My other hobby (motorcycles)

[fomocoguy]

Some of you who have been around awhile probably have seen posts about some of the old bikes that tend to follow me home from time to time. Needing a break from the truck, I picked up these two gems the other day. The first is an 850 Suzuki that I paid $450 for and hope to double my money on. The second is a 1976 Yamaha XS500 C that I paid $200 for. It hasn't moved since 1984 when the fella got hurt at work and couldn't ride it anymore. If it runs good once I get her fired up I want to make a cafe racer out of it. Right now I'm just working on getting everything freed up and working again. She's a little stiff after sitting for 28 years!

Here's a couple before and afters so far. All I've done is yanked all the dated touring stuff; a good scrubbing is scheduled for tomorrow.



My 2 year old insisted on modeling for this one

[fomocoguy]

I'd really like to do something like this with the Yamaha, but more black on the engine with polished fin edges maybe...

[hdpusher]

I've done a few XS Yamaha's over the years. Ive always liked them done as flat trackers or cafe racers and if your getting them for $200 thats a great price. The last few Ive looked at have been non running for $400 and up.

[fomocoguy]

I've done a few XS Yamaha's over the years. Ive always liked them done as flat trackers or cafe racers and if your getting them for $200 thats a great price. The last few Ive looked at have been non running for $400 and up.

Yeah, me too. I had a couple 850 specials and a real nice 1972 650.
This one is pretty rough, but I figure it will be that much more rewarding if I can get her all cleaned up and running again on the cheap. The motor was stuck just from sitting, but a good soak in marvel mystery oil and rocking her back in forth in gear got it freed up. The keys I got with it were the wrong ones, so I ordered a key to match my locks from ebay today. I was able to get the fuel cap off and it's pretty rough in there. I need to decide if it's worth having cleaned and sealed or if I need to start searching for another one. I really don't want to spend any more money until I make sure she's gonna run. Maybe by the end of the week I'll have the carbs clean and see if she'll fire.

[hdpusher]

The fun of building some of the japanese bike is doing them "On the Cheap" and looking good when you are done.

On rough tanks I've sandblasting the inside, clean it out, then treat it with Kreem Tank Sealer. The sand is a pain in the a$$ to get out but if you can save the tank its worth it.

Ive also seen and tried the Baking Soda and battery charger method but never quite perfected it.

[Ranchero50]

Here's the little gem I've been playing with the last two days.



The bike went into a local shop two years ago for a full service and exhaust pipe swap. The story is the shop had to drill out some of the jets in the carbs for it to run correctly with the pipe. The bike did not run well when it came back, nor any better after two more trips to the same shop. The bike then sat for over a year as the owner was out of money to put into it.

After draining the stinky gas out I got it running again, throttle response sucked at first but got better and better the more it ran. After about an hour or running it would idle but is still hesitant below 4k. It'll cold start with the enrichment lever and will idle after about 2 minutes. Above 4k the bike pulls very well. When following it the bike's exhaust reeks of raw gas. Other than a D+D pipe the bike is stock.

spent this evening taking the carbs apart and cleaning them. Amazing how much better it runs with four vs one pilot jet open...

Jamie

[fomocoguy]

The story is the shop had to drill out some of the jets in the carbs for it to run correctly with the pipe.
Jamie

Never had any luck doing that. Those tiny jets are so precise that I would never trust them after being drilled. I bet a dynojet calibration kit would have her running beautifully.

After draining the stinky gas out I got it running again, throttle response sucked at first but got better and better the more it ran. After about an hour or running it would idle but is still hesitant below 4k. It'll cold start with the enrichment lever and will idle after about 2 minutes. Above 4k the bike pulls very well. When following it the bike's exhaust reeks of raw gas. Other than a D+D pipe the bike is stock.

spent this evening taking the carbs apart and cleaning them. Amazing how much better it runs with four vs one pilot jet open...

Jamie

The gas in the zuk's carbs wasn't even solidified, just a little gel like, and that sucker would barely run. Those pilot jets are pesky little suckers.

I just pulled the carbs off the XS today and they don't look terrible inside besides one float having a hole in it and a lot of varnish. I'm still perfecting my float-hole-soldering technique, so I'm gonna give it a shot. I got nothing to lose!

[fomocoguy]

The fun of building some of the japanese bike is doing them "On the Cheap" and looking good when you are done.

On rough tanks I've sandblasting the inside, clean it out, then treat it with Kreem Tank Sealer. The sand is a pain in the a$$ to get out but if you can save the tank its worth it.

Ive also seen and tried the Baking Soda and battery charger method but never quite perfected it.

That's exactly why I like em'! Good fun to dollar ratio.

This one will probably get the sealer treatment as long as the motor runs ok. It's not cheap to replace....

[fomocoguy]

Well, I broke a golden rule of mechanics on the Suzuki but finally figured out why it was running bad (Golden rule #1- never assume! Verify for yourself!). When I brought her home she wouldn't start and had a tank of bad gas, so I put new gas in it and cleaned the carbs. It ran, but not very well. Seemed like it was idleing on 2 cyl and would rev on all four, but under a load dropped back to two again. I adjusted the carbs and pulled and checked them again, since it seemed carb related. No luck. I decided to check the valve clearances and low and behold 3 intake valves were too tight to get a feeler gauge in. So I ordered a shim removal tool to adjust them. While waiting on the tool I did some research and read a line on another forum that said "on 79 and older models check the points" when referring to Suzi GS maintenance. I had assumed it has an electronic ignition being a 79 model, but I was mistaken.

I pulled the breaker cover and spun the motor over by hand. NO MOVEMENT WHATSOEVER. It had been so long since it's last point adjustment that there was zero gap. How it even ran I'll never know. I cleaned and adjusted them and ! She runs like a bat outta hell. I'm still going to adjust the valves when my tool gets here, but I'm really happy I figured it out. I was starting to think burnt valves and other nasty thoughts.

BTW, it's been so long since I had a bike that I almost forgot what 80hp feels like under your butt. Fun stuff...