Starter Button... and carbs!

Seems that I do not have a starter button, and I need one!
Is the button supposed to come out.. or does this mean that I need to find a new starter button option? Does anyone have one of these lying around?

Part two.
xj550r
background: valves adjusted, compression 130 -140, full carb rebuild and surgical clean, bench & vac synced, fuel levels measured and set.

Tracking down airbox boots and airbox, in the mean time.. bike is hard to start, however with a quick covering of the carb mouths while cranking, fires up and idles well. is this a symptom that will be most likely be solved by boots and airbox, or should I be examining else where?!

 

You have a round hole about 9mm in diameter where the button should be?

Check out this guy:

http://www.freewebs.com/kibokojoe/

 

Any simple temporary contact switch can be used to make a starter button.

The 550 uses a semi triangular shaped button. The round button will not work in your housing. If your switch housing is still good. Snatch a button out of a salvage yard to replace your missing button.


Part 2
Without the airbox the carbs are sucking to much air, and creating a lean mixture while trying to start. Covering the carbs briefly causes the engine to pull more fuel into the carbs to make the mixture richer.

Replacing the airbox will go a long way to help fix this problem. Once the airbox is in place you will need to retune the carbs to adjust for the difference in airflow.

14401-00-00 AIR CLNR CASE ASSEMBLY
Used in all 550 seca/maxim

86-90 yx600 radian used a similar airbox without the rubber grommeted posts

My local salvage has one in the yard. I will check on a price, and pm you.

Ghost

 

I vouch for this guy. Excellent service ,shipping, and product.

 

This is not 100% accurate. The part number IS 14401, yes. But the model prefixes are different.

Correct cross-reference:

4U8-14401-00 is for the 550 Seca (only.)

5K5-14401-01 is for the 550 Maxim and the Radians.

The Maxim/Radian airbox has mounting points for the sidecovers. The 550 Seca's airbox does not.

Oh, and the 550's starter buttons are round, just like the 650 Maxim's. The flange on the inside has an edge lopped off, making it kinda D-shaped, IIRC. But the button itself (that you see) is round.

XJ4Ever carries replacement button/spring kits.

 

Thanks for your replies. I found a proper size button in my box of accumulated parts. A spring from a burnt out dollar store LED flashlight is just what the doctor ordered.
There is a blue wire with a white tracer, and a black wire I assume is ground, however the ground wire stops in the harness under the tank. Does the switch ground to the bars?

Getting these rubber boots between the carbs and the airbox isn't so easy though!
Any hints on these? They are all pliable, but...

 

The switch grounds through the bars; so painted/powder coated bars will need to have the coating removed in the area of the switch pod.

In regard to the airbox boots: The airbox can be moved fore and aft. It's held in place by THREE screws: two are obvious, on top on either side of the frame going through slots; the third one is UNDER the tool tray. Take that one out, and loosen the other two; then you can slide the airbox rearward. Fit the rubbers to the airbox, get them started onto the carbs then push the airbox as far forward as it will go, and reinstall/tighten the mounting screws.

Since we're on the subject of airboxes, and you've got a 550 Seca; you might want to have a look at this if you haven't already: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=31872.html

 

Thanks for the link, Fitz.

I've actually already rebuilt that piece on the airbox, mushy oil-sponge wasn't gonna work for me. I have a piece of scotchbrite-like material that I used instead