A little intro...

Hey all,
Full disclosure, I've never ridden a bike outside of bootin around a friends yard for bit and dropping a small honda 125 and catching a burn on my leg(don't wear shorts when you're learning to ride a bike). Though I was proud of myself for pulling apart and cleaning the carb on the 125 before any of the bad s*&t happened .
My wife has garnered herself "Best Wife of the Year" for getting me a 750 Seca for Christmas. Getting a bike has been on my mind for awhile. I live on the west coast of Canada and the climate works well for this mode of transportation. And gas prices the way they are heading...
So to the meat of it. I don't know much about the history of the bike. It ran up to about 3-4 years ago. The front brake is seized and the back tire flat. Info on this site leads me yo believe it is an82 as it has the so called Atari Info cluster. My first order of business was a new battery. Installed it, turned the key...well it turned over. Next, was a bit of starter fluid in the intake. It almost caught then back fired. Though i didi notice fuel streaming from the hole at the bottom of the intake manifold. After some youtube research I got some awesome info mrmaxstorey. With his help I've worked out an order of operation to get things up and running:
1. Pull the carbs and clean them meticulously
2. Bench sync carbs
3. Check and adjust for float heights
4. Check valve clearances and change shims as necessary
5. Inhibit YICS and sync carbs in realtime
At this point I've cleaned the carbs and Bench synced them. I'm hoping to check float heights tomorrow and reinstall the carbs.
Already I appreciate the wealth of info this forum has given me. I appreciate any input given on this post but will post any further questions on the XJ Chat section.
Cheers,
Chrome

 

Point 1. bad wife for getting you a bike that don't run ;o(
Point 2. why do people think that a bike that has stood for years should just start up, there are a whole bunch of things you should do BEFORE trying to start it.
Point 3. Welcome.

 

It's Christmas! :wink:

 

BC,

Welcome. Don't try to start your bike until you do a oil change. Fuel has leaked down into the crankcase. There are lots of things to do before your bike is road worthy. A compression test with a fully charged battery is the first order of business. If you get good compression numbers get the bike registered/titled in your name. You'll need a manual(s). Get familiar with this Forum, it's legit for these bikes. Read the Information Overload Thread paying close attention to information regarding your specific model. Take the time to bring your bike back properly and you'll thank your wife for a very long time.

Gary

 

Welcome burningchrome: well done to your wife for a great choice in bikes, use the forum, ask the questions and they will be answered. But before you ride (even around the block or up the road) brakes! tires! and everything else that the wizards point you to need to to be right before thinking about it.

Put the model, year etc in your signature so we can all help.

Merry Xmas

 

Thanks for the welcome guys. Sig updated.Yesterday I got the carbs reinstalled and in my excitement I totally forgot to do an oil change. I did get it started but it wouldn't stay running without some throttle. I had it up too about 2000rpm and it was running for about 4 mins total on and off. It was upon coming back in and rereading some info that I did the old facepalm. As rocs82650 stated the oil was most definitely contaminated with fuel. I changed the oil and after a couple of turnovers she started up and seems the be running quite nicely. It idles a little rough and tad over spec rpm wise. I'm getting my hands on some feeler gauges and a compression tester today. I hope I didnt do any long term damage to the bike.

1982 Seca XJ750RJ

 

You should be fine. SLOW DOWN, this isn't a quick process anyway.

 

Welcome BC.

Valve clearances should be done before trying to run the machine, and especially before trying any syncs (save bench of course). In my .sig is a link to a good post with detailed links when you get a new (old) machine. Remember, everything is necessary to bring your machine up to standards and deal with any possible neglect by a previous owner. Even if it was your father-in-law, that PO has to be considered negligent. It's not their life on the line.

Good winter project, should be doable!

 

Patience has never been one of my virtues. But I'm working on it :wink: .

Thanks kilted. I bookmarked that post yesterday and have added many items to my to do list. I will most likely have compression numbers and valve clearances by this aft. On a side note I think I'm going to start a thread in the Chat section of the forum.
Cheers,
Chrome

 

Welcome. Glad to hear you are enthusiastic about your bike

 

Linking to my chat topic

http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=45119.html

 

Welcome! We are a plethora of information here. Never hesitate to ask!