jrhendryx

um, nice sidecar? someone with too much money and time on their hands.

Drewpy, what brake setup are you planning for the front of that? If you do the double front discs, would you mind doing a step-by-step explanation? I can't remember if you wrote one up for your other 400.

even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes have you checked the petcocks? my 500 does the same thing if the petcocks are gunked up.

any suggestions on locks if you dont have a drilled disc? I used to put a cable lock on it, but it didn't have a reminder cord and I tried to drive off one morning with it still on something portable preferrably, that could either be slipped under the seat or held under the net on the seat.

Congratulations!

Here is a pretty good article about the g-ratings of many different helmets. http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/gearbox/...view/index.html though to me it did read a bit like ends-driven research, instead of question-driven.

Float heights?

I know this is an old thread, but I just found it. I dont suppose that you still have those rearsets?

You know, not reading things fully is the main reason that my students make mistakes on their work.

for some reason, I am suddenly having problems with the way that forum threads show up. They used to show up with all posts in full. Now they are showing up as "posts in this thread." Its weird. I can see other people's posts, but only if I click on the link. Is everyone else experiencing this? *edit* I figured it out literally 90 seconds after I posted that. Under options, display mode, I switched to standard instead of outline.

i get your frustration... i have been putting off any semi long-distance runs (i have one specifically in mind0 because if something breaks, i am SOL. i added you on myspace so i can ask you a few questions about it.

You have to have 8 or so posts to be able to post pictures. Check the frame and the engine for a stamped number. That would be a good place to start.

ouch.... thats no good.

So, after nearly a year of work, I thought I would give you all an update on the issues I was facing. Turns out that the timing was so far advanced that it blew a hole in the right side piston. I ended up doing a full rebuild on the engine, all the way down to splitting the case and starting from the ground up. Most of my time was spent waiting on parts, but I have to say it was an awesome learning experience. I just hope that nothing like this happens with my xs, because the parts are so much harder to find. Anyway, it's running like a champ now... Thats all. Now I just have to get my wife on it.

So for spacers, can you just use washers? I would assume that they should be as close to the inside diameter as possible. I have the same problem. I redid my fork seals about a year ago, but my springs appeared nearly brand new. I put in the amount of oil that the manual called for, but it still compresses (with just bike weight) by nearly 7cm. Should I add a few more cc's of oil (10 per side?) or just use spacers? Sorry to hijack your thread

When you say that the handlebars are slightly off, do you mean that they are not perpendicular to the wheel? If that is the case, on my xs500, I had the same problem. You have to loosen the upper tube clamps on the sides where they enter the triple tree, as well as the triple tree bolts themselves. Then, I straddled the wheel, holding it steady between my shins, and straightened the bars out. Worked like a charm, and it will now do a straight line with my hands off the grips. This has been an interesting read!

These bikes didn't have anything to keep the forks from smacking into the tank, so I bought mine with dents on both sides. from what I understand, it is possible to get some carb kits, and I havent heard anything about replacing them with something else. It would be nice if they could be swapped out for the 650 carbs, since the parts are so much easier to come by.

My 75 xs500b has a vin that starts with 371....

when I put clubmans on my xs500, i had a bike shop shorten the throttle cable by about 4 inches. it is still a hair long, but it doesnt push the bars to the side or anything. I want to see pictures of this!

have you tried pulling the speedo drive gear and re-packing it with grease? could the cable itself need oiling?

No, you certainly don't. Looks like a nice bike! Parts are going to be difficult to find, but my best finds for mine have been on ebay (ew) and actually quite a few items from mikesxs.com Good luck!

I would suggest a drastic engine-grafting surgery to get it firing away on 4

Perhaps this is a stupid question, or maybe it is just my lack of knowledge on these bikes, but what is that little heel lever on the left hand side? Is it part of the shift lever? *on second viewing, it appears to be a part of the shift lever. Interesting.

The XS650 used 35mm forks i think, at least in the later models. Maybe that would work for you?

Pictures?