Stalls when the clutch is in...

[msellarole]

This site is awesome. Got my 82 xs650 earlier this summer. It is my first bike so I have a bunch to learn and I've been on this site constantly. Heres my situation:

I had driven the bike home on the highway for a good half hour or so. I was coasting down a long hill and had the bike in neutral for a while (3-5 min). Next thing I know, the engine has shut off. The bike still had power (lights still on, etc) but the engine would not immediately turn back on (cranking but not turning over). After 10 minutes or so of waiting, the engine turned on and I was able to ride it home.

I thought that perhaps the carburetors may have been dirty (clogged jets or something), so I ran SeaFoam though the fuel system (1oz/gallon of gas). The bike seemed to been running fine for the next 100 miles or so but then the trouble returned.

Similar incidents have happened two more times. One time was when I was driving on the highway (5th gear, 60 mph). I pulled in the clutch to turn and the bike quickly stalled out. Again, after ten minutes or so of trying to turn the engine on, I was finally able to roll start it. The final time I was driving slowly in town (2nd or 3rd gear/ 25 mph) I pulled the clutch in to stop and it stalled.

The bike has been sitting for about a week (I don't have the courage to drive it too far from home in the state its in). I start it up every other day and it seems to idle just fine.

Bottom line, the bike is stalling when I pull the clutch in but it idles ok when its just sitting. The people I have talked to all seem to be leaning towards a carburetor issue.

Things to keep in mind: There is rust in the tank. Also, the battery seems to be working ok but it has had its own issues since I got the bike, so I'm doubtful of its reliability. Not going to lie, its clear that this bike has seen better days, so there could be a whole bunch of things that aren't right. Figured I need to start somewhere though.

Sorry for the long sob story. Just trying to get all the symptoms out there. Anyone heard of this problem before? Any words of wisdom would be really appreciated.

 

[Square Circle]

From what i've heard about these bikes, and from a little expierience of my own, The xs650 won't want to run without a well charged battery. You should check your amps on the battery.. ithink you should be getting around 14 amps at around 2500 rpm. and fully charged around 13 .. anything under 12 could be a problem.

 

[ReycleBill]

Start with the obvious, drain and clean the tank, remove the petcock, clean and or replace the fuel filters. While you're cleaning the tank make sure your battery is fully charged. The put a gallon of gas in it and see how it does.

And report back good, bad or ugly so we'll know if it's fixed or if we need to move to the next step.

 

[danno]

Perhaps the neutral safety or kickstand switch is faulty? Just a guess...

 

[msellarole]

Thanks. That all makes sense.

Beginner question: What is the best way to clean out a tank?

 

[weekendrider]

Remove the tank from the bike.
Remove the petcocks from the tank and blank off the holes.
Now you could choose electrolysis, milk stone remover, evoporust or any of the dozen other commercial formulas. Something people are trying lately is vinegar.
Simple, eco-friendly and it won't melt your skin, lungs or blind you unless you try really hard to prove me wrong.

 

[Dennis]

I want to lean towards a short in the electrical
While the tank is off look for any rubbing and also check where the wires go into the headlight bucket

 

[Square Circle]

Remove the tank from the bike.
Remove the petcocks from the tank and blank off the holes.
Now you could choose electrolysis, milk stone remover, evoporust or any of the dozen other commercial formulas. Something people are trying lately is vinegar.
Simple, eco-friendly and it won't melt your skin, lungs or blind you unless you try really hard to prove me wrong.

I used Muratic ACID full duty from lowes.. Just under $8.00 for a gallon. DANGER!! This is what i did ..... i put about a quart of water in the tank after i capped off the petcocks with some metal i cut off from a shelf bracket,, i drilled the screw holes using a petcock as a pattern and used an old truck mud flap for gaskets. After the caps were clamped down withthe petcock screws, and the little bit of water, i carefully poured in the acid... about 1/2 gallon.. never too much here... lol. i duct taped the gas cap hole with gorilla tape.. shook the hell out of the tank to stir it up, and let it sit for 0 xx minutes.. then pulled off tape and watched it fog up and out of the tank... lol. i didn't want to wait too long.. the acid might have eaten all the metal..lol.... a gave it about 5 minutes... swished around a couple more times and dumped it out in to a half cut milk jug and then transfered it to an old winshield wiper fluid jug.. ( i could use it again probably) The little stuff that was left , i just dumped it in the gravel patio out in back. of my home ... it was all orange and rusty.. and very acid... it ate the rocks too..lol. Cool thing though .. it was instantaneous... its a 70 % shiny new tank inside... i washed it out with a bunch of water and rinsed even more after i pulled the caps off the petcock holes..and air dried it with a compressor .. Finally i poured about a cup of gas in it and swished around to avoid flash rust.. my tank is clean now.. it was a mess before. I now use inline filters..clear tubes and crossed the gaslines to make room (left petc. feeds right carb and right petc feeds the left). dont burn or blind yourself...lol.