Getting Two Yamaha YX600 Radians Back on the Road :)

A friend recently gave me two non-running yx600’s.
The first is a 1986 with only 20k miles and the second is a 1987 California edition (smog equipment ) with around 60k on it.

I’m in the process of getting the 1987 running now and figured I’d document the process a bit.

So far I’ve put a fresh AGM battery in it (Motobatt MB12U), gone through all the electrical and changed the oil.

The electrical was all in fairly good shape - all besides the right hand controls which was super corroded. The left hand control likely is too, but the bike will turn over so I haven’t had to pull it apart yet.


The oil was FULL of gas, so I’m confident the carbs need to be gone through. This is my next step. I’m dreading it due the carbs being squeezed between the engine and air box. My goal is to have them pulled from the bike (at least) by Saturday night. Fingers crossed.

I have a few photos that the website wouldn’t allow me to post because they were “spam like”. I’ll try again after this post. Maybe I’ll be more credible

 

No luck with the photos. I’ll need to contact an admin. More to follow!

 

I think you need 5 posts before you can add photos. Just post a few more messages here - tell a story, tell jokes, whatever, doesn't matter. Then you will be able to add pictures.

 

Oh okay. Thank you! (+ 1 post )

 

Here are the pictures I wanted to post. First is the clean fuse panel with freshly greased terminals:


And the 1987:

 

Pulled the carbs yesterday. It wasn’t as terrible as I imagined. I’m going to disassemble them today then clean and inspect. I thought the carbs were rebuilt very recently - I was wrong. The last rebuild was 10+ years ago. I guess I’ll inventory what needs to be replaced today, then order the parts for next week.

I’m debating on whether to replace the engine side carb boots. They are cracked on the ends, but not past the sealing surface. I’ll need to make a final decision today. As most here probably know, the boots are only available aftermarket (unless NOS) and they’re around $90.

Edit: After double checking my photos I can see that at least one boot is cracked past the sealing surface. I have two radians so I’ll probably order one new set of boots at least..

 

Recently purchased a 1986 with 8k miles that was kept in pretty decent condition. Your 1987 is an absolute beauty! Your friend must have taken great care of the bike.

I ran into the same problem with tons of gas in my oil so I am also (unfortunately) rebuilding the carbs. Planning on getting the carbs out tomorrow and rebuilding throughout the week. Would love some updates on your carb progress and I wish you the best of luck with the Radians!

 

A 1986 yx600 with 8K miles? Wow! That's an awesome find. May I ask how much you paid? I'd also love to see a picture if possible.


Since my last post I disassembled the carbs completely (on Saturday) and ultrasonically cleaned them (on Sunday.) I had no previous experience with carburetors so the process was time consuming, but overall it wasn't too bad.

Ultrasonic cleaning device with citrus cleaner. I started off with 50/50 water/citrus cleaner but I eventually upped it to nearly full strength cleaner:




Here's the final result. Note the wire wheeled float chambers. Why not, right




I found that carb #3 had a cracked float bowl post from a previous rebuild. This crack ultimately caused the float to stick and continuously call for fuel. I'll need to find a replacement for this carb online. If anyone has a carb for a YX600 that they'd like to sell, please let me know!
I also want to replace all the O rings on the carbs and a few other parts like the vent Tee.
I've already purchased one rebuild kit from Derek at motolab, but since this purchase I haven't been able to get ahold of him via email. I think he may be on vacation

Here are the other reputable carb rebuild sources that I've found (besides the aforementioned motolab):
1) XJ4EVER. I've already emailed Len a few times. He's always been very prompt and pleasant. Also check out the carb rebuild information guides on the page below. They were very helpful:
https://www.xj4ever.com/catalog/c-mikuni.html

2) BS designs. They are based in Canada so I'm not sure if shipping would be cost prohibitive for those in the US like myself. They sell individual parts which I like and they seem to be high quality.
http://www.bdesigns.ca/Yamaha_Carb_Individual_act.htm

3) K&L Keyster They have quite a few different carb related parts for the YX600. S.C.I appears to be their major supplier. Here's a link to their page. (you'll need to enter make/part) :
http://www.siriusconinc.com/about-us

More to follow ...

