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My Pages
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- NEW PROJECT XS750 TRIKE
- Trike Things Page 1
- Trike Things Page 2
- Trike Things Page 3
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- Trike Things Page 8
- Trike Things Page 9
- Trike Things Page 10
- Trike Things Page 11
- Trike Things Page 12
- Honda CD175 Restoration
- Re-jetting the carbs
- How to fit a Tensioner
- CBMMA
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6812 hits
MY XS750 REBUILD .......THE STORY BEGINS.
OK, so I've finished off the CD175 restoration but once this was completed and I had ridden it for a while I realised that the power this bike was capable of was not really meant for the Welsh Mountains. So...........back to Ebay and look for something with a little more power. Did I say "a little more power". Ladies and Gentlemen, please put your hands together for the Yamaha XS750 also known as the triple.
This bike I managed to win at the pricely sum of £270.00 complete with fairing.
This bike I managed to win at the pricely sum of £270.00 complete with fairing.
After arranging to pick the bike up from Grimsby which is a 200 mile round trip I went to pick it up with a homemade trailer which on reflection wasn't really strong enough for this Monster. The trip home was scarrrry, infact I spent most of the return journey looking in the review mirror just to reasure myself that it was still there. After a very long 100 miles I finally arrived home and proceeded to get the bike off the trailer....not very easy on your own but I managed. I then pushed it into the garage, checked for oil etc, added a battery and after priming the carbs jumped on the kickstart. At first it coughed and spluttered and farted for a while but after a couple of minutes it leveled off at around 1100 rpm's and remained there for the next 20 minutes or so. I was that impressed with the way the engine fired up that I called the previous owner and held the phone in the air so that he could hear the bike running. At this point I must add that the bike had not run for the last 8 yrs. All I could hear at the end of my phone was the previous owner laughing with joy ....he was so amazed and pleased at the same time.
OK, so the engine seems fine, what shall I do now? You guessed it......strip it down to the frame. Over the next couple of hours I slowly dismantled the bike making mental notes (and some photos of course) of where everything goes when I eventually have to put it back together.
OK, so the engine seems fine, what shall I do now? You guessed it......strip it down to the frame. Over the next couple of hours I slowly dismantled the bike making mental notes (and some photos of course) of where everything goes when I eventually have to put it back together.
The engine cleaned down with thinners and wire brushes then sprayed with black high temperature engine enamel. Don't forget at this point to fill anything that looks like a hole.
The frame has been shot blasted and then primed in grey before top coat of black.
Shock absorbers cleaned up nicely. Heres where I cheated. I wire brushed the rusty chrome as much as I could but I couldn't seem to get the pitted stuff off. So with all the rust and loose particals gone I sprayed them with a chrome spray and when dry laquered them. This is a lot cheeper than having to buy replacements or even getting them re-chromed.
Drive shaft has been wire brushed to remove any loose bits and then washed down with thinners and finally sprayed in silver high temperature engine enamel.
Now to a bit that I am going to enjoy.....polishing up the front forks. When I say enjoy I really mean hate because it is so tiring trying to get every little mark out and getting them to shine like they did when they were new. At this point I must add, that all through this rebuild I din't use any fancy polishing machines, grinders, crap removers etc etc. only good old fashioned elbow grease, wire wool and wire brushes. Having said that, on the next rebuild (and I'm sure there will be another) I will invest in everything there is to make the job easier.
Front wheel before any work. Lots of flakey paint to remove and loads of alloy to polish up. I am going to use Solvol Autosol for the polishing.
OK, front and back wheels have been wire brushed to get rid of any loose paint and then washed down with thinners to get rid of any grease that may have been on them. The tyres were left on so I used masking tape to cover the alloy rims which can be a very boring job but worth it in the long run. Once all the masking up was done all that had to be done now was to carefully paint in the black making sure not to get too much on the alloy that you are going to see. At this point I must tell you that the paint brushes I used were a pack of 12 assorted from a specialist shop in town called "THE 89P SHOP"......yep 12 artist brushes for the pricely sum of 89p.
Now painted and dry I could fit them back on the frame, all of a sudden it's beginning to look like a bike again.
Now painted and dry I could fit them back on the frame, all of a sudden it's beginning to look like a bike again.
Next to be fitted...the headlamp shrouds and headlamp housingand then the front indicators. The shrouds were off Ebay £5/pair, the indicators also off Ebay £7/set of 4.
