parts for the XS650

Parts for the '79 Special have been arriving this week. Here are some of what will be going on it. The bike came with a new Shinko SR712 on the rear and a rock hard and cracked Bridgestone on the front, so I got a new SR712 to match the rear. I ordered it from Motorcycle Superstore on Saturday and got it Tuesday, so very quick service. I also got a new tube. The front rim looks identical to my '80 SR500, which doesn't use tubes. The SR has "suitable for tubeless tires" stamped onto it, and the '79 XS rim doesn't. I think the stamp is the only difference, as I don't recall the tubeless SR rim having any "safety lip" I'll just run a tube to be on the safe side.


The bronze swing arm bushings are from TC Bros. Choppers. They'll be a nice handling improvement over the stock plastic bushings for sure.

Free beer coozy is a nice touch also!

Up front, EBC brake pads and All Balls fork seals and dust wipers, tapered steering bearings, and wheel bearings. The nice thing about All Balls bearings kits is that they include new seals.

Of course lots of stuff from Mikes XS. I got clutch and throttle cables for the standard XS650, which will fit better than the long Special model cables, since I'm using lower bars.

The rear brake line was pretty ugly looking, so I got a braided line from Mikes XS. The bike came with a new braided two piece line on the front. The top line is a bit long with the lower bars, but I think I'll be able to route it to take up the extra length.

I'm going from the stock 17/34 sprocket ratio to 17/30. With the stock gearing the bike was really screaming at 70 mph+, so this should help it out.