First XS650 Build, What to Look For

Just to hide things a little better for the time being use some black shrink wrap on the wires, and to protect them I would for sure use some on the wires from the Pamco, E-adv, etc...
 
It's kind of tricky to shrink wrap the wires being that they go so many different places. I feel like it will look messy no matter what unless I put them all in some sort of container ya know? As it stands now theres just so many little crisscrossing wires that I can't seem to wrap any two together.

Maybe I ought to take some of it back apart and put in a box...
 
You need to make a harness of some sort. You can't have wires running all over every which way all loose like that. You will probably also need to re-locate some of your components. What's that finned thing bolted to the bottom of your motor? I hope it isn't your reg/rec. That needs to be kept cool, that's why it's enclosed in a heat sink. Bolting it to a hot motor isn't the thing to do, lol. Hanging all your electrics 3" off the road like you've done probably isn't the best idea. They'll be blasted by dirt, gravel, water, etc. as you ride.
 
I had purchased this kit from pandemonium made specifically for mounting the regulator rectifier in that location, I have to assume someone ran it there before if they decide to make and sell a kit for it. http://www.pandemoniumc2.com/parts-store/!/PMA-Regulator-Mount-%26-Starter-Delete-Kit/p/46227527
But who knows, maybe it's not a good location after all.

As for the pill box it's a little too big and clunky for my taste, going to hit the vintage shops in my area this weekend and see if I can't find a suitable canister on the cheap. I'm still a little confused about making a "harness" though. There are a million wiring diagrams out there that everyone posts saying "follow this." I followed it and the reaction seems to be that it's not strong enough. Does anyone have a picture of what they're talking about regarding a harness for a bike this simple?
 
There are a million wiring diagrams out there that everyone posts saying "follow this." I followed it and the reaction seems to be that it's not strong enough.
What Figure8 and 5twins are saying is you need a sleeve of some sort to gather the wires.

If you like high dollar stuff you could opt for this.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BRAIDED-BRA...hash=item3ce7c49e62:m:mG_PI6QIEqyOWG3KPV57J3A

On the other end of the cost spectrum wrap it with electrical tape.

Then there are various means between the two.
Cheap, easy and ugly but function-able.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BLACK-SPLIT...hash=item3acd6010a9:m:mI1Wnnax39YTpDXl2SRAWAg

Another option that would, imho, be an excellent option, in that you can exit your wire from it without ruining the integrity by simply pushing it together to expand the side openings and pulling tight to hold the main harness together.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/PREMIUM-BRA...hash=item3cf2cad897:m:mpv1H5PNBV0wYmhv7LgKYtA
 
So the locations don't need to change, the wires just need some protective loom?

Like I was saying, a lot of the wires don't run to the same places, I'm starting to feel like I should just box this all up. Otherwise I'll be looming single wire after single wire.
 
Hey guys, long time no post, but I'm still here and chipping away at things. Found a lunchbox to hold the electronics components to keep them out of harms way. Additionally, I got my kickstand welded on so she's a roller finally!

zHjpYOj.jpg


As exciting as that is, I'm still having an issue with both side covers. The right side is particularly problematic though. It seems to be getting held up in the middle, as if the clutch is protruding too far out from the engine. I remember spending extensive time discussing the order of assembly earlier on in this thread so I really do think I had it all in there as it should be. Is there anyone who has experienced this before? I've also tried rotating the kicker arm while putting the cover on as some had suggested, but to no avail. Again, the holdup is definitely in the middle of the cover.

The left cover seems to be having a similar issue, I'm not sure exactly what's causing it over there though, strongly considering taking the bike to a shop to have this looked at as I'm pretty much out of ideas. I don't want to proceed with other parts of the build because until I have the covers on, I can't put the foot controls on or route the brake linkage etc. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks guys.
 
