I have not posted pics in awhile despite actually having done a lot of work.
The front brake lines are put together from Russell (not our Russell) bits. They are sold by quite a few aftermarket vendors. Their standard is AN3. The lines and fittings all just fit together so there are lots of possibilities. I made this bracket to hold my manifold (1 into 2) and headlight. I've rounded it off since the fitment.
And on the bike.
The rear brake was very finicky, but works like a charm. What is hard to see is the top of the lever attached to the brake switch (not the brake pedal) is actually 2 pieces screwed together. It had to be built this way, because if I simply welded it, I would have to remove the entire battery box to pull it out ... not that I plan on doing that often.
The brake lever is all 5/8th rod; bent cut and welded. Only the female part at one end and the stock pedal at the other are from the original. Foot pegs are Harley passenger pegs.
I moved onto the engine. XS650s have an antiquated charging system. They use an electromagnet alternator. The voltage is regulated by how much current goes to the electromagnet. More current to the electromaget makes it stronger which then produces more current in the main system. Modern 3 phase alternators use fixed magnets where the alternator just pumps out as much current as it can, and the (easily identified) finned regulator/rectifier dumps the excess current as heat. Since modern reg/rectifiers have worked well for 30 years, it was about time that the aftermarket came up with a retrofit for the XS650. I installed one. It should look familiar 'cause your bike probably has something like this.
I went to assemble the motor. Every part was measured months ago. I went to intall the rings. I had assumed the top two were equal thickness, and the grooves were equal sizes. Wrong. I put the small one in the slightly bigger groove, and tried to push what turned out to be a slightly thicker one in a slightly narrower groove. I broke the ring and scored up the grooves in the process. A panic on-line order has pistons and rings coming by next week. Next time I'll install the rings on the pistons before I put them on the rods. And I'll take some more time and caution. This error cost me about $160.
Since the engine is shelved for at least a week, I started the finish welding on the frame. Some things were too hard to get at during the mock up so they need to be welded in now. I hope thats a bad photo and not welding smoke in the picture.
Stuntman Fubar has painted my tank and fender (semi gloss black), and Cam McLoad has them for pinstriping. Motor mounts and odds 'n sods are getting powder coated, but the frame will just be spray bombed. I like bondo, cheap high build primer, and I never want to commit to a first build.
Peace & Grease, Dennis
