How I resolved my fast idle on 82 Maxim

All props to the guy who see the matrix when it comes to these bikes. I don't.

I bought an XJ650 (82 Maxim) where the previous guy had spent months reworking the carbs. He was on the forum and did everything suggested more than once - which I appreciate - but he could never get the carb set to stop leaking. In the end he sold the bike to me. Lots of work done to it, wonderful, I'm very appreciative. There's no way it was a simple fix. (https://xjbikes.com/forums/threads/1982-xj650j-maxim-rosie-for-sale.119117/)

I gave it to my back yard mechanic (literally he has a shop in his back yard). This guy has fixed everything for me from chainsaws to complete replacement of my Prius Hybrid engine. He took it apart and said, "One of the needles is slightly shorter than the other 3." He adjusted to floats appropriately based on the needle lengths and boom Fixed!"

However, when I got it back it would idle cold fine and even run fine unless I rode it. Then it would kick up to about 4000 rpms on idle and not want to come back down. I bought a vacuum set to balance the carbs and goofed around with them. It didn't seem to make a difference at first (I'm sure I was doing it wrong). I changed all the adjustment screws, didn't use anything to compensate for YICS. I'm not a mechanic. In the process I backed the main idle adjustment screw all the way out... ALL the way out.

I thought "screw it" I'll bring it back to my guy, and rode it back over there with the vacuum line kit. When I brought it back to him it didn't high idle on me... but it's only 5 miles and I didn't hot rod it. He fiddled with it for a couple days and said, "Yep, works fine now, no high idle. I rode it 30 miles." When I picked it up it sounded great... All the work he did counting both times - hours and hours of work - only cost $100. He's the best!

By the time I got home (literally 5 miles) it was high idling again. I thought, well it was only $100. I guess I'll send it off to the guy who rebuilds them for $400.

I think when he test drove it he never really opened it up. I doubt he throttled it much past 3000 rpms. He's not really a motorcycle guy. I don't think he even owns a helmet. When I ride... well... all the dogs bark, we'll just put it that way. Country blacktop.

Before calling my mechanic to say, "You finally failed me." I tried one thing. I backed the main idle knob all the way out again. FIXED IT!

Fixed it. Don't know why. The only slight issue is when I start it with a dead cold engine I have to open the throttle up completely. If I try to start with the throttle closed (or slightly open) it won't take up any fuel. So I twist the throttle and hit the starter. It fires up like a jet engine. After that it idles fine and runs like a scalded ape... I can peg the speedo in 3rd gear. It runs sweet all the way into the red on the tach.

I've put about 300 miles on it. No problem. I'm not saying this is the issue for anyone else. But, I guess it was just hanging or I don't know. He kept adjusting it "properly" so that it idled COLD at exactly 1250 rpm's but then had high idle issues when I rode it. Now the main idle wheel is adjusted all the way. It's still in there (maybe... I haven't looked maybe it fell off the bike). It's not engaged.

Maybe the gurus know why it would hang like that. I'm just saying what I did in case it helps someone else.

(Now I have TWO 82 Maxims that run great.... life is good.)

 

It's not fixed.

The idle speed adjustment screw is not supposed to backed all the way out, ever. That allows the throttle plates to close enough that they can stick, or wear into the carb throats when they close.

The bike should start from cold without touching the throttle at all, especially in the summer.

It sounds to me like the bench synch was not done, or a running synch was not done, or there's a vacuum leak. There could be other things not right as well but those are the more common issues.

Pull the carbs off. We're going to walk you through this (maybe not me so much because I'm leaving on a trip soon, but others are as capable as I am).

It would also be helpful to know exactly what your guy did, and if any parts were replaced.

 

If all were ell with these carbs, backing off the idle screw would stop the engine. So you have an air leak at least, and likely a set of imballanced carbs, and maybe the need to set valve clearances as well. (This is potential engine damage so you at least need to check these clearances asap).

 

Thanks the next time I’m riding it I’ll be sure to tell it. And I’ll tell the other bike with the unclean carbs that it’s not supposed to run either.

Not to be a dick but this is two for to where these bikes have gotten really complicated answers on really simple problems. The answer to every issue on this forum tends to be tear everything down to the nub and rebuild it and then when that doesn’t work do it again you must’ve done it wrong. And when that doesn’t work and the mechanic who fixed it didn’t get it fixed and the mechanics an idiot and it wasn’t done right and it’s not clean enough and do it again What I don’t see is the end of a thread that says thanks you fixed it.

