Vlad_Type_S

iTrader: (3)

Hi everyone! This feels like the most appropriate place to post this. I know there are at least a few bike enthusiasts out there so I wanted to share my project with the community.

I found her when I was working in the Fox Valley of Wisconsin. A friend of mine got wind of one of his friends wanting to sell his bike so I went to have a look. 1980 XS650 Special (SG?). Previous owner said it was sitting for 15 years, has 10k original miles and “don’t need nothin’”. He wanted $300 for the bike. I knew I was going to have to do all of the maintenances ever so I walked on that deal, plus I knew he really wanted it out of his barn. He calls me the next day and offers the bike AND a three-wheeler, both for $250. Boom, deal. 3-wheeler flipped for 80 bucks, so the bike ended up being a whopping $170! Clean title.

Sadly though, my life was occupied with other things then and it sat for another 3 years. I moved the bike back to Chicago with me and I am reviving the effort to restore it by this season.

Here is what I’ve done so far:

• Compression test: good! ~165 PSI on both cylinders
• Rebuilt broken ignition switch, tested good
• carbs almost done being cleaned: one of the housings was damaged, pending potential repair, may need to replace completely
• electrolysis on fuel tank, almost done, need to tip upside down yet
• replaced fuel valve/petcock with manual non-vacuum type
• replaced fuel tank cap seal

Here are the short term plans to get the engine running

• Test ignition system
• Complete fuel tank electrolysis rust removal
• Complete carb cleaning
• Reassemble cabs and airbox with new OEM filters
• Install inline fuel filter
• Replace oil filter and sump filter, and gaskets for those
• Change oil

Long term plans to get bike on the road

• Service front and rear suspension
• Service front and rear brakes (both are disk)
• Replace chain and sprockets
• New Tires
• test/service/repair all electronics
• basically, every item in the maintenance section of Haynes

This is my first restoration, so I would be very grateful for any tips and advice from anyone who has experience with this!

Anyone know what kind of oil I should run?

And most importantly, the pics:

This is what she looked like when I first got her.



And now





Got one of these bad boys


Here are all the parts off the bike, new air filters, fuel valve, sump filter, and some spares


This is what the electrolysis looks like




I'm very excited to get this thing back on the road!!!

Cheers!

Hapa DC5

Looks fun! GL.

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

My uncle had one of those when I was a kid and he rode it cross-country 3 times. I think his was a few years newer (83 maybe?) but it looks the same. I keep hinting that I want it so I can restore it... so I'm going to pay close attention here. His has been sitting for decades and it's probably not worth it, but still... I'll be watching. Good luck!!

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

can you explain the electrolysis process?
or, I could just google.

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

PS - Definitely keep this thread separate, but feel free to drop into our Official Motorcycle/Scooter topic where we chat about bikes:

https://acurazine.com/forums/car-talk-5/official-motorcycles-scooters-thread-719775/

Vlad_Type_S

iTrader: (3)

Thanks! I'll pop in every now and then.

Sure! Here's the chemistry. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrolysis
Practically explained:
Basically, you fill the tank up with water and sodium carbonate (Arm & hammer washing soda) which is the electrolyte. You get a sacrificial anode, coat hangers are common, but I have a piece of steel rod that works perfectly because it's thick and won't fall apart like a coat hanger. It's sacrificial because it's going to basically be a rust magnet. Suspend the anode in the fluid in the tank without touching the tank with it. Apply 12V (I happen to have a beefy 60A supply, but a small 0.75A battery tender would work too) between the rod ++ and the fuel tank --. This causes all of the oxidization to occur on the anode (rod) and the ions at the cathode (rust on tank) are all transferred to the sacrificial anode or suspended in the fluid.

Most people have a 12V supply somewhere in their home or a battery tender if they own a bike so this is basically a $2.00 procedure and you don't have to deal with nasty chemicals like KREEM.

Thanks!

Vlad_Type_S

iTrader: (3)

Update:

Put some work in last night.

It's a beautiful winter we're having this spring in the Midwest!


This is what the water looks like after a week of electrolysis on the fuel tank. Gross!!


I actually did the electrolysis once before 3 years ago after it was sitting for 15 years. I have a pic somewhere of the inside of the tank before I started. I'll dig it up later.


And this is what the tank looks like afterwards. I'm very impressed. I tilted it upside down and continued the process to get the bits up top too.


Up to last night, all I knew was that the ignition switch was functional electronically. I took it apart, cleaned it up really nice, greased it and now the key is like butter. And the steering lock function works perfectly!



The last thing I did was pull the sump filter. It had the infamous tear. (Common problem on the Yamaha 650 of this vintage)


The other side looks alright:



Also, the battery is fully charged and chillin. Even after sitting for 2 years with no use, it appears to be functioning well. Woot! The excitement just keeps building.

