Greetings from Central Indiana!

[natemoen]

Several weeks have gone by... What happened to the Munky?

Maybe Nate scared him off. He's a bit of a shady character..

Don't know. I sent him my # so he could call if he wanted help but I haven't heard anything.

[Munky]

I'm still here, and no - no one scared me away! I am very grateful to nate for offering the help, and I still might take him up on his offer.

I have a local friend who is more mechanically inclined than me and is looking for odd jobs to earn some cash, so I'm going to see if this is something he is comfortable doing so we might be able to help each other out.

Thanks everyone for all your help so far, it's greatly appreciated!

[DGXSER]

Hey Munky,

Make sure to direct your friend to the site for info on the bike that he might not know. Glad to help him, help you.

BTW, I am in Cincinnati, and I make my way through Indy every so often. I travel to Ft Wayne, South Bend, Chicago, and Detroit often. Not so much lately but probably be up that way next week some time.

[trbig]

Hmmm... If you're just wanting to throw cash at it, might as well give Nate a call.. or anyone else that actually knows what they're doing with these bikes in particular. People come on here all the time, and out of the hundreds of times we've heard of "Sent my bike to the shop for..." and "I let a friend who knows more about these bikes and turning wrenches than me..." I've only heard of one or two actual success stories using these "Other" people. You might be helping your buddy out with some money, but I'm willing to bet that he's not going to help you out with your problem, and could easily make things much worse.

You don't really have to be mechanically inlcined to work on these bikes. People here can lead you step by step, nut by nut, bolt by bolt, and help you with what you need, usually with pics. And like I said, if your the type that just has more money than time, I'd suggest throwing it at someone who knows what they're doing, so it doesn't cost you even more for the next person you pay to work to fix the problems the last one made.

Just my 2 cents.

[DGXSER]

There is a guy in the NorthEast Indy area that is supposed to be a guru at XS650 bikes and bobbing and chopping them etc...

Another XSive from the area had him work on his bike, next thing you know it threw a valve head that destroyed his engine. He then went to the same guy and bought a used XS1100 engine "in good condition". Well, after we swapped the engines, the real fun started. We fixed the oil pump drive gear witht he one form his old engine, we also had to swap the gears (would not stay in first with no load), then we discovered the bent valve in cylinder no 1. After that it was on to the carbs. Funny thing was, another local XSive that really knows his shtuff about these bikes had a line on an engine he KNEW was in good condition, for the same money spent on the engine we ended up doing all that work to.

So, yes, you do want to be careful about who does what.

[Cuda 69]

Damn,when I had my xs,I would have given almost anything to have one of you guys living close to me to help with my carbs,I blew over 300 bucks and they were still not right.Luckily Surge 58 the new owner found an old skool mechanic to get her up and running like she should.ADVICE: if one of these pro's on xs's are willing to help,take them up on it.Great bunch of guy's.

[IanDMacDonald]

The PO of my bike was more than generous offering help with my bike when I bent some valves, but our schedules never aligned. I have to admit, I learned at a greater depth doing the work myself with the help of this forum.

[Munky]

I'm guessing my friend found something else, since I never heard back about it. I got in touch with Nate, but he's busy until the 15th or so - and I also reached out to Carl (Varnae) since he offered his assistance as well.

I'm just hoping I can get it running before it gets too cold

Thanks again for all your help so far, you guys are awesome!

[DGXSER]

If you would like, PM me a phone number. I may coming through town this Thursday with time to stop and see what is happening for you. My schedule is in flux at the moment.