 

Small update:
I placed an order last night for one carb body (#3) and all the rebuild parts I needed. I went with motolab because they had everything I needed. Their rebuild parts aren’t OEM Mikuni like most found here on XJ4ever but I think they’ll be fine.

After the carbs are rebuilt and installed I’ll need to adjust the valves. I’m dreading this part. I’ve never done it before and it intimidates me.

 

Don't worry about it. You can do it, no problem. If I can do it, you can do it.

 

Thanks for the support! I actually have a question for you regarding valve adjustment. I thought about messaging you, but maybe others can benefit from the discussion. On to the question:
If you use a valve/tappet adjustment tool (I know some use zip ties) what part number do you use?

I know motion pro has 08-0020. And Yamaha makes the (discontinued) YM-01245 , 90890-01223-00 and the current $100+ 90890-01245-00 . Also found a few European no-names on eBay. I’m just looking for the easiest, most cost-effective option.

Thanks!

 

The zip-tie method would definitely be the cheapest. Don't know about easiest, I've truthfully never tried it.

I bought the bucket retainer tool from @chacal as part of one of the "valve check kits" that includes everything you need. Can be found here:
https://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/xj-parts-catalog-section-e-engine.44640/

The bucket retainer tool is easy once you get the hang of it. It can be a little finicky, and occasionally will "miss" and you need to reposition and try again, no big deal. You just need to be gentle when turning the crank, so that when (not if) you spin it the wrong way you don't damage anything.

Either way, you will also want a 19mm open-ended wrench to turn the crankshaft. Crescent wrench will work too, but I found that I was constantly adjusting it, so 19mm eliminates that problem. 3/4" might work too (??)

Oh, and my experience with those screws on the crank cover has been that they can be real tight - also make sure you have a good JIS #3 impact driver - I recommend the Vessel Megadora Impacta. And if you don't already have a #2, get that while you're at it.

 

One more thing, if you haven't yet, check out this:
https://www.xjbikes.com/forums/thre...valve-adjustment-with-pics-parts-i-ii.116006/

Good pics of using the retainer tool.

 

I’ve been looking at vessel screwdriver sets for a while now. I was going to buy one of their cheaper kits, but your recommendation set me straight. The Megadora Impacta 8-piece set (980MIXEVA) will be delivered to my doorstep on Friday I also have the Vessel manual impact driver (250001) which is great.

Looks like xj4ever sells the Motion Pro brand retainer tool. I was hesitant to buy it as some reviews said it didn’t work for them. Sounds like they just take some practice to use.

Thanks for linking me to the valve adjustment thread. I had been referencing the original version , but many of the picture links were dead. The re-post is much better.

Maybe I’ll pull the valve cover tomorrow. I’m waiting on my carb rebuild parts so it’ll give me something to do.

 

Still waiting for the Carb rebuild parts, and the valve shim tool won't be here for a few more days. Spent a few hours putzing around in the garage.

Cleaned up a few carb parts with the wire wheel on my Dremel. Here's the enrichment levers/ actuator rod before:


Midway:


Not sure if the polished surfaces will corrode quickly, but they sure look great right now




I also prepared for the valve adjustment by removing the horn, spark plugs, Crank Cover and cylinder head cover. Cleaned the crank case cover and cylinder head cover with Citrus Cleaner. I eventually plan to clean/ degrease the entire engine

 

Removing plating will increase corrosion.

 

I kinda figured this would be the case. I tried my best to only remove the existing corrosion with the least abrasive means possible (brass brush, steel wool w/metal polish, and wire wheel on 1/8” rotary tool).

I’m going to be more liberal with the ultrasonic cleaner on my other radian as it’s the ultimate least abrasive method

Thank you for the feedback.

