Rolled the dice on XJ650.. Rough shape

Hi guys.

Heres some back story.. last summer i picked up a used XJ550. After hours spent adjusting valves, rebuilding carbs, detailing, cleaning, fixing, etc.. I got her running.. Just sold the XJ550 last weekend. New owner drove it away happily.

I didnt ever expect i would miss it as much as I do. So I immediately began my search for another.. I happened to stumble on an XJ650 77 Miles from me.

It was owned by a younger guy that heavily modified it rode it then went off to school. So his father was selling it. It had sat there over 2 years before they decided to sell it.

SO, yesterday, i decided I would roll the dice and haul the trailer ~140 miles round trip to pick it up.

In person, it was in rough shape, but i was envisioning the potential and with the luck I had with my 550, i bought this XJ650 for $140.

Needs a lot of work.. 2nd gear apparently slips. It wasnt in running condition when i took it. i just bought a battery for it, charged it and tried to start it.. the starter spins but It kinds rattles. Doesnt sound like it turns over, the starter seems to just spin the gear inside that it makes contact with and rattles a bit.

I took the starter out and tested it. It spins fine. It works.
I stick my finger in the hole where the starter gear goes and spun the gear that the starter spins and it spins very freely. It seems loose. I can move back and forth a bit. sitting on the left side of the bike, i was able to spin this gear counter clockwise, but not the other way.

So... any ideas as to why the gear that the starter contacts would just spin freely?

So far I have $140 into the bike and I just picked up a new battery and odds/ends at $90. I am in it $230 so far. Should i cut my losses and sell this bike for parts? I already know there are a myriad of other items i need to attend to, but if the engine/tranny can be fixed fairly inexpensively, i would hang onto it. i just hoped the engine is in decent shape, but things arent looking so well at this point.
It is coated with oil. The father of the owner i got it from said it had leaked oil onto a patio that it was sitting on, so he was thinking the "the seals dried out"..

If I knew I could get it working without having to replace the engine, etc.. I'd hang onto it.. just unsure of what this issue now is.


Thanks for reading.

 

Sorry guys. After reading my original post, I realized it was long winded. In a nutshell the starter spins freely not cranking. It is in neutral. I tried reversing polarity and when I did that, the starter seemed like it was stuck and not spinning at all.

Thanks
Bigjimcfh

 

Hi Jim,
That gear your spinning is the idler gear that joins the starter motor to the starter clutch which is attached to the alternator shaft which is spun by the starter chain, which connects to the crank... this is sounding a bit like a rhyme of some kind but...

What I'm trying to get at is the starter clutch only grabs the alternator shaft when it spins in one direction, thats what the clutch does, and the shaft spins freely within the clutch in the other direction.

In saying that, the torque the starter motor applies compared to your fingers is pretty hardcore and it sounds like it is slipping on the alternator shaft and the clutch is making a horrible rattling/grinding sound as it slips... maybe?
If so, it seems the most common reason for this is bad oil.

My starter clutch was slipping all over the place when I got my bike and after an engine flush and an oil change it slowly got better until I can't remember the last time it slipped. I have actually replaced the oil and filter about 4 times though, come to think of it, in the process of doing all the bits I ended up doing to the motor.

Not sure why reversing the polarity on the starter(disconnected from the bike) would cause it to lock though, sounds odd and I don't remember seeing any reason why it would, by design, when I stripped mine and reconditioned it... sorry bout that.

Hope that helps a little, and I too manage to extend my forum posts... as you may have noticed.

 

pics?

 

Thanks CDS1984: i believe it might be low on oil. I tipped the machine so it stood vertical (no stock dual kickstands) and i couldnt see anything through the lens at the bottom. I had read another post of another user with similar issue and they linked to low/bad oil. Without seeing a visual of the innards, it is difficult for me to understand how oil in the crankcase would impact the ability to turn the starter clutch/gear with the starter. I'll take a closer look at the oil.

Thanks for responding.

Mtnbikecrazy, ill post some pics later tonight.. Thanks!

 

The idler gear is what you are touching from the top.

The case is upside down so you can't see the hole that the starter motor pokes through.

 

Thanks!!! Any way to confirm my starter spins the right direction?
Thanks again

 

this is someone elses bike vid, but mine seems to do exactly the same from the sounds.. ideas?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOXtT8KQfBA

 

Never mind! New battery hooked up, checked wiring closer and now she cranks!!! So.. No turn over. Slides in carbs were stuck. I broke me loose and they alide so much easier. Slow progress, I'm sure these carbs will need a thorough cleaning, valves checked/ adjusted. Any good deals on intake boots, this guy used hose. Can't sync with those.
Any thoughts on new seals for motor? Rebuild kits at reasonable price?
Any idea what size diameter handlebars goes on xj650? The ape hangars in this must go.

Thanks for all of your help!

 

stock is 7/8".