Topic: XS650 project thread - April 2011 - Getting set for 2nd season :)

[Tim.]

Sunday May 7 2007

Earlier this year I picked up a 1972 XS1B with a '77 engine in it (red bike).  Just took it completely apart (not the engine yet).

Plans are for a cafe racer conversion with an alloy tank I picked up a bit ago, and the front drum off a 1971 XS1 (blue bike) I bought just 3 days ago.  Will move the electronics and battery, run Tarozzi rearsets, clipons, need a seat etc. etc.

The stable Sunday morning:



Then 2 hours later



And the alloy tank that will fit once the tank cups are off the frame and coils are moved - going to a single coil Boyer ignition most likely.

[Tim.]

Monday May 8 2007

Took the frame and other greasy bits to the carwash to powerwash the snot off.  Sat the tank on the bare frame and saw which bits had to be sacrificed in the name of all that's Alloy.

Doesn't quite fit...



So a wee bit of surgery...



The new lean and trim front end.  Tank mounting cups removed by drilling out spot-welds and horn bracket ground off.  Coil hanger can stay - nice fit and will hold the single boyer coil at some point.



Makes for a perfect fit!

[dagersh]

Its going to look awesome Tintin!

I really dig that tank.  How are you going to secure it to the frame?

Gersh

[Tim.]

I need a tank strap like the ones used on Nortons in days past.  Impossible to find any info about them on the web let alone buy one though.

Worst case scenario is a leather strap!

[KB02]

Must... get out... of work... and go home... where I can view pictures... It's killin' me!!! 

[Tim.]

Found my tank straps.  www.unityequipe.com has everything you need to build a Norton, and once I knew what the parts were called I was able to source them at www.britcycle.com in Nova Scotia.

Stainless 32x1.5" strap, rubber backing and chrome toggle clip, all on the way!

[Tim.]

And this is the front-end going on the bike    Will look nice all polished up.  Fork lowers (chrome steel) will likely be powdercoated black as the chrome is shot.  They may be replaced with more modern aluminum forks with a tab welded on to mate with the drum brake to hold it in place.

[Terry in Australia]

Very nice Tinny, and if you're not gonna use all the OEM cosmetics (tank, seat etc) can I buy them? I always wanted an early Yam 650, but it's hard to find one here that hasn't been messed with cosmetically? Cheers, Terry.

[Tim.]

You could always boat this one across    Pretty darn nice.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=001&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=110124714993&rd=1,1

http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=491742

I wasn't planning on selling the tank/sidecovers etc. but for you Terry, I'll give it some thought!

[Terry in Australia]

That's a beautiful bike for sure Tinny, I recently got away (undetected by the wife) with importing Andy's CB750K0 from Long Island, NY, so I can't afford another bike import at the moment, and I'm not gonna push my luck either, ha ha!

I seriously do want all your spare cosmetics though, I might be able to find a rough resto project here that would benefit immensly from your "left-overs"?

The problem here in Oz is that due to our 365 days a year of "good to brilliant" riding weather, finding a bike with good cosmetics is very difficult indeed, in fact, just finding a good older bike that hasn't done a million miles is a real problem! Cheers, Terry.    

[Tim.]

Petcocks and old alloy levers are on the way   I couldn't resist the little touch of red on the petcocks and they will allow me to route the two fuel lines towards the middle of the engine running to the carbs - should be pretty invisible and have enough room for inline filters.  The petcocks are identical, so will switch 'on' in opposite directions.  Might cross-join them like on my BMW so if one clogs or fails the other will provide fuel to both carbs.

The bike is going to look very very similar to the cover bike on the April 2007 issue of ClassicBike.  Can't find the image unfortunately.  Great issue - both the Triton which is aesthetically what my target is and a nice writeup on the XS650 to boot.

[grumburg]

Tin: See ebay item 150122549462 to see what NOT to do to a 72 650.

[Tim.]

Thankfully he hasn't hacked up the frame.  Picture it with a proper tank, lose the 'sidecovers' and exhaust (OH MY GOD) and it wouldn't be so bad

[CrisPDuk]

Tin: See ebay item 150122549462 to see what NOT to do to a 72 650.

 

Some folks have real strange ideas about what looks good

[medic09]

Tin: See ebay item 150122549462 to see what NOT to do to a 72 650.

 

[toycollector10]

Well I'm sorry I just don't like the concept of taking a perfectly good looking stock vintage Japanese classic and butchering it up, yes butchering it, so you can do your own thing.

You want a cafe, fair enough. Go to a wreckers and mix and match an engine, frame and forks.

I understand where Terry is comming from, wanting the cosmetics. I suspect he's just too polite (Terry/polite=oxymoron) to cop you a serve.

If you respond and tell me that the bike was a complete junker, full of rust and totally beyond cleaning up to original I will apologise but as it stands from what I see in the picture, it looks pretty complete, and completely pretty.

