XS650 Electric Start System

I may have missed it somewhere in here but does anyone know the minimum required battery capacity (Ah) to run the starter for an appropriate amount of time. I'm looking at building my own battery from cells and I just need to know how many cells to get.
 
Yes, the starter might suck for all those reasons mentioned, and the reduction of oil sump volume, but I like it. Since I've owned the bike in 76, the starter has only worked for about 2 seasons.
I bought one on eBay 2 months ago for $40. It works, the bearings are good and it spins like a mofo.
But best of all, I don't look like a duffus when I stall at a light. You know, put it on the widest and, find neutral, then kick, then take off and flail the opoligetic wave of, "Sorry, I'm a duffus!"
Now I just pull in the clutch and pull on that handy little anti- embarrassment lever and away I go.
I only use it for emergencies. Hey, most people on bikes today are amazed that I have a kick starter, and a center stand for that matter. Well how can you fix a rear flat on the road without a center Stand anyway?
Enough babel, I'm going ridin!:bike:
 
Hi Together, plaese notice: the Cupper of the Rotator has to be polish, in the idealcase, in hi rotate Lathe or Drillmashine by scotchbrite 800 ore a Diamantsponge ...

Afte that, everey gap has to clean and deburr very accurate!

greetz heri
 

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Hello world I am a female proud owner of a 1981 Yamaha 650xs . Trying to understand why i have to keep jumping it. I took it in to place and the ripped me off becouse I'm a female perhaps but rather do it myself of course with some help of the word lol
 
Hello world I am a female proud owner of a 1981 Yamaha 650xs . Trying to understand why i have to keep jumping it. I took it in to place and the ripped me off because I'm a female perhaps but rather do it myself of course with some help of the word lol

We can probably help You sort it out.
What charging system does it have OEM or modern PMA?
Do You have a multimeter? Your going to need one.
To start with you will need to get to the battery to check voltage.
First while setting there not running, then while the engine is running at idle, then running at 2500 rpm then over 2500 rpm. note all the voltages report back with info.
pic of charging unit if you don't know what you have will be in order. it's under the left side cover take off the round 5" or 6" cover on the left side cover to see it.
 
Mino, if you can closely follow Steffi's videos and explainations, you can see that he's describing how the crank rotational speed increases right after TDC, which exceeds the starter's ability to keep up, which can cause the spiral bendix to pull the starter gear out and away from the crank's starter gearteeth.

By changing the spiral ramp to a lesser angle, the starter gear doesn't withdraw as far before the starter catches up. Watch the in/out action of the starter gear in his before and after videos.

This is supposed to fix the issue of the starter loosing engagement during startup, which tends to chew off the starter gear's teeth on the inside edge...
 
Well, I simply removed the return spring which accomplished two things:

1. Allowed the gear to engage more fully.
2. Removed the assist to disengagement.

The gear disengages when the engine starts and the starter motor stops as the engine spins the gear on the spiral into the retract position without any help from the missing return spring.

Small downside is the gear will tend to slid over and contact the gear on the crank when the bike is tilted to the right, but who tilts their bike to the right? When the bike is in motion, the gear does not slide over due to centrifugal force. I did this mod on my '78/E and checked it every two years for 12 years and there was no sign of wear.

Hadn't thought of the speed up effect releasing tension on the gear that allowed it to retract slightly, but that was also aided by the return spring. No spring. No worries. :thumbsup:
 
The other question is how much does this fancy mod cost and is it worth it to you (or anyone for that matter). I'm sure it's several hundred dollars. My re-pinched tight drag clip works just fine thank you, even though I had to do it twice in 10 years.
 
Thanks TooMany, that makes sense.

I wasn't sure what I was looking at/for in the video I found, and I didn't have the presence of mind to translate the German. I've gone back and translated much of it, but haven't been able to find the "after" video(s) you mentioned.

Do you think Steffi's redesigned gears fix the problem and do you have any indications of their quality?

Also, would you care to comment on pamcopete's fix of completely removing the return spring? I understand his explanation, but I would still be concerned about re-engagement of the gears while riding. For example, sometimes when riding things can get a bit out of line and then straighten up suddenly with a jerk. I can imagine this causing the un-sprung gear to find its way back into the spinning crank gear. Maybe this, or other causes, would happen so infrequently they would be far less a negative than operating in a stock configuration with the return spring. He certainly has tested his configuration with good results.
 
I don't have an electric starter system, and have never fooled with these on any XS650.
But I do find a fascination with mechanical contrivances, like this starter gear mod.
Steffi's videos appear to be imbedded animated gifs, so you have to wait for the page to fully load.

As an alternative for those investigating starter problems, I would recommend inspecting the 6 "absorber" bushings (part #19) in the double idler gear (parts #20 and #21).

XS2-StarterGearing.jpg

I'm thinking that, when new, they may have had an elastic nature, that would provide just enough 'spring back' to maintain starter gear engagement during that critical 'passing TDC' moment. If they've deteriorated or hardened over time, they may not provide this potential 'spring back' feature.

Other than that, I'll defer to the other more experienced wrenches in here...
 
Thanks again TooMany.

I'm having trouble getting oriented to the diagram. I recognize the bottom assembly in the diagram, but not having explored/studied the bottom end/transmission area I'm not familiar with the two assemblies above it. I'll look around for other exploded views so I can see exactly where this fits in and if the "absorber bushing" also applies to my 81 model.
 
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