Pulling Mikuni Carburators off an XS650

Remove filters, unhook throttle and choke cables, loosen carb boot clamps, pull gas line (and plug with bolt), pull carb off carb boots, remove carb boots, slide out carbs.  Now the fun part.... Made sure I had a fresh set of pliers and a set of replacement carb screws handy.  Expecting that every screw on this carb would be frozen/overtightened/stuck like hell.  They were.  Got a can of Silicone spray and some Carb Cleaner.  Hooked up the air compressor.  Time to work...

Flooded XS650 Engine

Trying to figure out why my '83 XS650 won't start.  It was starting on the first kick and running like a champ untill the other day.  I flooded the engine with gas yesterday trying to get it started, so I had to pull the plugs out and let that gas evaporate for about an hour.  Tried starting it again, nothing.  Time to pull carbs

Swapping out stock XS650 shocks for Rebel 250s

These Rebel 250 shocks are 10.5 inches eye to eye.  Using these, I ended up lowering the back end of the '83 a couple of inches.  It was an easy swap to make with a motorcycle jack, straps and a 17mm wrench.  It took about 15 minutes.  The kickstand still works after lowering the XS, but I think an extra bend  out on the side stand would be smart.  The new Honda Rebel 250 shocks are a bit more stiff than the stock XS650s.  The bike sits a bit lower and I think handles quite a bit better with the Honda shocks.  There is still plenty of clearance for turns also, but when I tear this one down, I'll trim up the center stand mounts.