81 xj550 project

was without a project for too long and also wanted a second bike for when i don't want to take my baby out.

found this bike a few weeks ago, price was fair. of course it did not run. that would have been too easy. it turns over, the carbs are with Dave at the moment.



i wasn't really sure what to go for in the beginning. but the tank had to go. i just could not get used to the shape.
tank itself is in good shape, it is just surface rust, inside is pretty clean.
found a suzuki tank that works well with the bike.
other than that, i cut the frame, build a custom seat get a new speedo and changed the triple tree top. but i will keep the airbox and put side covers on



originally, i made it fit by using a hammer and dent in the inside. however, than tank was too low and too far back. today, i took off the brackets and will move them up and forward.

i have been busy stripping the bike to pretty much the frame. once i am done with all the work on the frame, it goes off to powder coating and i will start cleaning up the engine.


yucky


cut frame and attached hoop. still needs to be welded into place. but this will happen next week or so.


more to come

 

got the basic template for the seat pan. it will not sit on the frame, i will weld brackets to lift it about half of an inch. i will fiber glass it, makes it easier to get a nice transition to the tank. i think i will add a small hump in the back for a better flow of the lines. but it will most likely be shaped out of seat foam



headlight i will be using. the speedo will sit in there. happens to have two light bulbs in there. will wire the neutral light into one. maybe turn signal indicator to the other. dunno yet

 

why is your front sprocket sitting in your mulch pile?
that looks like what I found as well as a sapling when I removed that cover

 

Ha. And i already took some of it out.

 

I found a waxy/greasy mess with a bunch of dead O-rings when I opened mine up the first time.

FU

 

i was expecting some sort of dead animal. but lucky me, nothing

got some stuff done today: tank brackets relocated and welded, fiber glass seat pan built, brackets for that welded to frame and test fitted. still needs to be cut into shape. sits about half an inch up. did that on purpose. looks actually much nicer in person
here she is so far

 

another one. sorry about the huge pics. it's how the link from photobucket displays them

 

Pic sizes are perfect.

 

not much time these days because i am riding my bike or spend the weekend with my kids.
today, i finished up the seat pan and cleaned up the top tree
i also received my speedo which fits nicely into the bucket

 

Finished up all welding today

New mount for tank in seat area



New fork stop so clipons don't hit tank. Still need to be cut and cleaned up.



Additional mount for side covers (yet to be fabricated)



Cleaned wheels a little to see what I've got.
need to refer to manual how to remove the rubber thingies in the rear wheel hub.


Next on list is to grind all the welds to finish up the frame before having it powder coated. Hopefully this will happen next weekend.
Headlight bucket needs some fiberglass work to close holes. Tank needs to be welded. Since it is a Suzuki tank, there is a too big opening on top. Seat pan needs extra fiberglass work for nice transition to tank before it is off to upholstery. Have yet to figure out where to take it.


So I finally decided on colors for the tank and headlight bucket.
not sure yet about wheels. I keep thinking black powder coat.
Does anyone have pics of their powder coated wheels? All black.

 

Satin black powder coat on my wheels

 

frame is all done and will go to powder coating next week. seat pan is finished, i added the lock nuts (or whatever they are called). tank mount is also done, everything fitted nicely. and yes, the tank is not centered in the pic. i fixed it afterwards

 

With frame and seat pan done, I started to clean up some parts. Worst part of every project in my eyes.
It looks like this bike has never seen a detailed cleaning, and it almost feels like all the chain grease of the last 30+ years just collected around the front and rear sprockets. I am trying different degreasers at the moment but more cleaning is needed. I hope I find the best one before I get to the engine next week or so.

Question: the engine is out, how do I make it waterproof so I can clean everything without having to worry about water getting in? Would love to hose it down after I degreased it. And I don't really want to take it apart, even though it would make cleaning easier. An engine rebuild is planned for the winter. Also, could water get into the engine through where the front sprocket is?

