jrhendryx

Thanks! 29k on the clock, and only $1500 It's been laid down by a previous owner at some point, but they did a pretty solid job of repairing the plastics.

It's been a while since I posted last. Still have my xs500b, and it's running as well as it ever has, but I recently bought an 03 YZF 600R. Currently making sure that everything there is all good, and trying to decide whether to sell my 500, or hold onto it and slowly turn it into a full cafe racer.... odds are, that's a pipe dream. Too much money that I could be spending on other things. In the meantime, heres the newest addition to my garage. The Fox and Skin decals are going to be the first to go.....

Yep, Threebond 1194 is exactly what I used. Great stuff.

I had a KZ 305 that ran super lean and blew a hole in one of the pistons, requiring a full tear-down. I used a sealant called 1190 I think... It's grey, and dries pretty fast. It's great stuff. Oil-resistant, and will still bind the case halves together, even if you cant get the gasket surfaces perfectly clean. As for cleaning the barrels, I took mine (since I had it apart anyway) to a small local bike shop to have them honed prior to putting new pistons and rings back in. You will want to make sure that the barrels are still within clearance tolerances for the pistons/rings you have and that you don't have to bump up a size before putting it all back together. I think it cost $35 for them to do a wet honing on both barrels, and they shone like mirrors. Good Luck!

Too big how? Do the mounting spots not fit the forks? Is it too wide for the stock disc? Pictures would really help here.

They're talking about the tent because if you read the initial post, they were hoping to send it to Haiti where it would help people who had lost their homes.

I have one as well. It is a 1975 xs500b. The engine number should start with "371." From experience, I can tell you that they are nearly impossible to find NOS or reproduction engine parts for. Ebay has been the most useful for me. I found a parts bike on Craigslist for $50 and snatched it up immediately. Things to look for - Head cracks. These engines had a penchant for creating cracks in the cylinder heads, but continuing to run. Oil filters are notoriously hard to find. I have managed to collect 2, and they each cost me between 30 and 50 bucks. Air filters are also difficult to find, except on ebay. The nice thing is that you can pick up a factory service manual from a Yamaha dealership. On the oil filters, there are two different ones that are labeled to "fit" but only one does, I believe that it ends in 09 or 90. I will check later and get back to you. I've had mine for over 3 years, and I really enjoy it, even with its quirks and the difficulty in finding parts. Let me know if you have any questions!

Well, I believe that mikesxs.com has contemporary gauges that would swap out. The only place that I have found NOS gauges is on ebay though.

I've recently started adding a bit of seafoam to the gas with each fill-up, and a larger dose about once per month. I have noticed an improvement in the smoothness of my idle. I don't know if this is just wishful thinking, or something else, but it seems to be running slightly better.

yep. paid $50 for it. has a strong motor, but a compromised frame due to excessively raked front end and a wider than acceptable rear wheel. The engine is the real winner. it is the front bike in this series of pics.

use butter. mmmmm.... sizzling.

Nice find!

Its almost like they just chopped the bottom out and didn't bother to place charges further up the structure.

Well, are you sure that it is the petcock that is leaking? It could possibly be a needle or float issue for the leak. Might be a good idea to check that the points, condenser, and coil are all in good working order. That isn't really an area that I know much about though.

Considering you had an electrical issue, have you checked the charge on your battery and your spark?

7.5-8.0 m/kgs Keep in mind, my manual is for the B,C, and E models. I believe that your 78 should be an E? so I think that this torque is correct.

Looking at my service manual, it appears that it is mostly behind the clutch basket assembly... so yeah, it looks like you will have to pull the clutch. You will have to try that once you get it apart though, as I have never pulled mine apart. *edit* If you do end up having to remove the clutch, either purchase a clutch holder tool, or find someone with air tools. The torque on the nut that holds the clutch basket in place is usually pretty high. Do not try to hold it in place with a screwdriver. It will bend or break the soft metal... <-- speaking from experience. Also, a strap or chain wrench might allow you to undo the nut, but will not hold it steady enough to put it back on and torque it down.

Second the picking up tools as you can afford them.... Definitely take the time to go over the brakes. On the kz305 I recently rebuilt, I had the front brake bleed dry and the back brake shatter on me. CHECK THESE SYSTEMS. Bleed the front brake until you feel comfortable. Personally, I like mine to respond quick, and be pretty hard.... no jokes please

I don't know about your year, but I'm pretty sure that my 500 only has one oil pump.... I suppose it could be a blocked oil passage, but that would cause a major failure, not just cutting out. When does it cut out? low, mid, or high rpm?

Drewpy is correct. http://parts.yamaha-motor.com/partimage.gi...45951,2,0,sport I cant actually link to this image because it is dynamic (you can zoom in and out) so you will just have to look at it. You will need a new right side gasket... just using liquid gasket might cause some problems with clearance. This is one of the most difficult parts to find for the 500\'s... the gaskets got eaten up quickly because they burned through heads so fast. look around and see if you can find one, and if worse comes to worse, you can buy gasket material and try to make your own. The important part to pay attention to when reinstalling this is that the spring (part 5) must straddle the post (part 13). If it does not, it will not work properly.

or the flintstones...

One of the benefits of being a teacher is that I have summers off and can invest my time in things that are less frustrating than working with middle school children. Like sanding and polishing engine cases for 5 hours. Ok, so here was my process. I got a bowl of warm water with a little dish soap in it to remove any difficult grease and to keep the water nice and slick, and a sponge with a scrubber side. I also had 400, 600, 800, 1000, and 1200 grit wet sanding paper. The first thing I did was clean up the cases with the soapy water and scrubber sponge. Then starting with 400, I sanded side to side (as much as possible), up and down with 600, side to side with 800, and up and down with 1000. Finally, I went over it in a circular pattern with the 1200 to remove any obvious scratches. I used the sponge as a sanding block, and it worked fantastically. I then rinsed, dried, and polished the cases with a polish that I do not recall the name of at the moment (blue something). If I were to go back and do it again, I would use a rougher paper on these cases to start with, because the oxidation is pretty bad. Here are the before and after images. The right hand side (1st set of images) also has a coat of wax on it. I am experimenting to see which one will look better longer. Right side Before Right side after Left before Left after

I have the lower fork with the mounting points for another brake shoe, that was what got me thinking about it last night when I was checking chain slack and brake wear. What happens to the speedo drive gear? On my front left side, it doesnt look like there is room for another disc to fit in there. Now I am curious and am going to end up ripping the front end apart! at least I have the time.