82 xj650 stalled in low gear

Hello everyone I am fairly new to riding and extremely new to owning a xj650. The other day I was riding and while downshifting it complexity stalled, had tons of trouble starting the bike and had to ride home with the throttle revved, now that I am home I cannot get the bike to start again and I noticed q cable next to the clutch is missing.
According to the Manuel it is the clutch switch cable. Could that be the cause of all my problems or might I be looking at something else

 

does your bike only start in neutral? (no jumper)
could be the po cut the connector wires and jumped it inside the headlight bucket. it should be a green connector.

but that would not cause what you are discribing.

to be clear the bike turns over but does not start?
just another curve if the battery voltage goes to low bike will not start but will turn over .

how long have you owned the bike?

try putting petcock lever on prime. the petcock is vacuum operated.

do you own a multi meter ? I would start by ohming out the ignition system, to see if it is in spec. coils and pickups , spark plug caps

 

you are new here so
some reading for you

The Information Overload Hour

The Ultimate Relay, Switch, Sensor, and Diodes Guide

IN THE CHURCH OF CLEAN

THE SECRET LIFE OF CARBURETORS

Something New, Something Naked

TALKIN' TECH: Various thoughts on various issues

AIRHEAD VALVE ADJUSTMENT with Pics

AIRHEAD VALVE ADJUSTMENT Part 2: The Tool vs. ZipTie -w/pics

Choosing Oil for a Wet Clutch Motorcycle


SAFETY ALERT Drum rear brake bike owners please take a look


our forum supporting vendor plenty of parts and advice Chacal

XJ4Ever - Supporting Vendor

where in Rhody do you live I spent 25 years in loonsocket

 

your test specs could be your spark plug wire needs to be trimed back 3/8 inch

XJ650 models:

Pick-up coils:
1980-81 XJ650 Maxim and Midnight Maxim: 700 ohms +/- 20% = 560 ohms to 840 ohms acceptable range
1982 XJ650RJ Seca (non-yics engines): 700 ohms +/- 20% = 560 ohms to 840 ohms acceptable range
1982-84 XJ650 Maxim: 650 ohms +/- 20% = 520 ohms to 780 ohms acceptable range
1982 XJ650RJC Seca (yics engine): 650 ohms +/- 20% = 520 ohms to 780 ohms acceptable range
1982-83 XJ650 Turbo: 120 ohms +/- 20% = 96 ohms to 144 ohms acceptable range


Ignition Coils:

Primary side (input from main wiring harness):
2.5 ohms +/- 10% = 2.25 ohms - 2.75 ohms acceptable range

Secondary side (spark plug wires, without their end caps):
11K ohms +/- 20% = 8,800 ohms - 13,200 ohms acceptable range


Spark plug caps:
5K +/- 20% = 4,000 to 6,000 ohms per cap acceptable range

Spark plugs:
0 ohms per plug

 

The bike will start if I leave it sitting for awhile but as soon as it warms and try to switch off the choke the bike will die.
I am not mechanically incline at all so any issues are a problem.
I have owned the bike all of 2 weeks and it was running great for those 2 weeks until this recent incident

 

So I figured out the issue, it was as simple as checking the vacuum line, it vibrated loose so I reattached and reclamped issue is completely fixed

 

Go get a new one before it happens again. New vac line is fairly difficult to disconnect. That yours vibrated loose is a sign that it's past its use-by date.

Also, read all those links and prepare to go through all the maintainance items this winter if not sooner. At the very least check your valve clearances before you ride much longer. Valves hardly ever get adjusted when they need to be, and a burnt valve will end your riding season and cost you a ton of money to fix.

 

Based on your other thread you probably need to synchronize the carbs. The valve clearances must be in spec before you can do that.
With the carbs properly synchronzed much (but not all) of that vibration will go away.

Inline fours are a bit buzzy; nature of the beast. The hand numbness can be dealt with by relaxing your grip. If your hands still get numb while riding you should see your doctor to rule out a pinched nerve.

 

Thanks for the reply, turns out I just had to tighten the screws to fix the vibration.
Now the last thing that I want to do is add a windshield any suggestions

 

I put a Slipstreamer S-06 Spitfire on all my bikes, works well and not too goofy looking.

 

Same here. I added a bit of height to mine with a carefully (but not prettily) formed sheet of polycarbonate. See the susnset pic in my showcase.

 

Whatever works. Chrome don't get ya home.

 

I notice you said you changed the seat in the description, did you have to do any modifications or did you find one that fit

 

I managed to snag a Corbin seat on Ebay. It's built on the stock seatpan. Corbin os one of several companies that build custom and semi-custom seats for motorcycles.
Many auto upholstery shops can do similar work.

 

Thanks, I'll have to look into it, have any do with http://www.motosport.com/saddlemen-motorcycle-seat-kit-double

 

Tha Saddlemen seat was the standard in tourng comfort before Corbin, Seargeant, and Russel came along. Seat comfort is so personal that I can't recommend any particular brand.

 

Do you have any experience with the other manufacturers as far as material/construction quality?

 

I do not. You might check out threads at ADVRider.com There are literally thousands of posts about custom seats.

 

Will do, thanks!

 

If you find a good custom seat post it here

 

Keep in mind that what is good for one person may not be good for another. One of the reasons that I got my Corbin so cheaply is that the prior owner absolutely hated it, whereas it suits me perfectly.
I can say that from teh reviews I've read, many more people seem to like the Russel Day-Long than any other seat. I think part of that is the customer service and their willingness to re-fit the seat if you don't find that it's comfortable enough.