Manky's XS650 Yamaha

[Manky Monkey]

Never leave Loony in charge of your camera.

[Manky Monkey]

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[Olds]

Decided to quickly chuck the motor back in the frame to check the carb clearance. Quickly chuck it in -ha!! Big Darren & I struggled with it for over an hour & got absolutely nowhere -except he managed to pinch his big fingers between the engine & frame.

You did say that it was a tight fit. Seems like I left at the right time
Shame it's got to come out again, but the carbs and manifolds look just right.

[Manky Monkey]

Nice to see you today Dave.

[Cabman77]

haven`t had a chance to look for the cable doowidgey thing yet, had some domestic issues in the past couple of weeks. But i will do it soon I promise.

If my memory serves me well XS650 lumps were always a bugger to get back into the frame. I`ve done a lot of work on them in the past and every single one was a struggle and half to re fit in the frame. I thing it`s because the frame is such a rigid structure compared to other jap frames that flex like spaghetti. I have had to jack the bottom frame rails out (less than 1mm!!!!) to get a lump in, and that was after I stopped the owner from trying to drill the mounts out to get the bolt through!!!!!! Wherever possible I laid the lump on it`s side and lowered the frame over it. Partly because the frame is a bit lighter and easier to handle but also gave us the option of seeing what the frame needed to do to fit. Every one was different, never had two the same and I must have done about 10 of them!!!!!

[Manky Monkey]

Yup, standard way of fitting a Sportster engine is frame over engine I believe. We tried that too. Can't even strip the motor down then build it up in the frame cos there's not enough room to get the head off.
Nothing worth photographing, but I spent the afternoon yesterday messing about with the rear mudguard & struts.
Just filling in time until the truck door hinge parts arrive from soggy Somerset.

[Manky Monkey]

Loony's been having a practice on his Dad's lathe & turned these 10mm thick stainless collars from a length of round bar blagged from Doug of the Guzzlers car club. Loony Senior then milled the slots in them. The threaded mounts weld to the frame & the collars sit over the rear wheel spindle. Undoing the lock nuts & winding the bolts through, pushes the spindle backwards to tension the chain.

[Manky Monkey]

I bought a pair of 600 series Amal carbs for the bike over a year ago, then discovered I actually needed the bigger 900 series. So I picked up a pair of empty carb bodies on Ebay. There was some cash in my PayPal account from recent merchandise sales, so I've invested it in all the needles, jets etc I need. Fortunately the guy who sells the cast aluminium carb manifolds on Ebay listed the jet sizes needed to run with the XS motor.
Every piece arrived sealed in it's own individual Amal bag. Even the new throttle slides came in tiny little cardboard boxes. 
On the left are the 3mm thick heat insulating gaskets, recommended by Dslam.

[Olds]

Looks like you've got a couple of fun hours assembly time ahead of you. At least this you can do inside in the warm

[Manky Monkey]

Yeah, I was going to bring them home to do this evening, but the new tickler buttons are on roll pins, with the ends splayed to stop them pulling out of the carb body -so I'd need a hammer & punch to fit them. Less hassle to do at the workshop!

[Olds]

I'd do as little as possible at the workshop. Grinding dust and new carb parts etc. etc.

[Manky Monkey]

  They're my job for tomorrow. Saturdays are always busy with lots of visitors to the 'shop, so I'll find a quiet corner of a bench to build them, then fit them back on the engine & seal them with some plastic bags.

[Manky Monkey]

Another late day at the Post Office, (it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas). Trudging the streets in the freezing cold. So not a lot of time at the workshop today. Especially with a visit from Uncle Kev, (Kapri in his gorgeous new motor. See the Fury -ous thread in General Discussion).
Managed to fit the new float bowl priming pins though.
These are supposed to stop fuel seeping out & soaking your fingers when you prime the carbs. Must admit though, I just bought 'em cos they're shiny.
They're spring loaded buttons that push the fuel float down, filling the float bowl prior to starting the engine.

I've got an extended tickler.

[BikerGran]

Must admit though, I just bought 'em cos they're shiny.

As good a reason as any!   

[Manky Monkey]

Chain tensioners welded to the axle plates. I'm leaving all the frame welds till we're done, then will clean them all up in one go.