Maybe that’s just the nature of forums

 

But it isn't fixed.
We're not trying to rag on people. Your problem is being masked by having the throttle plates fully closed, and that's creating the starting issue.
The machine wants what it wants. It doesn't care a bit about egos or feelings.
Fix it and she'll reward you. Ignore it and you might end up walking home some day.

 

when i run into a problem like this, i dance around the bike three times, counter clockwise, waving a chicken foot in the air

 

You won’t believe this guy on the forum. He had an idle problem and he adjust the idle and now he thinks it’s fixed!!

- sounds fixed to me

That’s because you’re not an expert. He didn’t fix it Right!

-so it’s not fixed? It doesn’t run?

It runs but it’s not fixed. I can stop running if it stops working!

-isn’t that true if any bike? They work until they break?

You can’t understand. You’re not an EXPERT like me. Instead of riding it he should have it strewn across his garage in pieces. Then it will be right!

- you’re right. I’m an idiot

 

By the way I think you guys do a great job trying to help people and being available as much as you are

I’m a chewing gum and bailing wire guy. If the chicken foot works why argue with it? At this moment I am driving my Prius with 330,000 miles on it with the ABS light on the check engine light on the maintenance required light on and it doesn’t bother me a wit. I drive 400 mile round-trips. Last week I drive to New Mexico and back that was 1600 miles round-trip. So I’m not quite a perfectionist

These cards were rebuilt multiple times by a guy on the forum with 30 years of motorcycle carburetor experience and he still couldn’t get them to work.

I’ll try screw it in the throttle control w few turns maybe that’ll keep the throttle plates from wearing out.

( somebody gave me a free maxim yesterday but it had pods on it so I crushed it down and made an ashtray out of instead. Stupid pods )

 

Nobody called you an idiot.
If you want to ride the bike as it is, then feel free to do so.
If you want it to run right, then you still have some work to do.

The machne wants what the machine wants. It has no ego. It has no feelings.

 

wait.... crushed down the entire maxim, or just the pods?

I just shed a little Maxim tear.

 

Hah, I'm very much with you @tony, there is a tendency here to prescribe self flagellation, tearing things down, going to church, spending vast fotrunes on things that may or may not need spending on, oh, and crushing anything with pod filters.
However, I would advise you that eventually (maybe far enough away in time not to be worth thinking about), your fully unscrewed idle screw will bugger something up. No worries, just letting you know.
Lastly, I'd like to say that here in wet (for the first time in two months) Wales it's nealy 1 am, I've been out to a very good comedy night, had a few beers and one large brandy, and in the scale of things worldwide a worn throttle plate (and a 30 year old one at that), is neither here nor there. So chill, pal

 

Chillin’.

 

He wasn't asking for any advice-- he just was telling us how he solved HIS fast idle. So.....

Thank you for letting us know. We will try to refrain from giving any unwanted advice

 

Can't.... resist.... must...not... post... this....

https://www.behance.net/gallery/11471793/Just-because-it-works-doesnt-mean-its-fixed

Damn. I did it.

 

Oh man… I sprayed my coffee when I got to the grill. now I got to clean off my iPad

 

If someone searches they can see a dozen threads about the 14 things required to fix this issue plus my post. That's why I posted it. I'm not trying to irritate the experts. That's just a side effect. The more I look at threads on running issues (particularly fuel issues) I see long, longer, longest threads. Do this, then that, do the other. ... you must not have done it right. Do a propane test... it didn't show an issue... then you did it wrong.. I did it again and it's still not showing an issue... well the propane test doesn't always work... there's never an end to it.

I know I can't ask for advice on here anymore... because I have pods. So after I follow all the advice and it still doesn't work (like my bogging issue) then the answer will fall down to "well you have pods so you're bike will never run right" when that's absolutely not true. My other bike has pods too and it runs like a scalded ape.... oh but I had to back the idle screw out most of the way... "must be the pods." It's truly a shame. Every single running thread says you have to rip your carbs apart, rip your bike apart, check replace things ... and when people do it all ... it still doesn't fix the issue they asked about in the first place. That's my frustration. I think it's other peoples' too. Lots of information... All of it expressed in black and white like there is no other possible way to address the problem... Word of GOD... but no final solutions, just excuses and threads that lead nowhere because the person finally gave up.

