At last!!

David Toll

Reliving my youth?
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In December 2016 I took delivery of an American import 1978 XS 650 SE. For three and a half years she has had almost my full attention. Sometimes, I bet she wishes she hadn't. Due to the unwavering support of my friends and associates here on this Forum, I have been able to do the unthinkable and actually pull it to pieces and put it back together. Fitted the rectifier last week, adjusted the valves, cam chain and plugs and filled the tank. I suddenly realised that there was absolutely nothing stopping me from attempting to start it. Knew it would run poorly but what the hell! I fired the starter. Didn't seem to have the oomph to turn the motor over - pretty sad as it's a new fully charged battery. Fortunately, teenage help was at hand and, after a half dozen solid kicks from some eager volunteers.........., well you can see the result.
She's rough and in need of a tune. The acoustics in the garage make her sound like a maracca band. The tachometer is working but doesn't seem to respond to the rev count. I will have to address the starter if I'm not planning on taking the kids along to kick her over but, ........ my God! She runs!!!!
My thanks for all your support over the years!
 
In December 2016 I took delivery of an American import 1978 XS 650 SE. For three and a half years she has had almost my full attention. Sometimes, I bet she wishes she hadn't. Due to the unwavering support of my friends and associates here on this Forum, I have been able to do the unthinkable and actually pull it to pieces and put it back together. Fitted the rectifier last week, adjusted the valves, cam chain and plugs and filled the tank. I suddenly realised that there was absolutely nothing stopping me from attempting to start it. Knew it would run poorly but what the hell! I fired the starter. Didn't seem to have the oomph to turn the motor over - pretty sad as it's a new fully charged battery. Fortunately, teenage help was at hand and, after a half dozen solid kicks from some eager volunteers.........., well you can see the result.
She's rough and in need of a tune. The acoustics in the garage make her sound like a maracca band. The tachometer is working but doesn't seem to respond to the rev count. I will have to address the starter if I'm not planning on taking the kids along to kick her over but, ........ my God! She runs!!!!
My thanks for all your support over the years!
Congratulations David !!

A couple things: I suggest being patient with the speedo, it might come back to life on its own, after some use. lightly lubricate the bearing at the entrance of the cable. Same with the starter. If it hasn't been used in a long while, it might take a number of starts for it to get functioning well; I've had that experience with barn finds.
 
Congratulations David! I know how hard you worked on that bike, you deserved a win! :thumbsup:
74EDA683-D2A7-41DD-A819-E4D4B023EAAA.jpeg :hump:
 
Yes, congrats. It sounds pretty good too. This is a rather crude old bike. Even in a good state of tune and repair, it's not going to run as smooth or mechanically quiet as some of the more modern bikes. But, I kinda like that about it. It's a real, honest, old school motorcycle.
 
So glad you got it running, hopefully the starter will come to life and save you the kicking thing .
Now that it has been run it may, but don't knock the kicking thing. Practice makes perfect and I've never come across an XS650 that is hard to kick, the ratios are amongst the best I have come across'.
Kick starting is a process rather than a knack, putting choke setting aside for the moment here is mine.
Make sure the petrol tap petcock whatever is set to on or reserve,push the kick start lever down let it come up and push it down again, at this point there should be petrol in the carb and cylinder so let it come up again.
Now comes the learning process push down until you feel resistance increasing then immediately allow the lever to return to the top.
If you now apply pressure to the kickstart sufficient to push it to its lower limit the motor should start.
If you put the bike on the centre stand to try this out you should find standing on the left footrest then lifting your left foot will drive the kickstart lever down, if you are a bigger person then just straightening your leg will work.
Most bikes will fuel better from cold with full choke on for the first two movements, engines vary and setting the choke will depend on your particular motor at various temperatures.
Starting the XS this way can be done by most people without undue effort or pain,it does not present the same challenge as a big single and does not need a decompressor in standard form.
I don't ride daily and like to preserve what is in the battery for restarting in traffic so I always kick start my bike if that option is available.
As far as a weak starter goes a check of electrical connections may help but I am in the habit of putting heavier duty cable, such as you might find pushing a V8 over, on mine for lower electrical resistance.
 
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I decided to bookmark your post
I gotta try that technique
Thanks for the posting !!
 
Slightly different for v twins, but for parallels the trick is not to build up the compression.
The earlier on the compression stroke you leave it the faster the piston is moving at tdc which makes inertia your friend.
 
I've been trying to find the sweet spot to kick start my 650 and I'll have to try this
I've been doin something similar with the key off until the 3rd kick but it's not quite working the way I'd like
Once it's warmed up a quick kick and off I go
 
If your starter will not turn over the motor when cold and the motor is stock or nearly, and the battery has a healthy capacity not just surface charge, it might be useful next time its convenient to ensure that the copper bars on the armature are clean flat and separated one from the other.
In use both the conductive brushes and the surface of the copper bars wear and can fill the gaps with conductive dust greatly reducing the efficiency of an otherwise good starter.
I recently cleaned a mates motor on his mobility scooter which then went at its claimed top speed of 8mph rather than a jerky 3 mph.
Thicker cables from battery to solenoid and solenoid to starter do help more than you might think, incidentally you can find such cables on mobility scooters at reasonable prices or on scrap vehicles in a breakers if you are a bit strapped for cash.
 
If your starter will not turn over the motor when cold and the motor is stock or nearly, and the battery has a healthy capacity not just surface charge, it might be useful next time its convenient to ensure that the copper bars on the armature are clean flat and separated one from the other.
In use both the conductive brushes and the surface of the copper bars wear and can fill the gaps with conductive dust greatly reducing the efficiency of an otherwise good starter.
I recently cleaned a mates motor on his mobility scooter which then went at its claimed top speed of 8mph rather than a jerky 3 mph.
Thicker cables from battery to solenoid and solenoid to starter do help more than you might think, incidentally you can find such cables on mobility scooters at reasonable prices or on scrap vehicles in a breakers if you are a bit strapped for cash.
MikesXS put a video about that on YouTube. He said you have to clean the “communicator.” I think the video is still up. Commutator is the correct word for that. There’s a spec for the height of the mica between the commutator bars, but I don’t know what it is. Someone on here knows.
 
I forgot the good bit sorry, the easiest way to do an initial clean is to use slime or silly putty or clay.
Press it down enough to feel it squish then peel it off, roll to a fresh surface and repeat until there is no dirt on the surface. Finally a soft brush and alcohol.
Using this method carefully will show the depth and width of the separation between adjacent bars.
I don't know the spec either,but the medium should show similar bulges around the commutator, thanks for that Jetmechmarty.
Large variation in depth is probably best addressed by a pro with experience of the right material and who will have the habit and gear to assess each winding.
I would do the clean at least for a weak starter.
 
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