gf wants her own ride

[Blank Slate]

So yesterday I run the bike for a kilometer and park it. 5 minutes later my gf wants to ride so I try to start it but failed. Kickstarter did nothing and hand button neither. The longer I tried to start it, the more it sounded like it was dying. Lights were dimmer, it went from ra-ra-ra-ra-ra earlier to ra--.......ra--....... ra........ nothing

Before going out and buying a new battery, would you recommend I do this: Service the battery, topping up the cells with distilled water if it is a flooded type. Charge it overnight with a trickle charger. If it is really discharged, you may have to start it off on a bigger charger before a trickle charger or tender will do anything. Disconnect the charger and let the battery stand for an hour. It should read about 12.6-12.8 v. at the terminals if it is in good shape. Now crank the starter. If voltage drops below 10 v, he battery is done. It might start the bike right now, but probably won't do it tomorrow, and definitely will not if it sits for a few days.

Then last night I wanted to adjust the mirrors because P.O. had them too low. The right screw snapped off and half the screw is stuck inside. See my album in my signature for the ugly results.

And for my grand finale of a crap day, there is a hex bolt located an inch to the right from the mirror base. I don't know why I tried to loosen it, but I did, and it too snapped in half! No pics taken of that one. I was so psssed off I went straight to bed. ::cried myself to sleep::

[3Phase]

Slate, that's unreal!

It sounds like one of those combination failures: the engine was hot and probably flooded; the charging system went out and/or you have a bad battery.

Before you recharge the battery, check the water level to make sure there is enough water to cover the tops of the plates but don't fill it. As the battery charges water level will come back up and if you've added water the level(s) will be too high..

If the battery ever gets low again, pull the lighting fuses for Head and Tail to give you a little more oomph to start the engine. If the engine starts, put the fuses back in and get out of Dodge.

.

[donebysunday]

Electric

foot is the electric starter LOL. I saw you asked and did not see an answer.
For me on the 650 twin the kicker is for cold starting or looking cool.
Fully charged battery and good working charging system a must.
Get a multi gauge and check what your system is putting out, engine at 3500 rpm., should be 13s to low 14s.
A fully charged new battery could read 13-14 until it settles down, after a winter in the house it could drop to be high 11s.
Once battery has been run in the bike for some time it should read a good 12 to just under 13 volts.
This is direct current not alternating, the gauge should be labeled for both.
Luck ! Don'e
P.S. Think your bike looks just as good or better !

Nice bike DBS!

Btw, what is this electric foot you guys are talking about ? There's the kickstarter and the electric starter on the right handle. Google not answering my question either.

[Blank Slate]

Yup, will check out the battery tonight. I think I have everything needed, multimeter, inverter, distilled water, cables, the manual, youtube, and you guys.

Btw: I mentioned my problems on xs650.com and 60 people viewed my thread without comment. What up with that?

[3Phase]

Btw: I mentioned my problems on xs650.com and 60 people viewed my thread without comment. What up with that?

You can get new parts for the XS650 so they were all out riding instead of working on their bikes when their little bird phones started buffering and they couldn't Reply until they got back home.

.

[jetmechmarty]

Btw: I mentioned my problems on xs650.com and 60 people viewed my thread without comment. What up with that?

Here's a forum that might work better: http://xs650temp.proboards.com/ There isn't a lot of activity there, but what there is usually will get you what you want to know.

[Blank Slate]

Gf got her M1 today, while I still don't have any license.

Re the dead bike: it started today with the kickstarter so I got to ride a bit. I think the battery isweak because it's not being ridden at all at highway speeds. It gets 1st gear mostly for 5 minutes and I park it.

So i'm just thinking out loud here. I need to disconnect the battery once a week/month to check water levels, add distilled water if necessary, and charge it back up if necessary. How do I disconnect it without getting electrocuted?

meaning, what switches need to be off, what wire not to touch, remember I'm a NOOB who has never touched a bike battery. Manuals skip over this stuff because they would be 1,000 pages long if they had to hold my hand every step.

I was watching this guy and thought it was good info http://youtu.be/vLkA6tHm5eg

[3Phase]

Slate,

If you're not riding, take the battery out of the bike. Check the voltage and specific gravity and charge it when necessary.

If you're only riding short distances, yes, you'll have to use a battery charger. Don't leave the battery discharged, put it on the charger. To see if it's safe to hook up the charger you should be able to see the water levels in the battery if you look at it from back by the rear fender.

