'83 SE not starting

[Pants]

Feeling at a loss here guys. I'm new to the bike world and purchased a very well kept 1983 650 SE about a month ago. She's been running fine and has been an absolute blast until about a week ago - I was going about 40 and she starts choking on me a tad, having to give her a little more throttle to maintain my speed, etc. Eventually I reach my neighborhood and as soon as I begin slowing down and making the turn, she cuts off. Intuition tells me this is almost certainly a gas problem as the lights and electrical check out, but the engine still won't start. After troubleshooting with some mechanics and more knowledgeable folk, everyone agrees that it's probably the carbs. I immediately get to work disassembling the carbs, cleaning, and replacing a few parts with mikes rebuild kit. Upon reassembling she still won't budge, all I get is a sad attempt and some rattling here and there. The spark plugs were replaced about a week before she died and I had a buddy test the spark for me to make sure they were firing strong, which they were.

I'm absolutely uncertain of what else it could be as is the friend who was helping. If you guys have any ideas to toss my way it would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

[figure8]

First thoughts off the cuff, are you sure gas is making it to the carbs, replace fuel filter? Did you check the diaphragms in the carbs and did you check the float level?

 

[azman857]

32yr old TCI would be my first choice. My TCI died and did the same thing. Replaced with a PAMCO with auto advance installed and its never run better.

 

[hein weijers]

Remove the plugs and connect them to the plug leads. Ground the plugs and crank with the elektrical starter. If you see sparks, the TCI is probably O.K.

Diaphragms dont break 2 at a time! With one bad diaphragm you still are able to ride.

I suspect the gas flow to te carbs, but I assume you checked that?

Hein

 

[figure8]

Remove the plugs and connect them to the plug leads. Ground the plugs and crank with the elektrical starter. If you see sparks, the TCI is probably O.K.



Diaphragms dont break 2 at a time! With one bad diaphragm you still are able to ride.



I suspect the gas flow to te carbs, but I assume you checked that?



Hein

Probably not, but one going bad would give some issues with running and ultimately starting. He mentioned he did have good spark.

 

[Pants]

32yr old TCI would be my first choice. My TCI died and did the same thing. Replaced with a PAMCO with auto advance installed and its never run better.

This seems plausible, as I just went out and read the Ohms on the stock TCI coil and I got an average reading of 0.45. According to Pamcopete, it should read from 2.5 - 4.5, correct me if I'm wrong. One more question before I make the $275 pamco purchase: Could this still be the case even if the issue arose WHILE I was riding, bike on and everything? Sorry for the ignorance, but I just figure an ignition problem would only result from failure for the engine to start in the first place.

Remove the plugs and connect them to the plug leads. Ground the plugs and crank with the elektrical starter. If you see sparks, the TCI is probably O.K.

This was done and a spark was confirmed, but I'm still curious about the small 0.45 ohm reading I received from the coil. Thoughts?

Diaphragms dont break 2 at a time! With one bad diaphragm you still are able to ride.

Diaphragm and springs seemed a-OK when I was cleaning up the carbs.

I suspect the gas flow to te carbs, but I assume you checked that?

Hein

Yes sir, after reassembling the carbs and trying to start her a few times I checked the float tank to make sure gas was reaching them and it was.

 

[650Skull]

First off, You say its an 83 then state its an SE.

An 83 has factory electronic ignition, TCI, and BS34 carbs.

An SE has Points ignition and BS38 Carbs.

Carb kits are notorious for having wrong parts for the Year/model they are sold for, so depending on what you used it could be making it worse.

If you have an 83K, make sure the plugs are grounded at all times when testing for spark. Sure way to burn out the TCI if they are not.

 

[nj1639]

Battery voltage? Turn signals flash? Did you check the ohms on the charging rotor? The charging rotor should be around 5 ohms measuring copper slipring to slipring.
Do you have a manual?
If the coil doesn't measure up to what it's supposed to be then address that and not the carbs. You could be compounding a simple problem.