weak start and the clutch of death

hey guys, I have a 85 xj700 maxim x when i start out on a ride give it some gas it just seems like it just wants to put.. put... put along for a minute then it will finally pick up and go and be fine there after any thoughts on that? and the clutch of death, after riding when i slow down or come to a stop when i pull the clutch in the rpms just die would this be a power issue? i've been fighting with the spark plug wires they seem to have a good connection. any thoughts or opinions would be great guys thanks.

 

sounds like valves and carbs to me....

with the plug wires. pull off the boots, cut off 1/4 inch, screw the boots back on.....

 

yea thats what i did to the wires. i think the guy that owned it before me did to i dont have much wire left to work with.

 

Why and when should you do that? Just curious b/c that's the first I've of that.

 

after 30 years of bouncing + jiggling around, the wires loose their bite on the caps. cut back the wire a bit, + it gives them a new bite.

Len (Chacal) sells these plug wire extender thingy...

FYI There's also been a lot of issues over the past year or so in regards to coil failure.. the upgrade to Dyna Coils is worth it too.... might wanna keep that in mind.

 

yea i've seen those kits almost 200 bucks they damn well better be good...

 

To tell you the truth, you'll spend more on "working" 30 year old OEM coils. i paid about 120 for my Dyna's through xj4ever....

 

nice. found a set for 119 and found some good advice will have to break out the old voltmeter before i try anything crazy.

 

Quite honestly, it sounds to me like you need to change the oil, adjust the clutch and catch up on 30 years' worth of neglected maintenance.

 

i heard that. i've had this bike for alittle over a year now and i can tell it has been through hell and never had a chance of coming back. i've givin it all my blood sweat and anger but every time i fix something its always something else that goes wrong. i'll try to adjust it and see what it will do thanks.

 

thanks fitz i jumped out there before it started to rain tweaked the clutch took her for a spin and it seemed to help it from cutting off still need to tweak it a little more when i get a chance. but i still have the problem of the weak start. it takes forever to get the bike to crank and lately i have to give it full throttle to keep it alive long enough to let it get going good. then still in first gear it stumbles for a minute then goes just fine. i just gave it an oil change last month but if the rain stops i'll go check for gas in the oil again. any other thoughts that it might be? boots on the carbs from air box are not in the best shape maybe air leak from them? they say duct tape fixes all :> jk

 

What is it idling at?

 

for your weak start - have you ohmed out your coils? are they in spec? Even after a full carb rebuild, i would just crank + crank + eventually start (if i didn't foul plugs) until i swapped the coils.

don't give up on the bike either. like what Fitz said, There's 30 years of maintenance and neglect. You got an old bike (an awesome bike at that). It's gonna take time, patience, and some parts to make it a dependable daily rider.

It's taken me 3 years, but I've slowly gotten there. I didn't do the full strip and slowly rebuild route - but in retrospect, i probably should have. In addition to being 27 years old, my ride was poorly attempted to be modified, and crashed by the PO.

I would put oil, clutch, valve shims, carbs, and coils as a high priority for you. Think you will be pleasantly pleased with the improvement

Also, do you have a Yamaha Factory Service Manual for the X? this will help immensely with the above list.

 

well i made the rookie mistake i didn't check my spark plugs 1,3and 4 and black as midnight so they seem to be too rich or idk number 2 seemed to be fine kind of a brownish greyish color.

it calls for 1050rpms i have it at about jumping up and down from 1100 and 1050rpms

oh trust i'm not gonna give up on this bike i've put too much time blood effort and frustration into it. if you put enough love into your bike one day it will love you back. i haven't had a chance to put my voltmeter on it i made the dumbass mistake of leaving it on so i have to get a replacement battery. yea i have the cd manual

 

my coils seem to be good they read around 2.8 ohms specs calls for 2.7 +/- 2.43 - 2.97 so i'm good there but my wires are my problem they are jumping up and down from 8k to 11k and i need 12k 9600 - 14,400 ohms are the specs so i'm just about in the range but just weak enough to piss ya off.

 

The put put put will be fixed by making sure your valves are in spec. I had the same exact problem in first gear. I put the valves in spec yesterday, and no more put put, its responsive as hell now!!

 

Then they aren't in spec....

 

You wanna fix the bike or screw with it forever?

Seriously?

OPEN YOUR SERVICE MANUAL TO THE SECTION THAT SAYS "MAINTENANCE." DO EVERYTHING IN THAT SECTION; everything, in order, do not leave anything out or skip over anything.

Along the way, clean, inspect and refurbish or replace any unserviceable parts like dried out o-rings, crispy gaskets, cracked hoses, etc.

All you're doing now is guessing at your problem, then beating your head against the wall trying to fix what you have decided the problem is without any real diagnosis.

You're currently getting nowhere. Wanna make some true progress? Follow the above procedure. (It works.)