81 XS no points or electronic ignition! Need parts!

[Quinn_McLeod]

Hello,

I have a '78 XS650 that I bought and swapped the motor out for a '81. I opened where the points would be on the top of the engine left and right and the guts are all missing! Now I know the '81 was an electronic ignition, but I also know that it mounted to the stock points plate.

I need those guts if anyone has parts they'd be willing to part with. I need the axle rod and everything. I would REALLY LIKE TO HAVE THE ELECTRONIC IGNITION that goes there, not the points as I have the TCI box to go with the electronic ignition.

If anyone has the parts I need or could give me a parts list of what I am missing and need to get the bike running, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks!

 

[jayel]

Hello,

I have a '78 XS650 that I bought and swapped the motor out for a '81. I opened where the points would be on the top of the engine left and right and the guts are all missing! Now I know the '81 was an electronic ignition, but I also know that it mounted to the stock points plate.I need those guts if anyone has parts they'd be willing to part with. I need the axle rod and everything. I would REALLY LIKE TO HAVE THE ELECTRONIC IGNITION that goes there, not the points as I have the TCI box to go with the electronic ignition.

If anyone has the parts I need or could give me a parts list of what I am missing and need to get the bike running, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks!

no the pickup is down on the alternator, nothing in the "points covers"

 

[Quinn_McLeod]

So it's supposed to be empty? But the rod thing rotates when I kick the bike over, and everything.

Sorry, I am a newbie. I am 27 and this is my first XS650 and I'm used to working with bikes with points.

So am I NOT missing any parts? I'm so lost. Ha ha.

 

[xjwmx]

So am I NOT missing any parts?

Maybe you is, maybe you ain't. To use the TCI, you'll need a rotor with a magnet and a stator with a trigger coil. Both should already be on the '81 engine.

 

[Quinn_McLeod]

I have all the "stock" parts for the '81 under the left engine side cover where the stator is. jayel - that's where you're saying the ignition stuff would be attached to the alternator?

 

[5twins]

You are and you aren't. The '81 motor as you're seeing it is as it came from the factory. It won't directly "plug and play" with your '78 the way it is. It had an electronic ignition and a single coil. Also, a solid state regulator/rectifier and the brushes on the alternator are wired differently. And of course, the black box for the ignition. Now, if you can figure out how to mate all that stuff up to your '78 harness (which wasn't made for it), you're golden.

Your other option is to take the points related parts you're missing off your '78 engine and transfer them to the '81. You would need the points and their mounting plate, the advance rod, the advance unit, and the alternator (because of the different brush wiring). You will also need to install bushings in the '81 cam to support the advance rod.

Piece of cake, right? I usually do a little research before diving into a major project, but that's just me.

 

[Quinn_McLeod]

Well I had the '78 as a "complete" project cheap, but the engine was apart and needed a new main bearing. Rather than putting all that back together, I was able to find a cheap '81 engine and swapped that into the frame. Now I am trying to get the engine's electronics working with my '78 wiring harness. I bought the needed parts (black box, etc) to get it to work.

I guess I had a moment of "freak out" when I opened the points covers to find nothing. I figured SOMETHING would be in there. So I thought maybe something was missing.

Would it be benefitial to get an 81 wiring harness instead of trying to match up or hack up my '78?

 

[xjwmx]

The easiest way, for you, might be to make the '81 into points, using parts from the '78?

 

[Quinn_McLeod]

I don't have the '78 engine anymore.

 

[xjwmx]

I didn't mean to imply it was hard the other way. what you'll need that you don't have is a tci coil. Mike's has one but there are reports of it falling apart before you can fire it up.. A lot of us use a honda coil. I can look it up if you need it.

