Bike Dies after Throttled

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bradfox125

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I recently bought a 1972 XS650. After driving it home for about 30 miles, it died. I was stopped at a red light and it was running fine. After the light turned green, I throttled and the bike died with no electric charge to the automatic starter. I let the bike sit for a few minutes and was able to kick start it. Similar to the above issue, after throttling it again died.

Any help from the group is appreciated.
 
Welcome to the forum Bradfox...
that sounds like it could be a problem with poor contacts in the ignition switch. Its where I'd look first , (if the battery is fully charged and all your fuses are ok .)
next time it happens try wiggling the ignition key and see if the ignition light flickers on and off.
Also check that all the fuses have a good clean contact , ditto the grounds and battery terminals

I posted an ignition switch overhaul somewhere . ahh here it is http://www.xs650.com/threads/ignition-switch-overhaul.46712/
 
Hi Bradfox

(You appear to have duplicate posts so I've moved my comment here. Maybe you can delete the other one?)

Welcome to the forum. I'm all the way over in the UK but there doesn't seem to be anyone paying attention in the States.

Well done on buying an XS650. There's a real bunch of enthusiasts here so you'll get all the help you need. They all like pictures here so post some of your latest acquisition and you'll have loads of attention before you know where you are.

Of course your problem could be almost anything so you'll need to do some tests and get back to us. Normally I hate guessing without any real testing done but here goes. I think you've got a flat battery. At any rate that's' some where to start.

How is your battery? Without starting it up, what happens when you turn on the headlight? Does it work at all? Does it rapidly start to dim? Do the indicators work or are they slow? If you've got a cheap multi-meter what voltage do you get across the battery terminals? It should be 12V. If its not 12v what are the levels in your battery like (assuming a lead acid battery). If they're low bring them up to the correct level with distilled water and try putting it on charge.

If your bike now starts there's a reason it was flat. It ought to charge up as you drive. If it doesn't there's a problem with your charging system (or the battery).

Come back again when you've tried this.

BTW - I'm assuming you've got a fairly stock bike and some people here have heavily modified bikes. So my assumption about, for example, a lead acid battery may be wildly out. Pictures help but many people change their "sig" to say what sort of bike they have. Saves a lot of guess work.

All the best

Dave
 
Welcome,

Robonic has posted the links that will help the most............. First thing to do is check the power at the battery........Get the battery load tested and recharged........If it is good and the bike starts and runs then suspect and test the charging system.........If that is good then it is a matter of elimination........

.Is it carb related or electrical??.........Carb issues can have the same symptoms as electrical and vise versa so don't get hung up on just one thing.

Start with the simple things first as mentioned above.......... If the bowls come off easy, (without having to remove the carbs), then take them off carefully and check for dirt.
 
Thank you all for the quick insight. After reading through your feedback, I’ll start with the battery as it sounds more like an electrical issue.

Sadly, I will not be able to get to till tomorrow as I left my bike parked at my buddies house but will be renting a truck to pick up tomorrow. I’m itching to get started in trouble shooting.

Best,
B
 
By the way, here’s a picture of the bike. I plan on stripping it down and making a scrambler or café racer. Not sure yet.

Best,
Brad



upload_2018-10-9_21-30-7.png
 
LOL your the second guy in 2 days to have bought a 72 XS650 and have something completely different........

Your bike is. A 77D and these models in good condition are considered one of the better models. A 72 and a 77 have nothing in common except they are an XS650. Motor internals are different, frame is different, Basically nothing interchanges, but your in luck because the 447, (74-79) standard is easy to re-souse parts aftermarket.

Looks to be in good condition.........Have no trouble getting help, but your going to get a lot of......."That's to good to cut up", posts
 
I agree ,to nice to be cutting up! And yep sounds electrical,possibly shorting out someplace! When checking carbs make sure your choke is closing and working properly,the screw can come loose on the bar!
 
650Skull said:
Looks to be in good condition.........Have no trouble getting help, but your going to get a lot of......."That's to good to cut up", posts
Click to expand...

Not as many as if you were cutting up a '72. :)

You've got a nice bike there. Its your bike. Do what you want with it. My two cents, though is - If you've never ridden an XS650 before and more importantly never ridden something that's forty years old, get it running reliably and ride it around for at least a few months. If you are used to modern bikes you just might hate it or decide it's not for you. But you might just love it as it is. There are fewer and fewer of these unmolested.

The second advantage of this is that you really don't know what you've got. It might have charging problems (not insurmountable) but much better to resolve it now than the day you put your last expensive item of bling on it and want to go riding.

Hope this helps

Dave
 
Bradfox when you said you were cutting up a '72 I flashed back to the beating I took lol. nice bike though and to be honest it sounds like a dirty battery connection to me but could be a lot of things.
 
I checked the title, and you’re all right. It’s actually a ‘76. Also, Now you’ve got me second guessing stripping it down.

Thanks again for all the help.
 
No...........its a 77........is the build date late 76............paint job, front forks, front hub, headlight brackets, light bucket..........all point to a 77



76................................................77
_SLS4697.jpg 1 ga.jpg
 
Last edited:
Bike is up and running. I charges the battery and it fired up, cold start. Thanks again for all of your help.

After running up the block, I found some oil coming out of one of the carborator tubes. Is this normal?


upload_2018-10-14_21-48-28.jpeg
 
good to hear that it is now running. ;)
For the benefit of all the posters and future searchers that arrive at this thread........was the problem just a flat battery or did you fix something else ?
 
If the bike has not been ridden recently maybe that battery just needs a good charge and that will be the end of it. But I would have thought that it would get a good charge on the ride home. So why was it flat? Be prepared for another episode.

You could get the battery load tested (see does it maintain its voltage when it is powering something that that draws some current). It may be the battery ios no good or past its best.
You should check the levels and top up with distilled water. It may have been poorly maintained.
But you should definitely look at the charging guide, starting with testing that the battery is charging when you rev the bike to 3 - 3.5K.

I'm sure it'll be fine. You're not buying a bike off a showroom floor your buying something that is 40 years old. It may need some TLC at first. But you'll get a real buzz knowing that you've sorted it yourself.

Dave
 
bradfox125 said:
I only charged the battery overnight and it fired right up the next day. Thanks for keeping me honest.
Click to expand...

no worries ..:) We've all been there at some time or other.

My best screwup was accidentally turning the kill switch on... on a 36 degree Summer day.....I spent 20 minutes kicking it over and pushing up and down a hill before I spotted it . nearly had a heart attack lol
 

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