Allow me to introduce myself...

Hello from Denver! When talking to a gentleman in my office building about my electric motorcycle, he mentioned that his friend was getting rid of an old UJM. A phone call and a two hour drive later I was the proud owner of a very rough 1981 Seca XJ750R that had been sitting since August of 2015.

In my mind's eye I had been planning a cafe, but a craigslist search brought me a tour pack (front and lower fairing, saddlebags, trunk). Underneath the dirt and grime and truly distressed paint I think the bike might actually be in pretty good shape.

The tires are shot, but the air and gas filters are recent. The seat is ripped and the tank is dented but rust free. The front brake squeezes nothing, but the clutch disengages and it shifts freely.

I removed and cleaned the tank, and my new battery just arrived. Anything I should do before gassing it up and seeing if it starts?

 

change the engine oil

 

check the oil level through the sight glass on center stand to make sure your oil is not full of gas. proper type oil Jaso ma approved oil change and oil filter
2 years is not a long time.
check and grease wheel bearings
rear brake shoes need to be checked for delamination
lube up all the cables ,clutch, tach, speedo and gas.
check wet fuel levels on the carbs before you remove them if you can not get a proper level reading it whil mean you have a internal leak in the carbs

I would also suggest a carb cleaning
proper type oil Jaso ma approved oil change and oil filter

you will need to rebuild caliper and master cylinder also replace brake hoses




then read information overload
some reading for you

The Information Overload Hour

The Ultimate Relay, Switch, Sensor, and Diodes Guide

IN THE CHURCH OF CLEAN

THE SECRET LIFE OF CARBURETORS

Something New, Something Naked

TALKIN' TECH: Various thoughts on various issues


AIRHEAD VALVE ADJUSTMENT with Pics

AIRHEAD VALVE ADJUSTMENT Part 2: The Tool vs. ZipTie -w/pics

Choosing Oil for a Wet Clutch Motorcycle


SAFETY ALERT Drum rear brake bike owners please take a look


our forum supporting vendor plenty of parts and advice Chacal

XJ4Ever - Supporting Vendor

his web site
www.xj4ever.com

 

ohm out the charging system
ohm out the ignition coils ,plug caps and pick up coils . specs are in ultimate relay link above for both systems
clean and lube ignition switch
see how at this link as well as other things you may want to do

http://www.xj4ever.com/downloads.html

 

Any forum recommendations on oil and filter brands?

 

oil needs to be motor cycle oil some use yamalube
I use shell Rotella triple oil it is jaso ma rated http://www.kmart.com/shell-rotella-...d=KDx20141028xBingPLA&kisgs=082W085129611612P
any oil filter is good they all do the job

Choosing Oil for a Wet Clutch Motorcycle


JASO , MA, MA2; is the important thing to see on the label

 

Here is where we start...

 

she is a nice looking ride

 

I fore see great things in your future!

 

Allow me to introduce myself...
I'm a man of wealth and taste

excellent tune, now stuck in my head

 

Yep - my head went there right away also . . . .

 

Woo Woo!

This x3.

 

At least the devil said Please.

 

I rode a tank, held a general's rank
When the blitzkrieg raged, and the bodies blazed.

 

Okay, I'm stymied. The battery had been installed backwards (positive to negative). I pulled it out and installed the new battery correctly. I found a 20amp fuse that had been blown under the seat and replaced it - all the other fuses are good. I have reconnected all the connectors in the headlight area which I had disconnected when I traded out the old bucket for the tour pack fairing. All the wires match up connector and color-wise.

The wire to the clutch switch had pulled out, so I stripped them and wrapped them together.

Currently (oof) I have no power to the headlight. The atari warning words switch on and stay solidly on. The turn and brake signals work. But there is nothing happening when I press the starter.

Where should I begin? And what damage might have been done with the battery in backwards?

 

Check for continuity at the starter button when you press it. You likely just missed a connector, or have one that isn't fully seated, or have a corrosion/wear issue at the switch that has popped up.
While it's possible to do a lot of damage when reversing the polarity of a battery, it seems like you probably just made the main fuse blow.
The headlight won't have power to it until the engine starts. The Atari won't come off of default mode (all things lit) until the engine starts.

Other things to check;
Side stand switch. Unplug the sidestand switch relay (blue dot on the relay, located under the tank behind th turn signal relay). This will bypass the sidestand switch and allow th bike to start if the sidestand switch is at fault (they crud up and get sticky. easy to clean).

The starter solenoid: jump the two large terminals with a screwdriver to make sure that the starter still works. Run jumpers from the battery to the solenoid plug (small wires) to check the condition of the solenoid itself.


Also it's a good idea to put the year and model of your XJ in your signature so it's always available for refrence.

 

Thanks!

 

+1 on the K-moe above, making sure you jump the starter solenoid will point you in the right directing. I might have missed it, and not sure this bike has one but is there a clutch safety switch as well? If it does either pull clutch in or bypass that switch as well. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

He bypassed it.

 

K-moe wins the prize! The bracket that used to hold the sidestand switch is empty, so I imagine the PO bypassed it. But I couldn't locate the bypass. Pulling the blue-marked relay did the trick and now the starter turns. The bike doesn't fire, but at least its something.

No spark. Time to test the coils.