crashcourse
XS650 Addict
From the original post, you said your turn signals don't blink. One reason is that they don't work unless both are connected. You took the back ones off, so the relay doesn't see enough of a current draw or some such.
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First motorcycle - '78 stocker, eventual swingarm bobber
Ashaman
XS650 Enthusiast
They didn't blink before when all four signals were on the bike. Funny thing, I was messing with it the other night and got the front right signal to light up solid when I "signaled" right, but nothing on the left. This was with both rears still off the bike. I'm doing other stuff today but might play with it again with the rears mounted, see if I can get it to light up again.
Blinker module, perhaps?
Blinker module, perhaps?
Sounds more like weak or bad grounds or dirty switch, some times the wires are not soldered to the switch very well.
The system is pretty simple. Power goes to the flasher on the brown wire, then to the switch on the brown/white wire and then out on either the dark green of choclate wire to the right or left side lights.
If the flasher is anywhere near good then power will flow to the switch. If the switch is ok then power gets to the lights, with a good ground the lights light up.
Start at the brown wire at the flasher, does it get battery voltage? If so I might suggest making a jumper wire that can plug into the brown wire and the brown/white wire. This will send power to the switch, nothing will flash but things will light up. Once you get power to the lights and they light up well, then pull the jumper and install the flasher to see if the lights flashe.
Now continue traceing the wires from there to the switch, watching for where the power gets lost. If you have power clear to the lights then you need to check the grounds.
Stock both the front and rear get ground through the threaded part that screws into the body of the light. When bolted in place A ground wire runs from under the nut on the threaded part to the harness ground. Thats the black wire in the headlight bucket and under the seat where the rest of the rear lighting plugs in.
If at this point the lights probaly won't flash with the stock flasher. It's a load sensitive flasher. It needs two 27 watt bulbs and the 3 watt indicater light to flash.
Useing just the front or rear won't be enough load for the stock flasher. LED's won't either. Some small replacement lights use a 23 watt bulb, this won't flash either. You can get a non-load sensitive flasher at the parts stor. 522 or 533, can never recall just which might work.
I like the LF1-S-Flat from www.superbrightleds.com It will flash just one LED bulb or up to 150 watts of lights. $8.95. The flasher come with leads that are in a plastic housing. Remove the wires from the housing. They have flat blade type ends on them. Just plug right into the stock flasher socket.
The flasher comes with either red and black wires or grey and black wires. Plug the black wire into where the brown/white wire is in the socket, the red or grey into where the brown wire is.
If you have a high output coil then you migt want to get the flasher as far away from the coil as you can. The coil makes the flasher act weird.I mounted the flasher on the front of the battery box.
Leo
The system is pretty simple. Power goes to the flasher on the brown wire, then to the switch on the brown/white wire and then out on either the dark green of choclate wire to the right or left side lights.
If the flasher is anywhere near good then power will flow to the switch. If the switch is ok then power gets to the lights, with a good ground the lights light up.
Start at the brown wire at the flasher, does it get battery voltage? If so I might suggest making a jumper wire that can plug into the brown wire and the brown/white wire. This will send power to the switch, nothing will flash but things will light up. Once you get power to the lights and they light up well, then pull the jumper and install the flasher to see if the lights flashe.
Now continue traceing the wires from there to the switch, watching for where the power gets lost. If you have power clear to the lights then you need to check the grounds.
Stock both the front and rear get ground through the threaded part that screws into the body of the light. When bolted in place A ground wire runs from under the nut on the threaded part to the harness ground. Thats the black wire in the headlight bucket and under the seat where the rest of the rear lighting plugs in.
If at this point the lights probaly won't flash with the stock flasher. It's a load sensitive flasher. It needs two 27 watt bulbs and the 3 watt indicater light to flash.
Useing just the front or rear won't be enough load for the stock flasher. LED's won't either. Some small replacement lights use a 23 watt bulb, this won't flash either. You can get a non-load sensitive flasher at the parts stor. 522 or 533, can never recall just which might work.
I like the LF1-S-Flat from www.superbrightleds.com It will flash just one LED bulb or up to 150 watts of lights. $8.95. The flasher come with leads that are in a plastic housing. Remove the wires from the housing. They have flat blade type ends on them. Just plug right into the stock flasher socket.
The flasher comes with either red and black wires or grey and black wires. Plug the black wire into where the brown/white wire is in the socket, the red or grey into where the brown wire is.
If you have a high output coil then you migt want to get the flasher as far away from the coil as you can. The coil makes the flasher act weird.I mounted the flasher on the front of the battery box.
