1985 XJ700 May Be Dead... Engine Rebuild Thoughts?

Hello all, its been a few years since I have been on here, but I always found the answers I needed in the past from all you lovely folks so I'm going to try again!

Bike sat for over a year, not well stored or looked after. Partially because I spent 11 months traveling the country in an old 4 cylinder toyota mini motorhome and was not near the bike, but also partly because shortly before storing it I might have killed it...

Was riding home and all of a sudden it started surging and hanging idle like crazy, Luckily i was only 1/2 mile from my house. anyways, here I am now trying to bring it back from the dead ( I can't let this thing die! I have busted my knuckles and cursed while taking that rack of carbs too many times!) I did a quick carb break down and clean, not church of clean, but enough where it should at least turn on..

I can get it to start, kind of.. If I don't stay on the throttle it will die (no matter how far in or out i turn the idle speed knob) idle mixture screws are 2.5 turns out on each carb body. The thing pops every 3 seconds or so and shoots out plumes of white/ gray smoke. Did i burn out my rings or something severe like i am thinking? If so what do yall recommend as far as paying someone for an engine rebuild? I know these motors are there own beast, and its becoming harder and harder to find a knowledgeable mechanic!

 

Welcome back ....your carbs are gummed up , almost guarentee it, pull carbs remove float bowls . Look at the main and pilot jets they are probably gummed up. If you did not put Stabil or Seafoam in tank when you put bike away. The other thing inspect your carb intake boots for weather cracking, and inspect the intake plug caps for condition ,a missing or cracked cap can cause vacuum leaks .

 

Where r u from? I have a motor laying in my garage

 

Joe is da man he probably has 2 lol

 

Only one 700

 

Thanks for the help! I will go back through them and take my time. yea intake boots are old but i didn't see any cracking when i pulled the rack maybe the caps are pulling a vacuum, but i was led to believe it was a rich mixture not lean (from the excess popping/ backfiring (unburnt fuel).

 

I am in maryland near annapolis

 

also are the idle circuits the ones right in front of the mixture screws? (closer to the engine not the air intake box) they have the rubber grommet around the top?

 

Popping is indicative of leanness.
There is always some unburnt fuel, especially when the throttle is being closed.
The hotter exhaust gassses from being lean allows any unburnt fuel to ignite in the exhaust.

Richness is typically indicated by a bog, or slowness to accelerate.

 

You need to be aiming for a stream of carb cleaner shooting out of the diddly little holes in the roof of the carb outlet just around the butterfly.
You'll know you've got it right when you squirt yourself in the eye.

 

sure enough my main air jets were slightly blocked. Got a piece of wire from a wire brush and cleaned them sprayed through them while the rack was on the bench upside down and got hit right in the face out of those two small pin holes in front of the buttefrly valve!

 

its Alive again! Def. needs valves done but it runs