Yamaha xj550 sitting for 10 years

i did it ! I used a plastic hammer to loosen the gas bowls on the carburators.
2 screw that were rotten and i needed to drill out and all the gaskets and rubbers are in realy bad condition.
Also all the rubbers an gaskets from the petcock needs to be changed:




This is what i used to clean out this mess :

After somme cleaning ;




Got the carbs out :

 

This is how the bowls looked like on the inside ;


This is the gaskets i struglin to remove...



Time flies by if i'm working on a bike. So enough of work donne today. Tommorow to do list :
-Clean all carb parts
-drain the engine oil
-Prepare the tank for electrolysis
-Maybe check if the engine is loose... I hope so ! -> what case i need to remove to turn the engine around with a wrench?

 

Cleaning of the carbs is essential to getting your bike to idle and run. Take your time, be meticulous, take pictures and notes for future reference. Looks like you have a decent space and tools to wrench. Got a impact screwdriver?

The left side crankcase cover with YICS on it.

Gary H.

 

Your carbs don't look all that bad considering. I see that the petcock fuel screen is in excelent condition.

 

That's a whole lot better than some racks I've rebuilt----

 

Thanks i will take a look and hopefully it's loose (i will let u guys know)

 

Well it's my first motorcycle i restore from scratch. So maybe i'm not used to work with a bike that's in this condition.
I can imagine that their are projects that the bikes are in worse condition from start.

But here is a picture u can actualy see how dirty the block engine is become after sitting for over 10 years :

 

But the pic shows airbox, boots, carbs, intake boots all connected.... Exhaust pipes still connected, seat still on..... Not easy for water to get inside like that. So you'll probably be pleasantly surprised. Just because it's ugly outside doesn't mean it's ugly inside.

 

It's what we call a barn find. As Hf stated...looks like a complete bike which is good. And as k-moe stated isn't what we call bad considering it's not been road worthy in 10 years. Cleansing the bike of the bird poo will transform the look. A problematic project is a bike that has a bunch of missing and or damaged beyond repair parts.

Gary H.

 

Yeah. For example, here's my latest project acquisition: ( some people may have already seen this)

Dave F

 

you're absolutly right !

Another question for preparing my fuel tank for the electrolysis :

Do i need to remove the fuel level meter on the inside of the fuel tank ?

And how can i remove the main nozzle ?

 

I like the entire xj series but this one is gonna be good. Please start a build thread (I need to follow this). A turbo that'll boost the way it came from the factory. Can't wait to see the test run video. Make her fly Hf, I know you can.

@Wottel: My apologies but I just couldn't resist.

Gary H.

 

Wottell, yes, remove every thing from the tank.
Main Nozzle: do you mean the tube in the center of the carb? Turn the carbs upside down and the emulsion tubes drop out through the top. They are probably gummed up and stuck in place so you'll have to soften the gooey stuff first. I carefully heat the riser with a small torch to let the heat soften stuff, the drive them out with a drift. It's soft brass so don't mess up the threads, and don't hit hard, either, because you're working in a soft aluminum body.

 

Well i removed the case on the left side to see and turn it around....
I guess i messed up the timing now lol ?
will post a picture asap.

 

The engine is loose !

So here is the picture , if u turn this bolt to left u can turn around the engine.
But i managed to spin it a bit clockwise Does this has any negative effect on the ignition or so ?


Ow and thanks for the advice i managed to get the main nozzle out in the center :
they were pretty hard to get out


So now i put this carb unit into a carb cleaner/degreasser for a day and start to clean it up.
I finished the carb bowls, Maybe i need to polish it with wet sand paper on a flas surface (place where the gaskets commes). Because i used a soft steel brush to remove the old gaskets.


So now we know the engine is loose we can continue to do all the work and order the pieces we need to start this beauty

 

Naah, you didn't mess anything up.

Btw, when your carbs are all torn down and cleaned, they'll look like this before reassembly:

And when they're done, they'll look sort like this:

 

Take care when turning the engine not to damage the lobes directly above and below the timing plate. Those are the pickups for the coils. Your bowls look good.

Gary H.

 

shine bright !


Can somebody tell me what this screw is for (red in picture) ? I removed it but don't know the settings.
I checked 1 screw and if i spinned the screw all the way in its 2 turns loose.
is this correct for standerd setting ?

 

idle mixture screw 2 to 2-1/2 turns out to start

see page 18, 19, 20 of this link
http://www.xj4ever.com/inside your carbs.pdf

 

How did you get the carbs so clean?
Just wondering what you used.