 

Be careful with the ultrasonic cleaner also. I tried using a mix of water with a household cleaner (I think Mean Green) and I noticed white stuff rising off the plated screws, etc. I immediately stopped but now all those carb parts on my X are starting to corrode. It's best to use water alone or get some ultrasonic cleaner powder from Harbor Freight or someplace which will help the action of the cleaner.

 

Wow, thanks for the advice. I guess I’ll need to buy the ultrasonic cleaning powder.

I did find that using deionized water (DI), instead of tap water, to dilute my cleaning solution in the ultrasonic cleaner helped eliminate the white deposits which appeared on my carb bodies once they dried. I also rinsed & submerged the carb bodies in DI water after I removed them from the ultrasonic cleaner. So I’m not positive which actually fixed the issue.

Thanks again for the advice.

 

I checked my valve clearances yesterday. My bucket retainer tool won't arrive until Monday so I haven't pulled the shims yet. All of the measurements I took were go / no-go style. I re-read the valve tutorial afterwards and it reminded me that I could stack feeler gauges to get a more precise reading. I'll certainly do this before I pull the shims. As I mentioned above, I've never done this before. Heck, I've never worked on carbs before either..




With nothing left to do, I decided to buff the tank. I recently bought a used Flex XC 3401 DA polisher and it worked great. The tank had a lot of surface spidering/ light scratches and I was able to get most of them out. I may try again once the tank is back on the bike. As I post the picture below I can still see some scratches. It's always a balance between keeping as much paint as possible vs. perfecting.


The tank has two dents. One is visible in the photo below


And some chipping around the gas cap





One last thing to wrap things up. I've been eyeing this set for a while but I didn't think it was necessary... Removing the two screws from the butterfly valve on each of the four carbs exposed the vulnerability of my cheap JIS set. Hopefully this earns me entry into some sort of elite club

 

Tank looks pretty good for 35+ year old paint!! Nice work.

Yes, you are now in the "need more toolbox space for motorcycle tools" club. Welcome!! Sure, it just starts with a screwdriver or two, then maybe just a little bucket hold down tool, no big deal. Then a couple of bearing removal tools and a 30mm socket, and then its a slippery slope. Then you realize you might have a problem.

 

Nice job on the tank, and yes Vessel Megadora are the biz.

 

Thanks Dave!

Incidentally, I bought another Vessel Screwdriver set yesterday. It’s part number 9308eva and I think it’s going to work much better for me. Six out of the eight screwdrivers in the set are tang through (930) without the auto turn reverse that the “impacta” (980) has.

This will allow me to seat the screwdriver with a hammer if needed for carburetor work as an example.

I also have a manual impact driver from vessel if I want it to loosen (or tighten) a screw.

Thanks Dan!

I’ve had a few Yamahas (and one Triumph) previous to these bikes and I know exactly what you’re saying. I actually previously bought the motion pro driver set, and that 30mm socket you’re referring to

Damn motorcycles !!

 

I removed and buffed the front fender. Also did the chrome trim that sits between the forks. The clear coat is gone on the front most portion of the fender, but the rear portion which is shaded by the tank looks great. I did my best with the chrome trim. Maybe I'll paint it some day..




Last night I rechecked all my valve clearance measurements, and this morning I ordered shims. I only needed to five shims : 1 @ 2.55, 1@ 2.60 & 3@2.65. I should be able to shuffle the other three from existing positions.

Luckily, the valve shim tool wasn't too tough to use. I think I would've had much more trouble if I didn't have Bigfitz's Airhead Valve Adjustment guide though.



I recently bought a Milwaukee M12 ratchet & this was my first opportunity to use it. The installation and removal of the valve tool could've easily been done by hand, but I'd like to think I saved myself a few minutes


Another tool reference - here's the Vessel 930 Tang through driver I bought. This line of drivers has a hex shank so a wrench can be used if extra turning torque is needed. I like this style of drivers over the Impacta line. Unfortunately they're less available than many of Vessel's more popular drivers.



I think I have everything on hand which I need to rebuild my carburetors. I hope to complete the rebuild and have the carbs back on the bike by Saturday night. The valve shims should be here by next Friday (at the latest) - so installing them will be next.