You can try to eliminate the obvious. If you're comfortable with this, remove the kickstart shaft, and try fitting the cover. If still no-go, remove the alignment dowels, and try fitting the cover. If still no-go, then you've got a genuine problem. It'll be easier to find now...
 
It's definitely the clutch, I can tell because I'm able to make it meet flush on the kickstarter side OR the front portion, but not both at once. When I remove the cover I can see there are scratch marks from the clutch basket on the cover so I know that's the contact point. I just don't know why it's like that. Should there be any play in the clutch plates when properly assembled?
 
No, no play in between the plates. My best guess is you have the clutch assembled wrong somehow. I can't tell for sure from your pic because it's too far away, but the pressure plate does look like it may be sticking out too much. So, maybe you have the spacer washer sequence screwed up, or maybe too many washers, or maybe the radial bearing slipped out of place during assembly. Proper clutch plates (3mm thick friction plates) and the correct number (7 friction, 6 steel)? Alignment dot on hub showing through hole in pressure plate?
 
Here's the post from before with the components of my clutch assembly.

Ok guys, sorry for the delay it's been a little busy at the slowmaintenance household lately. Here's my version of the photo above

MpkTKTB.jpg


Additionally, here's a shot of my clutch basket which does not have the tabs for that number 9 lock washer as I had expected. A few things about this situation.

gopxrwZ.jpg


I feel like my #1 and my #9 (obviously) are a little different. My #1 looks a little smaller than the picture above. Also, given the variance of these parts, I'm not certain which order they ought to go in. This is a little difficult because the manual is wrong and the picture listed above is different. Not sure where that leaves me, especially when many will bash those who can't figure these situations out with the typical "buy a manual if you're going to work on these older bikes" but I promise you I did, and I'm still a bit lost. Also, given the posts I've seen from other newbies watching this thread, I think we could all benefit from a little assistance on this.
 
If you need parts for clutch I do have them and if you think you have bad parts or mismatched parts I do have complete clutch setup that I could sell you cheap. Came from running bike. Looking at one of your pictures the clutch pressure plate looks like it is not sitting deep enough. There should be no hang up when cover is put on. ON other side did you pull off alternater ???? If not put back on correct they will hang up and motor will be hard to turn. Also look at a good diagram on clutch so you don't have to many washers. Below is a setup
If you need anything get me on here or at DADDYGCYCLES@YAHOO.COM and I will help you to answer questions or parts. Bike looking good so far
 

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Thanks brother, I may end up doing that if I cant square it away by reassembling. Not sure why it would be getting hung up because like I said I followed the guide to the letter, even posted my setup to make sure I had them in the right order. Maybe it's something small that I'm missing.

As for the alternator I did pull it and replaced it with a PMA setup. I'll have to do a little more digging as to why that side is being problematic.
 
Ok guys, I'm back again with another update. I'll just put this right here in the beginning

View My Video

She's alive!

(Disclaimer: The wiring is not yet tucked and protected, we simply mocked it up for a dry run to see if I had it all correct and boy was it confusing lol.)

I was able to get the bike down to Rhode Island to the garage of Wes from Counterbalance Cycles. Awesome dude with a ton of mechanical know-how.

After getting the clutch basket reinstalled (never figured out what was causing the problem btw, I took the clutch plate off and put it back on and there was no play between the plates anymore. Alignment hole was matched up before and after, so who knows but hey it's fixed!), we focused our attention on the left side of the motor. Wes noticed pretty quickly that with my blacksmith billy modified worm gear, the black stud coming out from the case could be turned to adjust the clutch. After a few turns out, the case sat flush against the motor and both covers were now on and ready to rock n roll.

