[end of free parking for motor cycles]

job done signed all three.....we still have dam slippy manholes down here,...scared me a time or two on dark wet nights whilst on two wheels

[XS 650 B]

looks a damn sight better than mine, at the mo i've still got the mag wheels on it , trying to source a pair of spoked drum brake wheels but they seem to be scarce. trawling ebay etc to try and keep the cost within a budget but i'll bide me time till i get them.. when i got it it was complete, at least it looked complete, but everything was painted red?? on the strip down i found at least half the bike was bodged together, stripped threads etc, apparently the bloke lost interest.. he'd have been better leaving it in bits, i mean who the hell puts the carb intakes on a bike with metal glue?? personally i prefer to use bolts lol

good luck with the build,, i'll be keeping an eye out for the photos of the finished article.

when I picked mine up, I thought the same as you ,...this bike is complete and up together..but on stripping it down, there had been a lot of bodging going on, still I didn't need most of it....yep you could be right about the wheels being scarce,..Ive seen plenty of mag wheels for sale but not many laced wheels, rebuilding is not cheap either... have you been on either of these forums they are both quite good..........http://www.britchopper.co.uk/forum/ or http://www.thechopperunderground.com/forum...ex.php?act=idx..

[XS 650 B]

ufo,,i notice you have a battery box on there,, have you thought of running it batteryless??

im in the process of building one not unlike yours but i got an rd350 magneto, which with a little modifying to the backplate fits straight in, basic chop wiring, regulator from a z750, its got points and a capacitor to replace the battery, havent finished it yet but it should work i think... certainly leaves the frame looking less cluttered,,

gabby

funny enough me and my mate were talking about the battey on my xs just tonight,....but I have decided to leave it in, it doesn't look to bad,..Ihope.

[XS 650 B]

A bit more progress has been made, as hopefully the pictures will show

I have now fabricated the mudgard, battery box, seat mountings, sissy bar (not sure if it needs a sissy bar or not, its only there to stop my sleeping bag from falling off )also a fake oil tank for the electrics......the rear tire is a avon sm mkII 500 x 16 but it is not on the correct rim yet, I wanted to keep the brake drum on the rear and are having a 16 x3.5 built along with a 21" for the front....sure are loads of little bits left to fab, buts its all good fun.

Taz

[Portsmouth/Southsea bikers]

and if you fancy a bit more of a ride, when the weather is good, ...you can make your way to whiteways cafe at the top of bury hill near arundel,...gets mighty busy when the weather is good and is always good to meet likeminded people and have a good laugh at the same time.

ufo

oh and I think there is a motorcycle club near emsworth, but I cant think of the name,....but I know they cater for all types of bike and rider

[XS 650 B]

well I have managed to do a bit more, and its starting to take shape.......

the tank is only sitting on top in the picture, and once I had removed the old xs tank brackets it now sits a few inches lower and slightly further forward.....

[Hello hello hello.]

welcome from one newbee to another, enjoy the forum and enjoy your bike,...... I am riding up from the sunny south coast of England to the highlands of Scotland again later in the year...its fantastic riding.

ufo

[law]

I have accidently knocked a mirror off, after someone threw a lit fag end out of their window and it got caught in the neck of my jacket and burning me,..... but a friend of mine who is a female, got off her bike at line of traffic for roadworks and went up to the window of an aggresive cage driver and whilst they were arguing, she promptly had the keys out of the ignition, threw them in the woods and we rode of into the sunset.

[Have you had a FS1E?]

i know, i saw that this morning, apparently it only does 45mph

but he didnt change the needles, air filter, sprockets or add a big bore kit so it doesnt really count as tuning it

mopeds definately went faster than that, because in 1976 riding my honda ss 50 5 speed I got clocked by the old fashioned police speed check, and got pulled over for doing 61 mph in a 30 mph limit, and because I was under 18 I had to go to court with a parent to plead guilty, I then got fined £30 and 1 endorsement on my licence for being a naughty boy........... back then my weekly wage was £15.00 a week, so it was a lot of money, ......but boy did my street cred go up

[Have you had a FS1E?]

that is one tidy FS1E, ..they was good days,.................... now I have just realised how oldI am.

ufo

[Rear wheel for xs 650]

