1983 XS650 Heritage Special Restoration

key650 · Full Member Joined: May 11, 2009 Posts: 40

Thanks Nudude.
That is what I was thinking, that while the bike is not filled with oil I should do something with it.

key650 · Full Member Joined: May 11, 2009 Posts: 40

Made some progress tonight...
Spent some time removing, draining, and cleaning up the tank..

Petcock was surprisingly clean!

Carbs are off now too..
They actually looked ok inside the throats.
I expected worse.

key650 · Full Member Joined: May 11, 2009 Posts: 40

Not much progress this month as I am getting ready to move house....
I have stripped and sanded the LH cover, and will post pics soon. Am seriously thinking about powder coating them... want the polished look without the work!
Color suggestions?

scotts

key650 wrote:

One of the big issues for me is how bad the engine covers look.
I feel stupid to ask how much work it is to pull the L and R covers off and refinish them?

It's not hard at all to pull them off. If you have a high speed buffer, they'll shine up like chrome. Here's the engine onmy '83 HS.

key650 · Full Member Joined: May 11, 2009 Posts: 40

Wow!
Clearcoated?

steelburner

Actually, that petcock is pretty much destroyed. And don't hook up your rebuilt carbs until you put an inline filter into the fuel line. The tank should be rusted to heck and gone, after that many years in the weather.

You'll save time and money if you go ahead and clean the inside of the tank (see threads on here); rebuild your carburetors, thoroughly cleaning out the jets and passages, checking carb slide diaphragms for leaks, etc. and then replacing the ignition system with one from Pamco, available from Pamcopete on this site or from Mike's XS.

Oh, and replace the vacuum-operated petcock with a manual one from Mikes, too; that's why the fuel smelled so strongly of gasoline. Vacuum petcocks leaked, which caused the excess fuel to leak down into the crankcase. I don't mean just a little bit of fuel; sometimes the crankcase would be totally full of gasoline.

Get yourself a good repair manual, too -- either Haynes or Clymer. They're available.

scotts

key650 wrote:

Wow!
Clearcoated?

Nope. They hold their shine really well. I clean up the bike once a year or so and hit them with some polish and a rag. I keep them wiped down, of course, if I spill any oil or gas.

TeeCat

Quote::

Pesky lil' varmits aren't they? I hate meeces to pieces!

You know... it's funny... I don't take well to having my bike's wires chewed (thankfully not to date) or having it pooped or peed on, but i get a kick out of mice and small furry critters for some reason. I'll be sitting there in the shed working on the bike and be overcome with the feeling that I'm being watched... and sure enough, I'm being glared at from the top of the table saw or elsewhere with absolute contempt. They're used to me, though, so they just sit and stare at me, as if they pay the property taxes and not the other way 'round.

Nice find... looking forward to your progress updates!

TC

key650 · Full Member Joined: May 11, 2009 Posts: 40

I am just waiting to get my house move over then I will have more space and be setup better.
Trying to figure out how far I go with this one,,, I will need to replace that section of harness and a new one is a good idea, but then I might as well strip the bike to nothing and powdercoat the frame etc...

nj1639

Get her running, do the cosmetics later. My 2 cents.

key650 · Full Member Joined: May 11, 2009 Posts: 40

Well, she is tucked in my new garage....
Just need to hook up my compressor, and put away stuff, and we start again!

gggGary · Full Member Joined: Jan 07, 2009 Posts: 114

It'll be worth it. Pic is mine but my starting point was a little easier.

My latest rust trick is "real" brass wire brush Make sure it is not brass plated steel. walmart sells 3 for about $2.00 in the paint dept. pick up at least two packs of them. dip in chrome cleaner and scrub away . The brush will remove rust but will NOT scratch chrome. excellent to get into phillips head screws and other hard to reach places like muffler seams. Enjoy I have mine on the road but it still needs a winters attention to be really nice. Emblems went on the side covers today.

key650 · Full Member Joined: May 11, 2009 Posts: 40

Small update this week...
Hit the LH engine cover with 400, then 600 paper.

key650 · Full Member Joined: May 11, 2009 Posts: 40

Same cover after a bit "O" polishing...

nj1639

Amazing what a bit of elbow grease can do. Wink

gggGary · Full Member Joined: Jan 07, 2009 Posts: 114

And your hands weren't black either! Good work.

key650 · Full Member Joined: May 11, 2009 Posts: 40

Oh man, my girlfriend was giggling cos it was not just my hands that got black!

key650 · Full Member Joined: May 11, 2009 Posts: 40

The front brake is dead and so I decided to start with the Caliper... see what is going on, and build up a list of parts I will need.
I pulled if off the bike and stripped it...
The piston was stuck so a little compressed air popped it free.
I removed everything, and inspected the body bore which looks pretty good and buffed the paint on the caliper body. The piston is toast, with a rusty peeling chromed section.
Here is a couple of pics..

gggGary · Full Member Joined: Jan 07, 2009 Posts: 114

Yeah a new piston would be best, looks like a hone is in order for the bore also. FWIW I think the pistons are solid stainless not chromed. amazing what some wet 600 paper can do on a piston that looks hopeless.

key650 · Full Member Joined: May 11, 2009 Posts: 40

Maybe some of them are solid stainless, but this one is Chromed... there is a huge divot where that rust is, and its not gonna be going back on...
I looked this up, and there is a Chrome plated piston from MikesXS for $24, or some guy in Germany sells a CNC'd solid stainless piston for $24 plus $9 S&H.
I would prefer to get a SS piston, but balancing costs...
Anyone suggest a US supplier?

key650 · Full Member Joined: May 11, 2009 Posts: 40

Getting better and better!

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