We moved on to the wiring, hooking it up exactly as shown in this diagram.

dq0Ob9v.jpg


We began by testing for spark, which we got. But here's where things got VERY strange. After getting spark we tried to kick it over, no luck. We tested again for spark and were getting none. Wondering if it could be a capacitor issue (as I've read many of those posts on here) we hooked it up to a battery and still none. Both sides of the coil were reading 14 volts with the battery connected, as was the ignition switch, fuse block etc. There was no reason why we shouldn't be getting spark. I tried reversing the red and green wires going to the coil and the spark came back. The whole thing was super touchy and didn't make much sense. I ended up switching those wires back afterwards and got it to fire that way too, so I guess it truly doesn't matter which way they're arranged. I will say though that we didn't try hooking it back up to the capacitor once we got it running, so I'm hoping that I can still run it without a battery in the future.

That said, with the engine running we weren't able to get a reading with the timing light regardless of which way those wires were hooked to the coil. That was a bummer because I had read that if you couldn't get a reading, reversing those wires is usually the fix. Since it didn't work in this case, we're stuck without being able to time the engine properly so any advice in that department would be helpful.

I still need to adjust the valve clearances and the carburetor manifold to get the float level, but hearing the engine come to life after the full rebuilt felt absolutely amazing. It really goes to show you that just about anybody can rebuild a motor, even me! Exciting to bring you more progress pics and videos, feel free to chime in with any suggestions on the timing aspect.
 
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Ok guys, I'm back again with another update. I'll just put this right here in the beginning

View My Video

She's alive!

(Disclaimer: The wiring is not yet tucked and protected, we simply mocked it up for a dry run to see if I had it all correct and boy was it confusing lol.)

I was able to get the bike down to Rhode Island to the garage of Wes from Counterbalance Cycles. Awesome dude with a ton of mechanical know-how.

After getting the clutch basket reinstalled (never figured out what was causing the problem btw, I took the clutch plate off and put it back on and there was no play between the plates anymore. Alignment hole was matched up before and after, so who knows but hey it's fixed!), we focused our attention on the left side of the motor. Wes noticed pretty quickly that with my blacksmith billy modified worm gear, the black stud coming out from the case could be turned to adjust the clutch. After a few turns out, the case sat flush against the motor and both covers were now on and ready to rock n roll.

We moved on to the wiring, hooking it up exactly as shown in this diagram.

dq0Ob9v.jpg


We began by testing for spark, which we got. But here's where things got VERY strange. After getting spark we tried to kick it over, no luck. We tested again for spark and were getting none. Wondering if it could be a capacitor issue (as I've read many of those posts on here) we hooked it up to a battery and still none. Both sides of the coil were reading 14 volts with the battery connected, as was the ignition switch, fuse block etc. There was no reason why we shouldn't be getting spark. I tried reversing the red and green wires going to the coil and the spark came back. The whole thing was super touchy and didn't make much sense. I ended up switching those wires back afterwards and got it to fire that way too, so I guess it truly doesn't matter which way they're arranged. I will say though that we didn't try hooking it back up to the capacitor once we got it running, so I'm hoping that I can still run it without a battery in the future.

That said, with the engine running we weren't able to get a reading with the timing light regardless of which way those wires were hooked to the coil. That was a bummer because I had read that if you couldn't get a reading, reversing those wires is usually the fix. Since it didn't work in this case, we're stuck without being able to time the engine properly so any advice in that department would be helpful.

I still need to adjust the valve clearances and the carburetor manifold to get the float level, but hearing the engine come to life after the full rebuilt felt absolutely amazing. It really goes to show you that just about anybody can rebuild a motor, even me! Exciting to bring you more progress pics and videos, feel free to chime in with any suggestions on the timing aspect.

Hi SlowMaintenance,
congratulations on getting the bike running again.
Be very careful tidying up your wiring.
Don't be like Mr. Stupid who trapped a live wire under a frame clamp where it took a month or so for it's insulation to squeeze off so it could ground itself.
Perhaps you should stay with the battery? Then you can drive the bike home if the PMA system quits rather than pushing it.
I also noticed that your simplified wiring diagram lacked signals.
Gotta death wish, eh?
You are at enough risk from distracted drivers when on two wheels even with turn signals on your bike without increasing the chance of being hit by the 95% of drivers who can't see you. The other 5% want you dead and they can see you just fine, signals or no.
 
