authenticnovelty
XS650 Enthusiast
It’s been pretty hot in New York City the past week or so. Unexpectedly I had both of my breaker points melt in traffic yesterday morning. Doing about 70mph on the highway in New Jersey for an hour before hitting stop and go rushhour traffic for 45 minutes in direct 90 degree sunlight. Very limited lane splitting options. Finally 3 blocks from the tunnel into the city, the engine winds down and dies. Full tank of fuel, no blown fuses, all systems check out. When i removed my points cover to begin checking my igniton system, the spindles and plastic parts looked like silly putty. As i try to snap the points open and closed, they just stay where i let go of them.
I just bought new breaker points from Mike’s about a month and a half ago and kept the originals, so i luckily was able to reinstall the old OEM and get the bike back home.
Has anybody else had this experience? I’d like to guage how likely this incident is to reoccur under these conditions. I may not be so lucky to be so close to home or have spare points next time.
Is this purely related to the heat and idling or is there a chance that something shorted? The ignition coils/condensor/breaker wires are about 6 months old or less and seem fine. No other signs of melting or wire damage could be found at this time.
Is this just poor quality points? The insulators and bushings on the original points are clearly made out of a different material.
I just bought new breaker points from Mike’s about a month and a half ago and kept the originals, so i luckily was able to reinstall the old OEM and get the bike back home.
Has anybody else had this experience? I’d like to guage how likely this incident is to reoccur under these conditions. I may not be so lucky to be so close to home or have spare points next time.
Is this purely related to the heat and idling or is there a chance that something shorted? The ignition coils/condensor/breaker wires are about 6 months old or less and seem fine. No other signs of melting or wire damage could be found at this time.
Is this just poor quality points? The insulators and bushings on the original points are clearly made out of a different material.
I assumed worst case would be the springs would be weaker or surfaces would wear more quickly. I never considered the possibility of them liquifying! This is also part of why i wanted to check around to warn/question that it’s just related to buying from Mike’s vs an actual bigger electrical problem.