Undying Dreams

iTrader: (3)

Wow that process worked extremely well! I've never seen that before, very cool.

Vlad_Type_S

iTrader: (3)

Quick update. I didn't get that much done last night and won't get a chance to work on this bad boy until the weekend. The suspense and anticipation is awful!

Removed the headlamp, turn signals, and gauge cluster for cleaning. I found an awesome chrome polish that seems to work extremely well on these surfaces, but I didn't snap a picture of how well it works. Before/after pics to come.


Removed handlebar switches. They are extremely difficult to use. Hopefully nothing broke inside!


Oh, for the record, here is a before/after of the fuel tank electrolysis. How awesome is that!



I also took the fuel cap off because it wasn't operating smoothly. I took it apart to clean and lube but lost the stupid guide pin retaining clip for the latch. Hopefully I can find it, otherwise I'll have to come up with a clever way to hold that together.

Hoping to get a lot done this weekend!

Majofo

Vlad_Type_S

iTrader: (3)

Finally an update on this!! Been working and traveling a bit lately.

Since my last post, I picked up a '78 CB550K that I've been riding around. While it's technically not my first bike, it's the first one I've owned that I've been able to ride and it's a blast!!



The garage:



Anyway, here is some of what I've done since my last post.

Rebuilt gas tank cap


Disassembled, cleaned, and polished gauge housings (Using Turtle Wax Chrome Polish).


And turn signals


Removed brake master cylinder. I haven't rebuilt it yet because I don't have a tool to remove the lock ring. I heard some folks take a pair of old pliers, drill holes in them, install nails, and then grind the edges down. I'm going to do this because I have the stuff lying around. If it doesn't work, then I'll get a special tool (I have lock-ring pliers, but they don't fit).


Rebuilt both calipers
Before

After


There was little/no pitting on the pistons.


Rebuilt both handlebar switches. Lost a couple of non-critical parts here that were a slight nuisance to replace, but not expensive. Tested with DMM to be sure functional, ended up repairing one of the wires due to an intermittent fault.


Cleaned/polished headlamp/components


Cleaned sump cover (and side filter cover). Started gasket scraping with a razor blade and then realized it was a bad idea. Went to store, got gasket remover. Came off with a piece of plastic. This is definitely the way to go.


Removed left side cover. This needs a lot of work. Will also be replacing the seals after cleaning this up.


Removed, cleaned rear wheel


Progress not pictured:

• Polished Handlebar
• Rebuilt Rear Master Cylinder
• Replaced Oil Strainer and Filter
• Replaced Strainer and Filter Gaskets
• New Crush Washers
• Rebuilt and Re-keyed Seat/Helmet Lock

If I'm lucky, I get 5 hours per week on this project. I think I'm making decent progress at this rate. It doesn't help that I'm a perfectionist.


Next steps:

• Rebuild Rear Wheel (New Bearings, Sprocket)
• Rebuild Front Master Cylinder
• Replace Oil Seals
• Replace Front Sprocket and Chain
• Test Ignition System
• Install Carburetors and Airboxes

I was attacking the carbs and actually destroyed one of the housings when trying to remove the float hinge because of how seized it was. Rookie mistake. :banghead: But my neighbor who welds a bunch of shit also rides bikes and offered to fix it. The only problem is that I haven't seen him in months and he has both my carbs. I reluctantly agreed to give him both since he offered to clean them both and rebuild them for me. Should have just tried my luck on ebay for a new housing. We'll see what happens with this...

zac

Good looking CB! Your first restoration?! Its looking great so far.

Is there anything you will be modifying on the XS?

Undying Dreams

iTrader: (3)

Yay! Nice progress, Vlad.

Vlad_Type_S

iTrader: (3)

Thank you! I picked up the CB from a close friend of mine for a very good price. Once the Yamaha is complete, I'll start restoring the CB. It might need a complete rebuild since one of the cylinders puffs more smoke than all of our collective cigars.

Yeah, this is my first restoration. Thank you! I think I really lucked out on this one though. The engine has perfect compression on both cylinders, so basically just about anything that can go wrong won't require an engine rebuild. The only thing I'm going to modify is going down a tooth on the rear sprocket. Per the forum members on XS650.com, a 34 tooth rear sprocket is extremely noisy/vibrates at highway speeds and going down a tooth quells this a bit.

One concern area that I haven't addressed yet: when I got the bike, the stator cover was removed. So I suspect I might have either a charging system issue, or ignition issue so I'm keeping this in mind.

Thanks! I honestly wish I could quit everything else for like 2-3 weeks and just finish this already. But the answer to a happy life is balance in all places.