The fuse block I'm using has open slots for the wiring in of turn signals, I may just install them if I end up moving my license over to MA or NH where they're required.

That said, I've been riding my Road Star without them for the past year and a half without issues, but I signal with my arm as it was taught in the motorcycle education class.

As for the battery though, I may carry one in my bag for emergencies, but I'd really prefer not to use it as I've seen several people on here who run with only a capacitor. If it CAN be done, I'd prefer to do it that way. It's not needing to power much.

Additionally, one question I forgot to ask in my first post was the idea of grounding the coil. My friend's coil is the green one you see being sold with many pamco kits. It has a metal section through which it grounds and mounts to the frame. Mine is the red andrews variety, which has no exposed metal mounting sections. During one bit of testing the coil got a bit warmer than I'd like it to be, and I wondered if I ought to be grounding it somehow, or if simply grounds through the ignition.
 
I don't think the Andrews coil gets grounded, at least not through it's mounts anyway. I've just had mine bolted to the frame up under the tank since I installed it several years ago. It's been fine but I do admit I never did check how hot it gets. If you're concerned about that, I have a couple suggestions. First, use a mount that's at least as big as the mounting area on the coil. The more surface contact you get, the more heat transfer you'll get. You might even consider fabbing up a "U" bracket to mount it into. Then the coil mount would have a frame mount and contact with it on both sides. Another suggestion would be to change the mounting location to above and ahead of the motor. Where you have it now, the "cooling" air than blows on it won't be that cool. It will be hot air off the motor.
 
Wow, I've neglected this thread for quite some time. But on the bright side, I've not stopped working on the build in the meantime, and she's almost ready for her maiden voyage!

I got it fired up about a month ago, and unfortunately not with the capacitor. Going to work on that again when I get back down to Rhode Island to work on it. Wondering if I need to charge the capacitor first, does anyone have any input on that? It did fire with the battery, but I'm not giving up that easily haha. It's capacitor or bust for me.

Here's a quick shot of where she's at now.

Wes of Counterbalance Customs (who's giving me a hand with the later stages of this build) upholstered this biltwell solo seat for me. He's also working on a matching P pad as well.
yzVBRs7.png


I lost the brake rod holding pin in the move, so we used his lathe to spin and polish this nifty little replacement which is now one of my favorite parts of the bike even though it's entirely inconsequential to the build haha
uzRNIXg.jpg


Here's a shot of the jumpstreet customs mids I ordered. Unfortunately they interfere with the kicker stroke which is a bummer, but if I cut down the mounts by about and inch it should fit in there just fine, so that's the project for next week.
Z7FuPEu.jpg


And finally, the money shot. Here you can see the jumpstreet mids sporting a foot clutch setup which is rock solid and has two separate points of adjustment. The angle of the lever, and the hole to which it connects which adjusts the throw distance. You'll also see a nifty jockey shift lever which sits PERFECTLY at hand level with my arm at my side. Purchased from a member on this forum who was parting out his build. Will shine that knob up next week as well. And last but certainly not least, you'll see a wild looking intake runner. The original one Wes had made had some clearance issues with the TC Bros hardtail frame rail. We were originally going to let it stick out horizontally to alleviate that issue, but it got in the way of my leg. I decided to use an additional bend and angle it forward to solve that problem, and Wes skillfully welded the additional runner section on within a matter of minutes. Super talented dude. Highly recommended.
7fS4bum.png


I didn't take any pictures of it, but we also mounted up the sissy bar and rear fender in their final positions, and they're super solid.

When I get back down there, we will tackle that brake issue, finish tucking the wiring and sort out the capacitor issue, throw the chain on, and she's done. For now.

Thank you to all of you whose guidance has helped me complete this build to the point it's at, and I look forward to hanging around to help those who are in my situation in the future. Stay safe!
 
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