My $275 1978 XS500e find

[sleepyk]

I shouldn't look at Craigslist, but I just can't help it..

I woke up last week and saw that a 1978 XS500 had just been posted for sale in my neighborhood. I called the owner and hopped on my XS400 with my checkbook. $275 later I own my first project bike!

Good-

-bike seems complete (except the actual plastic start button is gone with the spring sticking out)

-has some sort of cruise control on the throttle I'm completely baffled on how it works

-The compression seems healthy

-The seat looks great

-shows 10k miles

-the previous owner started cleaning he bike and I think it is going to look pretty sharp when finished

- I changed some fuses and hooked the battery cables to my battery starter-and all the lights and dash lights worked.

(Not So) Bad

-Tires are dry rotted. but the previous owner gave me two new tires to put on.

-I looked it the gas tank and there was no rust on the bottom of the tank, but there was some on the inside part of the tank that straddles the frame. It is not very deep and can be rubed off with my finger or soft sandpaper. I got to what I could reach and then cleaned out the tank and let it dry.

-it'll need a new battery (surprise!)

-one fuel hose is cracked where it attached to the petcock and the other seems WAY too short and I had to stretch it across the top surface of the carb and I was unable to get it fully on the petcock nipple due to the length (and it is missing the scissor clip)

-the back brake makes a *squish* sound when you press down on it and leaks brake fluid from a piston-like item behind my heal

-I attached the throttle cable to the carbs but the throttle grip slllooowly returns to the starting position after you pull back on it and release it

I will probably attempt to start it once I get the fuel lines replaced.

Should I worry about the light rust I couldn't reach inside the tank? Any thoughts on the throttle or brakes?

Thanks for your help!

Here are a link to some photos:

http://picasaweb.google.com/flymfly/XS500e...ey=u2wsplkct58#

[Petey]

From the pics it looks pretty decent. A lot better looking than my xs500 project bike when I first got it.

If you want to get rid of the rust, there are tank cleaning products out there. I used the KREEM kit for mine. It included a tank liner too. You may be able to just use the cleaner and rinse for the amount of rust you have.

Fuel line hose is easy to replace and I ordered a packet of clips off ebay that had a variety of different sizes.

Perhaps cleaning the linkage on the carb where the cable connects will loosen it up. Mine was very sticky at first. I tried cleaning my throttle cables but it wasn't until I replaced them that it snapped back like it was suppose to. Sounds like you have a bad seal in your rear brake master cylinder.

[Cy Welch]

<snip>

-I looked it the gas tank and there was no rust on the bottom of the tank, but there was some on the inside part of the tank that straddles the frame. It is not very deep and can be rubed off with my finger or soft sandpaper. I got to what I could reach and then cleaned out the tank and let it dry.

<snip>

Should I worry about the light rust I couldn't reach inside the tank? Any thoughts on the throttle or brakes?

<snip>

If it's surface rust as you describe I would not do anything about it myself other than to make sure that the in-tank filters are good. I would not recommend doing a partial creem treatment either as it strips the anti-rust protection from the metal, so either do the entire job or none of it (I would recommend doing nothing).

You can get fuel line and clamps just about anywhere, I got mine from the local auto parts store. Took my old hose in and got fuel line with the same inside diameter and got some screw clamps, which I feel more comfortable with than the OEM spring clips anyways.