82 XS650 Starts then dies

Another issue with my rotor is there is a small dent on the outer slip ring. I am assuming I want the slip rings completely smooth and that this dent might cause problems or premature brush wear.
@Jim
lets see a pic

They're almost a half century old... they'll have some dings. As long as the ding has been filed/sanded/polished down so there's no protruding edges, dings are acceptable.


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Jim,

Pictures as promised

At 7 o'clock is the dent in the rotor. The edges are raised on in and depressed in the center.

Right side about 4 o'clock you can see the crack in the stator housing. And now just looking it there are two cracks in the housing

Zoomed in view of the stator housing crack.

Inside of the stator housing with a crack visible.

Let me know your thoughts on these.
 
Uh yeah thinking that one is past it's expiration date.
WTF was someone shooting at you?
 
Uh yeah thinking that one is past it's expiration date.
WTF was someone shooting at you?
Unclear what or when this happened but my assumption is while sitting for far too many years in my father's garage something fell over and hit the bike right where we are looking. ORRRRRR Because I wasn't concerned with this area when I purchased the bike it came this way and I never noticed until I brought it back to Buffalo and really was able to dive into the bike.
 
Let me know your thoughts on these.
Always hard to say just from pics... but it looks like at some point a too long screw was installed in the stator and tightened against the rotor until the pressure cracked the stator. Looks like the correct screws are installed now, but if that's the case... damage is already done.
Vibrations will eventually finish the job on the stator in .... maybe a hundred miles.... maybe ten thousand miles... who knows....
Rotor ring plate is likely toast. I have an extra plate if you were considering sending it to me. Should be rebuildable provided it isn't bent.
Speaking of bent, that's what will happen if the correct puller isn't used.... it'll bend it.
 
These poor old bikes, lol. I don't know how that happened. I don't think mounting the stator misaligned with the pin would crack it there. Your brushes don't appear to be making very good contact. They are carbon and that rubs off on the slip ring. You can easily see the contact patch and it's usually lots wider than yours. Here's mine. The outer ring has been cleaned but not the inner, and you can easily see the wide contact patch from the brush .....

id1CxSs.jpg


Maybe you can put some JB Weld on those housing cracks? I'd do mostly the outside because there's not a lot of clearance between the housing and the rotor. If you do the inside, keep it thin.

The poor brush contact could be why you're not charging.
 
Always hard to say just from pics... but it looks like at some point a too long screw was installed in the stator and tightened against the rotor until the pressure cracked the stator. Looks like the correct screws are installed now, but if that's the case... damage is already done.
Vibrations will eventually finish the job on the stator in .... maybe a hundred miles.... maybe ten thousand miles... who knows....
Rotor ring plate is likely toast. I have an extra plate if you were considering sending it to me. Should be rebuildable provided it isn't bent.
Speaking of bent, that's what will happen if the correct puller isn't used.... it'll bend it.

I wouldn't be opposed to sending you the rotor to rebuild/fix it. I would have to borrow a puller unless there is another place to purchase a quality one besides MikesXS where they seem to be out of stock.

These poor old bikes, lol. I don't know how that happened. I don't think mounting the stator misaligned with the pin would crack it there. Your brushes don't appear to be making very good contact. They are carbon and that rubs off on the slip ring. You can easily see the contact patch and it's usually lots wider than yours. Here's mine. The outer ring has been cleaned but not the inner, and you can easily see the wide contact patch from the brush .....

Maybe you can put some JB Weld on those housing cracks? I'd do mostly the outside because there's not a lot of clearance between the housing and the rotor. If you do the inside, keep it thin.

The poor brush contact could be why you're not charging.

So the crack on the housing also seems to have shifted so it isn't aligned very well I am wondering if that is causing the brushes not to contact properly. I was thinking if I put a C clamp on the two split parts and gently persuading them back into place then JB welding the outside of them. I am not opposed to purchasing a replacement if that is needed.
 
We have a loaner puller I can send you... compliments of Gary.
Have a read here for all the details. PM me if you're still interested.
Also... think I have an extra TCI stator. I'll have to ohm it out to see if it's good though. Again, let me know in a PM.
 
The bottom of the brush that rubs against the slip ring should be flat. I'm thinking maybe those raised edges on your "dents" may have knocked some of the end off the brush so it's no longer square .....

PiJQ5jM.jpg
 
The bottom of the brush that rubs against the slip ring should be flat. I'm thinking maybe those raised edges on your "dents" may have knocked some of the end off the brush so it's no longer square .....

Good to know. I will look at the brushes but I assume they are not nice and flat. I can replace those once the rotor is repaired.

I also took an ohm reading from the slip rings and I am getting 5.1ohms so that is within spec. I am assuming that the rotor has been damaged since I purchased the bike and that is why we could never get the bike to charge.

I will ask around work (We have a whole fabrication shop in a different building) and see if any of them have experience tig welding cast aluminum. I guess worst case scenario is I have to purchase a new stator.
 
IT CHARGES!!!!! Got it back together late last night and with a 12.65v battery kicked it 4 times and it fires right up. RPM up to about 2k and the volt meter read 14.5v +/- but it was late so I cut it off quick so I didn't wake up the neighbors.

I also found out that now that it is back together the electronic start doesn't work. I hit the starter button a relay somewhere triggers and all the lights die. Then slowly they come back to life, as in the neutral light comes on super dim and brightens back up. I know currently I have a license plate bulb missing because it was fried and I am assuming this is a safety relay related error I am having. It was too late to try to mess with it last night but I want to thank Jim who made my rotor look brand new and 5twins for having some spare parts he was willing to part with and everyone else who has helped out. Now that I am charging I am going to get the starting solved and continue fine tuning and replacing some small seals to fix my tiny oil leak.

THANK YOU!!!
 
but I want to thank Jim who made my rotor look brand new
You're welcome.
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I hit the starter button a relay somewhere triggers and all the lights die. Then slowly they come back to life,
Without going back through 14 pages, how old is the battery? As well as cleaning up all the power and ground connections battery and starter related, I'd take the battery to a parts store and get it load tested.
 
Without going back through 14 pages, how old is the battery? As well as cleaning up all the power and ground connections battery and starter related, I'd take the battery to a parts store and get it load tested.

Battery is 3 years old, I can go get it checked but, prior to me disassembling and reassembling the stator and rotor it worked fine. I am going to check safety switches & all my connections to make sure there isn't a short anywhere.
 
Well congrats on getting the charging sorted. Charge the battery back up, it may have gotten low from sitting.
 
I am going to check safety switches & all my connections to make sure there isn't a short anywhere.
You're not looking for a short, look for high resistance on either a power or ground wire.... or both.
I'm sure if you think back you'll recall a time when one of your cars did this... turn the key to start and everything dimmed out. You wiggle and tighten the battery cables and it works again... until the corrosion returns. Was a pretty common occurrence back in my youth when I wasn't smart enough to properly clean everything. :rolleyes:
 
Often the problem is the heavy battery cable connection on the starter motor itself. It hangs down underneath the bike and is subjected to all the water and debris kicked up off the road. It should have a protective rubber boot on it but they often split, sometimes fall right off. When I got my '78, the starter didn't work and this turned out to be the problem. The cable connection was all rusty.
 
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