can't get my 650l to wake up

[wundah]

Just found this site and am in need of some help if available. I just got a 95 650L from a buddy who hasen't ridden her in over 4 years...she just sat there. anyways i got it and cleaned out the stock carb, petcock, jets, and tank but when I try to start her she does a number of things. Here is a list for those more mechanically minded than I,

when running, she will only run on full to 3/4 choke and then not for more than 5 minutes

when trying to start if i turn the key off and on again it will turn over at least once which it won't do it will just keep cranking.

while trying to start it she will occasionally backfire with a vengence.

my frustration is at it's height right now, i have two batteries luckily and when one goes dead i pull out the other and put the dead one on the charger. don't know what to do, so any advice will be greatly appreciated.

[ghoti]

Pull the carb and soak it in carb cleaner, (dissassemble first ?).

[wundah]

i did that when i pulled it apart the first time...that is admitting the fact that i have taken it apart 3times now to verify cleanliness. any other ideas?

[snaggleXR650]

Your pilot jet (slow jet, idle jet) is clogged. The fact that the bike will only run with the choke supports this. Remove the jets and spray carb cleaner directly through the jets. An air compressor will help blow gunk out also. You should be able to see light through the jet when it's clean. Just soaking the whole carb won't do it, you have to force the gunk out. Before I knew better, I once had to clean a carb 5 times before I really got it clean.

Your other problem sounds like your e-start switch may be corroded. Disassemble it and clean it also.

[snaggleXR650]

http://www.4strokes.com/tech/honda/xr650lcarbmods/

Look at the pic in fig.11. The tall brass part sticking up is the needle and main jet assembly. The needle jet is the long tube with the hex head. The main jet is the small round straight slotted piece which screws into the end of the needle jet. Unscrew both of these and clean them so that you can see light through the 'tube.'

The small, almost flush, straight slotted brass jet right next to the needle main jet assembly is the pilot jet. It also unscrews from the body of the carb. This is responsible for your bike starting and idling. Remove and clean this jet until you can see light through it.

Trust me, when these jets are clogged, your bike will run just as you described.

[wundah]

thanks, i'll give it a shot. just to clarify though. I have cleaned both jets but didn't think that you could see through the slow jet. i cleaned all the tiny little holes so that light was visible but am I supposed to be able to see through out the bottom as well like the needle seat? As far as the e-start issue you may be right. I noticed that I am only getting occasional spark at the first attempt to i isolated the kill switch and that has made it officially stop sparking so who knows. I'm on to look at the contacts for the e-start. Thanks a bunch for the tips. I'm working on this girl till she's running. Just got her and my wife is already calling her my girl on the side. ?

[wundah]

alright, just checked the e-start and nothing looked that bad at all. put it back together but still no spark. since seperating out the kill switch (which I have since put back) i have no spark!! what the

[wundah]

just printed out the wiring diagram from 4strokes.com maybe that will help me unravel this.

[wundah]

nope, no spark, can't figure out why. any tests i can do maybe?

[SniperTeamBravo]

Change the starter relay, Ill bet this is it.

[snaggleXR650]

Yes, you are supposed to be able to see through the body of the pilot jet. It should be a clear round hole if your eyes are good. Just because you can see any light, doesn't mean it's clean.

As for your starter system, that's a bit more complex. You've got the starter switch, which you've checked, then you have the handlebar kill switch AND the kickstand kill switch, then you have the starter relay. Any of these could cause intermittent loss of juice to the starter motor...

Good luck.

[wundah]

alright...all good suggestions which i have looked into and then continued with that wiring diagram from 4strokes and found that it is the pulse generator that is bad, $50.00 at my local honda shop and a new pilot jet so i don't have to even think about it not being clean. super frustrating but all the advise has been good and very helpful. i'll keep you advised as to the progress but i have to wait until wednesday of next week for the part. alway with the waiting, i want to be riding.

[snaggleXR650]

Before you buy a new pilot jet, read up on the 650L "Dave's Carb Mods" at 4-strokes.com. Depending on what mods have been done to the bike, airbox, exhaust etc... and the knowledge of the previous owner, you may very well need different jets than what was in there.

[captb]

alright...all good suggestions which i have looked into and then continued with that wiring diagram from 4strokes and found that it is the pulse generator that is bad, $50.00 at my local honda shop and a new pilot jet so i don't have to even think about it not being clean. super frustrating but all the advise has been good and very helpful. i'll keep you advised as to the progress but i have to wait until wednesday of next week for the part. alway with the waiting, i want to be riding.

Make sure it's the culpret, in 20 years of riding the big XRs the only part that failed was on my 93 XR650L with 12K miles the CDI went intermittant, it would lose spark and if I tapped on it and wiggled the connector it would work for a while, it was the internal connections probably from vibration, crank it over tap and wiggle the connector just to be sure if it starts sparking and the CDI plug in connector is ok it's in the CDI, I foam mounted the new one, never had another problem, good luck.

[wundah]

i'm pretty sure i checked the cdi...i'll redo that today. any suggestions with the high rev models? Also in response to the jets, I live at 2000 feet and hope to be frequently going into the hills so i don't plan on doing much jetting changes but i may have to. a local who rides an older 650 rides with stock jets and he says his bike doens't die at elevation so i will probably stick with the 150/50 setup i have now.

[wundah]

oh yah as far as the bike setup. she is now uncorked with a uni filter and the smog kit taken off. other than that she's stock.

[HappyCurmudgeon]

[snip][/i] so i will probably stick with the 150/50 setup i have now.

150/50?!??? are you sure? Becuse WOW that is way lean for an uncorked bike, stock is 152/50. Would 2000ft make that big of a difference in jetting? It didnt on my old bike dropping from Denver down into the plains, & that's more than 2000ft

I am at 160/55 after uncorking/repiping and i will need to up to 160/58 as soon as i get a chance to.

[wundah]

yah i mistyped that, 152/50. As far at how it runs at this elevation...i still don't know, the bike has only coughed and spit at me at times and then others have just been the whine repeated by another whine. hopefully when i get the pulse generator she will give me a chance to figure out the jetting. who knows, with my luck so far i may have to replace the cdi as well...who knows. As far as jetting i was just going by what my new local buddy at the bike shop (been there a lot lately) runs his stock and says it does great...??? who knows.

[snaggleXR650]

Your bike will run as is, but you would be better off with a 55 pilot and 158 main jet. Throw a #4 washer under the needle (~.030" thick). This setup is known to work well with a stock pipe, but uncorked airbox. Your gas mileage will suffer a bit, but the bike will pull better. Again, these mods are well documented in the TECH section at 4-strokes.com under "Dave's Mods."

[wundah]

thanks for all the advice. i'm sure i'll have more questions once i can get the parts and get back to work on her over labor day weekend. i was planning on new pipes but with all the recent spending i think i'm going to wait for now. by then i should have a better take on how the jetting is treating me and what i should do for bettering the performance. just want to say once again that i really appreciate all of the help. let's just hope it isn't the cdi...knock on wood.