I have done them on a Nitro Funny Car, but not a bike. Basically, you use a rubber tipped air nozzle hooked to a psi gauge to blow air into the cylinder while at TDC, and measure the percent of air lost. We are happy if we retain 80 percent. That might actually be easier, since you don't have to turn the motor fast. The tools for a compression test, however, ca be borrowed at an auto parts store for free. I don't know about the XL, but typically that number is about 100 to 120 psi. I've heard the Honda gaskets are better quality than others, and worth the price to prevent future leaks.
It may look like a lot but it's as thin as I can spread it. I coat both the head and rocker cover along with both sides of the gasket. NO leaks. Use a non hardening sealant like Hondabond.
OK, thank you fellas- I noticed that the head cover gasket is steel, and was planning on re-using it. Will probably cut my own stator cover gasket. If anyone has the thickness spec on that cover, I'd appreciate it. Will perform checks on stator, as outlined in Clymer manual, to try to get an idea whether Ricky Stator is in order. But now... a question: Is a fully charged and healthy battery necessary for spark?
Nope. Battery has nothing to do with ignition. One thing with the stator is that you may get spark when first started/cold and then lose spark as the stator comes up to temp.
OK, thanks. That's what I thought. I am confused about the role of the stator in spark generation. I suppose that I should infer from everybody's insistence that the stator is a likely culprit that it IS in fact important to spark. But I thought spark was the job of the pulse generator and the coil, and I thought the stator was just for charging. Sorry to ask these questions that I am sure are answered elsewhere... but I have read the electrical chapter in the manual, and this issue is NOT clear... at least not to me.
one these bikes, there are three (3) separate circuits from the stator. One AC circuit for the headlight with an AC regulator, one circuit with a rectifier/regulator that charges the battery and all the little lights (instrument, turnsignals, etc...). the third circuit is the ignition circuit, it provides AC (like 70volts) to the CDI, which boosts the voltage even more to drive the ignition coil, which then generates the HV for the plug.. the timing of the CDI is controlled by the pulse generator coil on the right side of the crankshaft. for the bike to run, all it needs is the ignition circuit on the stator, the CDI, the pulse generator, ignition coil and plug and the kill wire on both the kill switch and ignition switch _not_ to be connected to frame ground. you can check, the sparkplug cap, the ignition coil, stator coil and pulse generator coil with an ohmmeter. however, this won't tell you if there is an intermittent in the wiring or HV break down somewhere. most common issues are: 1. stator coil (the epoxy breaks down over time in the hot oil and then vibration will short out windings) 2. cracked spark plug (easy to do on these deep well motors if you don't have a good fitting socket) 2. water/moisture getting in the HV wiring/coil/plugcap, hard to find. 3. wiring problems (e.g. kill wire shorted to ground somewhere) it's rare that the CDI breaks or the pulse generator dies, but not unheard of.
it's rare that the CDI breaks or the pulse generator dies, but not unheard of.[/QUOTE] Not rare for me, I've had to repair two CDI's for my XL600.
Not rare for me, I've had to repair two CDI's for my XL600.[/QUOTE] Not rare for me either...had to replace one of mine..went cactus.
what did you repair on them ? I know sometimes the connector pins come lose from the PCB and need to be re-soldered.
On the first one there were 7 connections on the PCB where the solder had cracked, I re-soldered them and have been running that CDI for about a year with no problems. The second CDI I De-soldered the entire PCB and re-soldered. I ran this one to make sure it worked and have it as a backup just in case.
Do you, or anyone for that matter, have a diagram of the cdi? After a summer of troubleshooting the ignition, stator, no start situation I've been having, I'm thinking it's the CDI.
Not a diagram, but this is what I used. http://www.thumpertalk.com/topic/881740-xrl650lnx250650transalp-cdi-repair/ There's also this one. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=684756
I'm thinking about holding out on doing the right side cover seals and the oil pump leak stoppers and the PG until after I get it running when I have to change the oil again anyway. Getting antsy[/QUOTE] I know what you mean about antsy. You really gonna want to pull the cover off again after its all together?:huh Its out now, just go ahead and get it all done. Then ride ride ride ride.