If you have to remove the battery, always remove the battery Negative cable first, then you can remove the Positive cable without shorting the battery to the frame with the screwdriver or wrench as you remove the Positive cable.


RE: The Video, there are some good points but flunky-boy doing the charging demo is going to get a face full of battery acid surprise.

Batteries give off hydrogen gas so always wear safety goggles when you work around batteries and NEVER connect or disconnect a live battery charger. Turn off the charger or, preferably, unplug it before you even touch the connections on the battery.

It will sound like bullhocky until the first time you have a battery explode but keep some heavy rubber gloves and a large box of baking soda somewhere near a sink where you can find them without looking. If you are wearing safety goggles when the battery pops then you'll probably still be able to see well enough to get to the sink to flush most of the acid off of yourself and neutralize it. After you've cleaned yourself, then you can go back and neutralize the acid that's all over everything else.

Wear the rubber gloves and don't touch your face or scratch your backside.

.

[Blank Slate]

Slate,

If you're not riding, take the battery out of the bike. Check the voltage and specific gravity and charge it when necessary.

If you're only riding short distances, yes, you'll have to use a battery charger. Don't leave the battery discharged, put it on the charger. To see if it's safe to hook up the charger you should be able to see the water levels in the battery if you look at it from back by the rear fender.

If you have to remove the battery, always remove the battery Negative cable first, then you can remove the Positive cable without shorting the battery to the frame with the screwdriver or wrench as you remove the Positive cable.



RE: The Video, there are some good points but flunky-boy doing the charging demo is going to get a face full of battery acid surprise.

Batteries give off hydrogen gas so always wear safety goggles when you work around batteries and NEVER connect or disconnect a live battery charger. Turn off the charger or, preferably, unplug it before you even touch the connections on the battery.

It will sound like bullhocky until the first time you have a battery explode but keep some heavy rubber gloves and a large box of baking soda somewhere near a sink where you can find them without looking. If you are wearing safety goggles when the battery pops then you'll probably still be able to see well enough to get to the sink to flush most of the acid off of yourself and neutralize it. After you've cleaned yourself, then you can go back and neutralize the acid that's all over everything else.

Wear the rubber gloves and don't touch your face or scratch your backside.

.

[Blank Slate]

This write up on batteries is very similar to the advice you gave me 3phase
http://www.dansmc.com/batteries.htm

I really had no idea the work involved in keeping motorcycles in good shape. Way more work than cars.

[Blank Slate]

I've been looking everywhere on the internet for any manuals I can find for the xs650se. Only thing I can find is a XS650 E Service Manual (LIT-11616-00-76). I 'm guessing the standard and the special use the same service manual?

I already have a XS650SE Supplementary Service Manual (LIT-11616-01-08) found on biker.net

found an owner's manual for $35 on ebay. Wish it was available online but cant seem to find one.

[3Phase]

I like Dan's articles and I have on of those Yuasa GYZ20HL batteries for my bike.

Anything more complicated than Shank's mare needs lot to keep it going but working with batteries is pretty much the same if they're in a car, truck, boat, helicopter, motorcycle, submarine, rocket, airplane or a zeppelin.

Hydrogen is sneaky stuff and it goes through every type of material known to man so one minute has all the innocence of Pink Floyd, "Look, Mummy, there's an aeroplane up the sky," and the next it's, "Oh, the humanity!"

.

[jetmechmarty]

I may have the manual for that bike. Send me a PM this weekend. It's stored on another computer if I have it.

[Blank Slate]

I may have the manual for that bike. Send me a PM this weekend. It's stored on another computer if I have it.

Tx marty, I bought this service manual on ebay for $4. I didn't know I was buying an email pdf version but thats what I got. http://m.ebay.ca/itm/281374505764?_mwBanner=1
I'll pm you to see if you have an owner's manual, that's what I need.

[donebysunday]

Negative

battery connector always comes off 1st, if you need to remove battery cables always negative cable off 1st.
I learned the hard way when I was 15, it was easier to reach the positive cable and although I knew the rules I tried pulling dad's battery by disconnecting the pos. cable, KA POW. Luckily no acid in eyes, but holes showed up in clothing after washing. Since I was trying to use the battery to jump my bike dad had me pay for a new battery.

Tx marty, I bought this service manual on ebay for $4. I didn't know I was buying an email pdf version but thats what I got. http://m.ebay.ca/itm/281374505764?_mwBanner=1
I'll pm you to see if you have an owner's manual, that's what I need.