Kaff's XBR (now sold to.... "don't worry, I've got this covered!" - ylisuuta

[guest1130]

Just a quick update: I got my drivers licence yesterday!! So now I'm REALLY anxious to get this bike on the road, one way or another

[andy230]

Well done mate!   

Feels good huh??!

Now get it finshed and ride it!!

andy

(great thread by the way, looks great)

[guest1130]

- a small update -

With my current work assignment keeping me busy and apart from my bike in another city, the bike is progressing slowly. I'm so driven to make this bike run soon that I've decided to concentrate on the details next summer and just get the bike on the road ASAP.

As of yesterday, the bike is a roller!


I've decided to use the old seat for now, I hate the way it looks but it'll have to do for this season. Almost everything is on the bike besides the engine, exhaust pipes and some tubing.

I've also fabricated a quick temporary bracket to mount my new LED taillight, indicators and license plate to the old XBR seat. It looks... hasty, but it should do the job. It will be attached to the seat by using rivet nuts - as soon as I can find a rivet nut gun that handles metric 8mm threads..




The regulator/rectifier is turned upside down and oriented so the wind will pass in between them better.


The wiring loom didn't turn out as good as I'd hoped. The reason being my anxiousness getting the best of me and also I made a few mistakes on my wiring diagram. But the good news is, everything mostly works! Mostly being, the taillight warning light won't turn off although the tail light works fine. It was this way also when I bought the bike. Don't know if the brake and taillight sensor is faulty, is there something wrong with the loom or if the sensor just doesn't work with LED. Either way, it's no biggie. I also had to give up the rear brake light switch. I had a relly nice bracket made for it but the oil tank blocked the direct route to the pedal, so that'll mote to the to-do-list.



I ghetto-mounted the oil tank using just regular steel band you'd find on any hardware store. It's ugly, but does it's job.


Here's a quick teaser pic on what I'm going to do with the exhaust next winter:


I'm planning on fabricating a 2-to-1 all stainless free flowing exhaust on the bike. I measured the diameter of the exhaust ports on the engine (30mm) and am going to use the same inner diameter on the header pipes (ID 29,7mm), which will then unite in to a 2" single tube, followed by a 2" free flowing muffler. It will be short compact and noisy but that project will have to wait until next season.

I'm planning on reuniting the engine to the chassis next weekend and who knows, I might actually get her running for the first time in a year!

Until next time.

[guest1155]

Great to see some progress on this kaff

[guest1130]

Boy, what a day!

Yesterday I worked from 10pm to 6am, then drove 150km's back to my home, to work on my bike. Me and a friend spent the whole day from 10am to 11pm working on the XBR. We had some success, but also a few failures.

The bike is now complete with motor, seat, tank, electrics, tubing and exhaust. In other words, the bike is ALMOST ready to hit the tarmac. Almost - I had completely ignored one of the most important things with the build.. Everything was going smoothly, all the electrics were done, all tubing in place and motor mounted I started to route the clutch cable.. "Hmm, it's weird, I have no idea where the cable mounts to - there seems to be no bracket for it.." Thats because the bike no longer has an electric start and the clutch cable is mounted on ..? Thats right - on the side of the starter motor.. So now the bike is almost roadworthy - only thing thats missing is the clutch 

[guest1130]

I had the starter motor sent to me yesterday and finally got a chance to ride the thing! It was a blast, I just need to do some adjusting to the pedals and handles to make the bike more suitable for my riding position.

It did die on me a few times - each time was at traffic lights when loosening the throttle and stopping. This sounds like an idle issue.. I also had some trouble figuring out the tubing on the carb, could someone help me find out what they are?

1. on the bottom is the drain tube, that one is certain
2. On the left side, just above the bowl is the main fuel feed-line, also pretty certain
3. On the left hand side there are two more that I can't figure out. One near the manifold and one near the throttle opening. Could someone tell me what these are for and where do they go?
4. On the top of the intake manifold is the first end of the air cutoff valve tube right?
5. On the right side is the other end of the air cutoff valve tube.

[guest1130]

Here a few quick photos of the first reincarnation of my XBR - it's not completed, but driveable.

[guest1155]

like it.
like it a lot

[guest1130]

Okay, about 100km's on the bike (mostly city traffinc) and some first impressions:

I'm not comfortable driving this bike as it is. Firs off, I'm having idling issues. The bike stalls most of the time if I let go of the throttle on crossroads - today it even stalled in my driveway although the engine was hot. This might be caused by the free flowing air-filter I have on now - I haven't adjusted the carb in any ways (figured I need to do it again soon after my pipes are done), so thats I minor issue.