The housing needed sanding ,priming and a coat of black.
The housing needed sanding ,priming and a coat of black.
Now the bit I've been waiting for the most. The fitting of the engine. This engine weighs about 3 1/2 tons (well it seems like it) and needed a friend to help me lift it in.
Once in place fit the mounting bolts remembering to slide on the foot peg first and then when all tightened up I can reconnect the driveshaft. All pretty easy really.
Once in place fit the mounting bolts remembering to slide on the foot peg first and then when all tightened up I can reconnect the driveshaft. All pretty easy really.
Upto now I am finding this rebuild pretty easy, everything seems to be going to plan and not too many problems....until now.....THE LOOM. I laid the wiring loom out on the bike and try to find where everything connected. This bit connects here, that bit goes under there and clips into that bit etc. etc. (i'm sure you know what I mean). It wasn't until I got to the part where I wire up the back lights where I find I'm now stuck. Where is the cable from the back lights??? After scratching my head and arse a few times it dawned on me that the previous owner for a reason known only to himself had cut off the cable. I quickly made up another and within minutes it was fitted to the bike. "whats next I said to myself"....connect the cables in the headlamp housing, this'll be a piece of cake.........HUH, enough said about this bit. As you can see in the picture I was hampered a little by things that shouldn't have been there like bypassing the kill switch. For some reason the killswitch had been bypassed so I reconnected it and it wasn't till I had the bike running a little later on that I found the killswitch actually worked. So why it was bypassed is still a mystery. Last thing to do on the LOOM of DOOM was to connect the coils. Now before I connect these, how about I replace the HT leads and plug caps with new ones, which is exactly what I did. Unfortunately I forgot which order the plugs were wired up in so I just connected them in any order.
Laser exhausts bought on Ebay including the down pipes. Many thanks to Ray for these and the front mudguard.
Next to go on were the decals which were made for me at the local van signs shop just 3 doors down. Thanks to Nicky for these, they add that final touch.
OK that's it. I can feel myself getting mad now. "Why won't the bloody thing start properly".
Bought these mini indicators off ebay and decided to replace the big chunky originals with them. They have clear plastic lenses but orange bulbs and are very bright.
The last job to do was fit the brake calipers with new pads and bleed the brakes. This was more of a job than anticipated. For some reason I kept getting air bubbles everytime I swapped sides. Only one thing for it, use 2 bottles and bleed both sides at the same time. Job sorted, it did the trick. I must mention too that I replaced all the copper washers on the hoses (11 in total).
So with the brakes fitted and working, the rebuild was now complete. Over the time the bike has had all sorts of dust and particles falling on it and settling so I think this little girl deserves a shower. Bring on the garden hose and Hey Presto a shinning example of a Yamaha Triple. Not bad for a 28yr old.
So with the brakes fitted and working, the rebuild was now complete. Over the time the bike has had all sorts of dust and particles falling on it and settling so I think this little girl deserves a shower. Bring on the garden hose and Hey Presto a shinning example of a Yamaha Triple. Not bad for a 28yr old.
AT LAST THE END OF THE REBUILD AND A GOOD RESULT
Parts bought
------------
Exhaust system 3in1 ...................ebay £15 + £10 postage
front mudguard.........................ebay £10 + £5 postage
mini indicators........................ebay £5 + £2 postage
3 x jubilee clips................local shop £1.20
1 x rev drive threaded end........bike shop £2.88 inc postage
Petrol/vacuum pipes...............bike shop £3.00
Battery + Charger.................bike shop £32.00
Engine Enamel black................car shop £2.85
Engine Enamel silver...............car shop £2.85
Oil................................car shop £8.99
Brake Fluid........................car shop £4.99
Plugs x 3..............................ebay £3.99 inc postage
Plug Caps + HT Leads...................ebay £4.00 inc postage
Rack & Sissybar......................friend £15.00
------------
Exhaust system 3in1 ...................ebay £15 + £10 postage
front mudguard.........................ebay £10 + £5 postage
mini indicators........................ebay £5 + £2 postage
3 x jubilee clips................local shop £1.20
1 x rev drive threaded end........bike shop £2.88 inc postage
Petrol/vacuum pipes...............bike shop £3.00
Battery + Charger.................bike shop £32.00
Engine Enamel black................car shop £2.85
Engine Enamel silver...............car shop £2.85
Oil................................car shop £8.99
Brake Fluid........................car shop £4.99
Plugs x 3..............................ebay £3.99 inc postage
Plug Caps + HT Leads...................ebay £4.00 inc postage
Rack & Sissybar......................friend £15.00
Today I made some side supports for the rack out of checker plate. These are to support the soft panniers and also make a good place to mount the indicators as they were hidden behind the panniers in the previous pictures. I have also decided to bolt the panniers to the supports making it difficult for anybody to steal them.