[Raul CB750K1]

Well I'm sorry I just don't like the concept of taking a perfectly good looking stock vintage Japanese classic and butchering it up, yes butchering it, so you can do your own thing.

You want a cafe, fair enough. Go to a wreckers and mix and match an engine, frame and forks.

I understand where Terry is comming from, wanting the cosmetics. I suspect he's just too polite (Terry/polite=oxymoron) to cop you a serve.

If you respond and tell me that the bike was a complete junker, full of rust and totally beyond cleaning up to original I will apologise but as it stands from what I see in the picture, it looks pretty complete, and completely pretty.

The fact that he wasn't planning to sell the cosmetics leads me to think that he, after all, wants to be able to revert it to stock in the future. Even when I am more of the "stocker" type, I enjoy when I see nice customizations by other people. After all, Yamaha -or any other bike manufacturer- didn't want to sell just "stock bikes"; they just wanted to sell as many as possible, and if that meant owners would butcher them up, then so be it, it's their hard earned money.


Furthermore, the less stock bikes around, the more valuable mine gets..... 



I'm currently restoring a spanish-made Sanglas stroker. If you say there are few Yamahas around, divide that figure by 20 and you will know how many Sanglas there are around. When it came to the electrics, you couldn't imagine how under-engineered they were -normal on a country that had banned imports back then-. So, should I use #$%*ty handlebar switches? -with the blinkers on the left and some other strange configuration- just to keep it stock? I did a thoroughful thinking about it and decided I would use Honda switches instead. They are metallic, have the "normal" layout, have a vintage look and are more reliable. And, like it, I will do with some other parts. I even will paint a silver pinstripe that wasn't stock. My point of view is that those bikes were sold in a country where people couldn't afford expensive bikes, so the final price was an issue. But if, back in the day, better electrics and pinstriping would have been an option -even at an additional cost- I would have liked to have them.



Raul

[Terry in Australia]

I suspect he's just too polite (Terry/polite=oxymoron) to cop you a serve.

Geez that's a bit rough mate, I never called you a "moron"? Ha ha, Cheers, Terry.

[Tim.]

For the record, I bought the bike for this purpose.  It is a '72 frame with a '77 engine, and god-knows-what year wiring.  Has an electric start with none of the electronics to match.  Not sure of the fork vintage, but I got two sets with it.  Seat needs recovering at least, engine has been spray-bombed black... you get the idea.

The other one I bought (blue in the pics) is a complete 1971 XS1B which is much more of a candidate for a restoration.  It's the last of only a 2 year run of the original XS650 design, designated as XS1 and XS1B.  It is going to my brother, who recently completed a frame-up resoration of his BMW R75/7.

I have a 1975 BMW R75/6 which is a true Survivor.  Perfectly original from the factory.  Never repainted, never restored, heck, not sure if it's ever been cleaned.  Lots of nice patina on the aluminum from 36,000 miles.  Original cables, carb boots, grips, footpegs, plug wires etc.

My CB550F went out the door of my garage in perfect original condition - NOS seat, perfect 1975 Sunrise Orange bodywork, original exhaust, NOS switch pods left and right - I spent WAY too much money making it original buying loads of NOS parts from my Honda dealer, right down to sidecover grommets, tank mounting rubber etc. even though they didn't need to be replaced and were hidden from sight.

I think I've earned the right (not that I need to earn it) to hack up whatever old frame I feel like.  If modified bikes are not your cup of tea, then drink your coffee and enjoy your phillps head screws, weak ignitions, poor suspensions etc.  The bloody swingarm bushings on the XS650 are PLASTIC - should I leave them that way for the sake of keeping it original?  How far does it go, or is it only about appearance for you?

Heaven forbid anyone do the fool thing of putting a Triumph engine in a Norton featherbed frame - the Queen would have a fit!

[CrisPDuk]

For the record, I bought the bike for this purpose.  It is a '72 frame with a '77 engine, and god-knows-what year wiring.  Has an electric start with none of the electronics to match.  Not sure of the fork vintage, but I got two sets with it.  Seat needs recovering at least, engine has been spray-bombed black... you get the idea.

The other one I bought (blue in the pics) is a complete 1971 XS1B which is much more of a candidate for a restoration.  It's the last of only a 2 year run of the original XS650 design, designated as XS1 and XS1B.  It is going to my brother, who recently completed a frame-up resoration of his BMW R75/7.

I have a 1975 BMW R75/6 which is a true Survivor.  Perfectly original from the factory.  Never repainted, never restored, heck, not sure if it's ever been cleaned.  Lots of nice patina on the aluminum from 36,000 miles.  Original cables, carb boots, grips, footpegs, plug wires etc.

