Kickstarter acted up again today. I think it was the tension clip that slides the starter gear in to engage. I pulled it out and squeezed in a vice to tighten it up. Working again, we'll see if it lasts. I also ordered a new one just in case.
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One Dakota.... XS1 fix, restore labor of love SoDak
- Thread starter gggGary
- Start date
Got the carbs sorted and installed. Added a gallon of gas to the tank. She popped on the first kick, then started and idled on the fourth kick! Waiting for the rest of the exhaust parts to arrive, in addition to a tach cable (which I thought I had). Hoping for a test ride later this week.
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Add a pic of this beauty to Jim's paint thread!
Got the exhaust buttoned up. She starts easy and idles nicely. I took her out for a short run this morning, just down the road and back, but enough to verify everything works. My son is coming down for a few days, so I'll be able to take it out for a longer ride (want to have backup to call just in case). Finally back on the road after a long, long time.
I still have to sort a few things. The right side exhaust went on fine, the left was the opposite. The muffler is canted in slightly and is only about 1/4 inch from the chain/sprocket. I futz'd around with it a bit, but some tweaking of the mounting tabs may be necessary. The early throttle cable set up is also a bit hinky; there's a reason they changed the design... I want to keep it as original as possible, but it has to function well too.
I still have to sort a few things. The right side exhaust went on fine, the left was the opposite. The muffler is canted in slightly and is only about 1/4 inch from the chain/sprocket. I futz'd around with it a bit, but some tweaking of the mounting tabs may be necessary. The early throttle cable set up is also a bit hinky; there's a reason they changed the design... I want to keep it as original as possible, but it has to function well too.
Well done! What a trip!
Paul from South Dakota who originally showed up on here with how do I get this bike running to ride it to school questions sez: Holy cow! That looks absolutely amazing!
Paul from South Dakota who originally showed up on here with how do I get this bike running to ride it to school questions sez: Holy cow! That looks absolutely amazing!
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Well I already know nexts years calendar cover bike….
I've been riding the bike as much as possible to break it in. Bike starts on the first or second kick, and when warmed up, idles great. Lots of power through all the gears. Just a joy to ride. Have been working out a few kinks. I did have to replace one cam seal that was leaking a bit. New seal solved that issue.
Today, while riding I noticed that the headlight was out (low beam). So I switched to high beam. By the time I got home, the high beam was out. Checked the headlight and both beams were burned out. Checked voltage and at about 2500 rpm, I was getting about 15.5 volts. Likely fried the bulbs. I checked the voltage regulator according to the manual by reading the ohms across the various wires, and it all seemed within spec. I then tried adjusting the voltage according to the procedure in the manual. That is, adjust the set screw on the regulator, then start the bike, pull the positive battery lead, and read voltage across the positive wire from the bike and negative lead. I did this a couple of times and got the voltage down to about 15 volts at 2500 rpm. I wanted to get it a bit lower, so I went through the process again, but this time, the second I disconnected the positive battery lead, the bike died. I re-connected the positive lead, and tried again. Same thing, died the second I disconnected the lead. Reconnected the lead and started the bike again. Before I had time to disconnect the positive lead, I heard a "snick" and at the same time I saw the taillight get real bright, then burn out. This event also burned out the gauge lights. Curiously, the neutral light survived, as did the 20 amp fuse. At that point, I hung it up for the night before I did any more damage. Any ideas on what is going on, and what to check?
Today, while riding I noticed that the headlight was out (low beam). So I switched to high beam. By the time I got home, the high beam was out. Checked the headlight and both beams were burned out. Checked voltage and at about 2500 rpm, I was getting about 15.5 volts. Likely fried the bulbs. I checked the voltage regulator according to the manual by reading the ohms across the various wires, and it all seemed within spec. I then tried adjusting the voltage according to the procedure in the manual. That is, adjust the set screw on the regulator, then start the bike, pull the positive battery lead, and read voltage across the positive wire from the bike and negative lead. I did this a couple of times and got the voltage down to about 15 volts at 2500 rpm. I wanted to get it a bit lower, so I went through the process again, but this time, the second I disconnected the positive battery lead, the bike died. I re-connected the positive lead, and tried again. Same thing, died the second I disconnected the lead. Reconnected the lead and started the bike again. Before I had time to disconnect the positive lead, I heard a "snick" and at the same time I saw the taillight get real bright, then burn out. This event also burned out the gauge lights. Curiously, the neutral light survived, as did the 20 amp fuse. At that point, I hung it up for the night before I did any more damage. Any ideas on what is going on, and what to check?
