Bought first xs but wont start

T

tigman175

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First off i wanna say that this site is very informative, thanks for the info i have already collected. Anyway, i bought my first xs650 yesterday. pretty good condition. 83 heritage special 9000 miles. I am picking it up today!! Guy said it was immaculate when he bought it last summer but it sat under a porch all last winter, covered luckily, but the alum could use a polish as could the chrome. My problem is that it wont start. He charged the battery and we cranked and cranked it over and would not start. He said he got stranded on side of road last year and after that someone told him his charging system is bad. I thought to myself "it should still start for a little bit with a full charge right??" So im thinking it could possibly be spark related??? Im going to go with the banshee style charging system and the pamco ingition anyway but would like to get this thing running in the mean time until i collect all my parts to turn it into a bobber. Any other suggestions to do to this being that it is stock would be greatly appreciated.
 
tigman...

First off... welcome, and congrats on your acquition.

Secondly, before you throw a single part at this bike, or spend another dime, read, read, and read again the Tech Section up top. There is a wealth of information there about what to do once you get your bike home. But don't assume that you need to convert your charging system. As far as I can tell, you haven't cleaned the carbs yet, which is one of the first orders of business. If your bike has sat for more than a few months without fuel stabilizer, the carbs will need to come off and have a good cleaning.

Your coils and charging system will be of questionable strength at best, but check the voltage of the poles across the battery (more info in Tech), check for spark, and clean, clean, clean those carbs, especially the pilot circuit (more info in Tech, and the Carb Guide on here).

Keep us posted and read, read, read.

TC
 
Carb cleaner is def first thing im grabbing at the auto parts store tonight for sure.
Ive been reading my ass of, wow there is alot of info. I love it. This is the exact reason i wanted an older bike. I want to know how everything works and work on it myself. Best phrase i ever heard was "15 grand and 15 minutes doesnt make you a biker". Ill pull the plug and kick it over also to check for spark. I understand mechanics but electronics confuse the shit out of me. lol
 
There are some small area's in the carbs that are essential to clean, be very thorough. Is the battery new? Our the same one that died and left to sit? New battery is a good investment. :thumbsup:

Gluck, I think you'll be fine.

Posted via Mobile
 
no, thats on my list also. although it is pretty stiff when kicking. Im thinking electrical due to the fact that he told me it all the sudden quit mid ride.................................just got off the phone with the owner arranging pick up.......he said he does recall changing out the coil because it burnt one up last season......hmm??? Taking the work multimeter home with me to do some checking per curly troubleshooting (see im reading lol) hopefully i dont need the bike to start to check things
 
tigman175 said:
no, thats on my list also. although it is pretty stiff when kicking. Im thinking electrical due to the fact that he told me it all the sudden quit mid ride.................................just got off the phone with the owner arranging pick up.......he said he does recall changing out the coil because it burnt one up last season......hmm??? Taking the work multimeter home with me to do some checking per curly troubleshooting (see im reading lol) hopefully i dont need the bike to start to check things
Click to expand...


Sounds like you're well on your way....Good!
 
Got er home in one pc late last night. charge it up the battery, pulled a plugged, crank it over and I do have spark. So there's a plus. Put plug back in and tried to start it w a little ether and nothing but a couple backfires. Drained battery trying. So its charging again and I don't have time to clean the carbs today as my girlfriend thinks a wedding is more important to go to than me getting my motorcycle running lol. Is jumping a bike off a car ok??? Might try that tom if bat dies again. I don't have the start option on my charger
 
Nice job on the buy,
I have to agree with everyone else though before anything... CLEAN THE CARBS!!!

Before you go trying to jump the battery I would pull the carbs and change your fuel filter and gas. Check the state of the battery. Then do a compression test and figure out the state of the engine.

It's good to be Gung Ho, but don't try to rush a start. Tackle it a piece at a time so you can eliminate common things quick. Before you know it you will be on the road.
 
cleaned the carbs thoroughly today and put back on, drain the tank and filled with good gas, but still no start.pulled the plugs and there was gas on both of them. So I know its getting in the combustion chamber. check for spark again and it's there but very weak. So I take a small file and some fine sandpaper to both of them . put back in and starts right up!! Let run for a lil and took for lil spin around block and now it starts on the first kick! Goin back down to check things w multi meter now!
 
full
 
I'd say its not too bad for $400. Oh and I'm gettin about 13.9v at the battery at 3000 rpm, 14.2v at brushes. Battery is low again due to todays attempts.
 
Nice Job, glad she's running.
The coils on these are renowned for being very weak, I would check out Mikesxs.com and pick up some better coils.

Good to see there's another XS on the road :bike:
 
Thanks. I think I'm eventually gonna pick up the whole pamco kit he offers. And maybe do the permanent magnet swap also......for ease of mind.
 
The 13.9 volts at 3000 rpms is a bit low. I might check the brushes, if less than about 3/8 inch they might be the problem. $20 for new ones is cheaper trhan the PMA set up.
Cleaning the charging rotor slip rings will help too. Bright and shiny are a good thing.
Leo
 
well got stranded on side of road yest. had to get jumped twice to get it back home. guess ill start with a new battery and cleaning all the contact points. Kicked and kicked and kicked and got nothing but as soon as jumper cables were attached she fired right up when kicked. Had to pull the headlight and signal fuses to get it home.
 

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