To pull everything together I have a color tune plug on the way and an old motion pro carb sync tool around somewhere.

Its entirely possible that I could fire up this bike by next weekend

 

I just wrapped up the valve adjustments. I used gasket sealer according to the writeup on this board. I went back and forth on how to deal with the half moons on the right side of the engine. One option was to use a bit of RTV, but I ended up just using a bit of extra red gasket sealer. We'll see how it works


I still haven't finished rebuilding the carbs. I wasted a ton of time as I reinstalled the butterflies trying to get ZERO light to pass through. It isn't possible. I settled for 95%+ light blockage.

I found another bs30 carb rack locally for $80. It's in really good "unmolested" condition. The OEM caps over the adjuster screws are still in place and most of the hardware still has the brass colored plating.



I'm keeping track of the money that I'm spending on this project, and I can't believe how quickly it's all adding up. I'm not sure how much a yx600 is actually worth, but I'd bet it's only $1K or so. I included tools on the list because I wouldn't have bought them otherwise.

 

Oh Dude, you are going to hate yourself for that little exercise. These bikes are fun but are really difficult to flip for profit, even, especially, if you get them for nothing. As you have found the bits and pieces are pricey and add up very quickly. Primarily just have fun with them. Good luck.

 

You’re right.

I had envisioned selling one of the bikes to pay for the upgrades on the other, but now I really don’t see that happening.

 

Almost all the bikes that we "refresh" are a labor of love. Evey once and a while you get one that you can flip for profit. Great pics of your work and wow is that paint look nice for that old of bikes. I am guessing they had to be stored in a nice place all them yrs.

 

There's no such thing as a cheap motorcycle.
Even owning it outright, if it's off the road for a decade, it will need a thousand spent on it before it's safe to go back on the road again.

 

Thanks Tim.

This bike has been either garaged, or at the very least covered, all of its life. It was bought new here in California and has never left the state. The original owner parked it within the first few years of ownership likely due to carb issues. It was then given to a guy who got it running, and subsequently sold it to my friend in the early 2000's (for the cost of what he put into parts). My friend then commuted daily on this bike to work until it was parked again in about 2015 with carb issues.

Good point Dave.
I don't know what dream land I was living in, but I had only envisioned spending a few hundred dollars on this bike. Luckily I'm throughly enjoying the process. I do wish I had more room in my garage though..

 

I'm getting ready to reinstall the carb rack so I decided to do some cleaning. This lead to me cleaning the areas in the airhead around the spark plugs.
I found drains which I never knew existed:





Does anyone know if these "drains" exist in the center-most recesses? (The two that don't contain spark plugs.)
Also, what's the best way others have found to clean this area out? This crud can't be good for airflow cooling. Photo below:







In other news...
I have officially rebuilt my first carb rack. The rebuilt rack is in the lower portion of the picture below. I bought carb #3 from Derek at motolab as the original had a broken float post (this was probably the reason it was parked). As you can see, carbs 1,2&4 were darkened by the ultrasonic cleaning process. If I clean another rack ultrasonically I'm going to use the dedicated ultrasonic cleaning powder vs the citrus cleaner I used. I believe the citrus cleaner is caustic which isn't the best for carbs.

The rack a purchased is in the upper portion of the photo below. Having this rack available for reference was very handy as I reassembled my OEM rack




Moving forward..
I'm just now delving into the "wet set" fuel level world and it sounds like a huge pita. I set my float levels to 20mm as recommended by the service manual (& motolab). My float pins are reinstalled, & not just loosely set in place. If I determined that my fuel level is wrong via the "wet set" I would need to break the carbs apart again to drive the float pins out. Others must be pushing their float pins in by hand so they can be easily removed during the wet set & leaving them that way for the duration..
This is my current frustration I'll report back soon.

 

I like to take sticky float pins and spin them in a drill and polish with a scotch bright pad. That should get them small and smooth enough to not challenge the float towers. I would not use anything more aggressive than the scotch bright pads though. Brake pistons get chucked up in the desk top lathe and polished the same way.