 

If you stick to using a garden hose you have nothing to worry about (unless you have pods, in which case you should use rubberbands to secure plastic bags around the pods). Motorcycles are engineered to be ridden in rain.
Unless the output shaft seal is really bad you won't get any water inside the engine by spraying water there. Since there is so much oil buildup you might want to consider pulling the sprocket off and inspecting the seal, or just replacing it.

I just looked back and noticed that you have the engine out. Stuff the intake and exhaust with rags, or cover them with waterproof tape.

Again, garden hose pressure only. No pressure washers.

 

Thanks. And yes, no pressure washer.
Think I will use tape and put the rubber intake manifolds on top to securely hold it in place.

 

got new shoes and bearings installed today

 

frame was finally dropped off to get powder coated, i am also having the tank media blasted.
other than that, not much time this weekend because i took care of my baby: new ECU, new air filter, thorough check of all wires and hidden components and a good cleaning in spots where nobody will ever look.

 

Frame comes back next week. Tomorrow I will paint wheels and forks and check shims. And once the headlight bucket is sanded, everything should be ready for assembly next weekend.

 

Shiny...

 

This weekend I painted all of the remaining parts like forks and triple tree.

And with the long weekend coming up and having all parts ready for assembly by then, I have a question:
How do you guys put the engine back into the frame? Is there an easy way to do it? It's quite heavy and having a new paint job does not leave much room for errors. And I may not have an extra pair of hands to help lifting.
I have seen things like having the engine on its side and just slide in the frame from atop.
Or just slide the engine back in from the side, masking off the frame to save the paint job? Also, wheels on or off?

 

Put the engine on its side on some towels to prevent scratching. Then you can easily maneuver the bare frame into place and tilt it back upright. Also makes it easier to leave the oil filter off until it's in the frame.

 

Oil Filter HAS to stay off til its in the frame. It won't fit, otherwise. I put the engine up on a stool/block/stand/etc..... so it's the same height as the frame and carefully inch it in.

There was a thread a couple years ago by a fellow who made a cradle that bolts to the manifold boot bolt holes. He can swing the engine right in without even touching the frame with that.

Good luck finding that forum.....maybe someone else remembers it and dredge it up.

Your carbs are almost done!

Dave Fox

 

Thanks. Just need to set myself a reminder now to put the air box in before the engine. Weird design. I am sure I will totally forget about it though and kick myself the rest of the day.

Great news Dave, thanks.

 

.... And you can join the rest if us who have pulled an engine back out just to put the airbox in first

 

yay, frame is back.

 

right on dude... I'm rebuilding my 81 550 right meow too.. question for ya.. did you completely reasemble the engine to paint it? I'm looking to go flat black with a few brown parts. I've been researching this morning on different ways to go about it, but this looks like it would be much easier. It will be a week or two until I am ready, right now, i have a split case on my workbench, taking measurements and ordering new parts. How did you go about this? and did you use high temp auto paint? do tell, i'd much appreciate.. can't wait to see it when it's done!

 

I did not disassemble the engine. i just masked everything off after i cleaned it for half a day and spray painted it. first primer followed by a few coats of gloss black.
i used high temp paint (and primer)
in case i keep the bike after i am done, i will rebuild the engine in winter.
if i ever get there (still have the bike that is), i would probably look into having it ceramic powder coated. i once had that done to an exhaust system. looked nice and held up well.

 

Tank also came back. Needs a little bit of bondo now, there are two small dings in there.
Still deciding whether to paint myself or have it done. Considering the money I already put into it, a few hundred of bucks won't make a difference now, and I will get a nicer product. I still need to close the cutout (neck) on top, but most likely will ask a professional to weld it. I could do fiber glass at best but it is not a clean solution and I am not sure how that would go when the bike sits in the sun with metal expanding (I assume that's what it does)

 

Grrr, ran into an issue installing the tapered steering bearings (posted in the tech section) and have to get myself a replacement set now. No work on bike this long weekend I guess unless bike shops in my area have them. Let's just hope I get the air filter for my MV today so I can put at least one bike back together and go riding.

 

Tank and headlight bucket were dropped off for paint job today. Back end of June.

