You have got to be kidding me!

[Gordon]

Cmyoch,
Yes, alot of people here have had good luck with silicone on the boot's. Use the black, as it is more flexible than say the gray. You can get the carbs real close in sync with the dead cylinder method. There is a sticky on it in the tech section. Most here do that method, and have been very happy with the result's. And I can tell your one to be real finiky about them, so it should be perfect for you. Just be absolutly sure that the spark plug thats disconected is grounded, or you will burn a coil.

 

[cmyoch]

I synced the carbs again and tuned them using the dead cylinder method. I still think my timing is off. I'm getting popping only on decel and it's missing and running choppy at low rpm. I'll look into it tomorrow.

To add to the evening, I got pulled over on my test run tonight. Turns out I lost my tail light. The filament broke after only 30 miles on a new bulb! Whoever says these bikes don't vibrate is full of crap! I'm buying an LED bulb tomorrow. I guess either my light checker is bad or the bulb up front is shot because I had no clue it was even out.

Damn my luck!

 

[whynot2]

Two quick thoughts:
There are a lot of reasons for decel popping, lean, leaks, etc., but if your idle is too low you'll get them also.
Two: and most importantly if you think these bikes are a P.I.A., they are a blessing compared to a angry redheaded wife. Maybe you should reconsider your priorities.
Been there, lost one.
Whynot2

 

[cmyoch]

I tore the carbs apart last night and thoroughly cleaned them. My timing was set properly with a timing light. She starts on the first kick and runs beautifully. Now I'm sitting at a gas station 10 miles from home waiting for a friend to pick me up because it suddenly quit. All my fuses are in tact. The only thing I can think happened was my connection to the switch where I wired my volt meter vibrate loose. I'll know when I get home and check it out.

Damn my friggin luck!

 

[gggGary]

That blows but you are THAT close. You will get it.

 

[cmyoch]

Turns out the connection inside the bucket was fine. A shotty solder job further down the line from my main fuse from the PO ended up breaking loose. I'll solder it properly and hopefully that will be it for a while!

When I broke down last night, I sat there at the gas station laughing for a minute in disbelief. I'm sure the people there pumping gas thought I was nuts.

 

[Sparks]

Hey guys,

I have been all over this forum looking for some input on bench-testing my regulator rectifier on my 1980 xs650. It seems this may be the right place to ask since your somewhat on the topic. If not let me know and ill hit up another post for sure.

I have good voltage all over my wiring harness and have completed the Curlys walk through and when i have the Reg/Rect plugged into the harness i lose my 12.4vdc down to 8.6vdc. any incite would be helpful. I'm a firm believer in troubleshooting not parts changing.

 

[retiredgentleman]

Sparks;

I have a few simple questions.

Are the brushes longer than 3/8"?

What was the resistance between the rotor slip rings, and from the slip rings to rotor frame?

Welcome aboard.

 

[cmyoch]

Yes, welcome aboard Sparks. I have to tell you that I wouldn't be where I am today with my bike if it wasn't for this forum. Had I been on my own, I would have sold my bike for parts months ago. Now I have a clean running machine that I am ABSOLUTELY obsessed with! Not a moment goes by that I want to be on those 2 wheels.

Though it probably wan't necessary, I ended up replacing damn near all of my entire charging system except for the stator. Now mine is a 78 with a separate reg and rect. I did the $6 Radio Shack rectifier and the automotive regulator along with new brushes from 650 central. The parts were cheap enough plus insurance that I wouldn't have to trouble shoot these items for quite some time. I know yours is a little newer than mine and I'm not sure if you have the combined reg/rect or not. I'm sure there is a cheap and easy fix for that as well on this forum.

I'll pass the same advice my fellow brothers here have given me. DO NOT GIVE UP! Everyone will have your back and walk you through the processes of getting your problems corrected. Stick with it.

 

[Sparks]

Thanks for the warm welcome. Im feeling pretty good that i can work through this.

@gent, I pulled my brushes and the inner ring brush is around 3/8 but my outer ring brush is short, short like im thinking its barely making contact kinda short. hmmm not good off the start.

I'm getting 6.5 ohms between slip rings with the brushes removed and I'm getting 19.8 ohms outer ring to frame and 19.1 inner ring to frame.

I have .9 ohms from white to white on all three stator wires and .5 ohms from white to yellow coming from my stator harness also.

I managed to get the bike started yesterday and was able to check charging voltage at the battery and got 14.6 vdc.

I may be a bit of a lone wolf around here as I have no intention of chopping, slamming, using a tiny battery or any types of mods. Just like my bike the way it is.

History: the bike was a barn find, 3 years ago. it has 13,000 original miles. My brother jetted the carbs and torched off the muffler tips due to an infestation of mud dobbers. he rode it a few thousand miles before he gave it to me in the spring of 2011. i rode it on short trips( under 20 miles) all spring. It wasn't until recently that I've had starting issues. that's when i started checking voltage and saw the huge drops.
The bike has a starter that currently is disconnected. The starter solenoid has been removed and im not going to go through that until i can get my bike to kick start reliably. Then i will go through the starter.

