New XS owner from AZ

suiteo · Posted: September 30, 2009, 5:30 pm Post subject: New XS owner from AZ

Hello all. Bought a 1980 XS650 a few months back and have been slowly working on it to get it running. PO absolutely hacked the wiring so I've rewired with a minimal harness, changed alternator brushes and removed all of the electric start gear. Work done so far other than that: Changed clutch pushrod to long style and changed pushrod seal and countershaft seal. Replaced sump filter and replaced gasket on oil pan. Removed starter and gears and replaced with a block off kit. (finally no oil on the garage floor). Went to 18/32 on the sprockets with a new 530 chain. Replaced speedo with a new one with indicator lights built in. Replaced drag bars with superbike style bars. and wired in a left side handlebar switch for turn signals, brights and horn. Plans: carb work! big time!. Rebuild forks and rear suspension work, and new exhaust for now. Then the full bobber treatment (soft tail). my a$$ is too bony for a hardtail. Laughing

Wanted to introduce myself and send a big thank you to all on this board who post for new riders/tinkerers like myself. Information found here is awesome. Jay

gordo · Posted: September 30, 2009, 6:59 pm Post subject: Re: New XS owner from AZ

suiteo, first off, welcome to the site. there is allot of good info here, as well as some really cool bike's.Now, just fyi, they (yamaha) stopped making the xs in '84. I also got an '80, the 'G' model.The carb's are not too bad to work on, with help from people on this site, like XS John, Retired Gentalman, & some other's. John make's diaphram needles for the carb's, & they work excellent. There a little pricey compared to the one's that are available from Mike's, but I took out Mike's & did the jet's & all as he suggested, & she run's very well now. He is a genius with the carb's on these machine's, esp. the BS34's, whitch is what yor's should have. And beside's, he is a hellova nice guy.,,,Gordo Cool

nj1639 · Posted: October 1, 2009, 5:45 am Post subject: Re: New XS owner from AZ

How's the ride with the sprung solo and shocks?
Looks good and welcome aboard.

suiteo · Posted: October 1, 2009, 10:06 am Post subject: Re: New XS owner from AZ

Thanks for the welcome!

Gordo: Thanks for the info on the carbs. I've never done any work on carburetors before so it might as well be brain surgery in my mind. After all the reading I've done on this site, I ordered a set of xsjohn's needles yesterday and will be ordering some other necessary parts this week. Only want to do this once if possible. I plan on soda blasting the carbs, and replacing the main and pilot jets with what xsjohn suggests. As you said: Helluva nice guy, even sent some additional tips to look for in another email. A great resource for sure. And I just noticed the typo in my signature. Yeah, no XS650's in 1989. Oops!

nj1638: The ride with the sprung solo and shocks is pretty harsh. I think the rear shocks are toast (not that they were great to begin with from what I'm reading), and the seat is no better than a baseball glove. Eventually I plan on doing some custom frame work to mold a better seat into the frame, replace the shocks with something more compliant, and extend the swingarm 3 or 4 inches to make the ride nicer. I'm not a canyon carver so racing through the twisties isn't for me. Just want to build a bike that I can comfortably ride for 200+ miles if possible, and with the frame work I have planned, keep the bobber look, but have the option of adding a small seat to be able to take the kids for a spin around the neighborhood every once in a while.

gordo · Posted: October 1, 2009, 1:57 pm Post subject: Re: New XS owner from AZ

suito, good way to clean the carb's up, just be carefull of the very small orifice's for the idle circut.Might ask John about the size of the guitar string he use's to open them up. I had a little problem with mine, some rust got lodged in the right carb, really messed up the chrome on the pipe's. I forgot what size the string/wire actually,was. The gasket kit & jet's from Mike's are pretty good, & the price isn't so bad either. The main thing with these carb's is getting & keeping them clean. I use strainer's on the petcock tube's, & an inline filter after the petcock to the carb's. Got them & clear line at Advance Auto Part's for like $5. Oh yea, gotta brimg the kiddie's for ride's for sure. Cool

pumps · Posted: October 1, 2009, 10:51 pm Post subject: Re: New XS owner from AZ

Welcome to you! You have got quite a bit done already haven't you? Have a lot of fun with it and don't be afraid to ask for help. Somebody has had most issues you are likely to run into I'll bet.

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