What should I be doing?

[1palace]

Howdy. Brought home my new best friend today. First bike, first time rider. I want to make this work and I’m willing to learn, just not sure where to begin.

1981 XS650
Last driven two years ago
Won’t Start (Battery is dead I believe) don’t know how to charge it
No Speedometer

PO said kickstart only(?)


Palace

 

[1palace]

Understood. Will order a manual ASAP.
Have wrenches, pliers, drill.
Some electrical experience, did solar for my cabin
No experience with motorcycles at all.
I don’t want to remove anything from the bike that I don’t have to. Would much rather it run forever with regular maintenance then to be pretty.

Have 12v battery lying around. Could I do something with that while I wait for my new battery to come? And you are right about expectations. I think I know now what I’ve gotten myself into. But still, it will be worth it when I get her started for the first time.

Palace

 

[kshansen]

As a 1981 came with electric start I'm wondering if the previous owner removed it of just hacked away at things to prevent it from working?

At this point I might be more interested to see if the engine could be made to run. Maybe someone more familiar with the ignition system could suggest a way to more or less "hot wire" it so the ignition system coould function leaving all the extra bits out of the wiring for the time being. I might be able to figure it out on my bike but there are many here much better in that area, hope someone sees this and could post a link to a "Just get the spark plugs to work" diagram.

Might also be an idea to hook up a compression tester to see what it has in that area. I believe many parts stores rent or let you borrow tools like that or maybe you know a guy with one.

 

[Raymond]

Howdy. Brought home my new best friend today. First bike, first time rider. I want to make this work and I’m willing to learn, just not sure where to begin.

1981 XS650
Last driven two years ago
Won’t Start (Battery is dead I believe) don’t know how to charge it
No Speedometer

PO said kickstart only(?)


Palace

Your new best friend - hold on to that thought!

All relationships need a bit of work & commitment and you will need to put in some effort before you reach the delights your new friend will introduce you to.

You have made a big jump buying a non-runner as your first bike.

Getting a manual is a good first step. There are free manuals on-line but it's nice to have a hard copy beside you when you're working on the bike. I think you will need a new battery. Be prepared to buy tools as you go - it's much cheaper to buy the correct fitting tool than to bugger up parts and fasteners.

You will learn a lot and this forum is the best place for information, advice and help. But stick in at it and you will get there. And there's nothing that compares to starting up a bike you've brought back to life through your own efforts.

Keep this as a build thread, ask questions and post plenty photos.

 

[Adamc]

I AGREE WITH ALL OF THE ABOVE
Its a real challenge to get a non-runner up and running; and so satisfying when you do.
Always put SAFETY first. Old electrical issues and fuel / fumes do not make happy partners.
You have a long way to go and roadworthiness is next to SAFETY.
I look forward to following this build; stick around and we will all help if required.

 

[Jan_P]

Coming from the " Cr*p Bike " Scene I at times see it differently than the experienced Well informed gentlemen here
If we are talking a Young enthusiast with goal getting the thing out on the road having a good time
Or a more long term restoration spanning over many years you do it a bit differently.
Many here have been doing this 30 + years most have had some work involving working with their hands
And don't remember that there is a need for Cash / Tools / Time / Garage / Skills ..Under estimating the learning curve
I have seen people setting off with high expectations tearing motorcycles down and ending up having the bike in a box not riding a single meter
( yard )
In this case the bikes background would be valuable If it was a runner going in is a big difference.
I would also inspect the odometer to me it is a difference if 60000 miles or 10000 on the clock.
Not knowing the price you payed .But as a rule of thumb there is always something on the bike that does need to be fixed
It can in worst case be a write off .. If there are restrictions in Cash / Tools / Time / Garage / Skills
I would most likely start it up in a first quick test and see what it is .. Looking at smoke rattle and so
I know i can get a scolding for telling this But I would not tear down so much at this stage
Changing oil / Inspecting tank / take down the bowls inspect ( here comes the Scolding ) flip the float valves a bit manually
if it looks OK ....The battery is most likely gone ..But insert one .. see what the electrics is doing
And then a little fuel .. trying to start it. outdoors Fire extinguisher near ...Take it from there

 

[kshansen]

....The battery is most likely gone ..But insert one .. see what the electrics is doing
And then a little fuel .. trying to start it. outdoors Fire extinguisher near ...Take it from there

My only addition to those things would be as suggested before tape up all the wires that look in the pictures to have been cut!

