XJ650 Starting issues

If using a factory style oil cooler, the ADAPTER PLATE attaches to the engine crankcase via a special UNION BOLT (which has external threads which screw into the crankcase, and internal threads that accept the finned filter cover (or, in your case, the threaded hollow stud which holds the spin-on flat plate).

The adapter plate is going to add about 2-1/2" of additional projection (away from the engine, towards the header pipes) to the system.

The threaded stud that we provide with the spin-on kit is not long enough to reach and secure both the spin-on plate and the adapter plate.......you must use the union bolt.

 

So the hollow stud will have to come out to be replaced with a union bolt, and it will take 2.5 inches more?

Welp, I guess that will absolutely be a problem for the future. Everything seems fine for now but 1. I don't know if there is 2.5" of clearance with these headers, unless I can find a way to make these headers spread out 15mm wider (or get new headers made) 2. removing the bolt when everything is fine currently is absolutely something I am putting off till a later date.

 

I took it for a 20 mile group ride tonight. I definitely need more practice. I feel like my center of balance is off compared to the Honda Rebel 250 I had started out on. With these euro bars, my stance is forward and I keep putting pressure on my right hand and it keeps falling asleep. It gets a little better if I sit up and let my back support me instead. I did some math and I've put on 150 miles on this since getting the bike.

Couple comments:

I swear that there is the whistling sound, around 5000 rpms, though I don't really ever get it above 5000 rpms in any gear (4000 in first gear and it sounds so unhappy and loud that I will move into second gear asap, also with the fact 1st gear does not move very fast...I wish you could go faster in first gear without the engine revving so high, because it feels a little like the Rebel, don't bother spending any time in 1st gear except from a stop), Usually I will get it to 5000, and shift into a higher gear instead so I can hover around 3-4k rpm. She's 44 years old and I wanna baby the hell out of her (7 years older than me). I hear this is normal, however.

Since doing the valves back in June, which were out of spec, (6/8 of them needed to be decreased by 1 shim each, except Intake #4, needed to decrease by 3 shims!! When I checked the compression 1-3 were great, within 5psi of each other, but 4 was still quite low: 140.3 vs the highest, cylinder 1 at 152.7, a 12.4 psi difference, when max tolerance is 14psi. So technically it's okay, but that does stand out. A leakdown test was later done, and I was advised all of the cylinders across the board were under 10% and this was good, though I have no notes about where the, potentially, up to 9%? leakage was going... ) I hadn't ridden the bike between getting the bike back, except one time in a parade, and that's a bit too many distractions going on to really focus on the bike and how it's behaving.

Anyways, now that I've had her back, I've put about 50 miles on her, and it's given me some time to think about how the bike feels and what noises she's making and what's expected, what's not expected, etc.

She runs HOT, after the 20 mile ride you could feel the absolute heat radiating off her. It was about 82F with about 77-85% humidity, and we parked to talk and the bike was steaming. Either from cooking the air off the headers, and the humidity, or somehow from the cable lube I had tried to squirt a little bit down into the choke cable (rather unsuccessfully because I don't have that cable lube tool). I don't know if it's that's normal, with an air cooled bike, or if it's something more.

She also still makes a sound that sounds like something is "spinning" in the engine. Is it the cam chain? I don't know. It has an automatic chain tensioner, which afaik you shouldn't have to adjust, but maybe you do? I saw a few light scrapes on the inside of the valve cover, which would make me think at some point in the past the chain got loose and hit the underside. When I was doing the valve adjustment, I checked the tension via very gentle back and forth eighth of a turn and pulling up on the chain with my fingers, it felt really tight.

When I brought this up to my mechanic friend, they suggested that it could be the camshaft and the valves and that it's just a noisy bike. Tonight, I came across a post here, to someone else, saying that when the valves are properly adjusted it "sounds like a sewing machine" and yeah, I guess it kinda sounds like that? Been a while since I thought about what a sewing machine sounds like but I guess so?

I guess I'm just worried that it's a "bad" sound.

