My '80 XJ650 .....

So, I picked up a 1980 XJ650 with 15K on it, in-trade for my starter D-SLR Canon camera (roughly $425)

At the time, she wasn't running because the PO did a starter rebuild, and turns out he clocked the magnet/brushes wrong when he re-assembled it all back together. Took me about an hr to figure it out and I had her running!!

Here's what she looked like when I got her:


Other issues she had were:
- Carbs flooded intermittently
- Carbs needed cleaned
- Bolts rusted everywhere
- Front brakes needed replaced
- Coils fired when they felt like it (which was rarely!)
- Exhaust leaks at head
- Plugs desperately needed replaced, as well as plug wires
- Most elec. connectors were corroded
- Rear shocks were shot
- Front forks needed rebuilt/filled


I fixed all of the above issues and did a few changes of my own to make her feel "mine".

And now here's how she looks today:







Some changes were:
- Chopped welded straightpipes down and removed resonators/baffles
- Jetted carbs to 118/41 @ 3.5 turns
- UNI pod filters
- FZR600 master cylinder/mount
- KLR650 Clutch perch
- chopped rear frame
- Nitrogen rear shocks w/ progressive springs
- '97 Katana 600 coils/plug wires
- TL1000S rear brake light assembly
- ProTaper 7/8" bar
- Chopped/re-fitted front seat (not the best, but I love it)
- Re-fitted license plate mount on axle clamp
- Yamaha R1 Rectifier/Regulator.
- re-painted wheels

She runs gorgeous, and I'm totally in-love. I get all sorts of compliments, and friends are anxious as to what I will do next to her. My love for bikes went from 'doddling-around', to hobby, to my passion.

 

Tried messing around with an old brake disc off of my 94 FZR600r. Had to put 9mm of spacers behind it, but it stops great,
If i had to guess, i probably saved 4-5 lbs by swapping out the stock disc



Should i worry about going from a heavy, solid disc to a lightweight, floating disc.

 

The disc swap should be fine as long as the spacers are solid and the bolts held with thread lock (I notice you don't have any safety wire or locking tabs). You should put the front fender back on, or at the very least take the section that has the fork brace and bolt that on. It really is a necessary part of the assembly.

I have a question. Why is your right shock surrendering?

 

It knew too much. I promised that, should it forfeit the alphanumeric combo of my license plate, the consequences would be severe.

and yes, i've been looking into how i would like to chop the fender before the re-install.

i also plan on replacing the TL1000 brake light. I was anxious to get her road-worthy

 

Nice bike man.

Is the disk custom or where did you get it?

 

Stock pull-off. Just gave it a shot of gold and mounted right up. The 6-bolt pattern and diameter matches perfectly. Only difference was thickness.

 

Just ordered a clutch perch & mirror off an '08 KLR 650.

 

Stock from what?

 

1994 Yamaha FZR 600r

 

Ribo... you're slipping!

 

I really like your handlebar setup, What kind of dimensions are on that particular bar? I'm still on the fence as to what handlebars to use exactly

 

What did you use for spacers on the brake disc. I'm tempted to follow suit. Someone drilled a hole in mine and filled it with magnets and JBWeld!

 

Here is the specs on the handlebar I have:
Part: Superbike Handlebar 7/8in Black Emgo 23-12571

Color: Black
Bar Diameter: 7/8 Inch
Bar Width: 29 Inches
Bar Rise: 2-1/2 Inches
Bar Pullback: 4-3/4 Inches
Bar Center Width: 4-3/4 Inches

And remember, your right switch housing is grounded THRU the stock chrome handlebar. If you replace it with a painted bar, and don't run a seperate ground wire to chassis (or grind down to bare metal on bar mount and switch housing area), your bike will not start.


As for the brake disc mounting, I used 8 or 9mm of machined zinc alloy spacers. Just ensure that the wheel's surface and the inside of the brake disc mating surface is clean,so you don't have any uneven braking.

WARNING: You will need to machine/dremel the wheel speed gearbox to make it work with this setup. Or have a cap and spacer machined to replace the wheel speed gearbox.

OR, just buy one of these
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Yamaha-XS65...?fits=Make:Yamaha&hash=item27eaeb5646&vxp=mtr

 

Effin' POs. He he he...

 

Like custom machined, or is this something common you can buy that I just don't know about?

I'm thinking I won't need the modified wheel speed gearbox, since I'm sporting a magnet and reed switch setup with a digital speedo. But that's cool that there's one like that available.

 

I got my spacers at my local ACE hardware. I'm sure they can be found at any Lowe's or HomeDepot, too.

Titanium header wrap came in the mail lastnight. Can't wait to put it on this weekend

 

Got a little done to the bike this weekend (a hot one out today!)

- flipped rear shocks
- replaced clutch & mirror perch with an '08 KLR 650's
- custom-cut and painted front fender and mounted it up
- wrapped headers in Titanium lava wrap

 

Did you soak the wrap in water first? It loks a little loose.
Fender looks pretty good.

 

Yup, soaked it. Its pretty tight, i just overlapped more than i should have. Half tempted to get some black 2500-degree header paint and spray it down.

 

FINALLY fixed my blinker issue. The solder points in the left control module completely seperated from the PCB board itself. I replaced it with a '96 FZR 600R left control housing alltogether. Turned out perfect, after soldering pin-to-pin.

 

Btw,... I used 4" led strips wrapped around the shocks.

 

Some nice things going on there..... I'd like to see the seat shaped differently though.. It's very obvious it's just a stock seat " that's been cut in half". I think you can do much more and not look like a "typical springer/bobber type seat"

 

Agreed. It's been killing me, too, but I know not everyone has, or is comfortable using, a sewing machine.

The lights are cool. I assumed at first they were electroluminescent tape. Did you get them from chromeglow.com?

 

Yeah, those LED strips caught my eye. Had to look at the other unlit side to figure it out. Looks super custom! Nice work. Have to agree with Dave about the seat. Perhaps rounding the cut on the pan and cutting away some of the excess material on the cover could bring the seat to the next level. Awesome looking bike, though! Constructive criticism, not hurtful! Keep it up!

 

I'll clarify: I only mean constructive criticism, too. If the rest of the bike weren't so nicely done, the state of the seat cover wouldn't stand out as much. I'm just trying to say that it would be a relatively "easy" way to score a bunch of points. I realize just how not easy it can be, though.

 

Thx all. Yea, I rushed the seat for sure. I have more ideas on what I want to do with it. Will keep u guys updated.

 

Cool. Have you tried dropping the headlight by an inch or so?

 

take a look at my pseudo-modified 700 in the showcase. Consider altering a 700 seat sort of like I did. You'll get the same support width, and length, but it will give more 'flow' to the visual line.

Dave F

 

I shouldn't criticize... Like BaldWonder said, I am afraid of sewing. Also nervous about staple guns. Instead of recovering my seat, I bought another used seat for like 60 bucks. It has little pin holes in it. You get what you put in to it... Maybe I'll use the extra one as a learning tool. Maybe I'm the learning tool!