Looking for affordable mods for my XJ

After 4 yrs with my endorsement and not enough money to get a bike, the IRS gave me enough money to get my baby going. I own a 1982 XJ 550 and besides minor cosmetic touch ups such as paint and a few dings, i would like to increase the performance of this bike. Any suggestions would be highly appreciated.

 

pods/exhaust but either of those can run you into some $$$ if you end up having to re-tune (re-jet and sync) your carbs.

 

its not worth it, and where in michigan are u from? theres lots of michigan guys

 

These are the kind of things that piss me off. Who are any of us to tell someone else that something "isn't worth it."? It's all subjective. I'm spending WAY more money on my electrics and front end than most people w/ bikes like ours do, because I gave practically a song for the bike itself.

If I paid $2000 for my bike, theres no way I'd be dropping another $500-$1k on the front half, but since I barely gave 200, I have no issue doing it.

Bottom line, ANY mod is "worth it" if it's what YOU want, because after all it's your bike, not mine, not schooters. Make it yours if thats what you want to do, don't let anyone else's opinion put you off from it.

 

Ok, I'll try to rephrase.

It has been mentioned that applying a 4-1 exhaust w/ pods causes quite a few problems tuning the carbs. you'll most likely have to pull the carbs off quite a bit, keep buying new jets, adjust the carbs, so on and so forth. AND, it has been observed the the increase in power is minimal, it just moves the powerband around a bit. So, if you're not mechanically inclined, it isn't worth it. But if you have turned a wrench or two, go for it, it's your choice.
As RickCoMatic ALWAYS says, if you want more power, buy another bike. The engineers from yamaha got about all the could out of these engines, they're plenty fast.
Though, since your bike is a 550, maybe try throwing on a bigger sprocket in the back or smaller in the front, that will make it feel like its got more power. Also, I'm not sure if this will work well, though naything can with some engineering. Buy a 650 turbo parts bike, and make your bike turbo charged, that may work.
What ever, and im sorry switch for pissing you off

 

Schooter, as i said in another thread on here, I didn't intend to target anyone in particular, just in general. I wholeheartedly support the 'turbo that beast!' sentiment. I've got a 3.8L v6 engine in my garage in pieces right now to go into my camaro after I work out the turbo shenanigans. Sequential turbos + 4.2L stroker kit should = 400 hp v6 that gets 32+ on the highway :twisted:

On topic, dfknoll, I say go for it. Do what you want to do, to make that bike YOURS. BUT (always a catch, right?) schooter is very right. The general consensus about our bikes seems to be that, short of major mods like a turbo or something, the yamaha engineers did a spectacular job, and all you'll end up doing is moving the power band around for the most part.

If you want a quick mod to make it feel peppier, go -2 teeth on the front sprocket, and +2 teeth on the rear. That little 550 will probably be a wheelie machine, and will make you feel like you swallowed your fillings out of the hole. But you'll lose some top end, so it's always a tradeoff.

 

thanx a lot for the suggestions switch and schooter. i figured that that was about all i could get out of my bike. if anything i think i would like more top end because at 70 the bike is spinning at 6k rpm and being air cooled and all it would be nice to run at a little lower rpm, but more top end isnt particularly necessary.

On a separate topic, is there any speedometers out there that are compatible with my bike that u have heard of? It would be nice to know how fast im going after 85. lol.

 

I forgot to add that i am from teh Frankenmuth area, which for those of you who dont know, thats along the I-75 corridor near the Tri-Cities

 

you could always do other mods for comfort instead of performance like if your a shorter guy maybe get shorter shocks or if you wanna do it cheep like me take em off and chop an inch or two off, or if your handy in the metal shop make some highway pegs and forward foot controls for em. possibilities for mods to these bikes are almost endless.

 

Others can verify this, but I'm pretty sure a speedo for any Jap bike will work. Think they all have the same ratio.
There are some guys on here who have went with pod filters and 4 into 1 exhaust and claim to have not needed to re-jet. Just so you have both sides of the story.

 

Easiest preformance boost, 4 to 1 exhaust and change the stock air filter to a high flow K&N style. You will usually have to increase the main jets one or two sizes.
I have also heard that some have installed pods and exhaust without rejetting, I think they will be looking at some engine repair in the near future from running to lean.

 

http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic ... tml#174182

http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic ... tml#171050

Check out "worldsfastestxj550" in the second thread links ^^
Hot rodding is a passion- - an obsession.
But other than this guy, no one has proven a 10 HP gain.
What's up with that?

 

How about an Acewell?

http://www.electrosport.com/street/speedometers.php

They're programmable for any wheel size / engine configuration....and are a lot smaller than the big boofy standard gauges.

 

How about an Acewell?

http://www.electrosport.com/street/speedometers.php

They're programmable for any wheel size / engine configuration....and are a lot smaller than the big boofy standard gauges.

 

http://www.trailtech.net/85-704.html

here is another type of electronic speedo