My CB550F went out the door of my garage in perfect original condition - NOS seat, perfect 1975 Sunrise Orange bodywork, original exhaust, NOS switch pods left and right - I spent WAY too much money making it original buying loads of NOS parts from my Honda dealer, right down to sidecover grommets, tank mounting rubber etc. even though they didn't need to be replaced and were hidden from sight.

I think I've earned the right (not that I need to earn it) to hack up whatever old frame I feel like.  If modified bikes are not your cup of tea, then drink your coffee and enjoy your phillps head screws, weak ignitions, poor suspensions etc.  The bloody swingarm bushings on the XS650 are PLASTIC - should I leave them that way for the sake of keeping it original?  How far does it go, or is it only about appearance for you?

Well said that man

Heaven forbid anyone do the fool thing of putting a Triumph engine in a Norton featherbed frame - the Queen would have a fit!

 

[bill440cars]

         I understand the feeling on turning a decent stock bike into a cafe with a bunch of mods, myself. I am of the type that would rather get hold of a less than decent bike and then it doesn't matter what I do to it. An example is: I've got a 73' CB500K that isn't real pretty and needs work. I done won't to do anything except work on getting it back in shape cause it's mostly there and has a chance. Then again, I've got a couple of CB550Ks (77' & 78') that are actually basket cases (I prefer to call them "Projects" though ) and they'll be built "however"! It does bother me to see a good example of any kind of vehicle just totally modified with no way to go back to stock. Ah, but since they're not mine... What can I say?   Nothing, except offer an opinion unless asked.   No doubt, there are lots of different opinions on this subject and that was mine.

          tintin, fine job on that one, I wish you the best!          

                                                     Later on, Bill

[Tim.]

When it's all done, I think it will have been a worthwhile endeavour and will be appreciated.  This is not a hack and slash rattlecan cafe racer.  Each tab I'm grinind off the frame is being smoothed out to make it look like it was never there.  I have a Radian swing arm on the way which is lighter and stiffer than the original - it's box tubing vs. round.  Then I'm hand-making alloy brackets for the Norton-style stainless steel tank strap mount and Tarozzi rear-sets.

The frame/swingarm and various bits will be powdercoated gloss black.  The rest of the bike will be polished alloy, with as little actual chrome as possible.  Genuine Tommaselli headlight brackets, vintage alloy levers, clip-ons, Manx style racing seat.  Eventually it will have flanged alloy rims on stainless spokes, when I can source them.

It will have all new wiring with a new wiring harness, controls, rectifier/regulator unit, Boyer ignition etc. all ordered from www.mikesxs.com.  Engine will be refreshed with new rings and the entire thing will be bead-blasted with the cases polished.  Trying for some flat-slide Mikuni carbs with K&N pods.  Might see if I can find a british headlight bucket, or will powdercoat the original badly pitted chrome bucket.  All electronics inlcuding a sealed gel battery will be hidden, with a hand-made alloy tray filling in under the seat pan area which will also serve to mount the toggle clip for the tank strap and perhaps a tail-light/licence plate mount.

Tapered steering head bearings are on the way, and the swingarm will get bronze bushings or a needle bearing conversion if I can manage it.

I will likely end up selling the tank/sidecovers/rear fender etc. as mounting them on the old frame is now impossible.  It would be easier to find a stock frame at this point than to put the necessary brackets back on.  So Terry, we can start talking   I might need some oil cooler bits...

[Tim.]

BTW - was at a Canadian Vintage Motorcycle Group breakfast meet this morning, and saw some beautiful stock bikes.  The Atlas was my fave.  Just can't beat those engine covers.

Sheesh it was cold up there.  Nice and warm down in Toronto but cold windy and rainy up at Stoufville / Woodbine.  Some nice bikes - didn't get to socialize much - too busy warming up with coffee and breakfast.

[bill440cars]

         TinTin,

              Thanks for posting those shots of those fantastic bikes! I am so jealous that you got to take in all those vintage bikes! Not really, just that I'd like to see them and you've made it possible for us to see what you saw and I'm thankful for that. If I'd have been there, they'd probably started leaving before I would be able to take all that in. They are ALL great machines but I was especially interested in seeing the Nortons (the Commando & the Atlas) and the Super Hawk, not to mention the "Mighty CB750"!

               On the XS650 thing, I've got a couple of old 650s that are in way less than prestine condition. The motors are stuck and there will be alot of work, along with a number of parts needed to get them in any kind of condition. They are a 73' TX650 and a 75' XS650B. Someday, I hope to do something with them, if I live long enough.

                                                               Later on, Bill  

[Tim.]

BTW - picture quality would be much better except the SOHC4 forum software is setup to force all pics to 800x600 resolution.  Not sure why, as it's just creating more processing load for the server to resize everything.  I doubt it's saving much bandwidth and it makes the pics look like crap.