One side complete, the other to do tomorrow. Then re-connect the indicators...............job done!!!
Right, so just when you think you've done eveything and the bike is ready to ride...............a rubber eating gremlin decides to show himself. It seems like it has eaten most of this inlet manifold and had a good go at the others. I will definately have to replace these so lets get out the phone book and ring around the local bike shops. With quotes of £40 each it was bye bye bike shops and lets have a look on the net. This is where I'm going to cut the story short. I have got these from a supplier in America for £20 for a set of 3 including delivery. What is wrong with this country????
To remove the rubber inlet manifolds requires the removal of the airfilter box and carbs.......not a job for the faint hearted as it is a bastard of a job, there is just no room to get them out. Anyway I struggled on and eventually pulled out the carbs with the manifolds still attached.
With the carbs and airfilter box now out here is my opportunity to replace the stock airfilter box with a set of cone K&N style filters. These will replace the bulky box and make it a lot easier to take the carbs out the next time I need too.
Getting the Measurements of the flanges right on the carb is critical as there are a number of different sizes and you need a good tight fit. Mine measures 54mm so that's what I'll order.
With the carbs and airfilter box now out here is my opportunity to replace the stock airfilter box with a set of cone K&N style filters. These will replace the bulky box and make it a lot easier to take the carbs out the next time I need too.
Getting the Measurements of the flanges right on the carb is critical as there are a number of different sizes and you need a good tight fit. Mine measures 54mm so that's what I'll order.
Air filters arrived today (25/04/2006) and were fitted to the carbs in seconds. Really glad I went for the 54mm inside diameter instead of the 52mm as I think I would have struggled getting the 52mm on. Now just sit back and wait for the rubber inlet manifolds to arrive.
With the new cone filters and new rubber inlet manifolds now fitted and placed on the bike, the next job would be to design some sort of a Condensation Collector Box for the Breather Pipe. I ordered the filter from ebay and while I waited for it to arrive I had a look around the garage for anything that I might be able to use for the collector box. What I found was:-
a lid from a glass jar
a stainless steel kitchen laddle
a piece of stepped plastic tube (just happened to be the right outside diameter for the filter that was on order.)
a washer and a jubilee clip.
First job was to cut off the laddle handle leaving just the bowl part, then drill a hole in the side for the breather pipe to go in and a hole in the bottom for the crankcase bolt to go through. Next drill a hole for the stepped plastic tube into the lid and push the tube through holding it in place with a washer and a jubilee clip. Now just wait for the filter to arrive and fit it to the tube that is now sticking out of the lid.
Remove a crankcase bolt and place the bowl over the hole, put back the bolt and tighten down. Push the breather pipe into the hole at the back and then place the lid into the bowl and push down until the lid is jammed tight into the bowl.
I must add at this point that I made sure the lid was going to be a tight fit before I started work on it, infact when the lid is in place it finishes flat with the bowl.
Now the reason for this collector box is to collect all the crap thrown out of the crankcase which is in the form of a sticky mist and without the box the filter would get clogged up very quickly. With the collector box now fitted, whenever I want to clean out the box I simply remove the lid (complete with filter) and wipe the bowl out with a rag. Just one more thing, I am going to drill 2 small holes through the bowl into the lid to add 2 small screws as an extra measure to keep the lid in place while riding otherwise vibration may loosen the lid and I'll end up with no filter.
a lid from a glass jar
a stainless steel kitchen laddle
a piece of stepped plastic tube (just happened to be the right outside diameter for the filter that was on order.)
a washer and a jubilee clip.
First job was to cut off the laddle handle leaving just the bowl part, then drill a hole in the side for the breather pipe to go in and a hole in the bottom for the crankcase bolt to go through. Next drill a hole for the stepped plastic tube into the lid and push the tube through holding it in place with a washer and a jubilee clip. Now just wait for the filter to arrive and fit it to the tube that is now sticking out of the lid.