I looked on another motorcycle forum (with 4 carb bikes) about why my other bike bogs when the throttle is fully open but runs fine otherwise. The answer given... "based on the fact that you have pods and a 4 into 1 pipe setup, put in #116 Mikuni jets... here's a link to where you can get them in 3 days from ebay." did it, fixed it, didn't say anything about it. Said something about this one and got beat into the ground.

Don't worry. I'm out. No need to use this forum. The same 4 guys spout the same 8 things. Word of GOD... Go read your own forum and calculate your "resolved issue rate" when it comes to this. I'm having trouble finding any threads that don't just peter out after 12 different answers are given and none of them work.

I just read all these other threads:
https://xjbikes.com/forums/threads/having-idling-issues.101711/#post-539136
not resolved

https://xjbikes.com/forums/threads/82-750-maxim-lean-rev.56630/#post-445242
not resolved

https://xjbikes.com/forums/threads/rev-and-return-to-idle-problem.47910/page-2
not resolved

https://xjbikes.com/forums/threads/81-xj650-fast-idle.8451/#post-69937
not resolved

I could go on for pages. You guys are good at telling people specifications... like float height and stuff like that. I'll give you credit. But troubleshooting... this forum sucks... and actually fixing things. Zero. I'm sure GOD will disagree.

Are there any examples of this issue actually being resolved? Other than mine that is. There is obviously a simple cause for this issue that keeps recurring over and over. And it's not what these threads think it is... or else it would have been... you know... resolved.

Enjoy your little fiefdom.

 

The other day I stopped my finger from bleeding.... I cut it off. None of that "go to the doctor" crap.... he'd just wash it out... put some antibacterial junk on it, and then a stupid band-aid. Just cut it off. It's laying there on the counter.... not bleeding at all.

Proof.

 

If ya wanna send your carbs out to me I'll take a look at them for ya.

 

Everyone here tries to assist , yes some of us are professional mechanics I am a licensed A&P FAA mechanic with over 30 years in the field , restored several cars, and motorcycles been riding since I was 14. When you ask for advice , you may not like the answers , when I answer a post I try to be clear , if advise is followed it just may " fix" problem . Please realize sometimes the adage " been there done that" fits . Once I rebuilt my carbs could not get them to idle down, synch ....it was butterfly plate on #1 carb was off slightly ..repositioned and it fixed problem . I am sorry you feel that those that post on here have not givin you the help or answers , yes we all have opinions and that includes you too. Good luck

 

Remember.... he didn't ask for help or advice. Apparently we offended him by offering. (Yeah, i still offer to look at the carbs for him, but whatever. I'm moving on.....
Tell it to the han......... oops, busy signal.

 

Most people don't post once they no longer have a problem to solve.

My '83 GMC ran a quart of oil out of the rear main seal every 1,000 miles. It ran fine, but I'd never make the bold claim that the leaky rear main seal was fixed by adding a quart of oil every 1,000 miles. Words have meaning. Compensating for a problem isn't the same as fixing the problem.

 

I had a car that burned so much oil it didn't even need gas

 

Terrible when oil mileage is less than fuel mileage.

 

I would think it's BETTER when oil mileage is less than fuel mileage

 

Okay maybe I worded that incorrectly...terrible when you're out of oil in the crankcase before you're out of fuel in the tank

 

Lol

 

I think you're all missing a point here.

 

I think I understand it... but I wonder if one concern might be a newbie coming along and taking advice at face value, unaware it comes with a caveat of potentially more/worse/different issues that may have been avoidable.

Whether it's in a week, or two years later for a new owner. Somebody could be up a proverbial creek. Stranded alone in Death Valley on a midsummer day, fighting with four carburetors... and no idea what to do. I've done it. Don't recommend it.

At least having one voice say this solution may not be correct, is almost essential in that vein. Besides, I think what's happening is a little joviality at the expense of someone who became unnecessarily and vocally obstinant.

I could be wrong.. just my two cents.

