What upgrades from the stock xs have you done?

[onomrbill]

I'm interested to know what you guys have done to your 650's to upgrade it from stock. Performance, suspension, handling, looks, etc.

Also, what did you guys try and disliked?

So far, my 77d is still stock. There is nothing I have done to it as of yet in any of the catagories above. I plan on paint, springs, exhuast, carbs, and pod stlye air filters this winter.

[bikermandg]

Bill, since no one else is going to venture an answer, some of the most common upgrades would be to start with some good tires, but thats a thread all in it's own, every rider has his own favorite of tires. You could start with brass swingarm bushings, new sreering head bearings, and progressive springs in the front forks. There are many choices of rear shocks, and you should address those too. If you are going to go to pod air filters, buy some qualty filters like K&N, some of the cheaper units cause restrictions of air flow in the intake tubes. Aftermarket exhaust pipes and mufflers are another upgrade, but if your original pipes and mufflers are in good condition, save those because they are worth their weight in gold. Re-cover the seat, put on your choice of handlebars and paint, then enjoy !! Denny

[onomrbill]

I actually lied. So far I have put new steering head bearings (which there is a long thread about my problems with that installation).

This is my list of winter projects:

New rear shocks (probably from mikes)
New fork springs
New swing arm bushings
K&N pod filters
New exhuast (mine work fine but they are beat up)
Seat cover
fix dents and repaint side covers and tank.
bring back chrome shine on motor.


I was thinking about getting rid of the chrome fenders with painted ones. Are there painted fenders out there for the xs650? Or do i have to modify a bit?

[bikermandg]

Most of the XS650s had chrome fenders, I have seen some of the heritage specials with black fenders. Most chromers would be able to remove the chrome from the fenders for you and give you back a paintable surface, or you could etch the chrome yourself and paint over the chrome surface. I have done that myself, but I was using black wrinkle paint, and a high gloss was not an issue. I would like to see a standard XS650 like the 77D painted on the style of a late 60's Triumph 650 Bonneville. That Brit bike had style !

[onomrbill]

yeah....

I would prefer just replacing the chrome fenders with ones that I can paint myself. It seems like a job to remove the old chrome. That's why I was wondering if there are fenders out there that fit the xs650 that are painted ones. I'm sure there has to be.

[bikermandg]

I'm not aware of aftermarket fenders for the XS650, but there might be a source for them. I think I would find a way to etch the chrome so it will hold paint, and go from there. As a side note, I was quoted $45.00 to re-chrome my front fender, half of that money is to remove the old chrome, so you might check with a re-chromer and see how much to remove the chrome on both fenders, it might be cheaper than you think.

[onomrbill]

wow, that does sound cheap. I'll look into that this week. The painting is no problem for myself to do. I used to work in a body shop for a few years when I was a teenager.

[ChopperCharles]

FYI, if you do go with an aftermarket fiberglass fender, you may want to consider a fork brace. The stock chrome fender does double-duty as a fork brace (albeit not a very effective one). The stock steel fender has load bearing capabilities, and helps keep the forks from twisting when cornering and braking. A fiberglass or plastic fender is not going to have any load bearing capacity, and will just twist and flex all over the place. Not only will that ruin whatever paint is on the fender... it probably won't help handling much.

Charles.

[grizld1]

Custom alloy-body shocks from Works Suspension, 13.25"; custom lace-up front rim, 18"; Buchanan stainless steel spokes; Daytona tweak bar on front forks; Race-Tech cartridge emulators; .80 kg/mm fork springs from Traxxion Dynamics; VM36 carbs on Shell Racing billet aluminum carb mounts; Uni dual-element foam pods; needle bearing swingarm; 1982 engine and Heritage Special body work on 1977 D-model chassis; Mike's high-output dual-throw coil; Boyer Bransden Micro Digital (old-style 4-stage) ignition; Bridgestone Battle Axe BT45 tires; upgraded electric starter gears from Mike's. Tried the new Boyer Micro Power ignition from Mike's; the igniter box was bad from the git-go, but the 30-day warrantee was up before I'd installed the system and tracked down the problem. From what I've heard that's a rather common experience.

[coolpoolnorm]

Mine is a mostly stock 79 Special II - I've put a King-Queen seat on it with a Sissy-bar, Boyer Micro-Digital Ignition, and since I do like the highway trips - a throttle lock to take some strain off my wrist. The PO had put a small windshield on it, but I'd like something just a little larger - maybe a Slipstreamer or something similar. Otherwise it's pretty original.

This winter, I'm planning on putting tapered bearings in the steering head, and bronze bushings in the swingarm - as well as properly jetting the carbs (gotta get a Colortune and do it right, though....).

I really need to give it a good polish, though. Any reccomendations for a good (and preferably easy) aluminum polish?