Recent content by barelycompetent

Forgot to add, a simple way to check if its the rotor and magnet is to unplug your reg/rec and start the bike. Does it fire up and rev right up? If so I would suspect that magnet. Just things I learned from all of the help on this forum, hope it helps and let us know.

Just to throw my 2cents in the mix, my 81 was doing the same thing, would start and idle fine, but try to rev it, pop, pop, bang, pop, pop, you get the picture. I agree the carbs need a good cleaning, but if that doesnt fix the issue, you may want to look at that tiny little magnet on the...

Put the stock needles back in, it sounds like a lean condition to me. What size jets are you running? Your carbs should be bs34's on an 81. You have to rejet for pods, usually one size bigger on the pilot jets, and two on the mains, should get you in the ballpark. You also need to adjust...

If you used the needles in the mikes kit it could be those. Change them back to stock. It could be air leaks at the boots, or it could be a lean condition as well that only shows up when warmed up. If you blip the throttle do the rpm's come back down? \

Have to agree with alot of other posters so far, waaaaaaaay more then I will ever get back out of it. Between purchase price, parts, paint, time, break downs, fixes, more break downs, parts, time, fixes and still more breakdowns, tearing my hair out(whats left of it), and finally getting it...

That magnet was the fix my 81 special needed as well. I didnt drill out the old one though I merely JB welded a 3/16 rare earth magnet over the old one and problem solved. No clearance issues either. Only have about 30 miles on since the fix but so far so good. I was also experiencing the...

A picture of the coil would help in determining if it needed to be replaced. Also was your rotor every changed or replaced? I to have an 81 that was causing me all kinds of fits, very weak spark, would start and idle ok, but rev it and it went all stupid on me, backfiring, popping, just flat...

Thanks 5twins, I think? The Triumph was actually under 10k lol, the Harley, not so much. I may be selling this 650 but I didnt say I was going anywhere, the things I have learned here and discovered may come in handy for someone else so you cant get rid of me that easily. I love the xs650...

Well I never would have thought that the brand new rotor, replaced in October of 2013, or that little tiny magnet in it would have been the cause of all of my headaches. But it was. The magnet fix pictured above, resolved my running issues. Even after sitting for a month, it fired right up...

I hope this gets it. Suggested rare earth magnet with a dab of jbweld to hold it on.

RG that is the one thing I have NOT tried yet. I just had my rotor replaced back in October because of no charging. Its charging now, but that magnet may just be the cause of all of my problems. For a couple bucks it cant hurt to try. I will get back to you guys after I give it a shot.

Ok so I am not sure if my reg/rec is good or not. I have an 81 special that Im sure most of you are aware of the problems I have been having with it. I ohmed and tested my stator and it tested good, my pickups tested good, my rotor tested good, and got a good slap test with it. Brand new NOS...

The coil I put in is a NOS one that was still sealed, and never installed in a bike. I did put the ground wire that was coming out of my harness on the outside of the coil post, but I will switch it up so that it is between the coil post and the frame. Though I cant imagine that would cause my...

5twins, sorry to dig up my old thread but I just now have started into diagnosing my bike. I put a NOS coil in and fired up the bike and had the same issues as before. I have a black wire coming out of my harness that one of the coil screws goes thru then thru the post of the coil and screws...

If the bike temporarily runs poorly till it cools off, its another problem not overheating. I would check the coil. I broke down on a ride a few weeks ago after getting stuck in traffic and overheating. When I shut the bike off it would not restart, even after cooling off. I pulled the...