 

Hmm, yes there is allways the need to learn the basics, and then hopefully take that foward to being an expert, albeit perhaps specifically on the xj. Personally I believe in following a logical train of thought, and allways try to encourage this thought, rather than just answering a question, or query. How many times do we see "I'm not mechanically minded"?
I would say though, that in answer to newby questions here there does seem to be a rush to suggest the most complicated of paths to success. My take on this is that for some it just allienates them - result, the poster just turns off, as has just happened here. No winners there then. However, if the poster is stil around 6 months or a year later, encouraged by success, bit by bit the knowledge improves.
Time after time I've read that xyz doesn't work, with no real reason why not - just recently I read that a poster "might as well rebuild the set of carbs" well really? This is not something to attempt lightly - skills, time, availability of spares/cost of spares are all significant, so it shouldn't be suggested lightly.
Hopefully I've given a relative newby slant on this, and haven't offended anyone - ultimately the knowledge base on here is second to none, and hopefully will ensure these xjs are ridden by our sons and daughters for years to come.

 

Nope.

Exactly.

 

I think that you're just seeing that trend amongst a very few number of the people who post here, and I tend to agree that isn't the best course of action.
The suggestion to rebuild the carbs comes from a collective experience and the knowledge that the Hitachi carbs often needed rebuilding even 20 years ago.

Even then a full rebuild isn't usually needed, but instead a full teardown, thorough cleaning, and replacing the few rubber parts that cause the most trouble.
There are a few key indicators that point directly to when they need to be rebuilt, and I only rarely see anyone jump directly to that answer when the symptoms that call for rebuilding are not present (though I am noticing it happen more often this year than I have in the past).

 

I'm not

 

he came here with a 650 not running well was told about the pods. but he had to go pods to fit his over sized battery. he had to remove air box to fit battery.
then he bought another 650 with airbox intact it was suggested he compare the 2 bikes then decide about the pods. nope ripped out the airbox to put his oversized battery from other bike in newest bike............................
he is right the world is wrong


his fix for pods and not being able tp supply enough gas to carbs (air in fuel line) was to buy a "Racing petcock"

 

There are folks that just want something that runs, and there are those (most on this forum) that want it to run right and be reliable. I think he is the former.

 

The actual solution to this problem.... not that you will believe it.... I solved it by backing off all the sync screws on 4,1,3, plus the idle screw so they weren't effecting anything. Fired up the motor and readjusted the idle screw only to 1000rpm. Motor warmed up normally and the choke worked as it should. With the choke off and the engine warm I could rev the engine and it would settle back down to idle speed normally. I haven't resync'd the bike yet, but feel it will respond normally.

I'm no carb expert, but what I think is happening is if the the carbs other than #2 are sync'd too tight the idle speed is actually being controlled by #1, or #3, or #4, or any combination of them. When the motor is warm, and the choke is off, one or more of the carbs open up the main jet sooner and keep it open long.

Your welcome

 

Hmmmm......

 

https://tonybluegoat.blogspot.com/

 

So what are you trying to say?

 

Personally, I think anyone smart enough to work on a bike would have already checked the gas before asking for help on any forum. Sort of like putting the key in and switching the bike on before expecting the starter to work.

In any case, this forum doesn’t seem to be a good fit for this rider. I wish him well as he looks elsewhere.

 

Sorry he feels that way, everyone here tries to assist anyone asking for help . I feel this is one of the best and most helpful forum . I'm a frequent poster , I try to help and hope my ramblings help anyone else posting for advise. We all have opinions , I'm not a fan of pods but if someone wants to use them well that is fine because it is their bike , but I do not like seeing someone who is a new rider and new to wrenching have numerous problems turning. If the poster feels he has "fixed" problem good for him , but I do not try to belittle or snip at others but maybe a hurt feelings form is needed?

 

Enough said.

Gary H.

 

It's better to be silent than to be a fool.

HARPER LEE

 

Tony, Tony, Tony.
Really? I mean REALLY?
Social media slandering statements because of your ego...

I love when someone who finds a fix puts up a post. It is hard not to take things personal when they are directed towards ones personal victory in motorcycle maintenance... nobody here is “out to get you” - relax. This will pass and we will be able to have compassion and respect for all cultures, religions and motorcycle hack fixes.

 

I don't waste my time reading personal blogs, so I'm not gonna wast time reading whatever he's ranting on there. I don't really care what he said there. I guess I'm standing over where Jack Nicholson is standing.

 

What's the score?
Bikes saved by Tony: 2
Bikes saved by the XJ guru crew:...
Sorry, the tabulating machine broke down. Must be the carbs...

 

I guess I missed that...

 

Thread locked.

All that needs to be said has been said.