Cafe Racer Pictures

[Bear]

I finally finished the build of my 1981 Yamaha XS. The frame is powdercoated in black, as are the removable panels on the motor. The motor is painted black with high heat black. The carb tops, valve covers, chain guard, brake pedal, shifter, are chromed. Foot pegs are MCL. The bike was professionally painted and the engine was rebuilt by a friend who is an aircraft mechanic. It has quite a few upgrades like solid state ignition, valves and pistons so that it can run on that sorry stuff this country passes off as gasoline. Cafe Racers typically don't have flames--but this guy does such a great job with his air brush, that I could not resist.

 

[kenstone]

Nice
I'm thinking too cold to ride where you live though

 

[Desert Dan]

Nice looking bike. Glad you went ahead with the flames, they do look sharp. Not sure when I last saw a kick-starter on a "new" bike!

 

[Phil Tarman]

Wow! Looks great, Alex!

 

[EX Winger]

Alex, That is beautiful!!!!

 

[RedNigel]

good job, Alex!

 

[tawilke46]

Lookin good Alex! How does it ride?

 

[Bear]

Ran into a real crazy problem. Seems that the XS uses AGX Glass Fuses in its main distribution panel. The AGX Fuses are slightly shorter than the AGC Fuses, which are more common. Looked foe 20A and 10A fuses on the internet. They are rare indeed. There was a guy on E-Bay who had them for $30 a box of five. That would have been $60.00 plus shipping !!! I found a fuse block that fit into the Yamaha one that takes AGC Fuses--drilled the old block out and riveted the new block in. Looks original and fits in the place it needs to be. It is getting cool here so riding without heated grips and the lack of a "real fairing" like the NT has makes for short rides. I don't know if it has the stock sprockets, but she comes out of the hole like gangbusters. It has a lot of torque and can run at 30 MPH in 4th gear without lugging. I did put 50miles on her to break the engine in and changed the oil today. The manual calls for 20W40 SE Oil. I put in some RotellaT 15W40. I think that it will do fine. I don't know if I can use Synthetic Rotella T6 15W40 in a bike this old. I do plan to put the bike in shows. It came out much better than expected.

I did have doubts about doing the engine in High Gloss Black--I would still be polishing today if I had decided to go original. The engine has enough chrome--all the bolts, carb covers, valve covers, acorn nuts, and muffler. I am sure some purists will complain.

Sand Blasting and powder coating saved a lot of time and labor. The wheels were stripped by hand and had the gold accents painted in with an artist's brush--ditto the Yamaha lettering on the engine. I was tempted to have the fairing flamed, but decided it might be too much. I do plan on finding a different seat. This one has a new cover but is just the wrong seat. I have tiny LED signal lights and they are really bright. The headlight was a sealed beam, and is now an H-4 Halogen. Tyres are Tubeless Shinkos.

 

[banjoboy]

Nice job Alex. A project of love. What do you notice now when you ride it?

Terry

 

[Bear]

Terry,
I notice that bikes have come a long way in 30+ years. There is a lot of vibration. Reminds me of my old Triumph Twin. I do need a new seat. The stock one was designed for someone of a different build. The NT does tend to spoil you. Then again, I didn't build the bike for long trips. I'll ride it to shows in the area and around town.

 

[karl]

Very nice, Have some fun with it.

 

[Chuck 500]

Great looking bike, Alex. The flames really came out well and look real.

 

[mikesim]

Great looking scoot, Alex! Nice job! No reason you can't use the Rotella T6, it will work just fine.

Mike

 

[Bear]

Mike,
Thanks for the tip. I think I'll wait till I rack up 1000 miles before I change to T-6.

 

[kenstone]

I feel your pain as I went thru the same fuse deal with my '83 Ascot and the fuse block is mounted on the handlebar clamps.
I grafted on a Shadow fuse block that uses mini bladed type fuses and mounts in the same place.

I just spent a week working on my neighbors '79 KX750 twin and found out what an old's cool bike rides like after a 50 mile "test" ride.
I hadn't ridden a vert twin in a while and it was different.
Ken

 

[karl]

Back in the 90's you would see labels that said no synthetic on vehicles. That was due to the type of seals used that required mineral oil to swell the seals to keep things tight. most today synthetics use additives to take care of that. just look for leaks when you switch.

 

[Warren]

Mike,
Thanks for the tip. I think I'll wait till I rack up 1000 miles before I change to T-6.

Unless your engine has had a spin on filter upgrade you will still want to change your oil frequently even if you use the T6. Also the oil strainer in the sump is prone to tearing and if you have not replaced it with a new one it might not be trapping much.

 

[kenstone]

You might want to consider using Rotella "T" (15-40) if you have concerns about using a synthetic, it too is JSO cert'ed.
I've used it in old airheads without any problems.

 

[Bear]

I think that I will stick to the regular Rotella T 15-40. The bike has all new gaskets and I torqued every bolt to spec (Nice to have a Shop Manual) The bike doesn't leak a drop. I put white butcher paper under the bike after I put 50 miles on it and there was not even a drop in evidence. I'm pretty happy with the way the whole bike turned out. This bike still has the oil strainer--no spin on filter.

 

[Rob]

looks beautiful, alex! congratulations on completing that project!!