Can you not use a 16" wheel from another model of bike? Doesn't have to be Yamaha as long as the spindle is the same size.

if possible I would like to keep the rear drum brake, the look go's with the chop I am building

[Rear wheel for xs 650]

I would like know, if its possible or if anyone has done this, I am in the process of building a xs 650 chop / bobber which at the moment has got a 18" rear wheel, what I would like to know is ,......if a 16" x 3" rim can be laced to the original hub, and if so does anyone know where I could get a matching aluminium rim with 36 holes so as it matches the front one,

happy new year all,....ufo

[XS 650 B]

well I have had a few hours spare in the last few days and have done a bit more on the XS, stripping the components from the bike was straightforward as I thought it would be.

But stripping the several coats of very badly applied brush paint from the cases was not so easy,

I polished them after stripping, the barrels and crankcases come up ok, but the heads are quite a rough casting so I thought I might paint the heads black and leave the rest polished. ( must try and find some pictures of other bikes done that way so as I can decide if I like it or not)

still the project is now started......UFO

[XS 650 B]

well here she is, not to bad for 30 odd years old.

UFO

[XS 650 B]

When new this would signify the dwell angle/timing set incorrectly but as the bike is now a wee bit older the carbs maybe at fault. Start with setting tappits,timing/dwell and carb balance if that fails have the carbs off & cleaned. I assume the bike has plenty of performance (can accelerate from 30mph in top with no probs & at 70 the engine running at about 4750k rpm and a max of 100mph)

Regards Jim

have got it home now and started stripping it ready for the start of my project, have only rode it down my road as it is not insured etc,.... it accelerates 1st 2nd & 3rd ok thats all the road I had , it has been fitted with electronic ignition and appears to start 1st or 2nd kick no problems the missfire was not major you just noticed that when it was ticking over fast the left pipe would pop every now and then,on stripping the bike down I noticed that the exhausts were very loose and blowing a lot, the carbs were flooding as well as falling off. so that might be part of the problem.. onwards and upwards from here on I hope.

UFO

[XS 650 B]

well I just got the xs 650 home , and it turns out it looks better than I thought it would, it runs ok apart from a slight missfire on the lefthand side,... whilst ticking over fast it misses and pops from the left hand pipe a bit, which is funny because another xs that I went to see the other day did exactly the same...is it a common problem ? any ideas.....

UFO

[XS 650 B]

be nice to see some pics

Regards Jim

will post some pics when I get it home , and hopefully all the way through the build,

...

I was telling my mate that I was just buying a old yam, he replied 30 years old thats still a new un, but then he does ride a 1941 harley wl 45. and that is a beauty.

UFO

[Have you had a FS1E?]

I had a honda ss 50 5 speed in 1976 untill the gearbox packed up and was given a fs1e by the dealer to use while the ss was being repaired, fhe FS1E was ok but not as fast as the honda,...those were the days ....leather bomber jacket denim cut off and rode all weathers, why....... coz we had no other option

[XS 650 B]

have spoken to the seller now , and yes the starter has been taken out and blanked off, thats no problem... the bike is apparently a good runner, but a bit scruffy to look at, and at 30 years of age I think its entiteled to be. have now purchased it over the phone and with photos over emails,....so watch this space.

UFO

[XS 650 B]

Hi UFO,

XS650b does have a kick and electric start, the engine was well reliable I managed 100K miles on my 79 XS650s without it comming to peices. The most unreliable part was the starter motor drive gear they only lasted about 10k each, but as the starter motor was an after thought it comes of easy and the hole blanked off which removes the problem (excuse the pun).

Regards Jim

thanks for the info Jim, I am really looking forward to doing the build that 650 twin sure is a good lookin g motor.

UFO

[XS 650 B]

Hello all, I am new to your forum and new to yamaha's, I already have a couple of harleys, and have now decided to build myself a chopper / bobber out of a xs 650, ....I am looking at getting a donor 650 and probably get a new rigid frame, using the donor bikes engine forks wheels etc,..

I have located a 1977 xs 650 B but have yet to see it, is the B model any different to the ordinary xs 650 ?....is there anything I should look out for mechanically ? .........are they a strong engine ? .......one last question , are they kickstart only on that year ?.

sorry about throwing all these questions at you, as a newbie, .. but I would be greatfull for any advice you can give me.

UFO