Trouble starting 82 Seca 650, advice appreciated

So I bought a new (old) 82 XJ650RJ about two weeks ago, with about 22,000 km and drove it 60 miles home with out a hitch. Now it seems that the bike just doesn't want to start! The bike will start up when its warm, but requires quite a bit of choke to stay running, and when it's cold the ignition won't even turn the motor over. I charged up the battery which didn't seem to have an effect (I will try replacing the battery soon, as well as the plugs) and the bike seems to idle a bit funny. Now the guy that sold it to me said he "had the carbs synced" and "had the bike tuned up", but I am thinking otherwise. I do have another Seca parts bike with a good starter and set of coils to replace, but I was hoping someone with some experience could point me in the right direction.

Sorry about the crappy picture

 

Test your battery with and without a load. There are specs for your bike in the repair manual. If the Batt is good check you wires and clean the connections. See if that helps

 

Jamings, good call. Its seems to be half an electrical issue because the engine doesn't fire right away, but when it does it fires good and strong. off topic, but what is the correct rpm this bike should idle at? (I am looking it up now too)

 

1050rpm

 

New battery, new plugs, and a "new" starter (one I know works great) still having trouble. Should I replace the coils or anything in the fuse panel? The plugs that I pulled out didn't look blackened, if anything the opposite (maybe running lean?). Anything like this sound familiar?

 

Does the engine have good spark and turn over fast but won't start or is it slow to turn over even with new parts?

 

Add raw propane to your air box and see if it runs any better. Let me know and I'll give you my thoughts.

MN

 

It's not that the engine doesn't get a good spark, it's that I can hold down the ignition switch and it won't turn over at all, but once it fires, the motor runs. The "new" starter and battery definitely turn the bike over instantaneously, but getting the ignition to spark seems to be the problem. I am going to try installing the coils off my parts bike to see if they have an effect on starting.

 

Mike,

If you haven't seen it yet, Gamuru wrote up an excellent guide on testing your starting circuit:

http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=7828.html

There's also the XJ electrical page. You might want to save a local copy, I think geocities is going the way of the dodo.

C$

 

Cmoney, thanks for that link, I now have a much better lead on where to look for problems after reading that article. I know the head light on the bike is aftermarket and much smaller than the original, which might have rubbed wires causing them to corrode, so I am going to pop the rat's nest open this weekend. I also have the entire electrical system off my parts bike that I can use to replace equipment on my newly purchased Seca, so I will get out the ole volt meter and hopefully this won't be a terrible electrical problem!