 

So i decided to start assembly and begin in the back. Lots of polishing nuts etc, slow process. But before i stopped, I decided to throw the rear wheel on real quick. And I liked what I saw even in crap lighting.


Got a question about the top rear shock mount: do people cut them short? The shock sits perfectly but that thingie that is sticking out is too long and the head nut (or whatever it is called) does not go in all the way. Pic below of what I mean...
Sorry about the dark pic.

 

Please don't suggest that you are going to coat an air cooled engine with an insulator.

As for the shock, don't cut the bolt. Instead make a spacer if the eyelet of your new shock is narrower in width than the original. Measure the old, measure the new, and cut a spacer to make up the difference. You may need two spacers to get the shock eye centered above the lower shock mount. You don't want it cockeyed top to bottom or it will tend to bind and wear out the eyelets.

 

Excellent point. Thanks for clarifying and for catching that it sounded like a suggestion.
Me looking into something means i am doing research and I most likely would have come across that fact and given up that idea.

 

Nice project, here! Love it so far.

 

Thanks Moe. the shocks have the same dimensions as the old ones. But with a bike that old, they were probably replaced at some point.
With the nut completely on, I still have a gap of about 8mm. I'll put a spacer on for now but will address it again later I think.

 

The shocks in the first picture you posted are the factory original shocks. Are you using the factory spacer that is in this photo?



That spacer is used when the grabrail or luggage rack is not installed.

 

Ah, i see. Good to know about the grab rail, that totally explains it. Thanks.
There were no spacers. Only two washers bouncing around losely. The shocks I have now are same width etc.
I think I still have some spacers from my Honda phantom and her luggage rails. I should be able to use them. If not, I will measure and buy.
Just finished for tonight, bike is now a rolling frame, pics tomorrow in daylight.

 

Missing steering bearings and my forks are messed up. Order for both in place. For the rear shock spacer I just used a bolt, looks and works well.
Here some pics, looking nice so far..





Realized I forgot to take center stand for powder coating but a good cleanup should do the trick.

 

Next weekend, the engine will go back in I hope. Need to measure shim gaps today and order. Didn't have small enough feeler increments but first check with .10 revealed that all are super tight.

 

I mean nut, not bolt.

 

I was gonna ask how that worked...

 

Start by ordering a 240 and use that to check your clearances with, then see what you already have in there, then figure what you can swp around, then order what you need for the changes.

 

Is this the way to do it, even if I have the numbers? Thinking about it, it would be a good way to double check the measurements.

Here is the gap, what is in there at the moment and what I would need according to the table.

E 1: 0.12, 255, Need a 250
E 2: 0.11, 260, Need a 255
E 3: 0.12, 255, Need a 250
E 4: 0.12, 255, Need a 250

I 1: 0.08, 265, Need a 260
I 2: 0.12, 265, Need a 265 (stays)
I 3: 0.08, 270, Need a 265
I 4: 0.10, 270, Need a 265

I watched the video on how to do get the shims out, but man, this job really tests your patience. Good thing my engine is still out. Can't imagine to do it on the bike.

 

You only need to get three 250's and one 265. Here's the chain of events

step A - put a 250 into E1, the 255 goes toE2, the 260 goes the I1, the 265 goes to I3, the 270 comes out.
step B - put a 250 into E3, the 255 comes out.
step C - put a 25o into E4, the 255 comes out.
step D - put a 265 into I4, the 270 comes out.

Send me all the extra shims for the pool Or, hang on to the 255's , you'll need the for the intakes someday....

Dave Fox

 

Nice. I started thinking about how to shuffle them around but gave up due to incoming brain meltdown (And kids distracting a bit)
sure thing on sending you the left overs. Do you happen to have the ones I need?

 

I'll check when I get home tonight

 

Just spent two hours just to hook up the rear brake. Mainly because of polishing nuts and bolts again. But The Who was in concert only three blocks away which made working on all those little details more pleasant.

 

Who?

 

The Who. English rock band. Super old