 

That's a good idea.

When I reassembled my carbs I drove the pins in so they can't be removed by hand. I need to pull drive the pins back out and set them in so they can be removed by hand. That'll probably be my next step.

 

I noticed the tube from my airbox to the crank case was cracked. I found a bit of silicone tubing that fit. At some point I may plug the airbox vent and put a small filter on the crank case.





I tried to adjust the cam tensioner today. I loosened the bolt but didn't hear any "clunk." Maybe I'll need to revisit this later.



Next job is to wet set my carbs. With this in mind, I decided to make a rack. I had the cracked boots which I replaced between the carbs & engine, and some plywood laying around ... here's what I ended up with:


I pushed the discarded boots onto carbs 1 and four, then fastened them to the rack with some bolts I had. I tried to use the OEM bolts but they were too short.
I can't believe it but it's pretty much level in both directions. I also found my motion pro carb sync as looked for the supplies to do this. Bonus!

 

Nice!

 

Documenting this process keeps me motivated, so here's where I'm at..

I found a post where someone used a butt splice to connect a hose to the drain of their BS30 carb. I had to try a few different types but I found some that worked perfectly. I had to connect / disconnect the drain lines several times during the wet set process and the rigidity of the butt splice made the process very easy.





I set the red fuel container on the ground and ran all the drain lines to it. After dealing with some sticky floats, by carb are officially wet set and ready to be reinstalled.


I've already put the carbs back on the bike... only to discover that I forgot to hook up the throttle cable. After messing with it for more than one hour (sweating, cursing, getting sore..) I realized that I'm going to need to pull the carbs again to hook the throttle cable up This is my next job.



I also installed new used OEM coils. If I had researched a bit more I'd have bought new dynacoils or Honda 750 coils. I will definitely do this on my other radian. I'll also swap to resistive spark plugs with non-resistive caps on my other bike...


For this Radian I rebuilt my OEM spark plug caps with extra parts I had. The yx600 use 10K plug cap resistors from the factory (thanks Len).
Here's what the internals of the spark plug caps contain: the threaded insert that connects to the spark plug -> 10K resistor -> brass disk -> spring


With all resistance verified to be within specification I cleaned and greased everything put it back on the bike:



More to follow

 

As of last Saturday, this 1987 Yamaha yx600 officially runs !

I haven’t tuned the carbs yet, but this is a huge step forward.

Next on my list is to rebuild the fuel cap assembly, rebuild the petcock and install the 4 pot dual front calipers that I bought (and already rebuilt).

If you look at the picture below, the smoke near the area of the frame where the seat would sit is my proof that this bike runs!!

 

I finally got the bike registered in September. Initially, I tried to do the transfer of title/registration online. But when it came time to pay the fees the DMV charged me nearly $300. I couldn't understand this as the bike was current on its "non-OP" fee, and the bike was "sold" to me for one dollar.

So I made a trip to the dreaded DMV.. They were actually very helpful and cut my fee nearly in half.

The bike had a registration date of something like September 20th. I was trying to remove it from non-OP three days before the next registration was due. In this case, even though the non-OP fee was already paid for September 20, 2022 through September 20, 2023, I was being charged for an entire extra year of registration.

Non-op fee was like $17/year. The registration was something like $130/year. In the end I paid the $130 fee to register it for the 2024 year and something like $37 to transfer the title.

To sum up this confusing story: If you transfer your bike off non-OP to normal registration, try to do it after the annual due date.


Now onto my progress:

- Vacuum Petcock: Disassembled, cleaned thoroughly and rebuilt. Some may have read that I found a ball bearing in it

- Brake Calipers (front): Completely disassembled, removed all corrosion including the seal grooves, polished the pistons, cleaned, rebuilt. This took me a ton of time as I had two pairs of calipers I wanted to pull the best parts from. Most of the pistons were a pita to get out.




