New tank badges

So I bought a set of tanks badges from MikesXS for $36 US. Here are two pictures of Rosie.

This is day one, the day I "rode" her home. She wouldn't start, battery was dead and I had to juice her with starter fluid to get her moving. Notice the grand daughter's bike in the background. Gotta start 'em young:



And this is how Rosie looks today:



I think she is "hot" now!

 

gotta love those high rise back rests....

 

Wow. That is quite a transformation, I wish I had your skills. I'm just hoping I can get mine rust-free and decent looking. haha.

Curious, that oil you have on the block below the header, was that caused by a loose bolt that sticks out between the header? I had oil leak like that when I got my bike and I tightened that bolt as tight as I could get it, I hope that is it, but I haven't had a chance to get it on the road (no registration/insurance yet on it)

Thanks! And great looking bike, gives me motivation to go do something with mine!

 

Nice looking bike. I'm green with envy. That's how I picture mine looking someday...eventually....somewhere down the road....

 

I re-torqued the head bolts, but that didn't fix the leak. I have a head gasket leak. I will have to replace the head gasket. Thanks for all the compliments.

It's a labor of love. I bought her for $400. It took me about 15 months and about $2,500 to get her to this condition.

For those interested, here is the link for the tank badges that I bought from MikesXS. I paid $36.00 for the set, and they even came with new screws! They are soft and conform nicely to the XJ tank:

http://www.mikesxs.net/products-12.html#products

 

Make sure it's really the head gasket and not the camchain tensioner gasket on the BACK of the motor leaking and feeding into the head/cylinder joint. One of my 550s has what appears to be a base gasket leak but it's the camchain tensioner gasket.
It could also be a valve cover gasket leak running down one of the "passages" and fooling you...

 

Those are some good suggestions, Fitz!

I already replaced the valve cover gasket, but neglected to replace the valve cover screw gaskets, so I have those on the way.

I will install them, clean the valve cover to head surface, and reinstall the valve cover and see if I can stop the leaking around the cam ends on the Starboard side.

The cam chain tensioner is squeaky clean, no leaks at all.

Once I get the valve cover sorted, I'll then watch the head gasket on #1 cylinder, while the engine is running to see if it seeps.

Rosie is not using any oil, so the leak is minimal, but it doesn't look good when SWMBO's bike leaks oil.

I equate it to a human "leaking" a little blood. That can't be a good thing, so fix it!

 

Looks great! What kind of shocks are those and do you like them.

 

Those are Progressive Standard duty 412s and I LOVE THEM!

http://www.progressivesuspension.com/hd ... index.html

They give just enough squat, but when you are in a turn, at speed, the rear end doesn't move around. It stays right where you expect it.

Now, I also rebuilt the front forks with Progressive springs, and the combination makes Rosie ride better than new! Even with my fat a$$ on it!

I use Progressive springs on all of my bikes and all of the repairs I do to friend's bikes. Yeah, they are a little pricey, but man are they worth it!