New addition to the garage

Is this a common ailment of the XS? Surely there must be a “fix” of the mechanical advance system?
Yes there is it's called electronic ignition. To me Boyer Is a good fix. If you want to spend more time than money search "Gonzo" ignition. Lot less money but more time to do.
 
If you do try the stop screws, make sure you put them at the edge of the stops (red arrows) where there'll be the least amount of force applied to them. Maybe a 4mm screw? And an allen head so you can get an allen wrench in there to adjust them in place.


View attachment 208104
I’ll try the tape first as it’s the easiest possible remedy. I agree the set screws may imbed themselves into the weights. Let me see how many layers of tape are needed.
 
Yes there is it's called electronic ignition. To me Boyer Is a good fix. If you want to spend more time than money search "Gonzo" ignition. Lot less money but more time to do.
Yes but I’m trying to do this on the cheap. Lol. Started looking at the Gonzo ignition but the page kept freezing. Might also be beyond my pay grade for the required skills to source and install.
 
I used the tape to confirm how much I wanted to build up those stops. I was afraid the tape might melt off and lead to too much advance again so I first built up the weights with JB Weld, but the advance curve wasn't so great perhaps because the weight of the weights had changed? I ultimately tig welded thin strips of steel onto the stops because that wouldn't fall off. It wasn't so great though, so went to the BB.
20220222_211012.jpg
 
I used the tape to confirm how much I wanted to build up those stops. I was afraid the tape might melt off and lead to too much advance again so I first built up the weights with JB Weld, but the advance curve wasn't so great perhaps because the weight of the weights had changed? I ultimately tig welded thin strips of steel onto the stops because that wouldn't fall off. It wasn't so great though, so went to the BB.
View attachment 208120
Interesting. So when you tried the tape we’re you able to get the max advance within “spec”? You mentioned earlier you had replaced the mechanism with new parts? Did that help at all?
 
I got close to full advance but not right to it. Now that I have set the BB at 35 degrees BTDC, I figure I got the cobbled system to about 32 degrees or so. I wasn't using a protractor to confirm degrees like I did this time. I was really quite nervous about getting too close and causing detonation again. The mechanical advance system was a new one from XS660direct, including weights and springs. That didn't seem to help vs the older one I started with. The steel spacers I welded in were too thick so I had to file them down a few times and reinstall. It was a little tedious.
 
Air filter rebuild. Removed the old foam and on one filter the cage came apart in 3 pieces. Used automotive panel bonding adhesive to “glue” the pieces together. Got a sheet of 5/8” thick UNI foam to wrap the bare cages. The copper wire used to hold the foam on is temporary, until I can find something better. Not the prettiest job but should be functional. Will use a gas /oil mix to oil the foam. The Uni oil I bought is way too viscous and sticky for my liking. I hope I can squeeze them into the boxes with the new ring of foam at the inlet.



9FEB729A-834C-470C-BBAA-07E11B521FB8.jpeg
55C8E442-AE93-4AC1-8CC3-4F5C2C31805F.jpeg
5E5A0A97-25BA-462D-BC00-3525A337A8C5.jpeg
AC8FB458-FDCD-4F6C-B554-9B6320C16F22.jpeg
26CC27ED-B468-45AF-9C53-8B90922B6B60.jpeg
839E8844-45BB-40B3-86D5-6600A37132D0.jpeg
 
Timing max advance now within spec. Had a heck of a time getting it started after servicing the advance mechanism. The p.o. Had the points wires hooked up incorrectly L&R were switched.

(

AA4C362C-7977-4B14-9E3E-CC052160EE2A.jpeg
 
OK, so what did you do to fix it? Your advance unit looks fine by the way, nicely aligned slash marks so no wear to speak of. The springs may be aftermarket though. All the originals I've seen are black. One small note - the thin shim washer on the weight pivot posts goes under the weight. There's usually nothing on top in between the e-clip and the weight.
 
I removed and cleaned the advance rod and greased the bushings. Brought the advance unit in the house and closely inspected the weights. These ones had little to no wear on them. I found the springs in my parts stash and “very scientifically” lol, determined which springs had the most tension. To do this I hooked one spring to the other and slowly pulled them apart. The one that separated the earliest was the weakest. Through the process of elimination I came up with these springs.
Cleaned, oiled and reassembled everything. The match marks were well aligned so I was hopeful the problem would be addressed.
Once I got the bike started, I checked the timing and it was probably 5 degrees more advanced than I had left it the last time I worked on it. Reset the idle timing to the most retarded position and the max advance fell within spec.
I think it was the combination of new weights and these “stronger” springs.
I’ll remove the extra washers. Thx.
Sorry for the bad video. Didn’t have a third hand to help.
 
Didn’t take a good photo of the fender before I sent it into a vinegar bath. Challenging because of the dimensions - needed to clean 3 sections, one at a time. In the first photo if you look closely, you’ll see lots of flakes of loose chrome. These were sitting on top of the rusted metal beneath. About 2-3 days immersed in 10% acetic acid (cleaning vinegar), with a scrub with a brass brush every 24 hours (I found this is a critical step in rust removal). Once removed, I rinsed it well and gave it a bath in baking sofa and hot water to neutralize the vinegar, that could be trapped behind the reinforcement plates. Gave it a good cost of POR15 and will probably spray it with a top coat of black, or chrome in a spray can, that I’ve had forever. Running out of this to do on the bike so I polished some of the carb bits. Waiting for spring so I can ride this machine.

View attachment 207035View attachment 207036View attachment 207037View attachment 207038
I was able to get more than 1/2 the fender into a 5 gallon bucket so I had only 2 soaks rather than your 3. On the plus side, I now have almost 5 gallons of dirty vinegar that I will use in spring to mop the garage floor with.
 
I was able to get more than 1/2 the fender into a 5 gallon bucket so I had only 2 soaks rather than your 3. On the plus side, I now have almost 5 gallons of dirty vinegar that I will use in spring to mop the garage floor with.
I should have mentioned mine went into a mop bucket. Then I filled the empty vinegar bottles (3 of them) with water and put them in the pail to raise the level of the vinegar. 5 gallon pail would probably have been better. Mines done now anyway and hopefully I won’t have to do that again. I too have three gallons of dirty vinegar to use this summer. Glad it worked out for you!
 
Back
Top