What I'm most concerned of is the fact that the bike does not feel stable - even in speeds below 80km/h the bike feels "wiggly" and as I let go of the handlebars, it starts to slightly pull to the right. Now there could be number of reasons this is happening, but I'm always suspecting the worse - bent frame or forks. I still need to have a closer look to make sure the rear wheel is aligned perfectly straight and that the forks are evenly adjusted and tight - other than that I fear I might need to tear this bike open again next winter.

Any other suggestions I need to do to make the bike more stable?

[steveD]

Steering head bearings too tight will have that effect, try loosening and see what happens.

Just a thought.

[guest295]

The 'die at the crossroads' feature is common with this engine. Beneath the carb should be a hidden screw that adjusts idle mixture. You may need to make a special tool to adjust it: a small cross-head screwdriver bit fitted with something that will allow you to turn it. Turn the adjuster 1/4 turn in and see what effect that has. If it's worse, turn it the other way. On some bikes this screw is capped to prevent owners from attaining satisfaction, as the bike was never intended to be easy. Remove or drill out the cap.

[pigafetta]

I use a screwdriver bit jammed into a piece of rubber tube. There's just about enough room to get your hand in and turn it. The manual suggests starting at 2 1/2 turns out and working from there. I can't remember whether it's in or out for richer or leaner 
It's worth checking the o-ring on that mixture screw too.

Dave B

[guest1130]

Hey guys!

Been a bit under the radar for the past.. err.. year and a half... but my bike's not gone nor am I so here's a little update on what's up!

Firstly, I rode the s*it out of the trusty XBR last summer, tho the weather in northern Finland wasn't all that great. I haven't done anything to the bike since I last posted, just been riding it! My university studies are on the finish line and me and the ms are going to move to southern Finland this may. I'll hopefully find a job right away, so I can afford to be a bike enthusiast once again.

Some of the things I did on the bike were great, some weren't. Basically what happened was I didn't have the money or the tools to make a proper restoration so I feel like I need to take it apart soon and do it all over again.

• Some of the bolts have started to rust badly .. should've figured that out when I was cleaning them with wire brush (d'oh)
• The engine needs to be blasted and painted - anything short of that is just not good enough. I have this beautiful frame in which I put half a*sed parts on.. not cool
• I have all the parts for my 2-1 stainless super short exhaust pipe, just need a few days off, some metal working tools and a TIG welder to make it. Next summer perhaps..?
• I've started to make a fiberglass custom seat mold for the bike, now it just needs (a ton of) filler and sanding so I can make a proper seat form the mold. Right now it's -12*C outside and I don't think the ms would appreciate me sanding down a block of fiberglass in our livingroom.. so that'll have to wait a bit as well

There's just a few examples of what need to be done. Basically what I'd REALLY need is a second bike so I can properly work on the XBR without the urge to ride it. Hopefully I'll get there some day soon.

I'll try to get some updates for you for the next season

Cheers - Kaff

[themoudie]

Aye Kaff,

Riding the beastie is what it is all about.  Delighted to read that's what you've been up to. Not so cold here but getting a Polar wind, Force 8 at times and frequent snow showers during the day. Starlit night tonight, but been in the workshop rebuilding brake calipers! Not my favourite job, but necessary with all the salt we get thrown on the roads here. No spiked tyres for us! 

Good health for 2013 to you and the Ms. 

Regards, Bill.

[guest1130]

So, I took the XBR for a first ride this season and it was a blast!

My plans for this summer are

• make a new exhaust on the bike
• change a few bolts (that weren't nickel plated and are now rusty (`doh!))
• get a new air-filter
• re-jet the carb
• change the chain gear ratio a bit to get the RPM's a bit lower on cruise-speeds
• get a new chain
• try to finish a new seat on the bike

The seat I'm working on is going to be fiberglass based with a space for a small bag where the standard "cafe-racer-seat-hump" would be. My experience with fiberglass is VERY limited so this is a trial-and-error process for me. First, I made a crude prototype by laminating fiberglass straight on the bike. Next step is to even out the prototype with filler and LOADS of sanding. Then, laminate a fiberglass mold on top of the prototype. And lastly, laminate the final seat inside the mold - the final product should be light, fit the frame perfectly and require minimal sanding/filling before paint. Right now I'm at "crude prototype"-stage:


Question:
If someone has a standard XBR-carb off the bike, could you measure the outer diameter of the inlet tube? This so I know which K&N filter to order.