What did you do to your Yamaha today?

I've used those on occasion as well. It's hit-or-miss if they will grab and hold without shearing off the surface in chips. That's why I usually try the pipe wrench first, it bites a lot harder. You can take a file to the wrench teeth and make them very sharp. Also, the spiral screw extractors rarely work for me but the fluted ones work just about every time, and they are much cheaper.

 

I considered giving the screw extractor a shot, even started drilling a pilot hole in the center. My reason for not giving it a shot is since the bolt is really the bypass valve assembly and is hollow, I didn't want to punch a hole through the center and end up lubricating everything. Probably would have had plenty of room before that would be an issue but I didn't want to press my luck.

 

good call on not drilling.
I have a set of those bolt extractors. I do not know how I ever got along with out them.
slap that extractor on to the ratchet worked just like it was a socket.

 

I'm sure they'll come in handy again, luckily not for this particular issue.

After work project: converted over to the spin on filter.

 

Whooo hit 59 degrees pulled bike out, hopped on started bike up drop into gear ....and running on 3 cylinders , tried to ride a bit to see if it would clear up...no dice. Pulled plug number 1 was not firing , I always have spare plugs , put in another set ...that did the trick ....took bike out to back road hit 60 felt so good ...only rode 5 miles but had to put bike back away temp set to drop again and nice to have my truck in the garage and not have to scrape windows in morning.

 

I'll take one of each!

 

Matti glad to see your still upright ...

 

Yeah, I'm around, but not so much in the motorcycle way. Gotta annoy the wife a whole bunch more before she'll let me get another one!

 

I got the Seca 750 Touring out of the shop into the sunshine, pulled out the ratty, given to me, don't want to run well carbs and slid in the fresh from Dave, Hogfiddled carbs in, fed it some gas and had it running. The last time this beast was on the road was 2007. It lives, it lives! A bit of tuning and tweaking and it shall tour again.
John

 

Spring has finally arrived for me. After the flooding, snow and cold of February/March, yesterday was sunny warm...and dry in SE South Dakota. Got the XJ550 out after work. Checked oil (changed before storing), brakes, tires...hit prime for 1 minute, choke on, press starter. 3rd attempt fired right up. (Rebuilt starter last season, she really turns over now).

Big smile, off for the first ride of the season.

Gotta love spring.

 

Battery box, electrical box, swing arm and stands are back on the frame. Wiring harness will be routed tomorrow. Buffed and painted more parts and tore down the rear light and trim. Tried refreshing grease in the rear wheel bearings but still tight so popped them out.

 

Swapped the lock cylinder out from a matched key set SnoSherrif sold me into this new Emgo assembly. All parts fit perfect except for the detent plate. The tension on the contact block was so much that I couldn't turn the key once it was screwed 100% together. I cussed at it and reassembled it like 15 times. The neck locking cam laughed every time and popped up out of the slide just make it more fun. It's done, though. Yamaha key in a shiny new assembly to match the tank cap, helmet lock and glovebox. Now, if only the bike was back together to use them on.

 

I'm working on this currently. Second prototype version is printing for fitment tests. I've added a 40mm hex to the cap top, similar to the K&N filter. I'll be able to use a strap wrench too to remove the cover too. The cap is left threaded so it can be removed if needed. A colleague of mine will be machining the parts out of 6061 aluminum. the filter pipe will be low-carbon steel.

 

Not too exciting but I did finally get a seat/helmet lock (original must have walked off with the PO). Nice to know someone won't be able to walk off with my seat, or at least not as easily.

 

Just ordered the m.unit blue for my bike. #stoked

 

Shout out to Hogfiddles for setting me up with some crash bars. Picked up some longer bolts and finally managed to get them installed. I think I may have broken my foot persuading everything to line up though...

 

O joy rode several times today only went about 20 miles ,BUT I worked in the garage , replaced some lights that were out , and finally worked on my 2nd set of carbs , got the jets or what was left of them anyway out, soaked the float bowls . Old gas turns to jelley , and can be very difficult to remove . Soaking in Berrymans carb soak did the trick , the jet in the well is another matter , when I have more time will soak bowls longer. I bought a stock exhaust off of eBay a couple of months ago ,finally pulled it out of box , it is in really good shape ,cleaned it up a little and sprayed the collector box with rust encapsulater ,and painted with high temp the pipe collector brackets VHT aluminum. I'm still not sure why I bought it my MAC system is in great shape. I tend to impulse buy things and sometimes never put them on ...but I have it lol.

 

after wet settling floats, put back together , went for short test ride. when I gave it throttle the bike went nuts. 6-8 thou rpm. wouldn't back down. hit kill switch .
walked it the 1/4mi. back home. no cable or linkage bind . hmmmmm. took rack off, here's what I found.

 

Keep us informed on this please.

 

Finally got around to riding this particular xj a good bit and I have decided to make it my every day driver to and from work. She will get 100 miles per day now on work days.

I added my Hepco and Becker top box as it’ll hold so much more than the factory top box
Added the case savers and a set of “v-twin” highway pegs and tossed on the old saddleman seat I’ve had stored for a bit of time

I have a “throttle lock” but I’m not entirely sure yet on it as it looks like I’d have to shave off a small spot of the handlebar covers for room. It came from a 1100 maxim

 

Will do! I'll try and document the process with pics. Given that I'm a technical ignoramus it should be good for a laugh, at least. I also ordered the m.button to simplify the wiring to be run, and some m.switches for the look. In my frantic quest for knowledge I ran across Revival Cycles as they put out a few good vids on the m.unit blue. Does anybody have any experience with their regulator/rectifier or starter solenoid?

