You've probably got that mirror bolt out by now but... left hand thread nuts are marked with a slight cut out on the hex corners. One side will be normal thread and the other left hand thread to stop the mirrors unscrewing on one side due to wind pressure.

Love the chop. I love the xs's anyway .

My friend that I've been doing some mechanical work for lately is partially paying me with 2 bikes a 79 XS 650 special and an incomplete 650 chopper conversion with Harley wide from end. Going to be my first bike build but I'm a diesel technician by trade so the mechanical and fab shouldn't be too much of an issue. Your videos have given me a great number of ideas of how I'll go about it and your bikes look beautiful so can't wait to get them rolling out next spring. Cheers

@OldBiker

2 жыл бұрын

That sounds pretty good, my chop has a Harley wide glide custom front end with a 21" wheel, the only downside to that is the mechanical speedo gives the incorrect reading, the 79 XS in my opinion is better than the later 80's models as the seat for one feels way more comfy than the stepped seat of the later models, with the later model seat it makes you sit closer to the tank and being 5' 11" makes you feel cramped up. Good luck with the build and you shouldn't have any problems as there are still plenty of spares for them old and new. Keep us up to date with the build. have fun!

thats a great start Cliff its certainly moving on a pace. I wondered where you'd got to for the past month lol. I've noticed that parts for the XS650 have dried up of late on ebay. The prices have been rising steadily for the past 3 years and most of it is dross anyway. I bought 2x sets of BS38 carbs earlier this year and both sets had been built with the wrong parts .Replacement parts are so expensive I ended up paying way more than the cost of 2x brand new pairs of Amals or VMs . I'm going to be following this rebuild with great interest , its a huge amount of work you've committed to. Wish I had the motivation to restore my 79 special but all my get-up-and-go went a long time ago I reckon. Don't forget to take some time out for an occasional ride to restore your energy and feel good factor johnny

@OldBiker

6 жыл бұрын

Hi Johnny, I will be putting all the images of the build on the web, you can find them here > www.motorcyclemerchandise.co.uk/xs650sf/

@johncooper7242

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks Cliff I can see you've been very busy. How are you getting such a great finish on the paint ? Are you using rattle cans or a compresser and spray gun? Is it a 2k finish will you be laquering everything ? Lots of questions because I am rubbish at painting anything. I know a good finish is all about the preparation but I never seem to get such a good finish no matter how hard I try. Perhaps you could find a moment to do a short video some time whilst you are stripping paint preparing and painting a part of your bike to show your method and technique. I actually have a really nice mini spray gun for small awkward areas like car door shuts etc and I've just bought a compressor . Now I need to read up a bit on the various paint options and order some up. I need to spray panels of a LWB Transit campervan , my car sills a Lambretta Li150 and my bike so I'll need some coaching I reckon.

@OldBiker

6 жыл бұрын

Yeah I use a compressor and spray gun, I have four guns, two mini guns and two full size, I used the mini gun for all the small parts and the full size gun for the frame and will be using that for the tank and side panels when I get round to doing them, I used 2k semi gloss for all but the calipers and caliper mounts, I used full gloss on those parts just to make them stand out a bit. The only thing I will be using crystal clear lacquer on is the tank and side panels. Everything is done in the garden as I don't have a workshop as there is no power round my garage, I have a couple of bits I can record in the coming week and show you how I go about prepping and finishing. If you're spraying panels for a van, I would recommend a larger gun than a mini gun as you would get a much better finish and it would take you half the time. A mini gun has a small pot that you would need to fill up a lot, and by doing that, the paint you had just put on would already be going off before you started again causing an over spray mess which will feel like fine sandpaper. I only use 2k paint and always make sure the activator and thinners are matched for the paint you use, the paint goes off very quickly (depending on how fast the activator is or the heat in which you spray) but I tend to leave them hanging for a couple of days just to harden off properly, don't cut and polish for at least six months, by then the job will be rock hard. My father was a paint sprayer at British Aerospace years ago, he painted the nose cone of the first concord aircraft, I am self taught just by watching KZread vids, you can't go wrong as there is a mine of info online.

@johncooper7242

6 жыл бұрын

yes you're right of course about the larger spray gun. I am welding in some wheel arches and repairing rust holes so I will probably only be painting individual panels not the whole van . Luckily for me the Transit vans are composed of lots of seperate panels and I have found a perfect match for the Diamond White paint. My first effort will probably be the XS650 tank and panels. If I may I'll ask your advice on paint and laquer selection when I get around to tackling them Thanks for the advice Cliff, you clearly have some good paint spraying skills .Bodywork and painting are the 2x major areas of classic vehicle restoration that I have never mastered in 50+ years of driving because I have never had anybody show me how its done.

Hey old biker, I wanted to ask you brother does that 77, 78 style tank and seat still mount up onto that 79 frame of yours? is it a direct bolt-on or would the frame mounting points need to be modified for that seat especially to be used on a 79 frame? I'm asking because I'm actually possibly going to be buying a 79 XS650 today but I would really like to get a 78 style seat for it, I just don't like the style of the 79 seat and the later ones, the 70 to 78 style seat are the best-looking to me, if you have the info that you can share with me that would be greatly appreciated brother! Thank you old biker! And stay safe out there brother...

@OldBiker

4 жыл бұрын

Yeah more or less all the tanks are interchangeable and the seats with the hinges are too, (not the clip down seats) the only issue with the older seat on a newer frame is that the older seat does not cover up the seat lock as well and the gap above the side panel gets bigger, when I get round to it I'll do a little video of the two different seats.