New XJ Owner

Hey guys, been lurking a few days. I picked up a 1980 XJ 650 for $100 over the weekend from a colleague, it hasn't run in a while, but I'm not sure how long. It seems to be complete, BUT it doesn't run because he told me the starter was bad. Now, after looking through the forum posts, I'm concerned that the problem may be the 'starter clutch.' I have the starter (he pulled it) and what looks like a new solenoid in a box, but I'm wondering if there is a way to test the starter before I go and buy one, and if there is a way to be sure about the starter clutch before getting really crazy with my shiny tools.
Thanks in advance!

 

You will need the starter going to check the starter clutch. Main thing to check on the starter is the brushes. Their minimum length is 8.5mm. To check them remove the two long bolts on the side of the starter case and then remove the end caps. The end cap without the starter gears is the one with the brushes. It is also the one that won't come out completely because of the lead wire bolted to the outside. But in that cap are the brushes. Just measure them to make sure they are at least 9mm long. Any shorter than that and you need to replace them.
Now, you can check the starter field for resistance which is 0.014 ohms at 68 deg F with a mulitmeter. Or you can put it back together and take it to Autozone and have them run it on a starter check machine. It will determine what the starter is doing under load. This won't cost you anything. You can also do this before checking the brushes. But the Autozone guys will only tell you that the starter is good or bad. They won't know why or what to fix. So yo will then have to take the starter apart if it is bad and check the brushes. If they are bad you will then replace them and return to Autozone. So check first and make one trip to Autozone.
Seems like it is what you should be checking if the PO bought a solenoid. That infers that he couldn't get the starter to turn. So install the new solenoid and checked starter and see if it turns over. If not then check the kickstand switch.
If it turns over and sounds good then you are good to go. If it turns over slips or makes a grating sound then it is probably the starter clutch. Which can be fixed if you are lucky with a seafoam treatment in the crankcase. If you don't want to do this much to get it running then send me a PM and I'll give you $100 for it. Then I get to take the aspirin!

 

You can do a basic -- "Spin's or don't spin Test" on the Starter Motor.

Hook-up some jumper cables (or just use the leads from a 12V battery charger) to the starter and see what happens.

Hook-up the BLACK Ground wire to one of the long screws holding the starter together.

"TAP" the Power Post on the starter with the RED lead. A quick tap ... to determine if the motor is going to spin or is locked-up and will just hum.
If it does spin ... let it run for 10 or 15 seconds to see if it will spin with a constant rpm.

If it spins with a constant rpm ... you got a good starter.

Just cross your fingers and hope that the problem is limited to a bad solenoid. A brandy-new solenoid is short money and no labor to fix.

The starter clutch is ... well, let's not go there until everything else is checked-out.

In the mean time ... feel really good about snagging an XJ-Bike for a C-Note. A tire is a hundred bucks. The non-cracked intake manifolds are a hundred bucks. Beautifully cleaned and overhauled carbs -- 2-Bills. Sixty or seventy skins for a nice tank.

You could have paid a little more and still be ahead!

 

Welcome and good score Tinman! We should all be that lucky.

 

Oi where's the old school way :?: :lol: :wink:

 

Thanks for the welcome, guys, and thanks for the info - I'm going to give it a shot this w/e and see what's up, though since I don't have any keys for this bike I won't know more until then.
Thanks again!

 

So that's how he got it for a $100. $100 for the bike and $400 for the keys!

 

:wink: Heh. I haven't seen a bill yet, but it could happen...

 

How rude of me , HIya Tinman1176 too.

 

Welcome to the site always nice to see anew member, sorry to hear about the keys. I hope they son't run ya to much, but hey still sounds like ya got a good deal, so a little expense won't be to bad. Enjoy the bike and all riding it has to offer, if ya need anything don't be afraid to ask.