def not lol.
Damn, happened to pass by a bobber that looked very similar to what was in the pics so I guess it was wishful thinking lol.
Am I the one that thinks it may look better without the turns, gauges, and mirrors? Aesthetically, I think removing them would help the look of the bike a ton, but then there’s the safety point. :2cents:
Overall, I really really like it man. It’s a shame it’s a washout today, but lets ride sometime this week.
The mirrors should definitely go on the fork at about the height of the gas tank center.
I hate the mirrors, but it’s what I have…I have almost no money into this build after selling off spare parts I got with it so it’s kinda sweet to say it’s nearly free to have built…but I do agree a different set of mirrors would make a world of different. Other than that, I actually really like the signals where they are…but I might tint the lenses so they appear black/dark unless luminated.
beyond that…
I borrowed the brush holder off a friend’s XS650…and then followed this guide I found on another xs650 forum via a google search for charging system troubleshooting…
I’ve put my results to each step in red.
"
This is taken from one of Curly’s posts, and is one of the best troubleshooting guides we have seen:
- First charge your battery to at least 12.5-12.7V. done
- Find a really thin feeler gauge like 0.010" or 0.015" and hold it pointed down about a half inch away from your generator cover on the engine. Now turn the key on. If your regulator and rotor are working the feeler gauge should slap the case when the magnetic field is created in the rotor. If nothing happens or the magnetic effect seems really weak then go on to the next test. I did not get any magnetic effect
- On the solid state regulator models all you need to do is locate the green wire at the regulator plug and make a jump from it to ground. That bypasses the regulator and allows full battery current to flow through the brushes out of the rotor through the green wire to ground. That causes the rotor to make a stronger magnetic field which in turn causes more current to flow in the stator. If your battery terminal charge voltage jumps up to 14.5VDC when you rev the engine then the regulator or the ground connection for the regulator is your problem. I still did not get any magnetic effect when grounding the green wire meant to connect to the regulator
- If nothing changes then it’s time to check the voltage on the brown wire (It may be black on your bike) at the positive brush with the key on. It should be very close to battery voltage. The brown wire that feeds the brush gets its power from the brown wire at the keyswitch. Check the voltage at the three wire keyswitch connector while it’s plugged in by probing from the backside of the connector with the key on. Again you should see the same voltage as the battery. If you do get full battery voltage there then repair the brown wire circuit between the switch and the positive brush. If not then the switch is either bad or the red wire from the battery is not passing the full current like it should. If that’s the case then keep going back along the red wire, through the main fuse until you find the source of the voltage drop. No more than 0.3 VDC drop is acceptable. I receive battery voltage at the brown wire on the connector for the key switch
- Once you have full voltage to the positive brush re-check the charging voltage to see if you’re getting 14.5 VDC or better at the battery when revved to about 3,000 rpm. If you still don’t have a charge then do the feeler gauge test again. If it slaps the case your rotor and regulator are working and you can go on to stator checks. If not then pull the brushes out of their holder and use an ohm meter to test the rotor. Measure the rotor first by touching the tester leads to the brass slip rings. Then take one lead and touch anywhere on the engine that’s not painted. For the first test you should see between 5 and 5.5 ohms between the slip rings. On the second test between one slip ring and the engine you should see infinity on the meter. Any reading lower than 5 ohms on the first test or less than infinity on the second test means you have a bad rotor. Replace it. If it tests good then go on to the stator checks.
If I pull out the brushes and test ohms at the rings, I get the 5.5ohms between them, and “overload” on the test of each ring to motor…however, if I put the brushes back in and test ohms from the contacts at the back of them while mounted into the holder, I get 25.5ohms
- At the stator wire connector locate the three white wires. Use a voltmeter set on the AC scale to test the three possible connections between the white wires by probing from the backside of the connector. (The connector should be plugged togeter for this test) With the engine running at idle you should see about 10.5 to 11 AC volts (Not DC) on each of the three combinations of white to white that you make. If you get a very low reading on one or two legs then something is grounding your stator. If you have high readings on any of the legs (i.e. 16-18VDC) then your rectifier is bad.
I get dead 0.00 across all three possible connections on the white wires while running
- If you got low readings on any of the stator voltage checks then unplug the connector and use your ohm meter to check the stator windings. Check the resistance between the three fabric covered wires (stator side) on the side of the connector. On each white to white connection you should read about 0.4 to 0.5 Ohms. If you get a very low reading on all of the three combinations find the single Yellow wire connector and disconnect it. Re-check your stator resistance. If the readings are now good then the yellow wire or safety relay are shorted. If there is one or more that still read low after disconnecting the yellow then check those legs by touching one lead to ground with the other on the white wire. You should see a very high Kilo ohm or infinite reading. If you get a low resistance check the stator lead pigtail to see if it is pinched by the cases or rubbed through on the frame. If that looks ok then your stator is shorted and needs to be replaced.
Checking the windings, I got 2.9-3.3ohms on all three possible connections, whether or not the yellow wire was plugged in
And that’s about it except to say that dirty connections and worn brushes account for most of the charging system problems. Good Luck you’ll find the problem.
After doing all of this, I’m fairly confused… I can’t figure out if my regulator is bad, or if the stator is bad, or if the safety relay is bad.
UGH. I just want this to work…it did just a little over a week ago and now that I have it on the road it’s messed up again. I HATE ELECTRICAL. I am tempted to pull the trigger on a PMA and a "chopper harness kit from TC Bros, but this was supposed to be a budget build and I have so little invested so far that I really hate the idea of spending almost $500 on a PMA and harness kit.
SO! I spent some time today after work trying a few things…I did a lot of reading last night on troubleshooting these bikes’ charging systems and had a good idea what to try. With reading, I discovered that the safety relay is actually two separate relays, one to shut down the electric starter quickly once the motor is running, and the other to supply headlight power once the bike is running…this device apparently is a common point of failure, and you can REMOVE it. This delete’s the ability to electric start, and you can make a jumper between two contacts so the headlight is always on when the ignition is on (you can add a switch to the jumper for on/off duties which I’ll probably do). At this point, I had a hunch that maybe my regulator WASN’T bad, that the relay was tripping the fuse…so I plugged it back in and tried the slap test again…and BAM, I had magnetism at the stator! I called checko to tell him the news and he shot right over…So then I fired the bike up and he tested AC volts at the rectifier, which all checked out, and then checked voltage at the battery…HAZZAH I was charging!
So I went to rip it up the street and checko shot video with his iphone. SO GLAD this is done.
whoa, terrible quality video from my phone haha!
oh we also removed those gay mirrors, and put a bar end mirror on the left side. looks way better
Congrats!
gonna try to ride to tea leaf tomorrow evening…
Ill bring the tools…
I’ll call you a bunch of times if I break down…
Thankfully I had my tools on me when I left Drew’s at 1am last night. Damn battery wire came loose yet again.
Fuck yea man! Grats on the job well done!
Always blame relays…always.
:tup:
Glad you got it working!
Considering selling the bike. If anyone is interested, if I still have it when I get back from Vintage Motorcycle Days, I might make a for-sale ad for $1500/obo. I will dissemble, repair dents in tank, and paint to your liking for $250 plus paint supplies.
^or trade for my one cafés plus cash?
I’d consider it, I’ll get in touch when I get back lol.
GOD PLEASE NO!!! THERE IS NO MORE ROOM IN THE GARAGE!
still have it. won’t take trades right now but I’ll either take $1200 for it as it sits or I’ll keep riding it.