Melted Breaker Points

I didn't scroll far enough to see that one down there by itself Yeah it would be bad to call it something it isn't. Illegal actually. My inclination would be to call it an oversight unless somebody brought it to their attention and the description didn't change.

xjwmx said:

I searched their site for "commando" and got three mufflers, exhaust systems actually, and none of them mention any manufacturer. If "Commando" means it's a Heiden, Mike's calls his "Commando type".

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Three out of four ain't bad

The original Mikes bought all his stuff from Taiwan and Japan. ( only exception was some Chinese master cylinders which were
made by a maker of Japanese and European OEM Brake bits ). The stuff from Taiwan was all made to Mikes specs on all new tooling.
Everyone here seems to think that there are factories in the business of making XS650 parts - No such thing !
The Guys that bought mikes were/are of the group known world wide for their religious love of money - enough said.
Current Guys are fronting for the guys who bought from Mikes ( and then scammed him ). The only OEM parts from
Japan are limited and are parts still made by a few OEM supplier factories.

I was going to say, It's a good time to get a Pamco, but they are not made anymore.
I wonder if Mike's knockoff of it is any good!
Leo

XSLeo said:

I was going to say, It's a good time to get a Pamco, but they are not made anymore.

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Stocks points setup, seems that would be easy, cheap, and fastest.
-R

Thanks a lot for all the feedback. I must admit I've had about a 60/40 success rate with products ordered from Mike's. Some of the stuff that you really can't mess up is fine. Some of it is poor suppler choice by Mike's. In other incidents it is simply that the product is only made by one remaining terrible quality manufacturer (case in point, Fuji sump and oil screens). Sometimes grab-bag luck reveals it's a considerable markup for a third party item otherwise easily available on ebay with free shipping. I honestly cringe when deciding to submit an order to MIke's. these breaker points still appear to be available from $51 or more per point, on partzilla, yamaha partshouse ( #33 here: https://bit.ly/2xj9dKT ), but $18 per point at Mike's seemed like a risk worth taking, before I learned exactly what COULD go wrong.

On the Replacement point recommendations, I did see the Daichi points on eBay and wasn't sure whether to trust them. I'll probably buy a set of those tonight after reading this thread. I can personally testify that the FIRST replacement set of points I bought were K&S with a condenser on eBay, which I do not recommend. I'm happy to consider K&L. It's just funny, this is the third time I've reinstalled these pitted original (probably 40 year old) yamaha points, because of faulty aftermarket replacements I've bought from multiple sources.

I will admit that when i opened the points cover and saw the melted parts, the 1st thing I thought was "maybe now is the time to finally install an electronic ignition", but I've basically already replaced the entire ignition system to continue with points and I'm actually still pretty content with them.

As XSLeo mentions, I noticed that when I google the Pamco kit w/e-advancer, it seems to be discontinued? Any advice on who the current best retailer would be if I did decided to eventually upgrade?

The 2nd thing i thought upon opening the points cover was a flashback to reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance where the author writes "...I’ll bet there’s not a mechanic between here and Salt Lake City. If his points or plugs burn out, he’s done for. I know he doesn’t have a set of spare points with him. He doesn’t know what points are. If it quits on him in western South Dakota or Montana I don’t know what he’s going to do." and questioning, "but really, how necessary are spare points?" . Lesson learned.

Fuji screens are made in Hamamatsu Japan by a maker of Fram filters.
Can't see why you say they are no good since the oe filters break often.

authenticnovelty said:

I did see the Daichi points on eBay and wasn't sure whether to trust them. I'll probably buy a set of those tonight

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Did you see this?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-Yamaha-OEM-Contact-Breaker-120-81321-90/163664789971?_trkparms=aid=555018&algo=PL.SIM&ao=1&asc=20131003132420&meid=0c42c1047ba743ec8f94778aedf5abcc&pid=100005&rk=3&rkt=12&sd=323488012846&itm=163664789971&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

Also, there are lots of not too pricey entire points assemblies w/30 days. Probably get some decent oe points off them since your 40 yr olds are still working.

650 Trader - I'm not aware of the affiliations of fuji, I'm only speaking from my previous experience with this specific product. Several months ago Mike's sent me two different sets of deformed fuji sump and side filters. All filters also had screens with unsealed seams leaving up to 1/4" gaps in various places where epoxy was not applied. One of the sumps even had a hole torn in the solid top of it i had to file down and patch. They did not charge me for the second set, but this seems to raise a red flag in both manufacturing quality control and Mike's inspecting their inventory before sending out orders to customers. I ended up having to just bend each straight with channel locks and apply my own epoxy before using. I also feel pretty confident others have posted with photos commenting on the same issues here.

