B Walkers old Special

[xs650man]

Just finished detailing the wheels, new brake pads all round, Castrol 4T and filter, front floating caliper fix , General tidy up.

[b.walker5]

Looking good Mark. Kinda makes me wish i didnt sell it.

[DGXSER]

Wow, Unlike Brian, that bike really cleans up well!! Looking great Mark!

[UtahXS]

Invercargill and Christchurch?..... I've been in both those places... I lived in Christchurch for a year....
The whole time I lived there, I wished I had a motorcycle to ride around.
It's the perfect place to ride. (Especially Dunedin)
I once tried to ride a bicycle up the street in Dunedin that is the steepest street in the world.... I didn't make it.
Maybe on an xs11, I would have had a chance.

[mmatches1]

Really nice restoration. How does it run?

[trbig]

Is that just a bolt for a rear peg?

[xs650man]

Looking good Mark. Kinda makes me wish i didn't sell it.

Thanks Brian, did you get my email re the caliper fix ? Was quite simple really, will explain if anyone wants to know what Im on about.

DGSXR, thanks mate

UtahXS, yes still some nice riding around ChCh even after the quakes.

mmatches1, rides real nice thanks, loves the hills

trbig, no they're machined brass pegs, were on it when I got it, anyone got the original ones ?

[DGXSER]

If you have a repair / upgrade for the Specials braking system I am all ears (or eyes in this case).

I might have the rear footpegs, I'll check later in the week.

[b.walker5]

Yes Mark, I did get your email, seen the pics briefly but havent had time to answer as yet.

No such luck on a magic cure Don, apparently there was an o'ring or spacer missing that I havent quite got my head round yet. If he's right, it/they were never there all the time I owned it, and it would explain why the brakes were always crap. I always put the brake performance down to expanding rubber lines and learned to ride with them, and then had to get used to NOT flipping over the bars when using the Blue Spot Brembo's on my XJR.

[xs650man]

If you have a repair / upgrade for the Specials braking system I am all ears (or eyes in this case).

I might have the rear footpegs, I'll check later in the week.

Ok, there should be a thick washer and an O ring between the caliper and where it mounts to the fork slider, there is actually a groove for the O ring in the caliper. There should also be a nut and lock washer on the end of the bolt, the idea being that you tighten the bolt to only 20 Nm so the caliper still pivots and then you tighten the nut on top. Mine was missing the o ring , nut and lock washer, the long bolt was done up so tight there was no " float " in the caliper which caused a bad pulsing in the brake lever, problem solved. The O ring is there to give a bit of flex. I thought it was strange how the bolt was so long when I took the the calipers off. http://i329.photobucket.com/albums/l...3-02193400.jpg

[DGXSER]

OK, yes I am very familiar with both that setup and the pulsing.

[crazy steve]

....I thought it was strange how the bolt was so long when I took the the calipers off.

You've probably got some missing/mis-installed parts....

http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37207

[Rasputin]

I have had this disagreement with others on this forum, but if the calipers are tightened too much they will not swivel. They must have movement to work properly. By hand you will be able to move them. If not they are too tight. Be damned what the torque says in the manual.

[xs650man]

You've probably got some missing/mis-installed parts....

http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37207

There must be variations in different years, my front calipers dont appear to have that long spacer, the bolt is a neat fit in the caliper,( I think Brian said my forks are off an earlier model )

[crazy steve]

There must be variations in different years, my front calipers dont appear to have that long spacer, the bolt is a neat fit in the caliper,( I think Brian said my forks are off an earlier model )

Nope, no variation; all the pivoting Special calipers have the spacer. They do get corroded into the caliper if they haven't been cleaned/lubed in a long time, which is another issue with this design. That may be the reason yours were hanging up...