thespirit Posted June 25, 2006 Posted June 25, 2006 I think I made an impulse buy... Long story short, I wanted to get a bike to commute to work. The kid from across the street had a friend that was selling one and he brought it over for me to look at. I took it for a spin and liked it... It has some problems that I was unsure of, but bought it anyway... It's a 1976 650 Special 2. It has 17,000 miles on it. 1. Gas was leaking out of the petcock on the reserve side. I tightened up the bolt it was leaking out of, and it has seemed to stopped for now. I think that just needs a new seal. 2. The battery is not charging. He said he put a new one on it. So it could be generator, wire, etc. 3. The gas cap does not lock down for some reason. I tried the key in it and it doesn't turn. I haven't torn it apart yet to figure out why. 4. The neutral light does not come on. 5. The ignition key turns, but it's worn and doesn't stop at the proper intervals. 6. The shifter is down to far for my foot. They said they had to weld it back on... I paid $550 for it... Did I make a huge mistake?
Moderator YamaHead Posted June 25, 2006 Moderator Posted June 25, 2006 I paid $550 for it... Did I make a huge mistake? Possibly NOT......Sounds like a common deal with used bikes.....especially older one's.....leave you feeling doubtful You just need to take a day & fine tune it to your liking If you're fairly familiar with tools.......It's a Piece of Cake Lube all the cables......then get yourself a manual.......& maybe ask some questions.......HERE! Gotta friend with a coupla old XS's........who recommended 'em to me
thespirit Posted June 25, 2006 Author Posted June 25, 2006 I'm feeling a little better about it after sleeping on it (not the bike!). I'm more excited that I have one today than I am worried about all the problems. I found the service manual online and I downloaded it last night. I'm going through it now.. My first priority is to get the battery charging and the brake lights working. I found out after I posted that the brake lights were not coming on. There is a spring that activates them and when I pulled on it more, the lights came on. I'll adjust that and work on the battery today. I need to get the gas cap working too. I'd hate to get water in there.
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