22's 1980 xs650 build thread

[Twenty2]

Yes, there is a self-canceler but if it's like both of mine, the function is rather erratic. Sometimes it works as it should, sometimes not and I have to cancel them myself.

Yea, I never trusted those things. But, we've all seen motorcyclists riding along with the signal flashing away

In addition to the "cancel unit" there is a "reed switch" in the speedo that supposed to sense distance traveled (W/G wire).

Perfect, thanks, saved me from tearing into the left switches.

 

[Twenty2]

Hey guys,
Bikes been running great for weeks but today I ran into an issue and I'm hoping for some insight or some first things to check. I have an on board voltmeter and it steadily has read 14.5 as it should. Today all of a sudden the bike started chugging as if it almost wanted to die but I was still able to keep it at 60mph it just did a lot of chugging, the voltmeter was reading 12.2 give or take. If I kept the rpms around 3000 it didn't chug but it was still reading 12.2v. There were also long stretches of the ride where it was reading 14.3, 14.4, 14.5 and wasn't chugging however even the 14.3 was a bit odd as it was a steady 14.5 previously.

My first instincts are the reg/rec or the rotor but I'd appreciate any guidance or insight as to where I should start my diagnostic or what these symptoms sound like?

 

[jpdevol]

Were it me, I'd first check the grounds: battery to frame, frame to motor, etc. Then std. charging system checks.

 

[jetmechmarty]

I had the negative battery terminal vibrate loose once upon a time.

 

[Twenty2]

Were it me, I'd first check the grounds: battery to frame, frame to motor, etc. Then std. charging system checks.

I had the negative battery terminal vibrate loose once upon a time.

So the ground on the battery terminal was maybe a half turn loose, I didn't think that it would be enough to create a poor connection but it appears that it fixed my issue, back to charging at a steady 14.5, out of curiosity could I have caused any further damage to anything from riding with the loose ground and stumbling for 35 or so miles?

Of course this a 40+ yr. old bike and I now have a new problem. This seems to be a new issue that I have never felt before, the bike is stumbling when I shift to 2nd gear, it stumbles a couple times until I get the rpms up. It doesn't seem to do it every time but on my 30 minute ride yesterday it did it more times than I am comfortable with. Any thoughts as to what this could be, I don't even know where to start with this one.

 

[Twenty2]

Hi everyone,
I went to put my bike on my newly built table today so I dropped the battery in, turned on the manual petcock, turned around for a few minutes to get the table ready and let the carb bowls fill as I had emptied them at the end of the season, all of a sudden I smell gas, turn around and there's a big puddle of gas under the bike. The bike was on its side stand so I straightened the the bike and it seemed to slow and possibly even stop the leak. I started it and got it on the table. I didn't have time to investigate the leak and was doing things quickly as I needed to get the bike on the table and didn't have a ton of time. Anyways, does anyone have any thoughts as to where it was leaking from and what happened? Once I had the bike started and until I turned it off there was no more leak. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[jpdevol]

It's possible one of the float valves didn't fully seat and shut off the fuel once the bowl was full - it happens from time to time - sometimes it's a temporary spec of dirt on the seat or a dry viton tipped valve. If it doesn't repeat, it's likely ok.

 

[Kevin Werner]

On the same note, it was pointed out to me that while the bike is on the side stand the fuel level in the bowls is slanted and the high end MAY be above the bowl gasket level and you MAY have a bowl gasket leak that does not show up while on centerstand or while riding. Good luck.

 

[Twenty2]

It's possible one of the float valves didn't fully seat and shut off the fuel once the bowl was full - it happens from time to time - sometimes it's a temporary spec of dirt on the seat or a dry viton tipped valve. If it doesn't repeat, it's likely ok.

Thanks! I'll watch for it come spring but at this point I'll hope it was a one-off.

 

[5twins]

Yes, when a gasket starts leaking, it usually just seeps some, it doesn't pour out like you experienced. Your issue sounds more like a carb that over-filled. Yes, it could have been a one off thing for the reasons stated but if your bike leans too far over on the sidestand, maybe because you installed longer than stock rear shocks but didn't lengthen the stand to compensate, the fuel in the right carb can run over into the left carb and over-fill it.

 

[Twenty2]

Yes, when a gasket starts leaking, it usually just seeps some, it doesn't pour out like you experienced. Your issue sounds more like a carb that over-filled. Yes, it could have been a one off thing for the reasons stated but if your bike leans too far over on the sidestand, maybe because you installed longer than stock rear shocks but didn't lengthen the stand to compensate, the fuel in the right carb can run over into the left carb and over-fill it.

This could very well be the case.... and maybe a dumb question but given I didn't have time to investigate, if this is the case where would the gas have poured out from out of curiosity?

 

[5twins]

Well, your BS34s don't have an overflow pipe in them so it would come out where the air filter attaches. There's a possiblity it can run into the engine too, so check your oil. See if the level is higher than normal and smell the oil to see if it smells like gas.