First Bike - Need Wisdom

Just got my class M a few weeks ago. Just got my first bike (81 xj550) two weeks ago. Just had my first issue a few days ago.

Small backstory. Was out riding a few days ago, and ran outta gas. Reserve didn't even help for some reason. Walked it to the gas station, couple of $ later, we're all set and it rocked on.

Had it parked for two days and went to start it cold and nothing. Battery's fine. Ignition is turning but nothing else. Sounds like the nighthawk I learned on when I forgot to turn the engine kill switch back on before starting it. I'm completely clueless here. After I try starting it, the exhaust gives a small backfire.

Previous owner had it garage kept, recently carb cleaned. It was starting beautifully every time before this. Shops here in Chicago are expensive and have waiting lists (pain in my @$$). What can/should I do?

-Art

 

If the reserve did not give you some more gas, your going to have to clean your petcock and possiably rebuild it.

When you say nothing, did the engine turn and nothing happend? Did the starter just spin? Did the oil light come on? Or did nothing at all occur?

The backfire could be from fuel build up in the cylinders from them trying to start.

Also check your fuses and replace the stock fuse box!

Could be many things, but narrow that down and we will help ya!

Btw, where are you from?

PS>Never trust a PO.

 

If you don't have reserve the fuel filter that sits ontop of the petcock in the gas tank may have come off. Always install an inline filer. Congratultions on your getting your "M"

 

anthony 14,
The ignition fires but it sounds like there's no gas for it to light ("chick chick chick chick"). The reserve was working fine because when I bought it, the PO had it on reserve. I rode it to the nearest gas station from his place and refueled before trekking back into the city. (Chicago) Thanks for the quick help.

-Art

 

when you let the tank run dry you probably got crap in the carbs.

 

Pull the plugs after you try starting, are they wet or dry?

Check to see if your getting spark.

 

PM chacal. The resident parts guru!

 

Or just get some neat inline mini fuse lines that are water proof. There pretty easy to hook up, and provide good protection against water.

 

The seca 550's petcock has Prime, On and Reserve. If you are running on Prime then there is no reserve. It's just on, also if you left it on PRI overnight there is a possiblility that you have gas in your oil. Place the bike on the centerstand and look at the oil window on the clutch side. If you see oil and nothing else smell the oil, if it smells like gas you need to do an oil change. If you do not do that you will run the risk of ruining that engine.

Sean

 

Inside of the fuel tank, on top of the petcock, is a plastic two stage tower that acts as a filter and also pulls fuel from a couple inches above the bottom of the tank when it is set to "On". When switched to reserve it changes the location of where the fuel is pulled from, in this case it is near the bottom of the tank. You should always have it on the "On" position unless you run out then switch to "Reserve" and when you fill up turn it back to "On." This tower may have been removed, if so, it doesn't mater weather the petcock is on "On" or "Res" because it is pulling fuel from the very bottom of the tank. If this is the case then it is going to pull in all of the junk from the bottom of the tank and plug up the carbs.

 

The plugs are dry but smell like gas. (I guess they should either way, right?) The tips are all blackened. There's no rotting or corrosion. I'm no expert but it still doesn't look right. Should I man-up and replace em?

 

If they are all back, then you are running too rich and that's what could be preventing you from starting. Depending on how long you waited until you pulled the plugs, they may not have been wet because the gas evaporated. The plugs could be fouled and I would replace them. Then, clean your carbs, not very hard, just take a few hours and a cold can of coke, maybe two and they will be squeaky clean. Then, you have to turn your idle screws inward, clockwise to make in leaner (on top of your carbs I think), I would assume only slightly seeing that you road it before you got it, suggests to me that they may be just a tiny bit to rich to be able to run fine.

Oh, and of course make sure your getting spark.

Let us know how you make out.

 

If the carbs get "plugged up," the whole bike won't start? The engine is turning, but it just doesn't seem to be kickin in. The sound I'm getting was described by a friend as "sounds like the engine isn't getting any gas." Battery has been iffy since I've been trying to start the bike to no avail. I hook it to my car (car's off) to get some juice. Backfires are loud when I have it connected.

 

Where is this "oil window"? I have the Clymer Yamaha repair manual, but it helps amateurs like me only so much.

Sorry to be asking so many questions. I appreciate all the help, guys!

 

The windows is on the left side of the engine, near the bottom around the center of the engine.

Yes, if the carbs are plugged up the bike will not fire because it cannot get fuel to idle off of. The backfire suggest that you are getting way too much fuel, or I believe that is what it suggests. Safe thing to do would be to pull the carbs and clean them and get new plugs and then pull the idle screws out 2 turns (counter clockwise) to start from and keep checking the plugs after that for color and adjust accordingly.