Also when first hooking a battery to this I would disconnect the ground wire (negative wire) from the frame and connect the other end to the battery just tap the ground wire to the frame. This would be to keep any sparks as far away from the battery as possible. Might even be worth while to replace the ground wire with a wire with say a 30 amp inline fuse. That way if there is a dead short someplace the fuse will take the hit and not start the wiring on fire!

 

[nj1639]

Manual, Metric wrenches, JIS screwdrivers or bits, Allen wrenches, torque wrench, Volt/Ohm meter, simple light probe is handy, impact wrench, this website, patience. Patience as in making queries here and getting an answer before breaking out the BFH on something you're not sure of. Many of us have learned through mistakes and are more than willing to help a newb navigate the unknowns.

 

[1palace]

Howdy. Brought home my new best friend today. First bike, first time rider. I want to make this work and I’m willing to learn, just not sure where to begin.

1981 XS650
Last driven two years ago
Won’t Start (Battery is dead I believe) don’t know how to charge it
No Speedometer

PO said kickstart only(?)


Palace

Taped off all my exposed wiring today. Learned what the petcock is. Took another look at the handlebars and still very confused. One of them twists, the other one doesn’t. Cracked open the seat which was held together with zip ties. Tried to look at the battery but couldn’t seem to get it out. While my new battery is coming, I decided to try and charge this one. Don’t know if I’m doing it right. Stuck key in and headlights turned on!

- Palace

 

[5twins]

Yes, you're doing the charging right. Just don't let that red (positive) clamp touch the frame too or there will be sparks all over the place, lol. You have the wrong battery in there now. The terminals should be reversed (positive at the bottom of your pic, negative at the top).

That grip on the right side that twists is your throttle, lol. Boy, you are new at this.

 

[Jan_P]

Yes, you're doing the charging right. Just don't let that red (positive) clamp touch the frame too or there will be sparks all over the place, lol. You have the wrong battery in there now. The terminals should be reversed (positive at the bottom of your pic, negative at the top).

That grip on the right side that twists is your throttle, lol. Boy, you are new at this.

The young man is pulling our leg a bit ...there Mr 5 T I do believe ... he will stop that after the Sugar in the Tank Compression Booster
advice ---Only joking

 

[Raymond]

Looking at the view under the seat, I've seen much worse of a mess.

 

[Adamc]

Yes Raymond; my Franken-Loom looks OK compared to this!

 

[1palace]

She’s charging now. Think I was too impatient with her yesterday, only ran charger for an hour. No lights this morning. Will try for 6-8 hours today. Looked inside the gas tank, smells like gas. When I got it home first day, I kicked it maybe 10 times - smelled gas. Feels like liquid’s inside but can’t see it. PO says he sea foamed it when it was stored 2 years ago.

What setting should the petcock be on when I try to kick it later? Saw a little gauge on the side of the bike, didn’t look at it too much yet. Other parts I’m stuck on right now. I thought about a big project today but not sure if it should be the first one - mechanical speedometer + battery cover?

- Palace

 

[Raymond]

If the bike has sat for two years, I would use the petrol inside the tank to wash it out. Remove the tank, swill it about vigorously and tip out through the filler neck. Preferably into a bucket so you can inspect what came out. If you are gonna try for starting the bike, add fresh fuel - fetch some in a fuel bottle. I don't know what the markings on your fuel tap are. It needs to flow fuel which is probably lever pointing down.

With an old and possibly tired battery, much better to kick start than use the starter motor. IMHO.

Kick starting is a knack. You might be unfamiliar and I'd love to be there to show you. It's not about strength or man v machine - it's about getting the engine in a good position for a long, steady kick.