- Master Cylinder: removed all corrosion, cleaned and rebuilt. (picture of non-rebuilt master below)
Straight off, I Stripped the head from the lever bolt, then broke the head of the bolt with my bolt extractor kit... Luckily I had another master cylinder on hand



- Front Wheel: Removed from bike then removed the rotors/brake discs. Everything was fairly corroded so I spent a good portion of time with my rotary tool cleaning everything up. I have five rotors to pick from but they are all either in rough shape or less than 4.5mm. Still pondering this one. I could get new rotors, but then I should probably get new pads.. I know, I know, "it's the braking system! it could save your life"

 

Just pulled the trigger on two new (aftermarket) brake rotors for the front. I bought EBC as I know they use high quality materials . The specific rotors I bought are “ EBC HPSR MD2011”
https://ebcbikes.com/products/ebc-ebc-hpsr-solid-disc-md2011

 

Stripped the finish from one of my fork tubes with acetone.

 

that looks great, describe that process for me please.
it looks like it's ready for clear coat

 

Non Op fee in CA....wow, just wow. I would hate to see if they did something like that in Wisconsin with all the bikes that are in barns, garages or in hobby collectors hands.

You are doing great work, keep it up and thanks for all the good pics you post as you go.

 

Thanks guys. Tim - Yup. California loves their fee's
Simmy -
I believe I found a video on YouTube recommending "aircraft" stripper, or citrus stripping paste applied then wrapped in cling-wrap overnight.

My method:
I had a rag, a scotchbrite pad (grey) and a gallon of acetone. I poured the acetone into a container, then dipped the scotch-brite pad into it and went to work by hand. I alternated between the rag and the scotch-brite depending on how broken down the finish was. I left the tubes in the triple tree for the majority of the work, but I may remove them today to get the crevices around the protrusions and to detail the bottoms.

One other tool that has really changed my detailing life:
cutting scotch-brite pads into small circles and attaching them to my rotary tool. I'll probably use this to finish the detail work on the tubes.

Thanks again for the support guys!

 

I finished stripping both of my forks. I also attached the in a different way so they’ll stay with this thread even if I delete the source.


Tubes stripped with acetone and scotch-brite

Polished with my DA and turtle wax metal polish


I’m still on the fence regarding the polished finish. If I had the ability to apply a horizontal burnished finish (basically the factory finish) I’d try that.

 

Back to work tomorrow but the rotors just arrived so I bolted them up. I bought two pairs of NOS OEM brake pads too (26H-W0045-11 ). Should be here by next weekend.





The other purchase I made today was a set of stainless miniature Bore brushes from Brush Research Manufacturing (BRM). Supposed to be high quality. 81AMMKIT
“The metric kit includes 1mm, 1.5mm, 2mm, 2,5mm, 3mm, 3.5mm, 4mm, 4,5mm, 5mm, 5.5mm, 6mm and 6.5mm sizes. Also included with this selection is our premium double end pin vise which provides a safe and secure means of using the brush.”

 

I spent way too much time with a scotchbrite pad buffing the hub area of the front wheel , but it really makes it pop.



I have everything I need to get the front brakes working. All I need to do is put it all on the bike and bleed it. For the average mechanic this is probably 30 minutes of work. For me? Well that’s another story..

I’d like to take this bike on a ride with my buddy in about a week, so I’ve got motivation. I still have a sticky float (or two) so that could complicate things.

I guess we’ll all see how this works out

 

Nice polish job. Well done. I don't have the patience to make or keep a finish like that.

 

For whatever reason making things shine is what brings me satisfaction, and it’s a big part of why I started this project

 

I’m almost finished with my third carb rack rebuild.




I’m still not satisfied with the way the bike runs, so I decided to upgrade the jet needles, main jets and replace the emulsion tubes.

The needles that I’m going to try are the adjustable 4CP7’s in all four carbs. I also went one size up on the main jets (from 97.5 up to 100).





I got really lucky with the condition of the rubber on the brass slides in this carb rack. They’re the best looking set that I’ve found so far: