Cool Website...

[LA_Rider]

Newbie here...I am very happy to have found this excellent XS650 website. I just learned that I could have repaired the speedo & tach dials on my XS650E and would have saved a hundred eBay bucks for a used cluster. I bought a instrument cluster, the vendor ID'd as a 650 cluster, but its not, its actually a cluster for a XS500, the center tower doesn't have the white translucent plastic 'headlight' indicator.

I decided to make a wiring diagram of the cluster, and discovered a white and black wire pair exiting the speedometer. I meausred the pair and found them to 0.5 Ohms, essentially shorted? Two wire pairs exiting out of the bottom of the speedomter, two for the dial face illumination, but what is the other pair for? And its a short? So I vectored over here to the XS650.com forum and looked and THEN learned I could have fixed my bad gauges on my 650E. Turns out that those two wires are connected to a reed-switch that has something to do with the turn-signal auto-reset?? Mine never worked, so I never saw the function. When I realized what its for, it occured to me that I could implement a LM555 timer version fabricated on a small perfboard. Its just a thought. Of course the actual solution is to replace the reed switch. Apparently the Japanese versions of the magnetically switched normally closed switch aren't mercury wetted, as apparently the cool feature in practice is often intermittent, and in my case, never did work. DigiKey and Mouser both carry those switches.

Lots of good info here on this website. The dial faces on my 650 are wrinkled, apparently there was high enough temperature in the garage to physically wrinkle the dial face plastic. Now that I've learned how to remove the gauge bezel from posted info, and discovered that there is somebody who has replicated a set of dial faces, I realize that I could 3D print (I made a homebrew delta printer) a dial-face plate and then affix the decal on the smooth side, rather than have to buy a pair of replacement gauges (which I already did). I did not realize the ease with which I could remove the bezel successfully as illustrated in a post. In the past with other things, I have bitten the snake trying things like that. That one fellow sawed his gauge in half!! That was ballsy, and he successfully reworked it, gluing it back together!!

My next chore, clean out the garage so I get clear access to my bike and create some working space. 35 yrs worth of junk which I just can't bring myself to chuck out. My beloved lady of 42 years caught CoVid (we both did, I took Ivermectin and Hydroxychloroquine and survived, but didn't give my girl any), she passed away here at home, Feb 10, 2021, at 1:17am. So I'm finally getting rid of stuff. She would be so happy. Its been a shitty couple of years for everyone.

Yep...time to restore that 650 bike, its the continuing journey.

So, I'll probably be asking a few questions of the gurus here in the community. )

 

[Downeaster]

Welcome! My condolences on your loss.

You have found THE resource for XS650 information in particular, and old bikes in general.

I wouldn't bother messing with the auto-cancel for the turn signals, it was wonky at best. But that's me, if you want to do something with a 555, be sure and post it here. There's likely someone here that has the background to help you if needed, and there are certainly others that will appreciate the information.

 

[Adamc]

Welcome aboard LA. This is the best place to natter about XS650 bikes by far. We are all willing and some are able to give sound advice on any subject XS650 (and other things too.). Lots of pictures help us understand your issues and we love to follow your progress.

 

[Jan_P]

I seldom use the turn signals at all

Turns out that those two wires
are connected to a reed-switch that has something to do with the turn-signal auto-reset??

I look over the shoulder doing sideways movement and give hand signs if there is a need
If the cancelling is not working ..You can give turn signals going into an intersection
With the risk that someone drives out in front of you . T - bone it hitting the door.
Dangerous.

 

[LA_Rider]

Welcome! My condolences on your loss.

You have found THE resource for XS650 information in particular, and old bikes in general.

I wouldn't bother messing with the auto-cancel for the turn signals, it was wonky at best. But that's me, if you want to do something with a 555, be sure and post it here. There's likely someone here that has the background to help you if needed, and there are certainly others that will appreciate the information.

Downeaster,

Thanks. Yeah, I know a good a thing when I see it and this website is the cat's meow for XS650s. In the few hours that I've perused the website over the past few days I realized that to restore my XS650E, that there is a lot to know. While I'm fairly handy electrically, I am by no means a mechanic although I have rebuilt a car engine at one time....I had a bunch of screws left over?? But it seemed to work ok?! Re; the LM555 I've worked with those marvelous chips for years applying them in all manners of gadgets. However, there are mysteries re; the auto-reset which others likely know. One being, there must be a relay somewhere?? While the LM555 can sink around 300mA as I recall, a motorcycle relay probably will require something a bit stiffer, like a power FET to drive it. All pie in the sky. I have so much to do first before inventing things that are not really needed. A replacement reed switch is the simple solution in my estimation.

Right now I gotta fix my BS38 carbs, they are a mess. And I need to track down a budget (.LTE. $100) low range torque wrench. I've been looking around, tools by Harbor Freight scare me, yet they seem to be the only guys out there with an inexpensive torque wrench. These tools are not rocket science, yet they are as pricey as ham rigs with over 12,000 parts. The scale of values are screwy. So much to learn...

Adamc,

I plan to post photos of the restoration journey. As I'm doing it, I expect to replace the points with an electronic ignition and redo the wiring loom. So, wiring is a biggy for me. I was doing that tonight with my 'new' gauges and that's how I discovered the reed switch matter. Each time I turned the tach input, I noticed on my Fluke lab DVM (5 digit DVM) that the reed switch presents different resistance each time the contacts open and close??! WTF? Crappy contacts. Good reed switches have gold contacts and are mercury wetted to prevent bouncing AND consistent pressure closures....consistent current flow, same reading each closure.

I saw on utoob a guy who boiled his carbs to free the stuck slide. Both of my slides are stuck. So that'll be interesting to see how that works out.

Jan_P,

I was in a parking lot at a 7-11 store in Anaheim back around 1983. I always believed that if I made eye-contact with car drivers that I would be ok, when this old lady, looked right at me, backed out of the parking space and knocking me off my motorcycle and then she got out and bitched at me for being behind her. I reminded her that since I was already behind her when she started backing out, and because of that I had the right-of-way and that it is not considered proper to run-over motorcyclists!! She called the police, who ticketed her. I hear what you are saying, but I use EVERYTHING, mirrors, hand signals, turn-signals and I look over my shoulder and then, well sometimes it can be bad.

LA Rider

 

[Jan_P]

hahhahaha ---> Not everyone shall have drivers license Need a guide dog and better medication

hahahaha She called the police, who ticketed her.

Perhaps a thump with the night stick over the head as practical equality project. up front.. to start with..

 

[nj1639]

When I realized that reed switches don't compensate for the oftime needs of extended blinking, I yanked them. Thumb and memory work well as a cancelling unit......old school.....goes for manual petcocks too.
Welcome aboard!
Post some pics, we all love pics and I particularly like to see any of the later Standard/Roadster models.

 

[5twins]

When working on your carbs, if you use any sort of carb cleaner, keep it away from any of the rubber parts, it can destroy them. This particularly applies to the rubber diaphragms on the slides. To free up stuck slides, use something mild and rubber friendly, like WD40, and gently warm them with a hair dryer.