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Resurrecting the 750!

Discussion in 'XJ Technical Chat' started by rhys, Apr 23, 2008.

  1. maximike

    maximike Member

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    Had this same issue on my caliper rebuild. People accused me of using the wrong tools or general ham-handedness. But NOTHING would have gotten it out. Tried penetrating oil, torch, extractor (just spun in place) etc. Drilled it out all the way through! From one end to the other, you could see daylight through that pin! Never got it unfrozen from that caliper. Tossed it and bought another one to rebuild from a scrap yard.
     
  2. maximike

    maximike Member

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    As for your high beam indicator, sounds like you need to take the instruments off and clean up contacts and connectors. I've done this a bunch of times, I find spraying electrical component cleaner in the tach can help it out, mine is much less bouncy now. Also, removing and cleaning those three screws that attach to the back of the tach and hold wires in place.

    The high beam indicator is wired strangely from the factory, in my opinion. Because of my headlight mod, I had to rewire that indicator to work correctly. I just slaved the bulb off the wire that goes to the high beam(in my case, to the high beam relay) this is a lot simpler than how yamaha did it. Of course, that's treating a symptom and not your actual problem, which is 30 year old electrics :)
     
  3. Mike82mxm

    Mike82mxm Member

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    So does mine
     
  4. rhys

    rhys Member

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    Thanks for the insights. I think we'll get this caliper bolt out, though it's going to take quite a bit of "encouragment". Glad to know what the expected behavior of the lights are.

    I think some serious re-wiring has been done already, since the PO had added highway pegs and an extra set of lights that hung from the pegs. The sidestand relay is bypassed as well (stupid). It's probably going to take me a little while to disentangle this one.

    But I have a multimeter, and SCIENCE! :)
     
  5. RickCoMatic

    RickCoMatic Well-Known Member

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    If that Bike had EXTRA Lights, ... Check the Alternator Rotor for signs of Scorching on the two Orbit Paths the Brushes contact.

    If they look excessively dark, ... refurbish them by Dressing the Orbit Paths with a Pumice Eraser.
    The Old Fashioned Typewriter eraser is ideal.

    http://www.amazon.com/Venus-Circular-Ty ... B003KEFV02
     
  6. skills4lou

    skills4lou Member

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    For the caliper piston: Install a properly sized bolt in place of the banjo bolt (to seal the opening in the caliper). Crack the bleeder open, install a grease gun and pump grease in there. The pistons will come out.

    For polishing the contacts, I like using something like this:
    nail polisher
     
  7. rhys

    rhys Member

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    This is why I love this site. Those are *great* ideas!

    We're lucky... and unlucky. The left side caliper - which is pretty much unobtainium if you go searching for a new one - let go of the brake pad retaining bolt without too much of a fight. We plan to try to use the brake system itself to push the piston out when we get to that point. (Possibly. Depends somewhat on the right side.)

    The right side is much worse. The retaining bolt is completely seized. I've destroyed tools trying to extract that thing. A buddy of mine loaned me an extractor set made from high strength steel. We were able to put a CRAZY amount of torque on it (and PB Blaster, etc.) and still weren't able to remove it. (I optimistically ordered the replacement from chacal - which arrived lickety-split, as always - but haven't been able to use it.)

    So we took it to a machine shop in town where the grizzled old owner - the kind you pray for - says he can probably get it out, though he was concerned about the possibility of not having a Helicoil with those high-pitch threads. He may well extract the piston while he's at it.

    So for the right side, if all else fails, THOSE calipers can be had new from a number of places. Best price is around $250, which is okay, if it comes to that. If the machinist can get the retaining bolt out, but leaves the piston, it gives me the excuse to go get a grease gun to expel the piston. And if I'm going to do THAT, I may as well do them both, right? ;)

    That's the state of things. Not the best, but making steady progress. And while we all know it, credit where credit is due. Chacal has been getting parts to us in record times and perfect accuracy. Kudos to him once again.

    (There's also a competing project. Anyone who wants to come over and help me replace the drive belt, water pump, and a couple other odds and ends on a 1997 Saturn SL1 is welcome to come play.) ;)
     
  8. bigfitz52

    bigfitz52 Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    Don't pay $250 for a new caliper; buy a decent used one off eBay for $20 and rebuild it. Total cost around $50.
     
  9. rhys

    rhys Member

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    We did some (a trivial amount) of poking around on eBay and didn't find anything with a Buy It Now! marker. In fact, the only calipers for "750s" that we found were actually 650 calipers marked incorrectly. (I would have bought them if I had money to throw around.)

    But this is going to end up being my father's bike, and he's eager to make progress more than save money, and it's his money we're spending on the 750. He is willing to put a certain amount of effort into things - the MC rebuild went perfectly - but not weeks and weeks, and we'll already be a month into this right caliper even if the machinist gets it apart for us.

    Hence, new one.

    If and when I get a minute, I'll poke around on eBay a little more thoroughly and see if I can't find something in reasonable condition for cheaper than $250. If that happens soon, we may go that route. Otherwise, I think my father's desire to ride this thing THIS Spring may win out.
     