Remove a crankcase bolt and place the bowl over the hole, put back the bolt and tighten down. Push the breather pipe into the hole at the back and then place the lid into the bowl and push down until the lid is jammed tight into the bowl.
I must add at this point that I made sure the lid was going to be a tight fit before I started work on it, infact when the lid is in place it finishes flat with the bowl.
Now the reason for this collector box is to collect all the crap thrown out of the crankcase which is in the form of a sticky mist and without the box the filter would get clogged up very quickly. With the collector box now fitted, whenever I want to clean out the box I simply remove the lid (complete with filter) and wipe the bowl out with a rag. Just one more thing, I am going to drill 2 small holes through the bowl into the lid to add 2 small screws as an extra measure to keep the lid in place while riding otherwise vibration may loosen the lid and I'll end up with no filter.
08/05/2006. Today saw the "Lean Grean Kick Ass Machine" pass it's MOT with flying colours. I am over the moon to think that I have single handedly dismantled this beast and with some really helpful support from all the lads on the XS Triple Forum managed to put it back together again and then on top of that collect an MOT Certificate. Tomorrow I'll get the Insurance and Road Tax and then.....................Hit the open road.
HIT THE OPEN ROAD I DID......at 2 MPH
Yep, with a 12 month MOT certificate stuffed in my pocket it is now time to go and get the Road Tax. So jumped on the bike, cruised down to the main road,stopped and put it in 1st gear. When there was nothing coming I started to turn left with a slight lean on the bike and then.....Nynnnnnggggg the revs shot up as the bike jumped out of 1st. I was doing about 2 mph at this point but because there was now no forward motion the bike had nowhere else to go but down sideways. With my foot firmly placed on the road I hung on to the bike for dear life trying to stop it hitting the floor with too much impact, this was a big mistake. In the process of doing this I twisted my left leg really badly and at 2 points nearly fainted with the pain so I decided to sit on the footpath for a while until it passed. With my head in my hands (probably trying to hide my embarrasment from passing motorists) my next door neighbour came past and stopped to offer assistance. "Shall I push it back to the garage for you?" he asked. "Would you?" I said as he took hold of the handle grips. "FU** ME" he said "This is a FU**ING HEAVY BA**ARD,ISN'T IT?". "Yes" in a soft voice I replied as I lifted my aching body from the footpath. Eventually the bike was back in my garage with not a mark on it, now I think it is time to reflect on what happened and come up with a plan to stop it from happening again.
OK, at this point I will add that I am only 5' 7" tall and can barely reach the floor when sat on the bike so I think what I am trying to say here is that the bike seems to be too high at seat level for me. I now have to figure out a way for me to be able to keep the bike upright without having to wear a pair of Leather Akito Platform Motorcycle Boots. Ah Ha.........................
OK, at this point I will add that I am only 5' 7" tall and can barely reach the floor when sat on the bike so I think what I am trying to say here is that the bike seems to be too high at seat level for me. I now have to figure out a way for me to be able to keep the bike upright without having to wear a pair of Leather Akito Platform Motorcycle Boots. Ah Ha.........................
OK,I think before I make a start on the trike I should get the problem of the 1st gear jumping out sorted. I just have a funny feeling that is something to do with the clutch adjuster so that's where I'll start. If this doesn't work I'll go to option 2 and have a look at the selector drum.
***This picture came from the XS Triples forum site and was contributed by Pascal from Holland, an expert on XS's***
Job done, now I need to test it out. For this I will need to put the bike on its centre stand and fire the bike up. The bike is now running at 1100 rpm's so I can select 1st gear and see what happens........OOOOPPPSS, jumped out again. No problem just adjust the screw a little bit more and try it again. This time success it stayed in 1st. I then selected all the other gears and none of them jumped out so I think I'm on a winner, unfortunately I can't take the bike out for a test run due to my leg injury early last week.
OK here's the update. Today I took the bike out for a spin to see whether or not I had sorted the problem of the 1st gear keep popping out. The trip was 9 miles long and over the whole journey 1st gear didn't pop out once, infact the bike seemed to perform much better. So that problem sorted I think the next job is to get on with the Trike build. Last night I managed to get hold of a Reliant Robin back axle and diff box for the pricely sum of £40 and best of all it was only 5 miles away.......brill, I think somebody out there is looking out for me.
I need all the help I can get!!
Next job was to re-jet the carbs. (go to home page and click on "Re-jetting the carbs"). Lots of step by step photos and talk throughs.
