thespirit

Some of the things I have done is test the rectifier, and it seems good. I tested the coils on the stator and they are all within the right resistance. I tested from ring to ring on the rotor (brushes out), and there is 5 ohms resistance. The only thing that I thought was odd, was the brushes were connected together. The brush with the smaller metal clip was screwed into the top left of the holder (left side of the holder) and the one with the larger clip was on the right side with it screwed into the top left, top right, and bottom right. There was no connection to the bottom left screw. With the brushes out, there is a 36 ohm resistance between the two brush wires. I posted to a mailing list about it and they said they are not supposed to be connected together. So I took them back out and connected it so the left brush (small metal clip) is connected to the bottom left screw (shorter wire, non frame ground), and the right brush is connected like it was before. I put it all back together and tried to start it and it rolled over once and then everything quit. I checked the main fuse and it's blown. (It was not blown previously)... I have very little experiance and am trying to get as many opinions as I can. Pictures of how the brushes are supposed to screw in would be ideal. My way of thinking is that the brushes are now correct, but the resistance between the two brush wires indicate a short somewhere... Am I on the right track? I can't get the left side cover off till tomorrow when my brother brings his grinder. Someone welded the shifter to the shift rod...

I have a '76 yamaha 650. The key I have for the ignition doesn't work in the gas cap, so it doesn't close. It looks like it's just the wrong key and not a broken cap. The cap has 3194 stamped on it and they has 3170. I think I can get a key made for the gas cap, but the ignition switch moves pretty freely instead of stopping like I imagine it should, so sometimes it doesn't turn on unless you get it just right. Would it be better to just get a new ignition and see if they can get it keyed the same as the gas cap? Do they even do that, or will I need to get new ones of both? Aaron

I'm feeling a little better about it after sleeping on it (not the bike!). I'm more excited that I have one today than I am worried about all the problems. I found the service manual online and I downloaded it last night. I'm going through it now.. My first priority is to get the battery charging and the brake lights working. I found out after I posted that the brake lights were not coming on. There is a spring that activates them and when I pulled on it more, the lights came on. I'll adjust that and work on the battery today. I need to get the gas cap working too. I'd hate to get water in there.

I think I made an impulse buy... Long story short, I wanted to get a bike to commute to work. The kid from across the street had a friend that was selling one and he brought it over for me to look at. I took it for a spin and liked it... It has some problems that I was unsure of, but bought it anyway... It's a 1976 650 Special 2. It has 17,000 miles on it. 1. Gas was leaking out of the petcock on the reserve side. I tightened up the bolt it was leaking out of, and it has seemed to stopped for now. I think that just needs a new seal. 2. The battery is not charging. He said he put a new one on it. So it could be generator, wire, etc. 3. The gas cap does not lock down for some reason. I tried the key in it and it doesn't turn. I haven't torn it apart yet to figure out why. 4. The neutral light does not come on. 5. The ignition key turns, but it's worn and doesn't stop at the proper intervals. 6. The shifter is down to far for my foot. They said they had to weld it back on... I paid $550 for it... Did I make a huge mistake?