  10. maximike

    maximike Member

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    Yeah, like I said, mine never came out. If I hadn't tossed it, I would've sent it to you for you to try to get it out, lol.

    I bought one from a guy who runs his business out of a storage unit here in Portland. I paid $35 for it, and he pumped out the piston right there, with a master cylinder he just had for that purpose, I guess.

    Then I rebuilt it, with them both on the bike, and now painted, nobody could tell which one was original. Hell, I don't know for sure. There has got to be a used parts place somewhere you can go to, and they will show up on ebay, you might have to look a little more is all.
     
  11. ElkHavenSeca

    ElkHavenSeca Active Member

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    do you have any photo's of these bikes ?
     
  12. rhys

    rhys Member

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    So! Time for an update, given that this year has been full of progress.

    Brakes: Front brakes rebuilt! Got a used caliper from eBay. Cleaned, lubed, assembled, bled. New pads, new stainless steel lines, new banjo bolts, new crush washers. Rebuild kit in the other caliper, rebuild kit in the MC. Front brakes work!

    Back brakes rebuild was done a long time ago. Back brakes always feel a bit mushy to me. I think they are adjusted correctly, though. When actuated (pedal down), the control arm that turns the spindle is at 90 degrees to the pull rod. That is, when I'm pressing hardest on the pedal is also when nearly 100% of the force is pulling that arm forward for maximum force applied to the brake shoes.

    Oh and using the brake system itself to push the piston out of the original left side caliper and the replacement right side caliper worked perfectly. Messy, but simple enough once the MC was properly rebuilt.

    Having brakes that work is a pretty good thing.

    So a couple of weeks ago, we put pod air filters on it. Brand new K&Ns, properly oiled. Put everything back together. Started right up! I even rode it to the gas station and back. THAT was a Very Dangerous Ride, but it's a long way from the messy piece of business I bought... how many years ago?

    Finally found the headlights problem. It's the connector between the main wiring harness and the controls cluster (left handle bar). Start the bike and wiggle that connector and you can make the headlight flash.

    Found some new problems while riding it, too. Speedo wasn't working until I fiddled with the cable while riding. Need to see what the story is there. The tach in the gauge cluster is bad. Verified by hooking up another one that responds properly. Just need to swap that one out. Horn is iffy. Cram on the button and you get these weak croaky sounds. Turn signal switch is VERY stiff. Could barely turn them off. Clutch, throttle, and choke cables all very stiff and need to be properly adjusted. Finally, still need some tuning in the engine, and possibly have a vapor lock issue. Engine starts well, but idle is erratic (sometimes fine, sometimes dies, sometimes races) and it likes to die when you pull in the clutch.

    Oh, and it has an oil leak around the spin-on filter kit I bought from chacal. Need to disassemble that thing and fix it. I think it's just the way the big aluminum disc mates to the engine. The seal isn't good. Yet.

    And we mounted the shiny new mirrors. Next test ride ought to be a little safer.

    SO! The tach is easy enough. Swap tach. That's in progress. (Meaning, we dismounted the gauge cluster and set it aside, just around the time we got tired and quit for the night.)

    Since we had to pull off the left side control cluster to work on the connectors (which may get lopped off and replaced), we disassembled it and looked at things. Sure enough, springs are sticky and need lubing (flashers sticky). Mating surfaces of the spring inside the horn are corroded to hell (iffy horn). Choke cable very loose. Will lube that while it's out and get it adjusted when we reassemble it.

    Then we'll get into the engine performance. We know we're going to have to pull off the carbs anyway because of the pod filters and re-jet them. That'll give us a chance to remove the caps over the mixture screws. We'll make sure they're still clean. (They've sat a lot.) We'll make some adjustments to the fuel hose when we re-mount them as well. It has an in-line filter, but the hose assembly is too long and hangs in a way that requires the fuel to flow uphill, which obviously doesn't work so well.

    Air box deletion is the only mod (stock exhaust), so I'm hoping that rejetting won't be a horrible experience.

    I need to buy a carb sync tool as well (a good one). We adjusted the valves a while ago, but we haven't run it a heck of a lot. Re-checking them at this point is probably paranoia. Need to replace engine oil, gear oil, oil filter, and spark plugs. We have a colortune, though I have little idea how to use it.

    But all that said - and this is a long post! - this thing is highly likely to be fit to be licensed and ridden this coming spring! WOO!
     
  13. rhys

    rhys Member

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    Wow! Site upgrade happened while I was away. Lost my cheesy avatar. Ah, well. That's what happens when you disappear for 18 months at a time.

    Anyway, I'm at it again! Talking to our friend chacal about cables and wiring for the 750 (see Very Dangerous Ride above) and going to have to replace the starter button on the 650 while I'm at it. The old girl started up without too much fuss today, but just as she turned over, the button came off in my hand! That's no good.

    Hopefully more to tell you all soon, and it's good to be back! :D
     

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