Miss November XS2 tribute

[5twins]

I see you're missing the rubber boot on your plug cap where it connects to the wire. That's not good, especially where you live, lol, it can let water get in.

To make things even more waterproof, I add a little silicone dielectric grease .....

 

[jetmechmarty]

I see you're missing the rubber boot on your plug cap where it connects to the wire. That's not good, especially where you live, lol, it can let water get in.

To make things even more waterproof, I add a little silicone dielectric grease .....

I use dielectric grease there too!

 

[Raymond]

Good spot, 5T! Will fit rubber boots.

 

[Rasputin]

There ya go Raymond - it sounds like you've got yourself a ballgame there.

MUCH too hot here to go out and play (actual temp is about 32C (~90 deg. F) but the humidex is actually going to about 43C which is a most un-Canadian 110 deg. F.

YIKES - @Mailman - c'mon down!!!

Make sure your fluid/ beer levels are well up. Don’t want you becoming light headed in the heat, especially near the buy it now button.

 

[Raymond]

Make sure your fluid/ beer levels are well up. Don’t want you becoming light headed in the heat, especially near the buy it now button.

Thank you for your concern. Biggest mistake I ever made with an internet purchase probably buying the XS650 - still diggin meself out of that hole . . .

 

[Raymond]

Quick spin today, eleven or twelve miles, gratified to find no backfiring. Runs smooth, pulls well, coasts downhill with no untoward noises.

 

[Raymond]

I see you're missing the rubber boot on your plug cap where it connects to the wire.

 

[MaxPete]

Ahhhh....much better Raymond.

 

[Raymond]

Today, decided to improve the fit of HT leads to plug caps, so employed what I think is 5T's trick? Cut back the rubber insulation on the leads by about 4 or 5 mm and bent the core wires outwards into a sort of starfish. They are almost folded back along the outside of the leads. This made it easier to get a positive bite screwing the caps onto the leads.

Had been out already this morning, but went out again to make sure I hadn't messed anything up. Well, might be kidding meself, but fitting the leads in that way seems to have made a small but noticeable difference. I'll swear the engine picks up more crisply and revs better. The six-fifty felt very happy this afternoon as we motored up Groundistone Heights on the A7 road between Selkirk and Hawick. It's not a steep hill, just a prolonged climb which can test a vehicle's stamina in top gear.

I'd say the bike is running the best it ever has.

 

[5twins]

Yes, all these little things add up, lol. Getting the jetting just right helps a lot too. Sometimes one jet size can make a world of difference, and the only way you'll know is to try it.

 

[Raymond]

 

[Raymond]

Back on March 20, post #1532, Miss November notched up 30,000. Today, passed 32,222. I suppose that's a milestone? Sort of?

 

[fredintoon]

View attachment 194739

Hi Raymond,
your photo told me 2 new things:-
1) that those little plastic seats are available in the UK,
2) that they are available in lavatorial pink as well as in turd brown like mine.
& yeah, 32,222 ain't worth a photo.
OTOH 33,333 is.
The ultimate gauge photo would be 33,333 & 3,333 mile odometer, 3,333 rpm tach + 33 mph speedo readings.

 

[Raymond]

Plastic stool/step the survivor of two bought in the latter years of the 20th century by Mrs on a fitness kick. After she decided aerobics was a step too far it served throughout house and garden wherever a little extra height was needed, watering hanging baskets, removing wasp nests from the wood shed, propping a ladder when painting the staircase, reaching top shelf in linen cupboard & larder. Perhaps orange rather than pink?

Has moved house with us twice and since being banished to the garage it has propped bikes during wheel changes, been a portable tool table, given convenient access for clutch adjustment or chain oiling. In the rôle of photographer's aide it has probably featured in more pictures than any of the bikes it has shared the garage with.



Gets used nearly every day. Guess it's paid for itself?

 

[Raymond]

Not happy with the rubber boots I fitted to the plug caps - too loose, just inviting ingress of water? So copied Jim and bought a couple of these:




Much better, small, neat and tight fit. Set out to visit my brother-in-law, lives in West Lothian so 55 miles including the notorious A720 Edinburgh by-pass.

But we only managed five miles. Fifth gear, 60 mph, the engine abruptly stopped. No hesitation, no coughing, no dying as with fuel starvation.

There was a gateway to a big house coming up so coasted to a halt still in fifth. First thought was, must be electrical. Opened the seat and checked the battery leads - fine. Pulled at the connections I could see - all tight. After maybe five minutes, helmet back on, see if she'll start.

Lit up first kick, so headed back home. Ran absolutely fine, even overtook a couple of cars.

Went to West Lothian on the W800.

Since I've been back, ventured out for a local test ride. Fine. Another, slightly longer ride. Fine. That's about 30 miles with not even a missed beat.

Have checked the battery and it shows 13.7V with the bike not running.

Do I put this down as a one-off glitch? Hmm - don't like that idea.

 

[Jim]

Hmm - don't like that idea.

Me either. You using a Pamco... Boyer... points?

 

[Team Junk]

1) Check your primary grounds.
2) Supply voltage. Fuse holders' etc.

My Volvo 740 "Ingrid" (the xs650 of the car world), did the same thing for several years. Replaced relays, connectors etc to no avail. Read all over the net that the sensor in the distributer could be the issue. On the 740 the distributor is pushed up against the firewall and is a total pain to get to. Finally resolved to look into it and the first thing I discovered is there are no wires to the distributor so no connector to check. WTF. More roaming the net. Turns out 1990 model (mine) was first year to move the sensor to the flywheel. Still a pain but several hours later swapped out for a $14.00 rockauto part . Has run flawlessly since.

With your ignition system there are just a couple of items that are involved in making spark.

Hate intermittent problems.

 

[Raymond]

Me either. You using a Pamco... Boyer... points?

Boyer

Hate intermittent problems.

Me too. Will take your advice and look at ground/earth. As well as looking at the battery terminals, the other quick check I did was the fuses - all good.

Tomorrow, will start the engine and see how the battery voltage looks. Should show about 14.2 to 14.4 I guess?

One idea was a fault once it all gets warm, say coil resistance breaking down as the coil heats up. But the test runs this afternoon appear to scotch that idea.

Maybe a connection loosened by vibration? But why would that cure itself?

 

[5twins]

I think the Boyer is designed to run with resistance in the spark plug lines. If you don't have resistor plugs, you have eliminated it by switching to the non-resistor plug caps. Don't know if this would cause the Boyer to shut down once really hot, but maybe. Maybe you could check with Boyer about it? Anyway, those caps were the last thing you did. You always look at that when problems arise.

 

[Raymond]

5T, I really like your theory. Many times, the problem is caused by the last thing you changed or serviced or fiddled with. How can I identify whether the previous plug caps were resistance type? Maybe the multimeter is my friend to compare the two set ups?

Quick look at Boyer Bransden site - For all our motorcycle ignition systems, copper wire leads with 5000 Ohm suppressed plug cap is our preferred method.

This is definitely an area to look at.