new xj750r owner!

Hey all, thanks for the add.

Just bought a 1981 xj750r (thats what a vin decoder told me anyway).

This bike has been sitting for a long time, but is rust free and fairly clean. Dead battery. hooked a jump box to it, electronics lit up and motor cranked, but did not fire. (didnt crank for too long, just wanted to see if motor would turn over. wasnt trying to start it.) figure i need to drain out old fuel before really trying to start

Throttle will not twist. When looking above carbs, throttle cable is trying to pull, but the throttle is stuck.

What do I need to do?

Assuming carbs need rebuilt? or can I just pull them and clean them? Any good videos on this? TIA!!

I am one happy owner!

 

Welcome to the party, @Paul Kaseman !

Sounds like at a minimum you will need to pull the carb rack and blast them with carb cleaner at least enough to get the throttle butterflies and the slides moving. I would pop the float bowls off too and see what is inside. If they are not too full of gunk and you can clean them up well enough you might be able to at least get it running without having to do a full rebuild.

That being said, I think it is safe to assume that a rebuild is in your future - probably just a matter of when.

How are the brakes?

If the electrical system looks good and it turns over then you are probably just some functional carbs away from it running.

 

Welcome to the family on this forum . Get to navigate the forum on the upper right of home page is xj4ever click this on read the information overload hour. Chacal has most parts for sale for these wonderful bikes to order just IM him. This is a list to check :
1. Remove the fuel tank to Pull the carbs off , disconnect choke cable, throttle cable . Lossen the clamps on all four carb bodies. If bike still has the stock airbox , lossen the clamps , push the boots into the airbox a little WD 40 helps this . There is a 10mm bolt at the top , this will allow the airbox to move backwards. Use a hammer wooden handle gently pry on the carbs between the head and the carbs and carbs should pop out of intake boots.
2 . Take the carbs and try to open the float bowl drain screws , if they won't budge , don't worry. Remove the four screws and carefully remove the float bowls . Inspect the jets and floats this is where you need to read " The Church of clean " on the forum .
3. Inspect the tires look for a date code on tire if more then 5 years old replace the tires . ( safety item).
4. Inspect front forks see if there is any leaks , compress forks see if there is any rebound , if no could mean there is little or no fluid in forks.
5. Inspect brakes , check the travel of rear brake pedal push down and look at the rod there is a pointer on the brake plate should be around middle of travel.


There are many other items to check , but this should get you started. Cheers

 

Thanks so much sounds good. brakes are firm (rear) and no grab at all at the front. low fluid in front res. havent added fluid yet to see if that helps. probably going to siphon as much old fluid out as I can. Calipers and rotors and pads up front all look great, will see if good fluid makes them functional. any advice here is well received!

thanks again!

 

Great advice! thanks so much for the help. Forks do rebound, but not sure its as strong a rebound as it should be... Is there a good way to tell? Thanks again happy to be a part of the group

 

Congrats! Just a heads up that bleeding that particular master is it's own circle of Dante's Hell. Plenty of tips and tricks in the forums, but the number one thing to on hand is an extra reserve of patience.

 

If it has the original brake lines, they sould he changed and upgraded to stainless braided lines. The originals are probaby beyond their lifespan and braided lines will firm up and improve the front braking.

In the meantime, a complete flush and bleed of the existing lines will allow you to find out what other work the brakes will need.