 

[XSLeo]

Converting your 78 harness to except the 81 ignition and charging system isn't hard to do.
The ignition may be the easy part. You need a few things to make it work. The 80 up bikes all used the TCI, some used a 6 wire TCI box, some a 7 wire TCI box. Either will work. So to list the parts,
TCI box
Stator
Rotor
Coil.
The stator for an 80 up will have the pick ups mounted on it. The pick up will be the black oval thing on the stator. It has a wire bundle coming out with the other stator wire bundle. This bundle has 3 wires. These wires hook to the TCI box with a 3 wire plug.
The TCI box has connections to hook a coil to. The points used two single coils, the TCI used one coil with two outputs.
Once you get these things hooked together you need to run a wire to both the TCI box and coil from the red/white wire that on the 78 harness sent power to the coils. It has a two place connector, use one place for the TCI box, the other for the coil.
If the TCI box you get has 7 wires, the extra wire is a black/white wire and hooked to the side stand relay so if you put the bike in gear with the side stand down the engine will quit. Cap this extra wire off. It won't be used.
See easy right.
Now on the charging system. The wire bundle coming up from the stator has 3 white wires, a green, a brown, and yellow, The blue one isn't for the charging but the neutral light. The yellow goes to the safety relay.
With the 80 up reg/rec it has 3 whites, a green, a brown, a red, a black. To hook this to the stator,
Reg/rec------------------stator
3 whites-----------------3 whites
Green--------------------green
Brown-------------------brown
Red----------------------battery +
black---------------------battery -
Once you hook the two browns, one from each the reg/rec and stator, you need to run a brown wire from the connection to power after the switch.
If you study a few diagrams you will see how this is done. I'll post up a good one that you can use. It has the basic points and separate reg and rec with upgrades in boxes. Just swap boxes to match what you have.
I'll post pics to show you a few of the parts. A 80 up reg/rec, A TCI unit, and a pic of a stator with the pickup on it.
Leo

 

[Quinn_McLeod]

Wow! Thanks! That's VERY helpful. I appreciate the pictures too for reference.

 

[I am Carbon]

if money is not to big of a problem You get a pamco ignition east to install.
You can get one that has everything that is needed for that engine to run.
her is a link for the newest pamco kit that would work for You. here is a link for an older version that many of us has pamco /mechanical advance both of these links are for high out put coil.
there are different kits here including the other links I gave You

 

[DIRTY DOG]

If you switch to pamco you still have to install the pionts advancer set up, I'd get a black box and go with it ( I have built 5 bobbers 3 were 81's 1 78 and 1 79 I switched the 78 and 79 to the yamaha tci system I like the system some don't.only wish I could use it for the rephase I'm building.

 

[jd750ace]

You don't need the advancer if you get the electronic advance unit.

 

[DIRTY DOG]

you still need part of the set up the shaft the cam bushings and seals you just don't use the advancer assy.( the parts with the weights)

 

[jayel]

So it's supposed to be empty? But the rod thing rotates when I kick the bike over.

what you are seeing rotate is the ends of the turning cam shaft

 

[Bruceifer]

Hello,

I have a '78 XS650 that I bought and swapped the motor out for a '81. I opened where the points would be on the top of the engine left and right and the guts are all missing! Now I know the '81 was an electronic ignition, but I also know that it mounted to the stock points plate.

I need those guts if anyone has parts they'd be willing to part with. I need the axle rod and everything. I would REALLY LIKE TO HAVE THE ELECTRONIC IGNITION that goes there, not the points as I have the TCI box to go with the electronic ignition.

If anyone has the parts I need or could give me a parts list of what I am missing and need to get the bike running, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks!

I'm in the same boat as you are ,, I have a 78 , motor sounds bad in the lower end , I bought a 81 parts bike, and now its time to wire it ,, I might just use the 81 wire harness ? , I might use the 78 points , ? , I might just treat it like 1 of my chevys and split the whole bike electrical into a group of bike runs , and motor runs wire harness, I'm afraid that the electronic may not work so well , and expensive to replace , points I can buy on ebay cheap and just buy like 4 sets , what to do , I'm glad I have this forum to help me thru it !!!,, by the way , question , on a single coil , that runs 2 spark plugs , is that black ground wire there to pick up a ground , ? or is it there to provide a ground to the coil ?

 

[Dansweeney]

What kind of honda coil do you use on your xs. I have a 79 which has been changed over to a electronic egnition.

 

[xjwmx]

What kind of honda coil do you use on your xs. I have a 79 which has been changed over to a electronic egnition.

This one works with the stock electronic ignition. They are about 7/8" shorter than stock so you need to make a simple adapter.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/97-Honda-Ig...Parts_Accessories&hash=item35bb363094&vxp=mtr

They have mp08 molded on the side. Get one that comes with the screw-on caps for it or you'll have to buy another one, which does have the caps.