johnsnownw

Makes the $1100 I paid for mine seem reasonable, which it was not. Hindsight and all that.

She's a beauty. Not just saying that because my favorite color is blue

The POR 15 kit also comes with a rust removal liquid, so I'm just going use that as well. Also, from what I understand of electrolysis, the rust is removed from any place that the liquid mixture touches. I can't see why there would be spots that the process misses.

It's underneath the battery box, if you take the battery out you should be able to see it through the bottom slits of the metal battery holder. Also, if it's the same as the XS650's TCI unit, you can pick them up on ebay, there are two on auction at the moment.

I suppose, then, the question becomes how do you know that you'll need to re-jet, and then what re-jetting you need? What are the symptoms, so-to-speak, of a need to re-jet?

What would be the biggest issue with adding a new exhaust, probably just mufflers, to the bike? I've been looking at some of the mufflers on MikesXS, and was wondering how much work would be involved. Thanks again.

Well, the electrolysis worked pretty well. However, after 1 day without using the tank the rust all came back. So, I've decided to use electrolysis again, then seal the tank with POR 15. I'll let you guys know how it works out, should take me about a week to do.

This thing: Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Well, I may have figured out why the bike wasn't idling correctly. Both mixture screws were missing their O-rings. They should really list those parts in the Haynes manual, I only found out while perusing MikesXS.

Yeah, so when I took apart my carbs only one of them had the needle valve seat clamp. Is this a necessary part, or should I not worry about it? Thanks

I got fed up and decided to take it to my local shop. They were able to extract them, problem solved.

How do you guys remove these things? I have been using an impact driver to no avail. All I seem to be doing is destroying the screw heads. I've gotten 3 out of the 8 off, the others just won't budge. It's quite infuriating TBH. Aaron

Yeah, but that will only get rid of big chunks of rust. Usually, that is the first method for a really rusty tank, but a second method using chemicals or electrolysis is used after--or so I read on the Internets.

Well, I ended up just ordering a rebuild kit for it. The o-ring for the lever was broken, but the diaphragm looked okay, but it's getting replaced anyway. Also decided to tear down the carbs and clean them, since I'm unsure of when the last cleaning was done. Not to mention that when I unscrewed the float bowl plug the gas had a rusty color to it.

It's bubbling away now!!!

Thanks, that's the one I found too.

I like that idea, especially the cheapness factor. I need to find some good instructions on the method, as I don't want to electrocute myself. Thanks again.

So, of what I can see from looking inside the tank, there is a very minute amount of rust. Any rust is bad I assume. I got a quote (over the phone) of $175 to clean and coat the tank. Is it worth the money to have the coat the tank in sealant, or should I have them just clean the rust out, since the tank wasn't originally coated with anything? Cost is the issue at this point. Thanks, Aaron

Okay, So, now that I got a new battery she will start up just fine. The suggestion was made that I should seat my mixture screws and turn back 3.5 times. Well, I've done that and can get the bike to idle in neutral around 1200 rpm, but only when I tightened the idle screw quite a bit more than it had been before. Now the bike seems to be popping quite a bit, and idle rough. It also seems to knock quite a bit, when I don't think it did before this. It should be noted that I filled the tank with 92 octane fuel. Any suggestions? Aaron UPDATE: So, the knocking seems to be coming from the gas tank, in fact, if I move the petcock lever to RES, the knocking is louder than when on "ON". The knocking speeds up when the throttle is pulled.

Well, I decided to buy a new battery, even though the first on seemed fine via multimeter. With the new one the bike starts up quite quickly, and continues to start the bike multiple times. So, I believe the first battery was the issue, or a large part of the issue. Thanks for your help, I'm having another problem which I will start a new post. Aaron

Yeah, this seems to have been all done by the previous owner. I would love to test the Regulator, but I have to get the bike started first. Well, for some reason the battery won't stay properly charged, as it will run down to nothing within 3 days or so. If, after charging the battery fully, I try to start the bike by holding the ignition button down for 3 tries at 3 seconds a try, the battery seems to lose nearly a volt. So, at the moment I cannot get it started. It should also be noted that the previous owner soldered a solid Red wire that goes into the rectifier clip, to the Red wire coming from the fuse box.

That looks beautiful!

What is this? Uploaded with ImageShack.us What you are seeing in the picture is 4 brown wires, 1 Red/Yellow and 1 Red/White wires soldered together. 2 of the Brown wires run toward the front of the bike. 1 Brown wire runs to the fuse box 1 Brown wire goes to what appears to be the Voltage Regulator clip. Both Red wires go back to the fuse box Please tell me why this would be? Also, the voltage regulator that is supposed to be under the fuse box(removed) is not in fact there. Thanks, Aaron

Alright, so I decided to remove the old fuse box and replace it with in-line mini blade fuse holders. I replaced them on all 4 lines, and soldered the wires together. Now, surprisingly I did this all correct the first time. It seems to me that after installing them the lights on the bike, and even the ignition seemed stronger. Is this possible, or is it just my imagination?

Thanks, I will. Aaron