Final drive swap

[Bonz]

Very nice finish job on the FD, James England. Right down to the original fill plug and black cap insert.

Overall, I like the feel at higher speeds. Interstate highway is a legal 75 mph in Colorado, so 75-80 mph is a regular speed I spend a lot of time at on my commute to and from work. Roll on is a bit less than before the swap, but by no means is it a lazy toad. The engine is sitting in the fat part of the power band at 4700 rpm in 5th gear (vs 5200 rpm before the swap), and I'm now turning 4100 rpm in 4th gear at 60 mph, vs 4000 rpm in 5th gear before the swap. I haven't lost a thing in terms of acceleration if I simply shift down a gear.

I find myself adjusting to the new gearing, I'm in second gear now and think it's third, and once or twice I've been in 4th and forgot I had 5th, as 4th is basically the old 5th.

Cheers from Colorado, just livin' the dream and lovin' the FD swap.

[cywelchjr]

Not sure if the pic's loading. Here it is again:

I think I'm beginning to hate you. That thing looks too good. It looks pretty much brand new actually. You do some of the nicest work I've seen, and really make me jealous, and make me wish I had the patience and time to do that kind of work on mine. But then I look at it, realize it runs good, looks ok, and if I'm trying to polish it I'm not riding it and go for a ride. I guess it's all a trade off in the end.

[Bonz]

My stock FD looked about like that, the 750 donor was a step or two down, but with a bit of patience and cleaning, it looks about a notch below what my stock FD was. Here's a shot of my 80SG last summer. Still lookin' good!

[James England]

I think I'm beginning to hate you. That thing looks too good. It looks pretty much brand new actually. You do some of the nicest work I've seen, and really make me jealous, and make me wish I had the patience and time to do that kind of work on mine. But then I look at it, realize it runs good, looks ok, and if I'm trying to polish it I'm not riding it and go for a ride. I guess it's all a trade off in the end.

It only took a couple of hours though. I just painted the paint stripper on then washed it with white spirit. I used a US product called 'Prime-It' which primes metal (brush on). Then just several coats of metallic paint and same with lacquer....both from spray tins. I did the OEM FD before and the finish is durable enough.

I left the FD to dry thoroughly overnight and that was it!

[James England]

My stock FD looked about like that, the 750 donor was a step or two down, but with a bit of patience and cleaning, it looks about a notch below what my stock FD was. Here's a shot of my 80SG last summer. Still lookin' good!

Definitely is looking good! 31 years old? Amazing

[Bonz]

Yes, looking pretty good. The bike was made in Dec of 1979, bought new in Denver Colorado in 1980 by the original owner, given to a good friend of mine about 8 years ago by the original owner, and my friend sold it to me 3 years ago. The picture I posted shows the stock shocks. Shortly after taking that picture last summer, I replaced them with Showa shocks from a Honda Shadow 1100. Direct bolt on fit, as the stockers were just tired from being old and the left had a small leak that resulted in a dusty film accumulating about every 2 weeks or so.

So, it's been covered, in a shed with good care over the years before I bought it, and spends it's time in my garage waiting for the next time we go for a ride.

Have a good one!

[Bonz]

Did the Colorado XS Rally over the 4th of July weekend, had a great ride out to Durango and back with the group ride and a side trip on the way home. 1025 miles, 46.75 mpg. 80% the running was done at about 7000 feet of elevation and higher, really hot outside temps, and many mountain passes over 10,500 feet of elevation, and one just a touch over 11,000.

Hail to those that came up with the 750 FD swap, it made absolutely NO difference in the performance of the bike on the trip in terms of get up and go, mountain passing/accelerating power... Just used 4th if I needed it, which was usually not even [I]needing[I] it, but if I wanted to use it.

Hands down the most useful mod in my eyes that can be done on the XS, gives the bike the flexibility it deserves.

[skids]

What? You engine or final drive didn't lock-up? (kidding, I like my swap also).

[Bonz]

I was amazed, I thought doom was pending for sure...

[neJeff]

Can't wait to do my own FD swap. I'm new to this bike (3 weeks) and when I get on the highway at 65 mph I have found myself several times pulling the clutch and looking for the next gear only to realize I'm already in 5th! Got to find me and old 3 banger and rip its FD.

[Bonz]

neJeff,

I think you'll like it alot, especially on the Special as the smaller 16" rear tire compared to the Standard's 17" rear tire has the Special turning a higher rpm to begin with.

On my Special, if you've read all the posts in this thread, 4th gear is now only 100-200 rpm higher with the FD swap than it was in 5th gear with the stock FD, so the FD swap effectively gives an extra gear with no loss of performance in my opinion in the lower gears even though they are spread further apart and 1st is a bit taller off the line.

Good luck! You might even find an FD on the forum somewhere if you post in the wanted section.

[cowboybob998]

3900 rpm

Mine is runing 3900 RPM in 5th gear at 70 MPH, dont rember what it was before but it seams it was in the upper 4000 range like 4600/4700, love it will not go back unless i want to go to the drag strip.

[Dudenatz]

Greetings folks, my first post.
First, I want to say "Thank You" to the forum and the guys who developed and posted the FD swap.
Second, everybody's got a story, here's mine. In 1982, at the ripe old age of 19, while stationed in Hawaii in the Army, I took possession of a 1981 XS850 LH MNS. Man, I loved that bike. A left-turner with no eyes took it out the next year. Anyway, being young, dumb, and full of enthusiasm, I decided to see just what the 850 would do. So, on H1, (Oahu's only "Interstate" at the time.) I put my chest on the tank and let it rip. Having swapped in a '79 160 m.p.h. speedo, i'd know just how fast i was actually going. Made it to 135, then the front wheel started to float, so i backed out. What a blast! Fast-forward to 2008. I got a bug up my keester and decided I wanted another one. Started looking, then realized I could step up to an 1100. Made a weekend trip to Rhode Island from central IL, and it was on. The only problem, as has been stated by so many of you, is that it seemed like there should be a "6th" gear. Turning 4 Grand @50 m.p.h., the math just didn't seem to add up to what i remember my 850 could do. Then I found this forum and noticed the topic about final drive swaps. Having read about all I could find, I decided it was time for me to do the swap. Jumped on eBay and found one for 10 bucks from a guy in the next state over. Anyway, it's on the way. I fix CNC machines, and we have our own little "hobby shop" to make just about whatever we want or need to, so I think i'll grab some bronze, make a spacer a few thou undersize and press it on the shaft. I think i'll try something more solid to fill the oil holes too, but i'll have to wait and see what I have to work with. I anticipate the same positive results so many of you have posted, but i'll keep the thread updated on the results. Ride on!

[mxmikie]

Can't wait to do my own FD swap. I'm new to this bike (3 weeks) and when I get on the highway at 65 mph I have found myself several times pulling the clutch and looking for the next gear only to realize I'm already in 5th! Got to find me and old 3 banger and rip its FD.

i have a fd for you

[Bonz]

Don't hold me to this or hold me responsible for anything I say from here forward, but a fellow forum member that did the FD swap about the same time I did, shared with me that he used rivets properly fitted in the holes instead of the sealer and washer method. Seemed pretty ingenious to me!