Rotor dead, can I still drive bike for short rides?

[XS650D]

I have not changed the rotor yet, will have to be next spring (ran out of money)
Battery still good. Can I go for short rides or will I fry something else.
FYI, I now have electronic ignition and advance.

 

[Jim]

I'd disconnect the regulator/rectifier just to be on the safe side.... but yeah, you'll be running whats referred to as a "total loss" system. Not sure what the critical voltage is for your electronic iggy, but I wouldn't let the battery drop below 11-11.5 volts.

 

[XS650D]

Yeah concerned about the timing as its now electronic, no points or cam on advance.
Dont want to blow motor if thats even possible but its 80 degrees tday here in Ontario,Canada.
Probably Snow flurries by weekend LOL! So squeezing in one last ride!

 

[Jim]

Make sure the battery is topped off before you start. If you can turn the light off, that will extend the range. You got a voltmeter installed? A guy from Oz. was doing this for a few weeks. If I remember..... he was gettin' about 30-40 min. off a full charge.

 

[XS650D]

Cant turn the light off on my bike, its wired to stay on as soon as bike starts.(Even though its got an off/on switch)
It seems to be running really rich, plugs are black ,wonder if the Ignition fails on retarded timing.
Plugs are usually clean and light brown!!

 

[Jim]

wonder if the Ignition fails on retarded timing.

If it's retarding itself, you'll see a definite lack of power and it won't want to rev. Is that the case?

 

[XS650D]

No Seems ok power wise but have not opened er up as I was nervous about what the outcome would be if I did.
If I did not have the electronic ignition and advance I would just give er!!

 

[XS650D]

I think as long as the batteries got 12 volts it will power the ignition timing and advance and should be ok
But ive been wrong before LOL!

 

[Jim]

As long as your batt is topped off (and in good kit), I doubt the two are related... but you're the man in the saddle... not me. Your discretion.

 

[XS650D]

k,Thx Jim,just got back from a ride, all good! Strange thing, I have the headlight switch but have never been
able to turn off the headlight while bike is running BUT I can now!
Very strange.Battery was still at 12.5 Volts when I checked after ride. Plugs looked good.
I think the last time I went out it was really cold out like 5 Degrees and plugs were really black.
Motor not run-in hot enough I guess. Ive been so used to fuel injected bikes now that ive forgotten how the carb
units react to outside temps.Even my sled is a fuel injected!

 

[Jim]

Cool. Happy all is good.
Except for the rotor..... of course.

 

[650Skull]

I have a Canadian 83 SK where the headlight stays on all the time and no on/of switch. When i had the same trouble as yourself, i was about 150 miles from home. I disconnected the headlight by removing the headlight fuse. I would get about 80 miles riding out of the battery. Bought a small battery charger and turned the trip into a 2 day ride and recharged the battery overnight

 

[XS650D]

Thx for the info Skull, obviously did not damage anything and u have electronic ignition also.Good to know!

 

[5twins]

You probably have the later style combination headlight and starter safety relay. I didn't think '77 models had that, I thought it came out in '78. The headlight portion of that safety relay automatically turns the headlight on when it gets voltage on the yellow wire from the alternator. Since you're not charging, there is no voltage signal on the yellow wire now. So, you're able to control your headlight function all the time with the handlebar switch. If you like that, you can make it permanent by just unplugging one wire .....

I've been running my '78 like this for many years with no ill effects. It's not an invasive change. You're not cutting or clipping any wires, simply unplugging one. You could put it back to the way it was any time you like by simply plugging the wire back together, although I don't see why you'd want to.

 

[XS650D]

Thx for the Tip 5T! That sounds simple enough. I like the idea of being able to turn the headlight on/off I case
I need with the switch, seems redundant that it would be set-up this way with a switch that wouldn't work.
Got my Rotor puller tday from xs650 direct, can now pull the rotor and have a look, maybe I will get lucky
and there will find a broken wire that I could resolder!

 

[5twins]

I happen to have a '77 Canadian wiring diagram and it does show the double safety relay (starter and headlight). The U.S. '77 diagram shows only a single safety relay for the starter. These couple years were the change-over years when many of the added "safety" features began to be implemented. The U.S. models got the double relay and auto-on headlight in '78 for the first time. The handlebar on-off switch was still there but the relay bypassed it once it was activated. In '79, the handlebar switch disappeared. Lots of the Jap manufacturers started implementing auto-on headlights around this time. I remember one of my brother's buddies got a brand new late '70s or early '80s 550 Suzuki. The headlight was always on but all Suzuki did to make that happen was stick a plastic shim in the handlebar switch to keep the on-off switch in the "On" position. We pulled that out and the switch worked normally again, he could turn his lights on and off at will.

The L/B (blue/black) wire is power out from your headlight on-off switch to the RLU. It passes through there and goes to your hi/low switch to operate the headlight. The L/B from the safety relay taps into the L/B from the on/off switch and feeds it power once the relay is tripped. The position of the handlebar switch doesn't matter anymore. When you unplug this L/B power feed coming out of the safety relay, you return full control over the headlight to the on/off switch. The headlight relay is still doing it's thing, the power signal it's sending just isn't getting through anymore.

 

[Superjet]

This is just me but I would want my headlight on cause there are plenty of drivers out there that don't see us bikers. Everytime I leave home I want to make it back there to my family. My opinion I guess.

 

[XS650D]

Thx for the info 5T. Superjet u have a valid point but its nice to have the option.
If my battery dies during the day I can turn the light off to save power and get home.
Plus it shows me how much my voltage is pulling with and without the light while at idle and running
so u can see the draw.

 

[Superjet]

XS650D i gots me one of these to see what is going on. When my "new" lol rotor died, i saw it right away.

 

[XS650D]

Yeah,thats on the list of things I want and need to do, eventually!