XS850 Restoration

Having cleaned out a corner of the shed, I've finally started the work on the XS850.  Not much progress but I've made a start.  Pics to follow.

How far are you going to go ?......................  (I'd better add  not in a personal way of course LOL )

Tank and side covers removed - all in good nick.  Couldn't see any rust in the tank, and no dents or scratches.  Likewise for the seat unit and tail piece. 


No cracks in, or scrapes on, the side covers either.


New parts on the bench include: fuel petcock overhaul kits, carbie kits, plugs, air cleaner, voltage rectifier/regulator and intake rubbers.  The top book is a Haines Manual, there is a Clymer Manual underneath it.  The Clymer looks to be the better manual.


Petcocks, primary strainers and kits - the first job.  Petcocks look like they are weeping fuel.


Carbie overhaul kits - when I work out how to get the carbies off - the airbox looks like it will be seriously in the way.  Time to read the manuals! 

paul wrote:How far are you going to go ?......................  (I'd better add  not in a personal way of course LOL )

First milestone is to get it running smoothly.  I don't think a motor overhaul will be necessary but I'll do a compression check.  There doesn't appear to be a lot that needs doing but the hand grips will be replaced with originals. One instrument is a bit loose in its mounting so that needs attention.  Headers and exhaust are good.  But the cooling fins on the engine could do with a repaint, peeled worse on one side than the other.  I guess I'll find things as I go.  Fingers crossed there won't be too much, but in some ways I don't mind if I find more - it is after all a project to keep me out of trouble on wet days and when I haven't go something else to do.  But i'd like it as original as possible and running like a new one.

That's a nice start Ewok. Looks in bloody good shape. Are the parts readily available? Getting new parts for my other toy usually takes 6 weeks   

Ewok1958 wrote:

paul wrote:How far are you going to go ?......................  (I'd better add  not in a personal way of course LOL )

First milestone is to get it running smoothly.  I don't think a motor overhaul will be necessary but I'll do a compression check.  There doesn't appear to be a lot that needs doing but the hand grips will be replaced with originals. One instrument is a bit loose in its mounting so that needs attention.  Headers and exhaust are good.  But the cooling fins on the engine could do with a repaint, peeled worse on one side than the other.  I guess I'll find things as I go.  Fingers crossed there won't be too much, but in some ways I don't mind if I find more - it is after all a project to keep me out of trouble on wet days and when I haven't go something else to do.  But i'd like it as original as possible and running like a new one.

Looks in good nick to start with , .....original with a few slight blemishes but running nicely is sometimes better than a resprayed etc.  restoration . 

All the parts I've bought so far have been readily available on eBay - not bad for something 34 years old.  I've also got some exhaust header gaskets just in case I pull the exhaust of if the motor comes out.  I'm glad I'm not after major parts (yet!!) as they look harder to source, eg exhaust system.  I am relaxed a bit as I know it was running (but roughly - not blowing smoke though - sounded like poor carburation to me, which is to be expected for something sitting in storage for years).  Fingers crossed.     

My other toy isn't a "popular model/year", so new parts aren't readily available.....and if the are, it's always out of the US.
Nice n handy to get your parts locally Ewok. I was considering a CB750 at one stage, and found lots of parts available via the US. Some of the parts were low volume repro, and really good quality for the price.
Good luck with the resto mate......keep the pics coming.

there is also this mob ..................    http://yambits.co.uk/

Damn, Ewok.
I've been drooling over your photos and thought that you'd already done a resto and just needed carb boots to finish. The bike looks in amazing condition.
Nice score.

Yeah, I reckon it was a good buy.  These 850's don't have the same availability as the XS750's (not that there are too many of them about either but there are more).  I was pretty chuffed when I found it on eBay and then discovered that it was a project by an old guy that had passed away and his son didn't want to continue the job.  The son works at or owns LOOK motorcycles in Melbourne and even put a brand new pair of Metzelers on it before shipping it to me.  The old guy had a few parts including the genuine yammy hand grips and a NOS battery strap, so it shows he was definitely trying to get it back to fully original condition.  Less work for me and lots of $$ I won't need to be spending on body parts.

Hey Ewok.
Don't take this the wrong way, but..........while that is a great score, and I envy your good fortune, that is not a real 'restoration'.

At least put a '?' in the thread title or change the title to properly reflect the bike's condition. ha!hahahah!......to me it looks like its no more than a minor refurb. and complete tune-up!

Best of luck with it.....     

Oh well, it matches my expertise!!

The timing wouldn't have anything to do with the recent departure of Dr Gus on his way down south , would it ???     

Now there's a good idea!  Why didn't I think of that.  

Try www.wemoto.com for parts

Yeah, those guys are good for a lot of the smaller stuff.

C'mon Ewok.
More XS porn please. Give us a close up of your bits.

Unfortunately, no more progress until later in the week.    

Hammy wrote:The timing wouldn't have anything to do with the recent departure of Dr Gus on his way down south , would it ???     

If you're lucky you maybe able to get Gus to break the drought in your neighbourhood too!

Not much extra to report.  I've changed the hand grips back to original using NOS items that came with the bike.  


I have the carbs on the bench and have been doing some research on the differences between various models, discovering that some have Mikuni carbs and others, like mine, have Hitachi.  Luckily the kits I bought are for the Hitachi version (just coincidence - I guess I should have done the research before buying the kits but all good).  With new plugs the bike started and ran to burn out the fuel from the carbies so that was encouraging.  The old plugs were very black and sooty, although the air cleaner didn't seem too dirty.  I'd better check the float level carefully and the needle setting when doing the carbs.


I just need to disassemble the carby assembly into individual units and get them apart.  The manuals are pretty clear about the process and what to do and what not to do.  It also covers balancing them once they are reassembled back onto the bike. I'll need a set of vacuum gauges - I think I have a set from the 1980s in the shed at Monash (fingers crossed they are still there and are functional).  The balancing process looks pretty straightforward.  The hardest part of this whole carby overhaul thing appears to be removing the pins holding the floats - a job for next week.

The other small job I did was to spray some HTC paint on the fins where is had rubbed off.  It looks better than this photo shows (flash affected).

Nice work, Ewok. 
That triple carby picture is Horn. 
I bet Gazzar would love to get his mits on them and give them a shine.

How many Klicks on her, Ewok?
I can't believe how clean she is. You can see the part number on the back of the horn bracket!!!

She's done about 48,000kms I think (without going back to the shed to confirm). It certainly is in good nick and some of that might have to do with the previous owner's old man's work. I even found new Yammy little rubber bits that go on the metal tabs that hold the side covers on - these were in the box of goodies that came with the bike. There are new front peg rubbers as well. Hard to tell what has previously been done with the carbs. The drain plugs had definitely been undone as there is some rounding on two of the hex heads.

I really have to say (again) that this is my sort of project - complicated enough but not too complicated and (hopefully) not requiring too much technical expertise or special tools. So far, so good. Fingers crossed.

And NO bottle of red to be seen on the bench !  What's going on ?