Also, I'm not sure if it was the wind, or if it was the road or me, but as I was getting to 50-55mph the bike felt a little..."wobbly" not like a wobble of death or anything, I've seen those, just more like...floaty? My ex said she took it up to 70 and it positively rips, and says it behaves differently past 50 or so, compared to before 50, so maybe that's what I've experienced.

 

I also liked that when I let my friend use my bike, to ride up and down the road to hear the noise I was hearing, they immediately revbombed the neighborhood. Me and my ex had a laff

 

I checked this a couple days later after I wiped it all off, and I'm noticing what looks like oil around it again. The bike tends to just sit on it's kickstand, And this is on the right side, so the oil is leaning away. It's not leaking nearly enough to cause a puddle on the ground, it's probably like a pinch of oil, that hasn't yet made enough surface tension to drop on the ground.

How would I fix this? Do I just tighten the Allen key thing here, or do I have to lay the bike on its left, unscrew it, and replace the o-ring on the opposite side? Or is it more involved than that?

 

Kick stand or the kick stand in small hole will be fine.
I wouldn't tighten it, but remove and inspect. Over tightening will break the outer easily.
If I could find one in my pile of bits and send a pic you'd understand but alas...
Have a look at the third post down in this thread. It shows how the plug can break. https://xjbikes.com/forums/threads/oil-drain-plug-on-side-of-crankcase.73198

 

Yeah I've been scouring the forums and my 80's official manual and it doesn't even reference it. Only information I can find about it is there is an o-ring, and it's a plug for the "oil gallery" and that Len (in 2008 anyways) thinks it's around at most 8ft lbs.

I guess I'm asking for more specifics:

1. what is it?
2. how do I address it?
3. what is the torque setting?

 

If it's an o-ring, nice and snug is good and the o-ring will keep it from backing out.

 

Yes, it is an o-ring on a plug that plugs both ends of the oil gallery that is bored under the crankshaft.

I would just make sure that it is not one of the crank seals leaking and finding its way out from under the crank side covers.

it’s a 20mm hex so it can stand quite a bit of torque, but don’t go nuts. About 3 ugga duggas.

if it is tight and you are not being deceived by some other leak, then it is pretty cheap and easy to replace that o-ring.

 

Now that's military-grade specific!

 

both crank side covers have brand new gaskets on them from Len, yes, even though the right side cover doesn't do anything. It's not seemingly leaking from that area, but I can check tomorrow. If the crank seal is leaking, what happens then? I believe that spot is "sealed"? tbh it is not leaking that much, just enough that I notice it's slightly "wet" and not enough that it's really getting on the ground. Like, mild condensation amounts, is what we're talkin about here.

So I'm assuming without draining the oil, the procedure would be to buy new o-ring, lay bike down on it's left, use 20mm hex to unscrew it (carefully), replace oring, torque it to like maybe 3-5ft lbs and stand up the bike and check for leaks? Do I have that right?

 

Yes, it should be pretty straightforward.

You will lose some oil, but shouldn’t be too much.

 

I actually went out and looked at the bike, the side cover itself is bone dry.

I can't really tell where it is coming from cuz it's not obvious. It's either coming from the gallery plug, or possibly from the bolt that is immediately next to it, the bolt on the bottom of the crankcase because it's a little oily/greasy near the cavity slightly behind the plug.


Again, it's not obvious because it's not pooling. Everywhere else is bone dry. the only place I notice it collects is on that little raised cylinder immediately below the plug.

 

Degrease it and check after each ride.
Should become obvious.

 

Spray some foot powder on the area...... it will reveal the leak path.

 

The bike didn't want to start... I had to put it on res and wiggle the bike back and forth, and then she started. I had tried slapping the carbs and checked the flow from the petcock, I turned it to prime and it started to leak around the petcock so I turned it back off and it stopped leaking immediately.

 

This is the inside of the gallery plug. I’m not sure if you can tell from the photos, but the o-ring is pretty flattened and sacked out. If you told me this was leaking I would not be surprised at all. 40+ years is a long time- what do you expect?

Also, the more I think about it I think I would take it up to 20~25 lbft and put some blue loctite on it. Just make sure it’s good and snug. If it fell out while you’re riding that would be a bad time.