'81 Restoration

Hello veteran XJer's.

So I've finally decided to seek some advice after reading forums from this site for months.

As of last night I have finally got my Dad's XJ750 back on the road. After spending the past six months on and off restoring the damn thing.

Replaced plugs, tires, battery, ignition (lost the key), cleaned the carbs 4x :evil: , bled the brakes, new pads, HCL etched the tank and lined with Kreem (now regretting), threw a inline fuel fitler, new petcock (non-vacuum), dumped some seafoam in with fresh oil and some other misc things I have forgotten about during this learning venture.

So I have come to you guys to see what I need to do next. I got the floats freed up last night and put about 15 miles on her to try and clear out any shit floating around. I get back to the house and there is oil flowing out of the bottom...

Another question I have... I needed to replace the fuel petcock, the old one was completely shot, and i found a cheap NON-vacuum one online and put it in. Plugged up the vacuum line going to the front of the carbs and seems to be running fine. Still need to sync the carbs though. Is it necessary to run a vacuum petcock? I have to run it on reserve to get fuel into the carbs, does not want to run when the petcock is in the "ON" position.

As far as syncing the carbs go... does anyone know how to sync the YICS? I have read about a YICS tool you can make to blank out carbs to properly sync them, but I havn't the first clue how to use the tool. Or if it would even make a significant difference.

I'm just ready to get this beast on the road as my primary mode of transportation. Any advice is much appreciated.

 

First thing that will be asked is...Have you checked Valve specs? As I did not see that you mentioned it in your laundry list of things you have done.

I won't be the only one mentioning that.

 

Gonzo,

Welcome.

Gary

 

Check valve clearances and adjust them before doing the carbs. Otherwise, you'll waste a lot of time and energy.

Next, pull the carbs and THOROUGHLY clean them....read the thread called "In the Church of Clean".

NOW you can think about syncing the bike, and colortuning. Personal opinion here--you don't NEED to have a YICS tool. It's nice for the super-picky person, but for everyone else, you don't really need it. FWIW, I do HAVE one. It's nice to look at and show people, because it's still brand new and is still in unused condition. It's purty.

Flush and clean the tank, install an inline fuel filter.

Now.........address the brake system, flush, rebuild, etc.....

Now.....address the tire situation

NOW>>>>>>> fire it up and go for a ride.

Welcome aboard!

Others will chime in and fill in the gaps...

Dave Fox

 

Gonzo, welcome. While I'm not an XJ Wizard, let me see if I can help:

Your comments on cleaning carbs and getting floats freed imply that they weren't removed from the bike and rebuilt. If that's the case, please consider it. Oil discharge, not sure what to tell you except don't overfill, and if the bike hasn't run for a long period, it will likely take several oil changes to get all the crud out.

Your fine with the manual petcock...

As for synching the carbs, assuming compression is good, valves in spec, carbs in good working order and floats "wet set", synching the carbs is pretty straight forward and can be done inexpensively. If you've got a manual, it's in there; if you don't have a manual, definitely invest the $30. Between the manual and this website, you've got all the info you will need.