when I let my bike idle, the left cylinder is dead, its only running off of the right cylinder. When I rev the bike, the left cylinder immediately kicks in and its running like there is no problem at all. checked the spark plugs, compression seems fine when its actually engaged. wheres the next place to look or what does this mean? By the way my names collin and I'm new here. I have an 81 xs650 that I chopped over the past few months.
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wondering where my problem lies (carb or engine)
- Thread starter collin
- Start date
BigJimmyW13
XS650 Guru
Collin, Welcome to the site!! Nice bike man. I'm not an expert, but I would guess the carbs. Get it running take the pod off the left carb and spray some wd40 in there and if the left cylinder starts firing. Then you have a dirty carb. I had the same problem awhile back and that's what it ended up being. If I were you that's what I would try.
BigJimmyW13
XS650 Guru
NP John slipped in his reply while I was typing mine I suppose. I didn't even see his. More than likely just dirty man like he said, too.
Gordon
XS650 Junkie
First off, you would probably be better off starting with the basic's, like valve adjustment, cam chain adj.,spark plug's,ect.
On the home page there is direction to what to do if you got some problem's as you are stating. It could be as simple as a tight valve, or complicated like a pilot circuit. Start with those & then let us know. Without that info, we really can't guide you until we know what is good & what is not. Good luck, & do keep us informed.,,,Gordo
On the home page there is direction to what to do if you got some problem's as you are stating. It could be as simple as a tight valve, or complicated like a pilot circuit. Start with those & then let us know. Without that info, we really can't guide you until we know what is good & what is not. Good luck, & do keep us informed.,,,Gordo
BigJimmyW13
XS650 Guru
I agree gordon. that's why I suggested that he do a very simple test to check if it's in the carbs by spraying some wd40 in there. He already said he checked the plugs and compression was fine. So he checked those and was asking where to go to next.
Well, the best I can tell you is it looks good (and I'm lying because I hate choppers). You've picked probably the worst scenario to tune for - straight pipes AND pod filters. Good luck with that .... My best guess would be out of sync carbs. But that's only the beginning. Once you sort that problem, then you will probably need to re-jet and tune those carbs. And call XS John for some needles, lol. The 34s don't tune well without adjustable needles. That was their big short coming. Now that problem has been resolved. They're very good carbs, maybe even better than the older 38s.
Heck these guys come well recomended for tuning issues a couple threads over.... they have a fancy websight and some carb tuning videos on utube and everything ......awsome bike tc tail and all..,.... sportster tank and evertything...... bitchen 
http://www.scrawnysbobnchop.com/
http://www.youtube.com/scrawnys#p/u/44/19K8J-5dRmo
http://www.scrawnysbobnchop.com/
http://www.youtube.com/scrawnys#p/u/44/19K8J-5dRmo
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You're kiddin', right? The guy pukes on the screen at the end of the 1st vid and the 2nd, well, I turned it off 1/3 through - but that doesn't mean those guys don't know 650s (they run good in the living room) ....... Collin, looks like you don't need us anymore, lol.
BigJimmyW13
XS650 Guru
Yeah I don't remember anyone recommending those guys at all. They were just putting them out there. In the thread they were even asking whether or not those guys even do maintenance and repairs.....
Collin you need these xs johns needles
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/XSJO...rcycles_Parts_Accessories?hash=item439da4dca0
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/XSJO...rcycles_Parts_Accessories?hash=item439da4dca0
Aah come on 5 twins you need to cut up that 78..... big jimmy had the pom poms out and the young lads about had me choppin my xs1b up the other day they said i could get more tail with a hardtail
\
and yeah i was kidding about the links sort of
Ok back to Collins problem
\ and yeah i was kidding about the links sort of Ok back to Collins problem
BigJimmyW13
XS650 Guru
Haha Geezer I said it's easier. Even though I have a girlfriend currently and she hates my bikes... If she is ever out of the picture I would definitely rather have a hard and firm tail than the square soft tail any day! ;-) I was hoping you were kidding with the link.
Collin man, as in the beginning I still think you should troubleshoot before you buy anything.
How long has this been going on? I mean did you just finish building the bike? Have you been riding it for awhile and then this happened or what?
Collin man, as in the beginning I still think you should troubleshoot before you buy anything.
How long has this been going on? I mean did you just finish building the bike? Have you been riding it for awhile and then this happened or what?
Sundie
Jabroni
Colin: you running a dual or single coil? It *may* be a coil issue. I've seen it before where the coil has an issue doing a good spark at low rpm, and worked at higher rpm. If you're running a single coil, try reversing the leads, see if the problem swaps cylinders.
If you're running single coils (and points) you can reverse the wiring up top *and* reverse the plug ends to see if the problem swaps cylinders.
If you're running single coils (and points) you can reverse the wiring up top *and* reverse the plug ends to see if the problem swaps cylinders.
mule
XS650 Enthusiast
Clean the pilot jet and fuel screw circut. Straight pipes sound cool, but if you don't even know that your pilot jet is plugged up, you may not want to enter the world of jetting for straight pipes and air cleaners just yet.
