New XJ owner! loose levers and paint questions

Hello! I recently got an Xj550 Seca (My first motorcycle). I'm in the process of cleaning and tuning the bike. Two questions:
I notice that the brake and clutch levers have quite a bit of vertical play to them. Is this normal? I was thinking of putting a couple of thin washers in to stabalize them. Is this a good idea?
The paint on the bike has assorted nicks and scratches and is a bit faded by the sun. I'd like to restore the bike to as near original appearance as possible. Does anyone know a good source for matching red paint? If possible something I could buy in a spray can.
Thank you!
-John

 

Welcome to XJBikes, raisinland!

1. Levers: If your Seca levers are like my MaximX levers, there are actually two sections of the bolt that the lever pivots on. The top part of the bolt is a smooth, larger barrel that the lever pivots on. The lower part of the bolt is smaller, and has threads to screw into the bottom of the bracket. The lock nut helps prevent the bolt from unscrewing. The vertical movement is usually more noticeable on the clutch side because of its' constant use. Remove the lock nut, bolt, and lever. With large adjustable pliers, very gently squeeze the top and bottom of the bracket together, being mindful of paint/aluminum scratches, until there is less play in the lever - but it should not bind at all. While the lever is out, check the pivot hole to make sure it's still perfectly round, not worn to an oval shape. Once all is well, reinstall the lever, screw in the bolt, and snug up the lock nut.

2. Paint: You mention rattle cans for paint. Did you plan on removing the painted parts for a complete paint job, or just spritzing on touch-up? It would probably be next to impossible to match your paint for touch-up, but I suppose you could pull a side cover and take it in to try and get close.

Z

 

The levers on My Maxim X had a little play but I found a set of the
"Power Levers" on ebay & picked them up for about $26.00 shipping & all. One other thing to check when you pull your levers, Mine have o-rings that fit into a groove around the hole where the bolt goes through, I replaced those with new ones & dabbed a little white lithium grease & installed, no slack & very smooth operation

 

IF you want to repaint the whole bike your best bet is to go to an automotive supply store and tell them what your driving - at the the shop where I worked we had a computer database that would tell you all the coclrs available for a particular make/model/year and since yamaha only used 3 or 4 colors per year it would be really easy to get the right color mixed up.

One problem I will warn you about is if your red paint is anything like the black/blue on the maxims, it has too much pearl to be put in a spray so to get a perfect match you may have to go to a 2 part (pro body shop) system

 

Welcome to you RaisinLand, looks like you’re just around the corner from PBR_Street. He is a fellow 550 owner, you may wish to drop him a line!
About the slack in your lever assemblies. I have used thin copper washers to shim out the slop. This play is normal wear and tear, but particularly bad if the bike has not received regular attention (i.e. squirts of lubrication at appropriate intervals as listed in the owner’s manual). I personally would not squeeze the pivot mount together given the unit is cast aluminum alloy and may crack if it has been abused or is weak from some other unseen issue. While you may be tempted to take the squeeze route, I would be inclined to line up a replacement just in case the worst comes to pass.
Best of luck to you on getting it ironed out. I'm just over the hill toward Santa Barbara should you run into trouble.

 

Hey Raisinland. Welcome to XJbikes and riding a motorcycle in LA. I've been riding around here for about a year and this site has been really helpful recently in keeping my bike on the road. I'm going to be doing some painting myself. I'm not worried about it being like it was originally so I'm just going to pick a color and spray it on. I'll post some pics when I'm done and if you have any questions let me know. Robert is a guru on this site and in Socal, he's really helped me out when my bike was totally out of commission. We should all meet up for a carb clinic or something, maybe in the new year. Have fun out there and be safe!!!