newbies issues

first off i think this is a great place to come to for great answers/ideas. My 81 550 maxim is my first street bike. I've had many dirt bikes and love riding. I paid $500 for the bike, it has new tires and is in pretty good condition. the only issue i have is that the carbs are gummed up (or so i think) I need to have the choke on all the time to keep it running at an idle. i've done many carb cleanings in the past between dirt bikes and snowmobiles but these carbs seem to intimidate me for some reason. First off getting them out (PAIN!) and also with the tuning and syncing. i'm still torn tho just have someone else clean them ($$$) or try it myself. i just cant see spending almost as much as i paid for the bike to get the carbs cleaned and tuned.

 

Try running some SeaFoam or Heet thru them. You can get either at auto parts store.

 

If you have cleaned other carbs before i wouldn't hesitate so much they arent that much different. Plus theres all kinds of guides and walkthroughs on the carbs if you ever get hung up anywhere and most have pics. Good luck!

 

If the bike has been sitting for any period of time I would go ahead and dismantle and clean. Do one at a time so parts don't get mixed up and you have others to refer to if you get stuck. I like to use a large sheet pan to keep small parts from wandering. Small springs, washers and o-rings are hiding behind jets and screws and don't come out until you spray or air them down, easy to lose them if you don't know they're, there.If you have the $$$ get carb kits to replace guts, I'm a bit of a cheap a$$ so I usually just clean everything and try and reuse. Dirt bike carb X's 4, you can do it.

 

I've been doing some more digging in the forums and found some really good info. Everyone on this forum is very informative, that really helps. Now i just need some time to start on it. Also while digging around i found a good walkthru for replacing the fork seals, mine are really bad. ill get some photos of it on here soon. :wink:

 

Here are a few pics that i took last summer

 

WELCOME! The how-to posts (with pics) are GREAT. Should be no problem especially if you've jumped into any other carb cleaning. There's a how-to on building a 2 bottle manometer for syncing...

skillet

 

wow nice looking bike welcome to the machine

 

It truly amazes me what $500 can buy sometimes. Nice looking ride you got there!

 

Wow thats a clean bike!!!

 

Thanks! now the only problem is that this site has really sucked me in. 8O this site has so many great topics. I'm trying to compile a list of great step by step repairs and tune up tips into my favorites.

 

Well I just got started on the carb cleaning process. I got the carbs out without a problem, getting the boots from the air box to the carbs BACK in may be an issue though. The manifolds do not look real good, they were cracked but not all the way through. Once on the bench I took the advice of a few people and left the carbs racked together to clean them. The first carb looked good on the inside but the second one not so much. The float needle was worn really bad! So at the point I decided to call my local parts shop and ordered a carb kit for the bottom end, it will be here next week. So now I play the waiting game again. (Should have bought from chacal he was 1/2 price!) Snapped a few pictures of the work. What does everyone think of those intake manifolds? Is that something I should be worried about? Also my Brake res. cover is corroded, any tips?

 

i would coat those boots with RTV to be safe. be warned - the "black" RTV i bought to do my boots was actually gray. some folks have somehow used a bicycle inner tube to sleeve the outside of the intake boots, too.

be sure to re-set your float heights after you install the new float needles.

 

Hey guys, I saw this produst on the Suzuki forums, would this stuff work on badly cracked boots?
Looks like you just dip it in and let it dry.
Looks like it leaves anice clean, smoothe finish.

 

i wouldn't remove the boots unless i was going to replace them. the risk and likelihood of breaking or stripping a bolt is pretty high. with that said, i don't know how well that stuff holds up to heat - but i've also heard of folks using liquid electrical tape.

 

I just used the liquid electric tape on mine and it worked out really well, stays extemely flexable and was a lot easier to apply than RTV

 

Chevy 94! I am stoked you posted on here, I am new as well and I also have a 1981 maxim xj550, woohoo same bike though yours looks much cleaner. I have had mine registered as non-op for over a year, though I do start it once in a while just to keep the cobwebs out of the whatevers.

Thanks for posting pictures of what you are doing, as I might have to do the same thing soon.
I am planning to ride it from Lake Tahoe to San Diego at tne end of may and need to make sure it will be safe to do so.

Have you figured out why it needed the choke on more often than it should in order to idle smoothly? Mine does the same thing until it is warmed up, then it runs fine with the choke off. I assumed this was a normal thing?

 

Mine needs the choke whether its warmed up or not. Once I get going down the road I can shut it off. just have to turn it back half way at a stop when its idling. It isn't horrible though, I passed my road test last fall like that. Hopefully this will fix that. Keep me posted on your progress.

 

Hey Chevy_94,

I'm a noob here too. After hours and hours of researching (mostly here), I got the Clymer book and dove in. Took the carbs out, planning on doing an overhaul on them.

My advice, don't be scared to do anything! If you're unsure, read, research and ask questions until you get it. If anything, I've found the vets here are very friendly and answer even the "noobiest" questions.

I've ordered my parts from chacal, and can't wait to get them. He's great.

Enjoy your stay here!

Tom

 

OK got my parts today and I got a few parts in the bag that I don't recognize. I think that one of the o-rings is for the drain screw, but not sure about the other one. Also what is that disc with the orifice in it? Definitely don't remember seeing that when i had the carbs apart. Hopefully this is some quality parts for what i paid for them. Any comments would be helpful.

 

Hello is there anybody there? Is this the wrong thread to talk about this or does no one know the answer. I've looked at the breakdown on this webpage http://xj550.sweb.cz/Mikuni_BS28a.jpg and still don't see it. :?: I plan on getting them back together this weekend so if anyone can help me that would be great!

 

I don't have a 550 but if your carbs are hitachi which the gasket pic looks too be the I can make 2 suggestions. If you have pod air filters or aftermarket exhaust the bike will run lean.
If all is stock then your carbs need a total cleaning and setup. search rickomatic's posts for the carb rebuild and follow it to the letter. Then you'll be running top notch.

 

Found this picture in another members photo album (RickCoMatic), looks like the part I underlined in your post. It's called an "Anti-Tamper Plug". Does your carb look anything like the one in the picture below?

Here's a link to his album:
http://s254.photobucket.com/albums/hh10 ... /?start=60

 

Chacal can help you for sure.

 

That makes sense! :roll: My carbs just had a dab of silicone in them to plug the hole. Thanks for the help!