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What have you done to your XS today?

Plucked up the courage to see if I'd broke it.
As I rushed the bike onto the street when it was supposed to be a winter project I wasn't entirely surprised that it went bad on me the other day.
Put a compression tester on it and got acceptable but not good at 100psi so hadn't bent a valve, goody.
Took the carbs off and cleaned and checked for debris in the fuel lines or filters., nothing there.
Put them back on and finally bothered to make a dead cylinder lead to tune and balance, guess what - poor and erratic spark on rh cylinder.
So 2mrw I will see what I can swap side to side, coil would be ok, wiring would be ok but electronic ignition would be oh dear.
Need to look on the forum to see what I can learn tonight.
Red is an SG ,according to the tables, so is an import with electronic ignition, could somebody let me know if a replacement is available or if I can use a unit off a different bike please.
Oh I changed the fork oil to 180ml 20/50 mineral to see what the damping is like, see my post earlier today, the forktop adjusters seems to like positions 1 and 3 but not 2.
PS Just checked the wiring diagram, looks like SG is a wasted spark system so it is probably coil or HT lead, plug cap then so cheap fix.
 
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badlegbill said:
Plucked up the courage to see if I'd broke it.
As I rushed the bike onto the street when it was supposed to be a winter project I wasn't entirely surprised that it went bad on me the other day.
Put a compression tester on it and got acceptable but not good at 100psi so hadn't bent a valve, goody.
Took the carbs off and cleaned and checked for debris in the fuel lines or filters., nothing there.
Put them back on and finally bothered to make a dead cylinder lead to tune and balance, guess what - poor and erratic spark on rh cylinder.
So 2mrw I will see what I can swap side to side, coil would be ok, wiring would be ok but electronic ignition would be oh dear.
Need to look on the forum to see what I can learn tonight.
Red is an SG ,according to the tables, so is an import with electronic ignition, could somebody let me know if a replacement is available or if I can use a unit off a different bike please.
Oh I changed the fork oil to 180ml 20/50 mineral to see what the damping is like, see my post earlier today, the forktop adjusters seems to like positions 1 and 3 but not 2.
Click to expand...
For Yamaha TCI, I think the default replacement is a Gonzo box. (GN250). Haven't tried one myself but others here have used them.
 
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Thanks for that guys, but, as it often does, life threw me a curve ball.
I swapped plugs and it ran the same, swapped leads same same.
Not a blocked or badly set pilot because I get unburnt fuel backfires above 2500 revs but no contribution.
More fiddling to do, carb is in the ultrasonic and I found my carb rods, otherwise my mind is a blank.

As my wife used to say " If it was easy you would be bored."
 
A little of this and little of that. Dan claims it's running smoother now.
KIMG7725.JPG
 
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Pulled Taffy (XS650) out for a wash and brush up. A quick spin around the block a few times to warm up; ran perfectly?! Still need to dig and find the hot misfire issue.
The Brat (R1200GS) had all its tupperware and tin-ware reinstalled following ABS removal; now the Nazi ba$tard will crank but no start.
Merlin (GL1000) carbs are rebuilt again, but I will test off bike for leaks before install.

Workshop now has power, and I installed 1 LED Strip light over the workbench and 4 LED panels on the ceiling; "Let there be light" someone once said.
Panels need a bit of alignment, but I ran out of time. Makes a huge difference though. And I can make a cup of tea when I like!

IMG_1056.jpeg

IMG_1057.jpeg

IMG_1058.jpeg
 
Not much bike time presently but pleased with a set of Tourmax inlet rubbers that were described as new, and they are. Less than half the price I've seen them anywhere else and they have the magic letters ARS in the moulded rubber so they should be OEM quality. They certainly look like it.

