New bike, new to forum, bike that will not idle

Hello!

My name is Ryan, I just recently purchased a 1982 XJ550 Maxim. This is my first motorcycle, and I look forward to riding and learning how to work on it. I have a little bit of experience working on cars, but none on motorcycles.

The bike I bought seems to run well enough, with the exception of idling. The bike starts right up with full choke, and idles well enough with the choke on. However, as soon as I remove the choke the bike dies. If I give some throttle while removing the choke, it continues to run fine. Even after being warmed up, I must stay on the throttle (around 1500 rpm) to keep the bike running.

The previous owner stated that he did a bit to get the bike to where it is, but didn't really specify what exactly. He told me that the owner before him and had cleaned the carbs. I got the bike pretty cheap because of the idling issue.

I think that my first course of action should be to take the carburetors apart myself, and take extra special care to make sure that the jets are clean. Does this seem like a reasonable first step? Should I be doing anything else while I have the bike apart?

Besides the idling issue, the previous owner told me that there weren't really any issues with the bike besides cosmetics. Should I be looking at any specific parts that may be needing replacement on this 30 year old bike that would be fairly easy for a novice to switch out? The previous owner did say that the bike would probably need a new chain soon, but as of right now it is adjusted to where it needs to be. Is switching the chain a large/expensive job?

The final question I have is in regards to turn signals. The bike is wired for it, and has the switch on the handlebars, but there are not any signals on the bike. While still being legal in Illinois, I would prefer to have turn signals....Will I run into any issues trying to hook up signals on this bike? I wouldn't think so being as the wires are there, but I just wanted to double check.

Thank you guys, and I look forward to learning a ton from you!

 

your carbs need to be cleaned , your pilot jet circuit is what runs the bike at Idle to 2.5k rpm is clogged this consistes of a jet in the bowl an airjet under the top cover and a mixture screw
welcome

some reading for you

The Information Overload Hour

The Ultimate Relay, Switch, Sensor, and Diodes Guide

IN THE CHURCH OF CLEAN

THE SECRET LIFE OF CARBURETORS

Something New, Something Naked

c

AIRHEAD VALVE ADJUSTMENT with Pics

AIRHEAD VALVE ADJUSTMENT Part 2: The Tool vs. ZipTie -w/pics

Choosing Oil for a Wet Clutch Motorcycle


SAFETY ALERT Drum rear brake bike owners please take a look


our forum supporting vendor plenty of parts and advice Chacal

XJ4Ever - Supporting Vendor

 

Brake lines have a manufacture date printed on 'em. They expire after 4 to 5 years. If yours is like most, they've been on there 30 years!
Tires should be checked for age. Cracking rubber is bad.
Clips holding glass fuses get brittle and break. Many upgrade to blade style fuse boxes.
As for turn signals, putting them back on is the right idea. Using a set designed for your bike, either used on evilBay or new from someone like XJ4ever (see link at top right of page) will be easiest. Voltage change can cause the blinking function to fail.
Do you still have the original airbox? This will make tuning a billion times easier. Your carbs are designed to work with it. Individual intake cones make it far more difficult.
Plastic side covers are fragile and costly, especially the right side. Be careful when removing them.

 

Also, why is evilBay putting links in my post? Annoying! I hate when computers make decisions for me!

 

chains are cheap
you can get an oring chain on ebay for 50$ 530 x 104 links you will want the non rivet masterlink style or you will need a 80$ tool to install it

for under 100$ you should be able to get front and rear sprocket and chains

do you want stock turn signals or aftermarket led ones?
stock easy , led needs a little work to adapt. flasher relay for leds will be needed

 

I would add the following to MattiThundrrr and XJ550H's comments. Don't let yourself get overwhelmed by the information and what needs to be done on the bike. Slow and steady will get the job done. Working on the bike is relatively easy and folks here are incredibly generous in sharing their knowledge.

 

check your inbox left you a link for factory service manual and carb rebuild pdf

 

Welcome ,. Where in Illinois are you located? You need to disregard anything P.O. told you check and adjust the valves is also one big step, rebuild the carbs fully . follow along you will get a lot of help .

 

Links help to pay the bills for this site. It seems inconsistent but whenever you type the name of a site that Snowsheriff gets paid to link to ( like ebay), the text becomes a link. It's far more common on other forums than it is here though.

EDIT:
When I posted there was no auto-linking, so maybe it's been disabled.

 

I got links for the word "tires" and "airbox". Also, the word "eebay" in kmoes post is a link. Whatever, not that annoying.

 

Ahhhh...... I must not see them becasue I'm one of those uppity paying members.

 

Sigh. I miss money. Too bad it doesn't seem to miss me.

 

Thanks for all the tips everyone! I don't feel the need to go LED on the turn signals, especially if it's easier to run the normal ones.

XJ550H, thank you for all the links! Those should be extremely helpful. Should I replace both sprockets when I replace the chain?

Jetfixer, I am in central Illinois, Bloomington-Normal area. But I go to school in the St. Louis area.

