New (old) guy in town

Modemcyclist · Posted: January 19, 2009, 8:37 am Post subject: New (old) guy in town

Hello all,
I'm a lifelong motorcyclist (haven't owned a car since the mid '70's) who is grown bored with the current crop of new bikes. I've been wanting to get back to the basics, so when my son told me about a local 79 XS650 (2F) for $300, I jumped.

I'm about to retire and this project will be "transition" therapy. My intentions are to take my time and massage it into a meticulously finished street tracker. I expect to get as much pleasure from the build as the ride. It might take 2 years to complete, but that's ok, limited cash flow will likely dictate the pace. I have other bikes for transportation. This will be a Sunday fair weather show bike.

I'm hoping to take advantage of the experience and wisdom on this forum to make this journey easier and more fun. My oldest son, Steve, is a talented local fabricator/mechanic who's built several XS bobbers. He'll be coaching a lot.

Anyway, I'm glad I found this site and look forward to what's coming.

Dave

Pure-Pork · Posted: January 19, 2009, 3:10 pm Post subject: Re: New (old) guy in town

Welcome to the site. These bikes are fun to ride and maybe that frown on your avatar will become a smile??? Lots of knowledgeable people here on this site.

JVM650 · Full Member Joined: Jun 23, 2008 Posts: 19

Don't think just because you have an old xs650 you can't compete with the newer sport bikes I do and the sport bike owners honor me for it. It brings back memories of the older ones younger days. It makes them want to build another one themselves, so they encourage me on.

I belong to BARF: www.bayarearidersforum.../index.php
A nice group of riders.

Modemcyclist · Posted: January 19, 2009, 8:56 pm Post subject: Re: New (old) guy in town

"Don't think just because you have an old xs650 you can't compete with the newer sport bikes I do and the sport bike owners honor me for it."

No problem there...On a tight road, I routinely embarass the young bubblebike crowd on my '03 Suzuki DR400 dual sport.

I just ran into my 1st snag with the tracker rebuild...I bought the bike on a whim, not realizing the issue with the 16" rear wheel. I spent a few hours looking online for a 19" one. They're apparently on the endangered species list.

thorshammer · Full Member Joined: Dec 12, 2008 Posts: 58

I think the only way to get a 19" rear is to lace one up the standards had 18" rear and 19" front.

JVM650 · Full Member Joined: Jun 23, 2008 Posts: 19

I have a 16 why do you want a 19 and what is wrong with a 18?

metalredneck · Full Member Joined: Aug 04, 2008 Posts: 308

If you REALLY want handling, go with 18''ers on both ends. Corners like wild.

yamaman · Posted: January 20, 2009, 10:57 am Post subject: Re: New (old) guy in town

18" both ends with Dunlop TT100 gp's yea haaaaa

xs1961 · Posted: January 20, 2009, 9:02 pm Post subject: Re: New (old) guy in town

yup, Ive got two rear 18 inchers, laced a rear rim to my front hub, better choice of tyres & quicker steering..

JVM650 · Full Member Joined: Jun 23, 2008 Posts: 19

If I went to 18 front how would I calibrate the speedometer to change form a 19" to and 18"

xs1961 · Posted: January 21, 2009, 9:39 am Post subject: Re: New (old) guy in town

It seems the change is so small it barely registers on my speedo..Rode alongside my mates bike at 30MPH & it was perhaps 1/2 a MPH out ..I can live wioth that..

metalredneck · Full Member Joined: Aug 04, 2008 Posts: 308

You don't watch the speedo when you're carving a corner.

JVM650 · Full Member Joined: Jun 23, 2008 Posts: 19

metalredneck wrote:

You don't watch the speedo when you're carving a corner.

I do sometimes to see how fast I am taking it at.

xs1961 · Posted: January 21, 2009, 2:42 pm Post subject: Re: New (old) guy in town

...me too..lol

4t51 · New Member Joined: Jan 21, 2009 Posts: 4

just my two cents, as you said you wanted to build a nice meticulously built street tracker, that said flat trackers - 70's era would have 19" front and rear wheels. so if it were me, as i'm doing the same project , i will wait till I have the$. but good luck! there's a lot to learn here look around.
good bunch of people who are willing to help.

4t

4t51 · New Member Joined: Jan 21, 2009 Posts: 4

just my two cents, as you said you wanted to build a nice meticulously built street tracker, that said flat trackers - 70's era would have 19" front and rear wheels. so if it were me, as i'm doing the same project , i will wait till I have the$. but good luck! there's a lot to learn here look around.
good bunch of people who are willing to help.

4t

Modemcyclist · Posted: January 21, 2009, 11:47 pm Post subject: Re: New (old) guy in town

I think I asked the original question before I had enough info to make it an intelligent one. I thought the standard rear wheels were 19", not 18".

I found the rims at Mikes and now I'm leaning toward lacing 18' rears to both ends. And I guess I misspoke when I used the term "meticulously built"; I didn't necessarily mean historically faithful , just clean and well thought out.

I'm really partial to the "empty frame behind the K&Ns" look some folks have managed with the XR style seats and imaginative battery mounting. Today I found the Sparkx permanent magnet charging unit at 650 Central (pricey!) that'll completely do away with the battery so I can rewire the whole bike with 6 wires. Here in Va we can get away with no speedo or turnsignals, so all I need is head/tail/brakelights and a horn. Should make it really clean under the seat after grinding the tabs off.

Modemcyclist · Posted: January 22, 2009, 12:30 am Post subject: Re: New (old) guy in town

"yup, Ive got two rear 18 inchers, laced a rear rim to my front hub, better choice of tyres & quicker steering.."

Where'd you source the spokes for that?

xs1961 · Posted: January 22, 2009, 6:17 am Post subject: Re: New (old) guy in town

My local wheel builder in the next village stocks thousands of spokes to suit all kinds of rims/hubs... £60 rebuilt with stainless spokes

Modemcyclist · Posted: January 22, 2009, 10:44 am Post subject: Re: New (old) guy in town

I was gonna ask if you had a drum up front. I'm trying to lace an 18 to a disc hub. Methinks it'll be a grand search for spokes...

xs1961 · Posted: January 22, 2009, 11:14 am Post subject: Re: New (old) guy in town

Youll need to buy a new rim thats suitable for lacing to a disc hub.. theres a difference between the angles of the spoke holes on disc hubs/rims & shoe hubs/rims..

knightrider · Posted: January 22, 2009, 6:41 pm Post subject: Re: New (old) guy in town

www.buchananspokes.net/

Check em out. The best for wheel building and spokes.
I relaced my xs rear witha excel ring, stonger and lighter than stock.

Modemcyclist · Posted: January 22, 2009, 10:05 pm Post subject: Re: New (old) guy in town

You're right on time...I found them this afternoon and I'm waiting for a response . Thanks.

New flash... Since I'm in the early stages of this project, I reserve the right to change my mind. Looks like I'll be frequenting the cafe forum. Ref my new post on "I'm just sayin'".

What Happened to 650rider.com?

Yamaha xs650