Leo
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KentMoney
XS650 Addict
Ashaman, I'll start off by saying I think you got good taste. 
I too was very inspired by the Brat/Japanese XS650 treatment. I fell in love with swing arm chops because I think they look awesome; a hardtail reminds me too much of a bicycle, the suspension on back of a softail makes it look more like a piece of heavy machinery, which I like. And that's not to mention the shock-absorbing capabilities, of course.
When I got my motorcycle I was in the same boat as you. It was my first motorcycle. As a matter of fact, I bought the moto before I had my M2 license! haha. nonetheless, I started out riding around the stocker just to get used to it. However, various systems of the bike inevitably went to shit, and I had finally researched enough to be confident with my knowledge, so I began to dig in.
Feel free to hit up my build thread for anymore ideas! It's still under construction but I'm close!
http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9441
I too was very inspired by the Brat/Japanese XS650 treatment. I fell in love with swing arm chops because I think they look awesome; a hardtail reminds me too much of a bicycle, the suspension on back of a softail makes it look more like a piece of heavy machinery, which I like. And that's not to mention the shock-absorbing capabilities, of course.
When I got my motorcycle I was in the same boat as you. It was my first motorcycle. As a matter of fact, I bought the moto before I had my M2 license! haha. nonetheless, I started out riding around the stocker just to get used to it. However, various systems of the bike inevitably went to shit, and I had finally researched enough to be confident with my knowledge, so I began to dig in.
Feel free to hit up my build thread for anymore ideas! It's still under construction but I'm close!
http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9441
icemanj650
icemanj
hey man .soon as i can get these ###n pics on here take a look at what i did to mine .the old girl looks cool ,and works perfect.
Ashaman
XS650 Enthusiast
Leo, lots of info, thanks much. Looks like I'm going to have to dig into the diagrams on here because I can't remember where the flasher is. 
I'm going to try to spend some more quality time on the bike this weekend, and I'll be sure to include my Fluke meter.
Kent - I had seen your thread a while back and liked it; seems we're on much the same path. You're much further in than I want to be for a while, but eventually I plan to get a spare motor and do a rephase and maybe a 750 kit. Again, down the road - I need to learn to ride a stock motorcycle WELL before I go making it faster. What's an M2 license? I don't have an M designation either, but I do plan on taking the MSF course soon and that satisfies Colorado's requirements for the motorcycle test.
So I took Monday off (need to burn up some vacation days before the end of the year, and we saw Social Distortion on Sunday night so it was a good day to sleep in) and did some work on the bike. I soldered a plug on and installed my eBay ignition switch, installed the hinges on the seat, and took the left side cover off to get to the clutch pushrod seal, chain/sprocket, and just to see what was in there. Tons of grease and grit and nastiness, so I cleaned the hell out of it. Sprocket was finger loose so I tightened that up and re-staked the washer. I fucked up the first pushrod seal that I tried, and may have buggered up the second one too; we'll have to see if it holds oil once things are back together. Thinking back, I should have hit the motor with a heat gun to expand the metal, as it was about 20* in the garage all day. I also installed my new chain, although I need to get a piece of string and get the rear axle adjusters straight.
My front brake has been giving me fits for a long time, but not in the usual way. I bled it last summer with a Mityvac but instead of staying soft like everyone has problems with, it got super hard and basically has no lever feel or travel. It'll lock the rotor up no problem (at least at low speeds), but the lever comes in about half an inch and stops, and feels very firm and yet sluggish. Nothing like my mountain bike or any motorcycle I've ever tried, where you can feel a definite engagement of the brake and the lever travels in quite a bit. I was installing my freshly tired wheels the other night and couldn't fit the front rotor between the pads, so I pulled the caliper until I could mess with it. Now that it's apart, it seems as if the piston is frozen or locked up, but only in the inward direction. The lever will squeeze the piston out, but it doesn't retract and I couldn't even get it to compress with a C-clamp. Methinks that this tiny amount of piston travel is probably why my lever feel is so lousy. What think you all? Time for a caliper rebuild?
I'm going to try to spend some more quality time on the bike this weekend, and I'll be sure to include my Fluke meter. Kent - I had seen your thread a while back and liked it; seems we're on much the same path. You're much further in than I want to be for a while, but eventually I plan to get a spare motor and do a rephase and maybe a 750 kit. Again, down the road - I need to learn to ride a stock motorcycle WELL before I go making it faster. What's an M2 license? I don't have an M designation either, but I do plan on taking the MSF course soon and that satisfies Colorado's requirements for the motorcycle test.
