XS850 progress and planning
Relatively little progress on my XS850 – it’s on the center stand now, but my motivation is coming back. Between driving through Sturgis a couple times during bike week, riding a sweet Goldwing and having some other good rides recently, I’m getting the XS back in gear. While I was in Montana, I picked up a set of gauges off ebay to replace the bracket that the PO nearly cut in half. The entire gauge cluster is so much nicer than the old one that it’s going on my bike as it is.
It turns out that it’s actually a XS850 Special – as indicated from the model number on the engine plate. There’s a great write up on those bikes here. The 80 model featured some performance killing carbs, a smaller rear tire and gearing to match. I’m not a fan of the handlebars – they just don’t quite do it for me.
I ran the transmission through its gears using the foot starter and everything meshed rather nicely, so it’s just a matter of getting the head back from the machine shop with the new (unbent) valves. On the EFI front, I’ve decided that the Yamaha throttle bodies will be a pain, so I’m thinking of using a set of bodies off a newer Triumph triple.
With luck, it might be running before winter, otherwise it’ll be ready to rock next spring.