 

I don't consider myself an expert by any means, but if this is the hose from the petcock to the fuel filter, I'm guessin there isn't much vacuum pressure pulling in any fuel for the engine. Still yanked out the carbs. Gonna give em a good once over. They look pretty clean at first glance. Still gonna replace plugs and fuse box. Anything else while I still have some time off from work to tinker?

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thanks anthony14

 

Ya, you have to replace that line.

You could also adjust the timing chain tension while the carbs are out. Really easy and straight forward if reading from the manual. Don't know if you need to but I had a noise that was clunking/rattling when idling and adjusted it and now it idles nice and smooth.

 

I had a similar scenario with my Seca 550 (bought from beside the road a couple months ago, still under resurrection) ran one day, no ignition the next. Popped the top on the fuse box and one of the 'blades' for the "ignition" fuse was just laying there (no longer attached and obviously making NO electrical contact.) Fixed the fuse box (not replaced, I will post on this subject later) and it fired right up. You could also have a fuel feed/delivery problem from your description. My point is simply that the OE fuse box can suddenly and catastrophically fail for no apparent reason.

 

I had a similar scenario with my Seca 550 (bought from beside the road a couple months ago, still under resurrection) ran one day, no ignition the next. Popped the top on the fuse box and one of the 'blades' for the "ignition" fuse was just laying there (no longer attached and obviously making NO electrical contact.) Fixed the fuse box (not replaced, I will post on this subject later) and it fired right up. You could also have a fuel feed/delivery problem from your description. My point is simply that the OE fuse box can suddenly and catastrophically fail for no apparent reason.

 

Ok, so I cleared out the carbs (they weren't that bad, in my opinion, but quite the pain)... replaced the plugs... replaced the hose... still the same results... Could there be something wrong with the fuse box even though the fuses are not blown? It's my next step, I guess. The night before the problem began, there was heavy rain. It mighta screwed somethin up, who knows.

 

Have you checked your spark? You could be getting a weak spark and not firing properly. Also now that you cleaned the carbs how do the plugs look are they getting any gas ? If you are getting gas in the cylinders I would start looking at ignition possibilities.

 

Please check the spark and let us if your getting any.

Also, if you engine is turning nice and fast, and you smelled fuel on the plugs, make sure your firing order is correct, each spark plug lead is on the right plug or else it will spin for years and you will never get it to run. Maybe some how the plug leads were crossed or switched.

 

The oil window is on the right hand side of the bike just behind
the right foot peg. It will have a full line and an add/low oil line.
Hopefully this helps.
B.

 

Oh sorry, I thought you were talking about a Yamaha xj.
Not sure about the seca. Just look near the bottom either
left or right side of engine. can't be too hard to find.
Brad.

 

although the fuses are good, they may not be making a good connection to the clips. take out the fuses and clean the connections.

 

OK, so the bike decided to wake up from hibernation this evening. I didn't change the fuses, but I was a little more patient with the startup. A couple turns and it woke right up. The battery (even after a healthy ride) isn't up to the task of starting the bike without a jump. I'm going to invest in a charger.

My other new issue is that while it was parked on the street, I think someone backed into it and threw off the alignment on the front wheel. I saw in a forum here to just grip the wheel with my knees and turn the steering, but can it be that simple/easy? Are there other problems that could arise from this?

My patience has tripled since purchasing this bike... just sayin.

 

Sounds like you still have a battery or charging issue. You probably need to have a look at your alternator brushes (real easy, they're in the cover) clean things up in there and possibly replace them. If the battery itself is questionable, a new battery can be had for around $40, often less than the price of a charger. Realign the front forks: Loosen LOWER pinch bolts (NOT THE TOP ONES) on triple clamps, loosen pinch bolts on front axle, loosen and then snug back up axle nut. With everything loose (not floppy loose, loosen then snug back up) as above, take bike off stand, grab a handful of front brake and BOUNCE the front suspension briskly a couple of times. Tighten everything back up working from top down (triple clamp pinch bolts first, etc.) That should bring the front end back into alignment if nothing is actually bent. You can do the "knee trick" but humans just ain't as strong as cars...

 

And by the way, my friend--please add your bike info to your signature it makes accurate advice more likely...

 

If it would not start because the battery needed a jump, then it is likely that the battery is toast. Once a bike battery is dead, they usually cannot be revived like a car battery.

One easy way to check to see if it is getting proper charge while running is to check how much voltage it is getting while running. I think it 14. something volts. If your getting less then you know that there's something wrong with the charging system, could be short brushes, dirt, who knows. Test the voltage with a multimeter - cheap, can be bought from Walmart, Home Depot, etc... and let us know what it's reading. (just touch the two leads to the positive and negative terminal of the battery while it's running)