MattiThundrrr, I think PO has already replaced the fuse box. I'm not sure on the airbox, I will look when I get a chance. Is changing brake lines an extensive job?

 

I don't see them and I am not a premium member. I wonder if you have an extension in your browser doing that.

 

I opened another tab on my browser at one point and did an evilBay search for xs1100 parts. I think that started it all...

 

It's becoming self aware!

 

Sounds like your on the right track for a good running bike. You have everyone's attention and now know what needs to be done.

If your gonna change one sprocket. Do both. There's a lot that needs to be done to a 30 year old bike. But you only need to do it once. For now at least. That will last for another 30 years.

But here's another link for the real cost. It's a lot cheaper than a "newer" bike that still needs work or a NEW bike.

http://xjbikes.com/forums/threads/tech-topic-the-real-costs-of-maintenance.14581/

 

stock is easiest if the relay is there

manual will show you a good sprocket and howto tell

ebay make offer of 12$ for rear sprocket 10$ for front sprocket it will be 19.99 shipping

NOS Yamaha Steel Rear Drive Sprocket Black JX550 XJ 550 Seca 46T 4G0-25446-20-33

NOS Sunstar Countershaft Drive Sprocket 16T Yamaha FJ600 FZ600 YZ600 XJ400 XJ550

chain 36.40$ free shipping
Natural 530x104 O-Ring Drive Chain Motorcycle 530 Pitch 104 Links 8200# Tensile

not on the 550,

 

I wouldn't go as far as to say it is a virus, but it is definitely one of those things that installed itself on your computer when you were not looking... My kids use the computer for that crappy gaming (the free flash stuff) and often times there's a lot of "garbage" links in the side bars of MSN and other pseudo news sites that is all too tempting to click on... so the family computer in the living room ended up with the symptoms you are describing... It got worse and worse, slowing everything down. The only way I was able to get rid of it was to back up all the important files and do a complete rebuild. Right down to reinitializing the hard drive and reinstalling all of the applications.

Sorry to keep the thread off track.

 

It's not a virus.

 

no not a virus some browsers have a setting to show ebay as a link or xjbikes as a
or as suggested it is a function of the site to raise money

 

Update: I took apart and cleaned (hoping to do full rebuild this winter) the carbs today. The bike now idles! Kind of.

The bike will idle for a bit, and then die. Even after warming up it does the same thing. I adjust the idle speed up, it doesn't do much, then I hit the throttle and then the engine revs way up and stays there. I then let off the idle adjustment and the rpms goes way back down. I can't get it to stay above 1600 rpm or below 3500 idling.

Here is the biggest issue I ran into while cleaning the carbs: the pilot jets in carbs 2 and 3 had been previously stripped. Completely. I could not get them out. What I ended up doing was spraying carb cleaner into jet while it was still seated, and then sprayed compressed air. Then I repeated that process about 30 more times and hoped that it cleared the jet. I bench synced the carbs as well.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to get those 2 pilot jets out to replace?

Tomorrow I plan to buy a thickness gauge so that I can check the valve clearances. Are there any other special tools I should pick up while I'm at the autoparts store?


Thanks!

 

Get some 12 gauge house wire. See if they have any cutoff pieces. You only need a foot or so.


Getting the jets out is going to requre a good long soak in a penetrating oil, and maybe some heat. If the slots are stripped ot then you'll need a screw extractor and drill, or a good set of pliers, as well.

 

Sorry, I should have clarified. It is the slots that are stripped.

 

In regards to the airbox, it does look like the original. However, there is a large portion of it missing. It looks like someone shoved a piece of cardboard in there to cover up the hole.

What should I do about this? Is this cardboard good enough for now, is there a better way to fix this airbox, or should I be looking at replacing it?

Thanks!

 

It's ABS plastic. You can patch it with some ABS sheet through a couple of means. A soldering-iron to weld the new sheet into the box, or a slurry of acetone and ABS chips to glue it.
A replaement is a good alternative to fixing it, but the airbox is not particularly easy to remove.

You could also use the cardboard as a backer, and fill the missing peice in with Bondo or epoxy. Since the gap is on the unfiltered side of the box you don't need to worry about the hole being there for now...but when it rains....

 

I just had a heck of a time with my number 1 pilot screw, it took about a week and a half of pb blaster, olive oil and heat, and a candle and heat to get it to come out. I buggered the slot up on my first try, so I had to use pliers to move them, but I did finally get it done;I will definitely need to order a new one, though. I'm starting on number 2 now, on day 2 of its regimen, ha ha. I stopped much quicker this time around, so hopefully this one will be salvageable!

 

Ryan,
Welcome aboard. What are the mix screws set at?

Gary H.

 

Thanks!

I'm not sure, my manual said that the screws were preset at the factory and not to touch them. I didn't want to do something that I couldn't look up how to fix.