I thought a little background would be of some help.

 

[gggGary]

Quote "my outer ring brush is short, short like im thinking its barely making contact kinda short. hmmm not good off the start."
Au Contrare That's probably good news. Nothing makes life better than finding out your charging system "problem" is nothing more than a worn brush. Replace and see how it works. Worn brushes are the first (and hopefully last) step on the charging system trail.

 

[retiredgentleman]

Sparks;

First step...............new brushes.

Something is wrong if you measure 19 ohms from slip ring to rotor frame, and you are able to get 14.6 volts at the battery. Maybe you mean 19 k ohms or 190 k ohms??

Don't feel you are a lone wolf......................quite a few of us like the stock design of these bikes. It is worthwhile to upgrade the ignition and charging system.

 

[gggGary]

ring to frame needs to be measured with the brushes out not with them in place.

 

[Sparks]

Ok Sorry for the delay, I got tied up.

I remeasured my slip-rings to case and I had a reading infinity-ohm on the meter. the infinity reading came off of a meter that only reads up to K-ohms. so im reading basically an open as i see it from ring to case from both inner and outer rings with the brushes removed. Does that sound about right? should I procure a more sensitive ohm-meter or will infinity suffice?

Also, my delay was in trying to find parts. Seems even in a big market like Chicago i still may be ordering a majority of parts from mikes xs. everyone laughs and tells me Im S.O.L. That's OK.

@gary and @Yoch, any luck getting part in your neck of the woods? At least if i could cut down on shipping that would help.

Ill get some brushes ordered today if you guys think the readings on my rotor look decent.

 

[cmyoch]

No luck finding XS specific parts around St. Louis. I ordered 99 percent of my parts from 650 Central. Call in and get put on the call back list. Mike is usually really good about contacting you the same day. He will take his time and talk you through what you may or may not need to solve a problem. I know the handling charge can sting for a small order but typically, my orders have been large enough to waive the fee.

I've used the local hardware store for metric nuts, bolts, screws, vacuum line, fuel line, etc. I've read somewhere that someone soldered their own brushes. I've seen them at the hardware store but they are cheap enough that I've thrown a pair in a 650 Central order.

I initially wanted to go cafe style, then bobber but in the end I love the stock look too. I'll post an updated pic on the forum. I agree with RG, I've upgraded my ignition and replaced my charging system and she runs fantastic now. At 63,000 miles, she leaks oil and will need a top end overhaul this winter but now I'm confident that I can tackle that project with the help of this forum.

 

[retiredgentleman]

Sparks;

Yes, your rotor should be fine. For sure, order those new brushes!

 

[Sparks]

Thanks.
Brushes will be here a few days and ordered a new fuse block as well. Should be a good starting point. Putting in a new key switch as well. I cleaned mine up but it seemed to still have some residual resistance across the tips. The contacts looked a bit warn plus i only have one key for it. cant hurt.

@yoch,
I looked up your location and it looks like your in a dry spot for parts as well. Thanks for the tip on 650 Central. I checked them out and they do have some things i may need but the call in order thing kinda puts me off. I mean, its 2011 for pete sake. i guess it could be worse, they could require faxes or Morse Code.

All in all though it may be handy to diversify my ordering as it seems some of the things that i wanted from mikes were out of stock.

thanks again.

 

[cmyoch]

I was put off by that at first but I'm thinking there's a method to that. He makes sure that you need what you are ordering plus you may need something additional or different to do the job right. I've called him a few times on just plain advice. He didn't make a dime on the calls but treated me with the upmost respect and gave me all the time I needed. They have my info on file so when I call in an order, I don't have to dig out my card each time.

It's a shame you are way up in Chicago. I'd love to help plus go on a ride. I'll be downtown on the 25th of August for a meeting but we are flying up. A little far to ride on the XS. Plus I'll have my wife and luggage with me!

 

[Sparks]

Ok,

Got my parts from mikes. Changed out the key switch, changed out the fuse panel, and installed the new brushes. still no bueno.

I have a good 12vdc at the battery until i turn on the key switch. sometimes the "braketail" indicator on the dash lights up bright and sometimes it comes on really dim/flickers out. I only measure around 7vdc when the key is on. I unplug either the reg/rect or the harness going to the rotor brushes and my voltage comes back to full 12 volts.

I pulled all of the fuses except for the main and tried it again. Same 7vdc.
By pulling the fuses on the the rest of the fuse holder, i am trying to isolate what section of the electrical section is responsible for the drop in voltage.

Im thinking that its probably the reg/rect. any thoughts would be mucho appreciado.

 

[jamesgs4]

That sounds like it could be a battery issue. If the battery voltage drops like that with such a small load, it could have an internal plate short. Get it load tested at a parts store.