 

Supposed to be 68° here today and all I could do is look upon my Yamaha with disgust as it sits in the garage with a slipping clutch. A few other things are also going to need repairs after the weekend test rides but the clutch takes the cake. The plates and springs were new almost a year ago.

 

It might be best to ask specific questions in a thread in tech chat. The box looks straight-forward for wiring. If I was building a bigger, newer, bike I would consider upgrading to that since I'm an EE, programmer and electronics hobbyist.

 

Been near 80F here the past several days and supposed to stay warm through the foreseeable fitire. Looks like mulch will be filling up the truck this weekend and I'll be consuming a higher than normal amount of red Kratom for back pain.

 

Took a pic of the old battery, time for a new one. I hope this last winter storm will be it and get the Seca on the rd.

 

Okay so now we have a "bomb cyclone" heavy snow,rain , 50 mph winds or higher. Had 2 good days so got a little riding in. Chicago area rain and snow showers think we will miss most , but Wisconcin , Minnesota ,Dakotas are going to get hammered ...hope anybody on the forum in those locals are okay.

 

Ordered a copy of "Yamaha XJ 550, XJ 600, FJ 600 (1981-1992) - Clymer Motorcycle Service and Repair Manual".

 

replaced my voltage regulator and battery today.
needed a new battery when I installed it I checked out the voltage drop on start and then did the charging test. I was getting proper voltage at 2000 rpm but at 3000 rpm I was getting 16.7 volts.
beautiful day went riding for the second time. road last sunday got snow Monday night...……...

 

This weekend I cleaned up my shed so I finally have enough room to decently work on my bike and have my tools properly organized. It was on my to-do list for a couple of years already, but the bike finally made it worthwhile for me (don't tell my wife). I ordered a new rectifier and starter solenoid from Revival Cycles. It'll probably take some time to arrive (US --> Europe), so I can already get started on the break-down and old wiring. Got my first look at that today, and I must say I'm definitely not impressed with the PO's work. There wasn't a bolt that wasn't loose, the ignition and rectifier were glued to the custom battery housing, and that was bolted to what appears to be a piece of wooden board. So, I definitely got my work cut out for me, it appears.

 

Took all the fittings of the tank of my new 700 and hit it with KBS Kleen and removed the carbs for cleaning.

Will be doing an acid etch this evening once the tank dries

 

Bent the bottom combustion ring on one cylinder reinstalling the jugs tonight. I think this thing just wants to stay apart and get sold in pieces on eBay..

 

Oh no!
Straighten it...
Put valve cover back on, currently rebuliding petcock to reinstall on tank

 

If only.. Yet more parts to buy, stop and wait.

 

Just got email from xj4ever parts are on the way..going to replace the clutch . I've ordered several items from chacal cant say enough about his service . One part he Carrie's I fully endorse his spin on oil filter conversion. Cheers

 

I see that adapter mentioned a lot here. Why is the spin on so much better than the OEM solution?

 

The spin on filter is easier to change , the stock filter works fine ,but if you dont put it back together right can lead to problems, the center bolt can seize and , sometimes the bolt gets rounded off...

 

And, the spin-on cartridges are bigger (more square inches of filter material) than the stock filter, so more/better/longer filtration. And as many others can attest to, much easier to change!

And they look cool.

 

First real ride today! Took her for the first top-off of fuel she's probably had in three+ years, and rode to a coffee shop to do some computer work.

At this moment, I can see a baby-hipster looking at the bike. He seems confused.

Maybe he's never seen one that wasn't hacked up and jigsawed into a cafe racer?

 

I believe that is their normal state of being.

 

Getting the swing-arm ready for paint. New tire is mounted, and I'm still dinking with the swing-arm. Sheesh... getting warm this week as well!
Any recommendations after the wire brush? Some places are easy w/ sand paper. I was thinking of getting 2 1-liter bottles of coke, chopping off the top and letting the rear parts of the swing-arm each sit in it's own coke bath for a few days to eat away the rust in the hard-to-reach spots.

 

Here's my de-rusting kit. A buck 50 worth of soda. Since there will be extra, I got some chips to go with.

 

Got Mavis my xj650 seca started at last. Shes a pig to start. Put hotter plugs in. Got a backfire now. Joys!

 

Sounds like it's running too rich to me. When was it tuned last?

 

Took er for a ride!
Ya its not my XJ, but beggars cant be choosers! Lol! At least its a Yamaha!

 

Took the tank off and had a look at it. Def. needs to be treated! Stripped all the wiring from my bike, too. Also, I made a thread for my build for your amusement.

 

Replaced the clutch , changed oil and filter...cussed a bunch , I always use a torque wrench and still snapped one bolt , was able to back it out . Putting cover back on was a hoot , think its is put together right. Only rode around block , had to stop of evening . The old disks were worn quite a bit but not terrible. Now if weather would warm up and stay that way I could ride.

 

Took a few things off, reflectors, a mirror, rear foot pegs, gave the bike a more solid once over.

 

I measured the resistance on my stator: resistance between the three wires and ground, no resistance between the wires. Took off my exhausts to check for an exhaust leak. I also started fiddling with battery and m.unit to see where everything fits. And soldered my first ever connection!

 

Just came back from a nice sunny ride! And I used a GPS to gauge against my speedometer. The speedometer is wrong by around 25%. So 50 indicated is really around 62. 80 is about 100 (all in km/h).

Guess I'll take the speedometer apart sometime.

 

you can add some pin stripe to the speedo until you fix it