2 incomplete sets should make 1 good set

The new carburetors arrived yesterday.  They are a little bit dirtier than my other set, but at least they have floats!  They are missing some adjustment screws though.  I’ll have one complete set and one mostly complete set of carbs when I’m finished.  I need to call around and see if I can find a place that has an ultrasonic bath to put them through to get them looking and working good.

Old carbs on the left, new carbs with floats on the right

I also ordered a headlight bucket with the mounting ears from Ebay today.  I think I’ve been pretty lucky so far, because most of the missing parts have been pretty cheap.  After I buy all the parts, I’ll post a breakdown of how much I’ve had to spend on the project.

To buy & to do lists

Here’s the list of items that still need to be purchased in order to start the bike

–          Fuel petcocks

–          Air filter

–          Battery

–          Spark plugs

–          Plug wires

And here’s a list of things that need done before I can attempt to start the bike.

–          Clean the carburetors

–          Replace the spark plugs and plug wires

–          Change the oil

–          Cleanout the fuel tank

–          Install new petcocks

–          Install the new key switch and throttle control assembly

Once I get the bike running, I can start on things like new tires, brakes, lights, wiring, and paint.  The good thing is, it feels like this project is starting to move at a better pace.  If all goes well, I’ll get to ride this thing a little bit before winter comes.

Finally got another set of carburetors!

These don't seem to be in too bad of shape

I found a pretty good looking set of carbs on Ebay for a reasonable price, so I decided to get them.  They were a little more than I wanted to spend, but not too bad.  I’ll use whichever carbs are in the best condition then resell the others.  Only a few more parts to order, then I should have all the parts necessary to get the bike started.  Now I just need to find time to actually work on the bike.

Just bought an air box, gas cap, key switch and a seat lock

I’m starting to get quite the pile of parts!  I just got a great deal on an air box and all the parts that I need keys for.  My bike was missing the keys, so I was going to have to find new keys that fit it (by matching the number stamped on the key slots to a new or used key) or buy buying a new set of everything that needed keys.  I lucked out and found a guy selling all three items as a set.  It was the same Ebay seller that practically gave away the carbs for $35, so needless to say, I got all these parts for dirt cheap!

Everything that locks

Kick Lever (and foot pegs, kick stand, brake lever, clutch lever, etc.)

The good news – I found a replacement kick start lever, plus a bunch of extra levers that I can resell, for a great price from Ebay.

There's a kick start lever in there somewhere

The bad news – still no carbs.  I’ve been checking Ebay twice a day (I was only checking once a day, but missed a set that sold for $35 – dangitt!) and I even found a great site for checking multiple Craigslist listings at once (SearchTempest.com).  I’ve placed bids on a couple of sets, but have been outbid every time.

Throttle sleeve and switches

I ordered a set of used throttle switches (for the right side of the handlebar), throttle cable, and throttle sleeve yesterday.  I only needed one switch from the assembly, but I got them all as a set.  I figure whatever ends up as extra pieces can be re-sold to help with the cost of the project.

Throttle control assembly

I’m still looking for a deal on carbs but haven’t found anything yet.

Floats for the carburetors

The two floats that MikeXS offer don't quite match the one that I need.

I’ve been researching the floats that MikesXS offers, and have decided against buying them because they don’t appear to be the right parts.  Also, I think that if I buy a set of used carbs, I could get all the parts that I need off of them and then try to resell the carbs for someone else to get parts from them.  Now my goal is to find a set that has all the parts, but are relatively affordable.

Carbs!

Mikuni Type II Carbs

So, it turns out I won’t need to buy carburetors for the bike anyway.  The roommate of the guy I got the bike from found the carbs for my bike.  He has a triple too, so he was using mine as a parts source.  He also had the gauges from my bike – too bad since I already bought a set.  Oh well.  I should be able to sell them and recoup my money.

When I got the carbs home, I took them apart to examine them.  I took off the float bowls and saw that they were missing the floats and the main jets.  I think that MikesXS has these parts for relatively cheap, so it shouldn’t be a problem.  Other than that, they looked to be in fairly good condition.  The slides and the throttle plate moved freely and I didn’t notice any other missing parts.  I’ve ordered a Clymer’s repair manual for the bike so I can start giving everything a more thorough look.  Hopefully I won’t find any surprises.

Something's missing...

Bought the first parts

These might come in handy.

I’ve started scouring the internet for parts to get them bike running.  I found a couple of useful sites so far to get me pointed in the right direction.  www.yamaha-triples.org seems to be a great resource for getting information from other xs750 owners.  MikesXS looks like a good place to buy new parts, and of course there is always Ebay.

I bought the gauges shown above as well as the panel shown below from the same user.  They are parts from the same model of bike as mine, so they should work great.  Now, if I could only find carbs for a reasonable price.  Most that I’ve seen so far are going for around $75 plus they need rebuilt, so that’s another $50+.  I’m trying to keep the costs down, so I’ll keep looking.

This is going to need painted.

Well, I’ve got a project bike…now what

This is the bike after I first rolled it into my driveway.

I was able to score a non-running 1978 Yamaha xs750SE from a friend for the cost of a title transfer.  It’s missing some parts here and there (carbs!, air box, gauges, kick lever), but I think I’ll be able to get it running with some work.  I’m hoping to get it running in the next couple of months so I can ride it this summer.  I’ll try to keep track of the progress here.

Oh, yeah…I’ve never owned a motorcycle, worked on a motorcycle, or even ridden a motorcycle.  I’m looking forward to getting my hands dirty and learning.