 

The manual states that as a matter of federal emissions law. A mechanic (you being said mechanic) can unseal and adjust them if needed.
You will be removing them during your carb cleaning/ rebuild, cleaning the passages, replacing the teeny-tiny o-rings that seal them, and setting them to 2 1/2 turns out from a soft seat as a baseline setting for tuning.

 

There is a good chance the plugs have been removed from mixture screws anyway.

 

In the process of checking valve clearances. I got

Exhaust: .08 .115 .16 .13
Intake: .09 .09 .125 .035

Do these numbers seem reasonable for a bike that needs some love? Or did I do something wrong.

In regards to shims, are these pretty generic and most any Yamaha shim should fit if I went to a local dealer and asked for shims? Or are these older bikes different? Should I bring one of the old shims with me to look?

Finally, one of the bolts on my ignition cover snapped. I was able to remove the cover, but not remove the bolt from the ignition. Any ideas on how to get this out? Drill it and crack it in half?

Thanks!

 

There's still enough bolt there that you don't need to resort to drilling yet. Gently apply some heat to the case where the bold threads in, and grab it (the bolt) as tightly as possible with a pair of vice grips. You should be able to just un-screw it no problem.

Also...regarding your airbox, a piece of light sheetmetal and some pop rivets would be the makings for a great patch. Seal it up with some RTV to make it air/water tight and you'll be good-to-go.

 

The clearances appear fairly typical, spec is as follows:
550:
Intake: 0.11 - 0.15mm ( = 0.004 - 0.006")
Exhaust: 0.16 - 0.20mm (= 0.006 - 0.008")

So one exhaust and one intake shim are good, the rest will need to be brought into spec. You might be able to shuffle some around. I would take all of the shims out and record the numbers you have, this will help with switching around now, and then you will have these numbers for future valve clearance adjustments.

As a bonus, if you turn the motor upside down after removing the cams, not thinking about the fact that the buckets aren't held into place by anything anymore and they spill out onto the basement floor, you will be able to get them back to the right locations based on these numbers that you have in your maintenance logs.

You can buy new shims from Chacal at the link on the top right of the page, or start a conversation with him. Also, member hogfiddles runs a shim pool, you could get into contact with him.

 

Whow ...agree pull shim out one at a time ..you will find a number on bottom of the shim ...write it down...now put the shim back in move to next valve repeat...DO NOT pull shim and turn over engine without a shim in place. After you take your readings determin which valve needs a different shim ( the manual has a chart with shim numbers) if you get lucky you might get away with swapping around IE if one valve has a 280 you might have to go to a 275. My local Yamaha dealer had the 3 used shims for 9.00$ each . Read posts on adjusting valve it is easy with a good zip tie or 18 gauge wire.

 

Did we not give you these links yet?

AIRHEAD VALVE ADJUSTMENT with Pics
AIRHEAD VALVE ADJUSTMENT Part 2: The Tool vs. ZipTie -w/pics

 

K moe you are my hero I ran out of time to finish post...

 

Thanks for the response. This is what I had done. I read the post about adjustment and followed it. Just wasn't sure if those numbers were way off and I somehow messed something up. I went to my dealer and found some shims.

 

Yes, thank you. I have completed the first round of shim pulling using the wire method. I have recorded everything and got the new shims that I need. I am having a lot of difficulty removing the shims however using the wire method. Do you have any tricks or recommended tools? Mine don't just slide out real easy with a screw driver as shown in guide. I have the freed from the body, but can't get them to slide out.

 

For future refrence, Hogfiddles runs a shim pool. If your dealer charged you for the shims (many don't) then you may want to ask him next time.

 

Not sliding them out happens with the bucket tool too.
Use a clean magnet to remove the shims, per the servce manual.

 

Also, I have tried the heat method on the snapped bolt in the ignition cover to no avail. I believe that the bolt is seized in there and that's part of the reason it snapped. Should I soak it in pb spray and just keep trying with heat and vice grips?

 

Okay, I'll give that a shot. I was hesitant about using a magnet to remove because of everything I read about not using magnetized tools

 

Do you have a friend who is good at welding?
Sometimes a torch can't get the bolt hot enough. Have a nut welded to the stub. The heat from welding will free it up and you can then remove it using the nut. That methos almost always works.

 

In order to even slightly magnetize a shim you would have to rub it against the magnet aproximately 20 times, and even then it can be demagnetized just by dropping it on the floor.

 

Okay, I'm giving up for the night. I spent almost two hours trying to get one shim out. It just seems like it's too tight. What makes it so frustrating is that I KNOW it will come out, because I had it out earlier today.

 

$3.oo. Easy-peasy.


Make sure that the nose of the cam lobe is pointed 180º away from the face of the shim, not from the base of the head.

 

Is it something in my technique then? Because the magnet is doing nothing for me.

 

Epiphany had: was reading through forums and something triggered a thought. The wire that I was using had been smashed and thinned out from repeated use. I used a new piece of wire, had more room, and the shin popped right out with the magnet.

 

That'd do it.
Be sure to use single strand, insulated 12 gauge wire for to keep more rounder instead of flat.