So I took Monday off (need to burn up some vacation days before the end of the year, and we saw Social Distortion on Sunday night so it was a good day to sleep in) and did some work on the bike. I soldered a plug on and installed my eBay ignition switch, installed the hinges on the seat, and took the left side cover off to get to the clutch pushrod seal, chain/sprocket, and just to see what was in there. Tons of grease and grit and nastiness, so I cleaned the hell out of it. Sprocket was finger loose so I tightened that up and re-staked the washer. I fucked up the first pushrod seal that I tried, and may have buggered up the second one too; we'll have to see if it holds oil once things are back together. Thinking back, I should have hit the motor with a heat gun to expand the metal, as it was about 20* in the garage all day. I also installed my new chain, although I need to get a piece of string and get the rear axle adjusters straight.
My front brake has been giving me fits for a long time, but not in the usual way. I bled it last summer with a Mityvac but instead of staying soft like everyone has problems with, it got super hard and basically has no lever feel or travel. It'll lock the rotor up no problem (at least at low speeds), but the lever comes in about half an inch and stops, and feels very firm and yet sluggish. Nothing like my mountain bike or any motorcycle I've ever tried, where you can feel a definite engagement of the brake and the lever travels in quite a bit. I was installing my freshly tired wheels the other night and couldn't fit the front rotor between the pads, so I pulled the caliper until I could mess with it. Now that it's apart, it seems as if the piston is frozen or locked up, but only in the inward direction. The lever will squeeze the piston out, but it doesn't retract and I couldn't even get it to compress with a C-clamp. Methinks that this tiny amount of piston travel is probably why my lever feel is so lousy. What think you all? Time for a caliper rebuild?
Ashaman
XS650 Enthusiast
K so I spent some time this afternoon with the wiring and a meter. I took apart the signal switch and wire brushed some corrosion off of the contacts. When I put it back together I was able to get the left signals to blink three blinks at a time, but with the switch on the right. With the switch on the left, the right signals came on solid; never got that side to blink. The weirdest part about all this is that the switch only worked when I held the two halves together off of the bars; when I clamped the switch back onto the bars, I got nothing. Do the bars act as some kind of ground? Typically grounds are not a bad thing unless they're shorting voltage, but I don't think that was the situation here. Keep in mind the engine was off this whole time, not that that should matter. Any ideas?
On your brakes the caliper might need cleaning but the Master Cylinder is more likely the problem. There are two holes in the reservoir down to the piston. The smaller one is a bleed so line pressure can get back into the reservoir. Check to be sure it's clear.
Most everyone messes up the push rod seal the first time. Not enough bevelon the hole in the case. Need enough to break the sharp edge.
I like to use a #3 phillips head screwdriver and a large washer. Slip the washer on the screwdriver, slip the seal on the screwdriver, then use the screwdriver in the push rod hole to guide the seal straight in. The washer if a bit bigger than the seal will help prevent pushing it in to far.
On the handle bars it is a ground for the horn and start button only. The turn signals don't ground there, or should not. I think a short to ground there will blow a fuse.
Where the wires hook into the switch were just crimped in at the factory. Some times the wires come loose. Solder them in.
When you put the housing on the bars you might be pinching a wire.
The turn signals draw quite a bit of current to work. Two 27 watt and a 3 watt indicater for a total of 57 watts. Thats about what your headlight on high beam draws. Without the engine running the turn signals draw more current than the battery can give without the voltage dropping below what the flasher needs.
Often one side flashes better than the other.
The circuit is a very simple one. Power goes to the flasher on the brown wire, from the flasher to the switch on the brown/white wire, from the switch on the dark green to the right side, the chocolate to the left. Ground through the body where it bolts to the bike, a ground wire runs from under the nut to the wiring harness.
It sounds like you have power to the switch, so do a little more checking there. At the grounds at the lights too.
Leo
Most everyone messes up the push rod seal the first time. Not enough bevelon the hole in the case. Need enough to break the sharp edge.
I like to use a #3 phillips head screwdriver and a large washer. Slip the washer on the screwdriver, slip the seal on the screwdriver, then use the screwdriver in the push rod hole to guide the seal straight in. The washer if a bit bigger than the seal will help prevent pushing it in to far.
On the handle bars it is a ground for the horn and start button only. The turn signals don't ground there, or should not. I think a short to ground there will blow a fuse.
Where the wires hook into the switch were just crimped in at the factory. Some times the wires come loose. Solder them in.
When you put the housing on the bars you might be pinching a wire.