Go back through all your ground connections, wires, paint surfaces, etc.?
The voltage regulator works by "seeing" battery voltage, a high resistance anywhere will fool the regulator into over charging.
Do you have ground wires from the frame up to the headlight bucket? the early harnesses didn't from the factory and should have one installed.
The voltage regulator works by "seeing" battery voltage, a high resistance anywhere will fool the regulator into over charging.
Do you have ground wires from the frame up to the headlight bucket? the early harnesses didn't from the factory and should have one installed.
I understand you wanting a "true" restoration, but some things need updating. The regulator being one of them. You can build your own reg/rec for under 50 bucks. It's reliable and no one will ever see it. Hell, you can even leave the old one installed and ready to hook back up.
https://www.xs650.com/threads/diy-reg-rec-5twins-and-jim.55842/
I think Gary nailed it. I did a bit of poking around last night after the "incident" and started to suspect a ground issue. This morning a good check confirmed that I had good ground to most of the bike, but not the headlight bucket or taillight. There is a black wire that runs through the harness into the headlight bucket, and to which all the grounds wires in the bucket are connected. This wire runs back and is connected into the tailight loom where is gathers all the ground wires back there, but this wire itself isn't grounded to the frame anywhere as far as I can tell. So I ran a separate wire from the spot on the frame where the negative side of the battery is connected, up into the headlight bucket. I made up a pigtail and connected it to the black wire in the harness. Now I have good grounds everywhere. I also swapped out the regulator for another one I had and no load voltage runs about 14.9 volts at 2500 rpm. Going to look at the info Jim posted to see about an upgrade.
I pulled the tank when I ran the new wire so I could tuck it up along the frame. When I disconnected the fuel lines, they were both almost rock hard already. They have only been installed and fueled about a month. Aye chihuahua! I guess that's what I get for buying it on Ebay.
I pulled the tank when I ran the new wire so I could tuck it up along the frame. When I disconnected the fuel lines, they were both almost rock hard already. They have only been installed and fueled about a month. Aye chihuahua! I guess that's what I get for buying it on Ebay.
Are they Tygon?
Lawn and garden shops sell Oregon brand yellow fuel line it's good stuff.
No, not Tygon, but supposedly fuel rated line. I'll see if I can find some of the line Gary suggested; we have a garden equipment shop here in town that will likely have it.
Posting a correction. I got to thinking about the ground wire that runs through the main wiring harness. It does in fact have a point at which it connects to the frame. It is under the tank near the coils. The black ground wire from the headlight bucket and the black ground wire from the tail light both pigtail out near the coils and are crimped together into a ring terminal (red arrow in photo). This ring terminal is then connected to one of the mounting bolts for the right side coil. I think this is where my ground issue started. I removed the coil and cleaned the new paint off from the area where the mounting bolt is located. Just to be sure of a good ground there, I moved the new ground wire I installed yesterday to that location instead of inside the headlight bucket (blue arrow in photo). So now that new ground wire runs from the negative battery terminal directly to that point.
Also got some new fuel line from my local landscaping equipment shop. The guy who helped my has several motorcycles himself, so he sold me the fuel line he uses on his bikes. It much easier to install those lines when the carbs are off the bike...
Also got some new fuel line from my local landscaping equipment shop. The guy who helped my has several motorcycles himself, so he sold me the fuel line he uses on his bikes. It much easier to install those lines when the carbs are off the bike...
Is this ground jumper in place?
Yes, it is.
I love the bike. Very nice indeed
Still working slowly to improve and upgrade Sodak. Found an original XS1 seat in basically NOS condition. Seat pan looks brand new, cover is mint, and chrome grab bar is perfect. I suspect someone changed out their seat shortly after buying the bike and put this one away. Foam might be a bit stiff from age, but hopefully it will hold up for awhile. Sure fits a lot better than the repro seat. I think this old girl deserves an original seat.
