no start-Neutral SS ?

[XSessiveForce79]

I tried to find a post on these problems , anyhow...I have a 79 standard , it has been bumped up by prev owner to the weisco 74 mm set up.I believe the mains went up one size. he had very short straight turn outs on it no baffles. would not idle and had no mid range.
swapped to stock exhaust with no baffles. instant idle.
went to pods.nice high end, sounds great too.
have gone to blade type fuse block ,
repaired the coil pick wires ,
changed to DynaTek DC-1 coils and wires. kept stock plug connectors
bypassed the ballast resistor.
was running pretty good. still seemed to hit a wall at 6k ,heavy stutter.
so anyway...lately, especially after a hard rain ( no garage ) it doesn't want to start. I have popped open the tank, got gas.moved my fuel petcock to primary. tried the choke in all positions. strong battery.
sometimes I crank and nothing is happening, not even a cough. then I quit cranking and ...wait a second..COUGH! small backfire through the exhaust.
OK. so I might get it started eventually through shear luck. GREAT. so I also might have this happen after riding for a while , shopping , and then trying to start again. NOT ALWAYS.
I always try to start the bike in neutral.no clutch.
The other day I was ready to walk away. Cranking in neutral.nothing.
I have a finicky starter, sometimes just a click is all I get. so I drop it in gear and bump the motor / starter forward or back by rocking the bike . then I usually get starter back again.
OK. back to the other day,So no cough no fire ...I decided to pull in the clutch with it in neutral and while cranking. instantly started !
I have had to do this a few more times now ...hey great. works for me.
My bike will roll forward in gear when cranking the starter.doesn't start that way though.
today no start. and the lil tricks are not working. any help ?

[CatatonicBug]

One thing I get from your story is that you need to rebuild your starter solenoid. If all you're getting out of it is a click, then sometimes it turns the starter, the connections inside the solenoid are going bad. Open it up and clean the connections. If the bike rolls forward with the clutch pulled in, your clutch needs to be adjusted - either at the lever or under the clutch cover on the right side of the bike.

Have you sync'd your carbs? If the starter is cranking but the bike is not starting, you are either not getting fuel or not getting spark. The 6K stumble may be related to the carbs as well. JAT.

[crazy steve]

Sounds a lot like a bunch of poor connections... The wiring on these is now over 30 years old, and poor connections in all the various plugs can cause every problem you're describing. Could also be a bad starter solenoid...

Look here: http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35339

This thread also has a link to a system overview for troubleshooting.

[XSessiveForce79]

have not sync'd.
just went out to start it again. first time today.at first same thing no start . quickly tried the pull the clutch in. no choke.
instant start. but I did rock it back n forth in gear a few times cause of the starter issue.
it does not move by starter with the clutch lever pulled in .
just in gear, no clutch, starter turning.
yeah I think the 6k might be carbs too.
no neutral saftey / ignition related circuit though ?

[crazy steve]

...no neutral saftey / ignition related circuit though ?

Nope, the earlier bikes didn't have any sort of electrical 'safety' interlock with the neutral switch or anything else. The '81 and XJ bikes did, but that's not what you have unless the 'parts swappers' have been at it...

[XSessiveForce79]

any opinion on it starting like this: in neutral , no choke ,throttle closed. while cranking for say 20 seconds or so with not a cough...I pull in the clutch and just like that starts.

[crazy steve]

Check/clean the on/off 'kill' switch on the right handlebar; this is famous for getting grungy, and will cause both ignition and starting problems if it's dirty. You'll have to pull the control off and remove the knob to get to the contacts.

[XSessiveForce79]

where would the different circuit be the cases are 79 .

[crazy steve]

any opinion on it starting like this: in neutral , no choke ,throttle closed. while cranking for say 20 seconds or so with not a cough...I pull in the clutch and just like that starts.

The only way that could have any affect on the wiring would be if you have some damaged wiring under the tank and the movement of the cable when you pull it is moving something...

[XSessiveForce79]

I will try that. the question about the circuit is still wondering about neutral SS / clutch. I have an '80 also would that starter work ?

[crazy steve]

I will try that. the question about the circuit is still wondering about neutral SS / clutch. I have an '80 also would that starter work ?

There is no connection, electrical or otherwise, between the clutch and the starting/ignition wiring on the '78-80 bikes. The 81-82 bikes have a switch mounted on the clutch perch for the interlock, if you have that (and it will be obvious if you do) then you have altered wiring and/or somebody has installed a late harness.

All the XS/XJ11 starters will interchange...

[XSessiveForce79]

cool , thanks. I'm going to be riding or wrenching today.

[Rasputin]

If your clutch handle looks like this then you have a Clutch safety switch.



If it has a wire from the clutch on the handlebar that goes to the headlight bucket, that looks like this then you have the clutch SS



If these are not apparent then you have no SS on your clutch and the problem lies elsewhere.