The turn signals draw quite a bit of current to work. Two 27 watt and a 3 watt indicater for a total of 57 watts. Thats about what your headlight on high beam draws. Without the engine running the turn signals draw more current than the battery can give without the voltage dropping below what the flasher needs.
Often one side flashes better than the other.
The circuit is a very simple one. Power goes to the flasher on the brown wire, from the flasher to the switch on the brown/white wire, from the switch on the dark green to the right side, the chocolate to the left. Ground through the body where it bolts to the bike, a ground wire runs from under the nut to the wiring harness.
It sounds like you have power to the switch, so do a little more checking there. At the grounds at the lights too.
Leo
landerson
XS650 Member
Hello,
I'm planning to purchase a bike as well and it sounds like I'm in the same situation as you in early threads (learning to ride etc.). If you don't mind me asking, how much did pay for your bike with 13K miles? I'm trying to find a starting point for how much these bikes are selling for before I begin purchasing. Anything suggestions before I start?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Lee
I'm planning to purchase a bike as well and it sounds like I'm in the same situation as you in early threads (learning to ride etc.). If you don't mind me asking, how much did pay for your bike with 13K miles? I'm trying to find a starting point for how much these bikes are selling for before I begin purchasing. Anything suggestions before I start?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Lee
Ashaman
XS650 Enthusiast
I paid $600 for the bike with no title and in non-running (but mostly complete) condition.
Been getting stuff done lately, although not updating my thread very well. Biggest thing lately has been turn signals - I ended up ditching the huge fugly stockers in favor of some nice trim little LED units. Did the accompanying electronic flasher, and then had to put in some diodes in the wiring to the turn signal indicator light. That bulb was acting as the path of least resistance and allowing current to flow between sides when the turn signals were on. This made all four flash simultaneously but weakly, so I added two diodes much like this kit here. Wired it up just like their diagram and everything fired right up. They're sweet, I love 'em.
Also got my single non-vacuum repro petcock from Mike's and routed my fuel lines. Needs hose clamps next time I take the airboxes off but aside from that it's done. I picked up one of those cheap BikeMaster handlebars (I think it's the Euro one?) and it looks way better than the stock rototiller bars. Due to the shorter bars, I had to reroute my throttle and clutch cables down the opposite sides of the frame. The clutch cable is pretty damn stiff now; we'll have to see how long I can put up with that. I also rebuilt the forks using Hugh's lowering guide; they're still stock height but the guide was extremely helpful. Thanks Hugh! While I was at it I had my buddy powdercoat the lower legs in satin black before I put new seals in.
The main obstacle right now is a taillight. I really like the way a lot of the newer "custom" cruisers have taillights that are sleekly integrated into the fender, a la Victory.
The hard part is finding something that will integrate somewhat smoothly onto my currently-stock rear fender while offering LED lighting and not breaking the bank. I guess I gotta just keep my eye out for now, but I really detest the stock taillight and will have a very hard time running it if I end up having to.
I made this short video tonight when I got the turns buttoned up and finally put together. Commentary was on the fly so don't mind it too much. My left bar switch is jacked up, probably the usual loose solder joints. It works when I move the wires into the "right spot". Problem is, I can't just disassemble it and resolder because the tiny screw inside there is stripped out and stuck. I'm gonna try to drill it out, I guess, and see what happens, because I really don't want to buy a whole new switch.
Anyway, that's where I'm at right now. The short list:
Taillight
Front brake (caliper and/or MC rebuild, maybe shorter lines)
Bar switch
.....?
The video:
edited: Youtube fucked something up, I'll deal with it in the morning.
Been getting stuff done lately, although not updating my thread very well. Biggest thing lately has been turn signals - I ended up ditching the huge fugly stockers in favor of some nice trim little LED units. Did the accompanying electronic flasher, and then had to put in some diodes in the wiring to the turn signal indicator light. That bulb was acting as the path of least resistance and allowing current to flow between sides when the turn signals were on. This made all four flash simultaneously but weakly, so I added two diodes much like this kit here. Wired it up just like their diagram and everything fired right up. They're sweet, I love 'em.
Also got my single non-vacuum repro petcock from Mike's and routed my fuel lines. Needs hose clamps next time I take the airboxes off but aside from that it's done. I picked up one of those cheap BikeMaster handlebars (I think it's the Euro one?) and it looks way better than the stock rototiller bars. Due to the shorter bars, I had to reroute my throttle and clutch cables down the opposite sides of the frame. The clutch cable is pretty damn stiff now; we'll have to see how long I can put up with that. I also rebuilt the forks using Hugh's lowering guide; they're still stock height but the guide was extremely helpful. Thanks Hugh! While I was at it I had my buddy powdercoat the lower legs in satin black before I put new seals in.