 

[5twins]

You have the later vacuum powered petcock type. It won't flow fuel in the "ON" and "RES" (Reserve) positions unless the motor is running, or at least turning over so it supplies a vacuum signal. There is also a "PRI" (Prime) position. This flows normally and needs no vacuum signal. You use this if the carbs have been drained to quickly refill them. The position you're in is denoted by which way the end of the lever is pointing. Straight down is "ON", forward is "RES", and back is "PRI". There is no "OFF" position on your petcock but "ON" and "RES" can be considered as such since they only flow with the motor running. Don't park or store the bike for long periods with the petcock in the "PRI" position like it is now. The carbs can over-fill and leak fuel all over the place.

It's really not a good idea to try and start a machine that has sat for a long time without first looking into the carbs. At the very least, take the float bowls off. If the gas wasn't drained before the bike was parked, what was in the carbs has probably evaporated away, leaving behind gunk and varnish. Try to start it and you'll suck all the crap into the carb and plug it up. Catch it before that and all you may need to do is clean out the float bowls. You've been warned.

 

[nj1639]

Looks like you have a temperature gauge dipstick down on the engine. That's where you check the oil level. It's an aftermarket part. Also appears to have an oil cooler added. Somebody had a clue on some things.....others? Not so sure.....

The round knob at your carburetor is the enrichener, also referred to as the choke.

The clear plastic round thingy is a fuel filter, good to have.

You have no "clocks" i.e.: speedometer and tachometer. These would be located to the left and right of your key switch......kinda nice to have these.
Did you get any extra parts and pieces?

 

[azman857]

Yeah, that big round finned piece of aluminiun sticking out the front Rt engine cover is a housing for the oil filter. It's not original factory part. The filter is a paper filter from a Honda XR or XL 250 trail bike. You can get the filters from Autozone. As for the "Oil cooler" capacity of it....my guess would be minimal at best. It's real value (to me anyway) is the oll filter. Way better than the cresent shaped reusable mesh of the original. I run one too. The dipstick with the temp gage is cool. Have fun wrenching on your ride. The manual is your friend. It is worth the time to read as you wrench. The ride is the reward for the time spent. LOTS of information here to frome wise XS'ers too. Pics.. we love pics....

 

[5twins]

You may have an older engine swapped in there. An '81 would have an oil sight glass window on the right side cover and I'm not seeing that on yours .....

Also, there appears to be a wire loom coming out of the little housing with the chrome cover on the upper left side of your engine. An '81 would have no wires coming out of that housing and it would be empty inside .....

Pull the chrome cover off and have a look. You may find an old points set-up in there .....

 

[1palace]

You have the later vacuum powered petcock type. It won't flow fuel in the "ON" and "RES" (Reserve) positions unless the motor is running, or at least turning over so it supplies a vacuum signal. There is also a "PRI" (Prime) position. This flows normally and needs no vacuum signal. You use this if the carbs have been drained to quickly refill them. The position you're in is denoted by which way the end of the lever is pointing. Straight down is "ON", forward is "RES", and back is "PRI". There is no "OFF" position on your petcock but "ON" and "RES" can be considered as such since they only flow with the motor running. Don't park or store the bike for long periods with the petcock in the "PRI" position like it is now. The carbs can over-fill and leak fuel all over the place.

It's really not a good idea to try and start a machine that has sat for a long time without first looking into the carbs. At the very least, take the float bowls off. If the gas wasn't drained before the bike was parked, what was in the carbs has probably evaporated away, leaving behind gunk and varnish. Try to start it and you'll suck all the crap into the carb and plug it up. Catch it before that and all you may need to do is clean out the float bowls. You've been warned.

Understood. Won’t try anything until I clean the carbs. Will attempt that tomorrow morning. You guys are a huge help, got a lot of notes so far and I’m getting really good at taking the seat off lol.

I’ve run into a wall though. Manual’s not here yet so I don’t know if it’s a hard or easy fix - gear lever is stuck on 1 and the rear wheel and kickstand are also stuck. Did touch handlebar buttons and levers while she was off. I don’t remember touching the gear but I may have. Moved her a little bit today, dropped in grass but I figured she shook it off. Also found something that is loose but no idea where it’s supposed to be.

- Palace