XS650 cafe' project

Since the head has to come off to replace the front cam chain guide I decided to do a top end rebuild, but would rather not go into the bottom end unless really necessary. The con rod small ends still have nice copper in the inside, and no play in the wrist pins. I checked big end free play and side play, and it is fine. Everything looks to be in good shape, so just a clean and paint, starting with cleaning the remains of the base gasket. A quick tip here is to use a shop vac as you go to keep any debris from getting inside the engine.


I'd already cleaned the major gunk from the outside of the engine before disassembly, so just needed to finish it to prep for paint. Kerosene works nice for this, applying with a paint brush, and then using wire brushes and Scotch-brite pads to really get it clean. I used brake cleaner to wash any kerosene residue from areas to be painted. The upper case is painted from the factory, and the lower is bare, but I'm going to paint them both.


Dupli-Color 'aluminum' is a close match to the original.


The masking takes much longer to do than the painting. I did two light coats, and it looks great.