Someone remind me again... why are we suspecting the battery?
To me, I'm looking at it as a potential low idle culprit. PO said it was new, but I have no idea if he had it on a tender or not. It passed the tests I did (load, rev, idle), but since it's an unknown, and since that mechanic way back said he saw it wasn't charging when he rode it (I didn't find that with my tests), I think it's worth eliminating whether or not it's a problem definitively. I had a supposedly good battery in my last bike, but it must've been drained or something several times as it wouldn't hold a charge after about 20 min and the bike would start doing the same thing I'm seeing now--idle dropping when at a stop.
Question Marie, after being stranded the other day, did your XS eventually restart using the battery powered electric start?
Or did you kick start it back up?
The above being said, i don't believe me getting stranded the other day was due to the battery. Low gas was culprit in my mind. It started again on electric start first time I put it on reserve; (and that was after many E-starting attempts with petcock "on," so does say something about batt there). Added about 1/2 gallon and started again fine (though still needing choke again etc).
As for current battery status: I was really hoping to snag one today, but AutoZone didn't have dimensions of battery on hand. Gonna go tomorrow to look at it and measure. It's an AGM Duralast Gold ETX14L. 12v, 12a, 220 CCA. Right side terminal.
If that one works, I figure I just get it even though it's more than I want to spend cuz then it's in my hand and I can move onto next items and finally suss this low idle. (Car is gone as of Friday AM.) If that one doesn't fit, I'm going to go with the one
@5twins recommended--thanks for that, great price! I'd go with that but I'm really under the gun right now on time.
Had a fun spark and almost fire moment trying to measure the battery or at least the battery receptacle space. Bike was off but on tender. Metal measuring tape touched these guys, sparked big time and actually ate a chunk out of the measuring tape.
Electricity: 1, Marie: 0.
Started out on Jim's recommendation to assess rotor/stator. I got sharpie on the scrape suspect spots on stator and put some on rotor spots too. Reassembled (even seeing that locating pin at the bottom, it's a real fuss to get this back on...) but then it was dark--and i know my neighbors were home and I think they're on the verge of murdering me for running and testing my bike by their window because of sound and exhaust. I'll run tomorrow and see what we get.
Hopefully I'll also have a battery in hand tomorrow; in which case I'm thinking plan will be to finish rotor scrape test, assess, if good, readjust clutch mech, refill gas and jam new battery in and see where I'm at with idle then on a test ride.
Re
@5twins suggestion at post #373, I also felt bottom of carbs today to see if there was any gas/wetness. Nothing. That'd only eliminate sitting leaking as an issue though I believe. It did also pass the petcock test Jim rec'd though. If I still have issues after battery swap and if rotor/stator isn't the culprit, I'll move to carb assessments rec'd by Skull and 5Twins. Then TCI. Hopefully victory falls somewhere in there.
Thanks for sticking with me guys
EDIT: for what it's worth, I was just looking through old photos and can see those scrapes were on stator as early back as October. Got bike in Sept.