I didn't mean for this to become a Mike's bashing thread. Mostly wanted to confirm it wasn't just me. They can be disappointing, but regardless of their product quality, sometimes poor is better than extinct on these parts... except when failure potentially puts you in danger on the road.

Thanks for the additional suggestions xjwmx. Unfortunately I ran the item number in that ebay listing and I don't believe those are compatible with the XS, or at least not with my 87E. I love the price though. I had considered some of the plate/point/breaker wire assemblies floating on eBay, but wanted to make one last attempt at a new set of points. I did just now find and order a set of NOS for $24 each on ebay though. Keeping my fingers crossed on these.

authenticnovelty said:

Thanks for the additional suggestions xjwmx. Unfortunately I ran the item number in that ebay listing and I don't believe those are compatible with the XS, or at least not with my 87E. I love the price though. I had considered some of the plate/point/breaker wire assemblies floating on eBay, but wanted to make one last attempt at a new set of points. I did just now find and order a set of NOS for $24 each on ebay though. Keeping my fingers crossed on these.

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Hey, good deal on the points then! Don't know how that link turned up in my search. The algorithm probably thought it was close enough...

Just curious, is Mike's taking the melted ones back? Sorry if you've already answered that.

Re. filters, there are lots of Chinese knockoffs of Japanese products out there with the pirated Japanese trademark on them. Awhile ago there were scads of pirated spark plugs offered on ebay, made in China with Nippon Denso labeling. The first few batches of PWK knockoff carburetors Mike Lalonde sold were cast with the Keihin name on them, only changed when he was called out on the scam and ordered them with "XS Performance" castings. I'd bet dollars to donuts that those filters never got closer to a Fuji factory than Tientsin--probably manufactured next door to the Peoples Big Joy Condom Recycling and Reeducation Center, where Mike's XS carb boots and other rubber parts are made.

Don’t buy from Mikes. It’s definitely inferior Chinese knock offs. Trust me on this.

Mike's reminds me of J.C.Whitney back in the day. Some of their stuff was good, some was ridiculous, and you couldn't know which was which, and some of the stuff you couldn't get anywhere else. Some of you probably bought a body panel from them that was made out of aluminum foil... Or you might have bought a truck box that you still get use from. Oh, and none of the ridiculous junk they sold was made in China. If you remember U.S. manufacturing or examine our products from that time, we can ship crap as well as anybody. Except maybe the British.

[QUOTE="xjwmx, post: 600003, member: 630" If you remember U.S. manufacturing or examine our products from that time, we can ship crap as well as anybody. Except maybe the British.[/QUOTE]

thats a pretty offensive remark to make without any reference especially given that you know there are many Brits on here .

Why not mention the specific items that you have purchased from Britain together with the retailer and say why you do not think they are of acceptable quality and then we can all benefit from it

It was just my way of saying hi Peanut, because I haven't seen you in awhile
Most of my hi-fi was British. Used to buy KEF, Quad, Sennheiser when it was from Ireland. All of it the best in the world.

xjwmx said:

It was just my way of saying hi Peanut, because I haven't seen you in awhile
Most of my hi-fi was British. Used to buy KEF, Quad, Sennheiser when it was from Ireland. All of it the best in the world.

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Hi xjwmx ... where you bin?

I'm deeply Patriotic as I expect most of us are on here so I'm afraid I reacted rather strongly.
Our wonderful Western culture is getting diluted by millions of economic migrants who are frequently anti-British , have no respect for our History and don't learn out language or integrate despite what the Liberals claim . so I tend react to negative comments about England.

hey ...will you be watching your girls play the Lionesses on Tuesday ? that should be some match

peanut said:

hey ...will you be watching your girls play the Lionesses on Tuesday ? that should be some match

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I'm proud of my girls. They take after their mother.

xjwmx said:

Just curious, is Mike's taking the melted ones back? Sorry if you've already answered that.

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I have not had a chance to contact them regarding the product failure yet. I do plan to address it this coming week though.

Considering the potentialy serious repercussions, had i been passing around a tractor trailor or finally had broken down a quarter mile later, in a tunnel at rush hour, i’d say this is a problem that needs to be addressed responsibly by them.

^Yes, it is potentially dangerous. Same with any part the bike depends on to keep moving or stop. Coils..