The main obstacle right now is a taillight. I really like the way a lot of the newer "custom" cruisers have taillights that are sleekly integrated into the fender, a la Victory.
The hard part is finding something that will integrate somewhat smoothly onto my currently-stock rear fender while offering LED lighting and not breaking the bank. I guess I gotta just keep my eye out for now, but I really detest the stock taillight and will have a very hard time running it if I end up having to.
I made this short video tonight when I got the turns buttoned up and finally put together. Commentary was on the fly so don't mind it too much.
My left bar switch is jacked up, probably the usual loose solder joints. It works when I move the wires into the "right spot". Problem is, I can't just disassemble it and resolder because the tiny screw inside there is stripped out and stuck. I'm gonna try to drill it out, I guess, and see what happens, because I really don't want to buy a whole new switch. Anyway, that's where I'm at right now. The short list:
Taillight
Front brake (caliper and/or MC rebuild, maybe shorter lines)
Bar switch
.....?
The video:
edited: Youtube fucked something up, I'll deal with it in the morning.
Ashaman
XS650 Enthusiast
Finally got the video uploaded and ready to go. The "beep-beep" at the end is my phone telling me my battery was almost dead.
Ashaman
XS650 Enthusiast
Long time no update. Finished up my turn signals and then started looking for a suitable taillight that wasn't fugly. I tried to graft one off an '87 Honda Shadow, but the lines just weren't right and it wasn't gonna happen. So I ended up grinding off the goofy reflectors on the license plate bracket, painting that assembly black and putting it back on, and it actually doesn't look too bad for now. I also painted both fenders black (satin, to match the fork legs and turn signal bodies), and even though it's just rattlecanned it kinda brings everything together.
For fuel, I tried a flat aluminum plate to block off the unused left-hand petcock, with a cardboard gasket and some Permatex sealer. No dice - it leaked fuel all over the side of my motor while it sat for a couple of weeks. So, using weekendrider's suggestion from earlier in this thread, I sawed off the petcock body of the stocker, filled it with JB Stik, and used a fuel-safe Felpro cork gasket to block the hole. Works tits so far. I also fixed my front brake; as XSLeo had speculated, the tiny hole in the master cylinder was completely blocked with gunk. I ungunked it with a miniscule drill bit in a hand-cranked drill, and all seems well. I also disassembled and cleaned up the caliper while I was at it. Front brake works great now. I flushed the fluid out of my rear brake as well; the old fluid was the color of tar, so I figured it was probably a wise decision to change it.
Buttoned it all up today, put everything back together, and took it out of the garage for the first time in probably six months. Ripped it up and down my dirt road a couple times (which I've been practicing on on my newly-acquired KX125 as well) and all seems to be well. The only issue is that something is loose in the headlamp and at certain vibration levels, the light flickers and the "headlamp out" light on the dash comes on. I plan to upgrade to the halogen unit anyway, and an HID in time, so I'm not super worried right now. Fixing that and finding some mirrors are the only things left; then it's time to take the MSF class and get after riding!
For fuel, I tried a flat aluminum plate to block off the unused left-hand petcock, with a cardboard gasket and some Permatex sealer. No dice - it leaked fuel all over the side of my motor while it sat for a couple of weeks. So, using weekendrider's suggestion from earlier in this thread, I sawed off the petcock body of the stocker, filled it with JB Stik, and used a fuel-safe Felpro cork gasket to block the hole. Works tits so far. I also fixed my front brake; as XSLeo had speculated, the tiny hole in the master cylinder was completely blocked with gunk. I ungunked it with a miniscule drill bit in a hand-cranked drill, and all seems well. I also disassembled and cleaned up the caliper while I was at it. Front brake works great now. I flushed the fluid out of my rear brake as well; the old fluid was the color of tar, so I figured it was probably a wise decision to change it.
Buttoned it all up today, put everything back together, and took it out of the garage for the first time in probably six months. Ripped it up and down my dirt road a couple times (which I've been practicing on on my newly-acquired KX125 as well) and all seems to be well. The only issue is that something is loose in the headlamp and at certain vibration levels, the light flickers and the "headlamp out" light on the dash comes on. I plan to upgrade to the halogen unit anyway, and an HID in time, so I'm not super worried right now. Fixing that and finding some mirrors are the only things left; then it's time to take the MSF class and get after riding!
On your headlight flickering, it might be just a weak connection on the ground or power wires. Pull them apart and see if they are loose or dirty.
Leo
Leo
