker, no RLU, no self-cancelling flashers.. used an old style safety relay from a '76 to slim it down more... a right hand set with light switch wired in.. shined my connectors.. soldered and taped and labled the whole thing.. twice. I've checked and triple checked contact points, advance weights.. tracked down voltage drops and bleeds to ground.. cleaned regulators and rectifiers..

I've drilled and tapped stripped threads, cut up perfectly good ignition cables to make new ones with my old caps. I've sanded and wire brushed, primed and painted and polished.

I don't even want to talk about the carbs.

sweat and blood ... my thumbnail's just grown back...

And today.. I told my co-workers on my way out.. "I'm going home to start my bike !!!"

I kicked her twice with the kill off and then flicked it to the on position and man! it sure put a smile on my face as I did this funny little dance and listened to her roar tightly into the shiny new mufflers.

needs some paint and shining in places, it's only static timed yet, and she smokes a little,.. but hell, just try to find anybody over thirty without problems!!?

I'll time it with a light, get it good and hot, do an oil change and see if it stops smoking before I get too excited.. I know I may have a top end rebuild to do yet.. but at least I've got it all working together on the one frame.

no longer just parts..
now it's an XS in running condition

pics and diagrams to come real soon.
thanks

-AL

'79SF frame, wheels, and tank
'78E motor
simplified '79SF wiring harness
'76C electrical components, airboxes, rear fender and sidecovers

Retiredgentleman

XSiveAL;
Congrats on getting everything together. I can tell from your post that you've done some research and have done the labour to bring the bike back to running condition.

In case you don't know, the original ignition coils are on the weak side as far as spark is concerned. Also watch out for those original style fuse panels with the glass fuses.............they haven't aged well and can heat up (and cause voltage drops) due to high resistance.

bluebikerblan

Congratulations Al......that's what it's all about now isn't it? Best, Blue

Xumi

Nicely done - can't wait to see pics. I'm in the middle of my restore here.. probably a few more months before I'm ready to fire the beast up.

Congratulations!

TomDubya · New Member Joined: Mar 20, 2009 Posts: 5

Nice post, gotta love this stuff.

I've got a 78 I'm in a similar situation with the electronics, looking to drastically consolidate.

Basically I'm looking for a running motor, headlight & tail/stop light, nothing more.

I know very little about electrical components. So, not sure if I need:

Rectifier
Regulator
Safety Relay
Light Checker

Also, can the starter solenoid be eliminated if I intend to kick start only?

Congrats again on the success. Thanks for any help.

XSiveAl

thanks for the warm welcome and encouragement.
If everything goes as planned I should be able to test drive this beast today or tomorrow. I've got all weekend free to wrench.

I'd left the rebuilding of the brakes for last thing as sort of a safety stop for myself... to prevent any overly excited premature riding. luckily th p.o had drained the lines and calipers (disc front and back) so there was little gunk or corrosion on the cylinders. I got it into my head that i should use the old round aluminum master from the "parts farm" '76 i had... whatta mess it was inside, but much nicer looking, after a quick polish, than the plastic box type. After scraping the hardened brake fluid crap off the pushrod, I found the inside was smooth and the seals were still incredibly pliable. it works great!

It's just amazing how well these things last even sitting outside for a decade.

a couple evenings out in the plastic shed and i've got a bike that goes AND stops but I need some advice before I head out to the street.

As far as I know, the motor was rebuilt and then stored for ten years in a dry, heated basement. And all evidence I've found seems to point that way. I am lucky for sure, motor sounds tight, I think my rings are stuck but, I'm still hopeful it'll sort itself out with some easy miles and maybe a little penetrating oil.. if not.. off with it's head!!

I am having some trouble with the clutch. it works but, is reluctant to let go .

I"ve repositioned the worm gear for max. movement and checked my cable routing and adjusters, inspected the clutch push rod for straightness and burrs or rust that would hinder it's movement, the bearings are all there but it's strange...

with the clutch pulled all the way in, in gear, the wheel does not spin freely, it takes a whole lot of effort. (not the brakes for sure)
If I push it up and down the yard a bit, it loosens right up and works ok... but, let it sit and it stiffens up again.

could it be corrosion on the clutch plates or basket? is it possible to incorrectly install the clutch rod.. do you think it'll get better if i put it under pressure and get things hot and moving freely? it's a head scratcher.

I haven't had the clutch cover off yet. just for lack of replacement gasket, but I wondered if anyone may have a suggestion before I tear into it?

thanks,
Al

oh.. and R.G. I've replaced the old fuse panel with soldered-in inline fuse holders and new glass fuses. do you think that it would still be a good plan to to put in the blade type holders. is there much difference in resistance? I get just under 12v (11.43) at the coils engine off. key on. cold. nice fat blue sparks on brand new ngk bp7es.

Retiredgentleman

Those in-line fuses should be just fine. You should try to have less than 0.6 volt drop from battery to coil. So, if battery was 12.0 volts then 11.4 at coil is not to bad. If battery is 12.6 then 11.4 is not as good. Ignition switch and kill switch can cause voltage drops if not cleaned up.

You should try some riding to see how the clutch works on the road.

yamaman

That sounds about right for one of these clutches. Theres various fixes for this, which all help a bit. The bottom line though is these clutches suck!

You don't say, but I take it it's adjusted up correctly?
You can go a bit less clearance there if you want, I cant recall what the book says, back off 1/4 turn? No need to back off that far, 1/8th is what a few of the crew here say! When it gets hot, it'll be more like a full turn anyway!

The other one (assuming your cables fine) is the clutch basket (your wise there not to remove that side without a new gasket handy). The basket can develop grooves where the clutch plates impact on it. The plates can then hang up on these grooves! You can very lightly file these groves away if needed. Don't take too much away, or you'll feel it when you roll the throttle on!

If you havn't ridden it yet, I'd wait. Almost all of these bikes suffer clutch drag!

Another option which might help is moding the pushrod, search for xsjohn dimpled pushrod.

Welcome to the board, cheers.

XSiveAl

Right on then!

I'll run it and see what it does then. could be a little hairy if it decides not to work but, that's what those brakes are for right? I'll let you know how it goes!!

I'll check that kill switch contact again. it was summer when I last shined it and I'd do anything to save a volt or two for the sparks. dielectric grease collects so much dust and dirt.. can you recommend anything that may help prevent corrosion of electrics without all the mess?

thanks again!!
AL

XSiveAl

hey that wasn't supposed to be attached there.. hmm, my bad. circuit diagram anyone?

What Happened to 650rider.com?

Yamaha xs650