1000002755.jpg
 
jaybar6 said:
well done badlegbill.:cheers:
Click to expand...
So today i confessed my shame and took a fresh look at the carbs with satisfactory results.
primary, secondary and air jets are clean, the same sizes and in their proper places finally.
Set the butterflies by eye and did not have to adjust when on the bike. There is a first time for every thing.
It idles solidly but is a bit slow coming back down to idle so probably a little lean.
Need to grind most of the handle off my adjustment stubby because of clashes with the petcock.
I know I could lift the tank but I could also make a tool that lets me adjust the fuel screws with the engine at normal temperature without needing to disturb anything else.
Next I took the fork top adjusters out cleaned and greased them so that I now have three positions I can set and while I was there I bounced the forks so that I knew they were straight before messing with the suspension settings which currently give me 10mm static sag and 40mm seated on the forks which I can live with and puts my cable/zip tie in the middle third under hard breaking. Not yet got the oil warm so don't know how the numbers and feel will change
The same springs were bottoming regularly, I have previously given notice that I am a larger than usual gentleman at 270 lbs, now I have proper numbers for the front end with the original springs and slightly more than the recommended amount of oil to increase compression damping; have to see how the seals hold up under the higher pressures.
Looking forward to finding out how it sits and rides now.
It just occurred to me to put a ball of clay on the top of the back tyre to check clearance under load before hooning.
 
badlegbill said:
So today i confessed my shame and took a fresh look at the carbs with satisfactory results.
primary, secondary and air jets are clean, the same sizes and in their proper places finally.
Set the butterflies by eye and did not have to adjust when on the bike. There is a first time for every thing.
It idles solidly but is a bit slow coming back down to idle so probably a little lean.
Need to grind most of the handle off my adjustment stubby because of clashes with the petcock.
I know I could lift the tank but I could also make a tool that lets me adjust the fuel screws with the engine at normal temperature without needing to disturb anything else.
Next I took the fork top adjusters out cleaned and greased them so that I now have three positions I can set and while I was there I bounced the forks so that I knew they were straight before messing with the suspension settings which currently give me 10mm static sag and 40mm seated on the forks which I can live with and puts my cable/zip tie in the middle third under hard breaking. Not yet got the oil warm so don't know how the numbers and feel will change
The same springs were bottoming regularly, I have previously given notice that I am a larger than usual gentleman at 270 lbs, now I have proper numbers for the front end with the original springs and slightly more than the recommended amount of oil to increase compression damping; have to see how the seals hold up under the higher pressures.
Looking forward to finding out how it sits and rides now.
It just occurred to me to put a ball of clay on the top of the back tyre to check clearance under load before hooning.
Click to expand...
Hi badlegbill: from your write up, it sounds like you know what you are doing. A lot of knowledge. Is that genuine "It idles solidly but is a bit slow coming back down to idle so probably a little lean." ?
At 270lb, you are too heavy for the heavyweight division of the UFC, need to lose 5lb to qualify. Enjoy your ride.:)
 
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jaybar6 said:
Hi badlegbill: from your write up, it sounds like you know what you are doing. A lot of knowledge. Is that genuine "It idles solidly but is a bit slow coming back down to idle so probably a little lean." ?
At 270lb, you are too heavy for the heavyweight division of the UFC, need to lose 5lb to qualify. Enjoy your ride.:)
Click to expand...


That is why some of my posts are about suspension.
The rest is based on making 70 years worth of mistakes.

Oh yes, basic idle tuning to within "pretty good", if you have similar compression based on how much effort it takes to push through the resistance of the kickstart, balance the air draw with a gauge or just setting the butterflies to show the light through them or allow a piece of paper to move, set both mixture screws the same, ask or check the manual.
If you are lucky you can warm it up so it idles, throttle to 2 or 3 k from idle for 2 or 3 seconds then return throttle to idle.

If it hangs on to revs before returning to idle - too lean ( or you need to check throttle return )
If revs drop below idle speed before recovering - too rich ( or check the diaphragms)

If this doesn't work you probably have an air leak or dirty jet or something.

By the way if you haven't done this already make one of these so you can set mixtures easily, it works on recessed jets too, by the way the drill is to tidy it up, you make it with a grinder initially.

IMG_20241004_120659.jpgIMG_20241004_120900.jpgIMG_20241004_115923.jpg

I find the something the interesting bit.
 
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