Thanks to this Forum. . .

I have to say thanks to the members of this forum. A while back, I bought an XJ750 Seca for my daughter to ride that was complete, but very neglected.

Using information on this forum:
I rebuilt the front forks - they work very nicely now. Smooth and responsive.
I rebuilt the calipers - much better but still needs work on the master cylinder and new brake lines, but the bike is ride-able and stops well.

And then I got to the carbs. . .
removed them, scraped off the garbage
cleaned them inside and out.
Bike still would not idle - back to the forum.

I replaced idle mix o-rings that I didn't even know were there (originals were in terrible condition).
Cleaned the carb insides again.
Bench sync

Back on the bike - idle was better but not good yet.

Purchased a ColorTune (which I had never heard of before this forum) - that was an eye opener. 2 cyls not even firing because they were so lean.

Made a manometer - vacuum synced the carbs.

Color tuned again - made some adjustments

Vacuum synced the carbs again.

Bike is now on the road, runs smooth - idles perfectly, it is very fast, but stops well too.

Now at least I can get it inspected, insured, and registered. Future upgrades can be done at my leisure. Tires, paint, new handlebar, round headlight, light bar, etc. are all planned for this ride.

 

Did you check/adjust the valve clearances? Pretty important to the continued health of the motor...

 

Not yet, but I will be. Goal was to get the bike registered, in order to do that I needed it to be ride-able with all the lights and horn working. It passed inspection on Saturday, and insuring it was cake - going to the DMV today for the license.

Now that it is ready to be licensed I will be building a YICS tool and then fine tuning the bike starting with the valves. I really don't mind starting again with the valves and then re-tuning the rest, it's pretty easy.

All in good time!

 

I'd say don't put off the brake lines/MC, rear brake shoes, and tires for much longer either. Also inspect/regrease your steering head bearings before putting it on the road. These are all wear items that GREATY impact safety, and it's just not worth chancing it.

We all know how the road beckons in the summer...get that bike safe to ride before handing it off to your daughter.

 

I have my own bike, so the beckon of the road gets answered without the Seca (daughter rides 2-up for now). So far, the Seca has just been down to the inspection station and for a couple test rides.

Tires are a MUST - and soon. I can't believe the inspector passed the rear one, actually. Thanks for the advice on the steering head. It turns freely, but a cleaning and some grease couldn't hurt.

Brake lines, pads, and shoes are happening soon as well. I'm thinking about going with a handlebar mount MC, so perhaps I will not rebuild the old one. She wants new handlebars, so the bars, brakes (and lines), and head will probably happen at the same time.

 

Yeah, I'm hoping to do the same mod, but since I rebuilt the stock MC and got a new brake cable, I'm holding off on it for now. Already got another MC and union, but I'll need that extra brake line, and a rebuild kit for the MC I got.

Since the lever mount for the cable actuated MC is part of the right controls, you'll either have to grind that off, or find another set of controls/mirror mount. It's been done before by members of this site, but it'll require a bit of planning and may not be reversible.

 

Just took a lunch-break trip to the DMV and got the Seca fully registered and legal.

I have to say, the interesting thing about this resurrection so far was the colortune. This was definitely the turning point for this bike. Before the colortune, I was just getting frustrated. I had done everything I could think of to get a steady enough idle to even run diagnostics.

This is not my first bike, and I have extensive experience with mechanics, but had never even heard of the colortune before. It worked great. Once I tuned each carb - then I could finally vacuum sync. Because I did so much adjusting in the first tune and sync, I decided to do them again. A little more adjusting and now it purrs like a kitten, until you open up the throttle that is. . .

 

then she roars!!

Glad to hear you got it running in tip top shape, thats certainly a successful feeling!

 

It does feel great after so many times taking the carbs out and inspecting, cleaning, replacing. Then cleaning/repairing electrical, and cleaning gunk off the engine (she was pretty neglected).

I was getting really frustrated.

YES - now she roars. The Seca has a great sound when you turn the throttle. I was pleasantly surprised. So was my daughter.