XJ550 (re)build

Oh well, not to worry - from what I can tell the bores survived 'the intruder.'

 

Yesterday, I took the afternoon off to work on my bike. Weather was good, and that reminded me I have an unfinished bike in my shed. I've been slacking a bit lately with the family and vacation and stuff ... Got a few things done, so feeling a bit better about myself again.

A mechanic friend supplied me with some noxious stuff to soak my cylinder head in. Hopefully now I'll get all the goo and grime off. At first glance it's also stripping the black paint off the PO put on the engine block, so it's doing something at least (lol). I also managed to get the engine block out of the frame. PO welded some kind of panel in there, and that's going to be in the way for the airbox. Now I can decently get at it with grinder.




I also got the cylinder block of the crankcase/engine.



Is this discoloration of the cylinder heads normal?



The Clymer manual said to check for variance and play in the piston rods (other than the normal, rotating motion). I'm able to rock all piston rods left to right about a milimeter; is this normal wear?

The oil pan has some sludge in it, but less than I was expecting. Also, no metal or other particles so that's good. Not planning to split or open the crankcase if I can help it.

 

As you have the bike dismantled to this extent it would be a good idea to replace any potential problem parts in the crankcase. It may save you a lot of work later.

 

That's sound reasoning. I hate to sound like the noob that I am, but any pointers to what to check?

 

Starter clutch parts three of each parts 10, 11 12, on diagram. Check cam chain and starter chain should be checked. Starter chain guide part 4. Other forum members will advise if I have missed anything.

https://www.cmsnl.com/yamaha-xj550-1981-4v8-europe-214v8-300e1_model38080/partslist/0018.html

Chacal will have the parts too.

 

Pfff. Really? A 'may save' isn't enough for me. Top end rebuild is usually enough on these motors isn't it? The shaft version have there own set issues though I understand. Like most of us the guy is struggling to find time to do the basics and then there the carbs to set-up, brakes to reburb etc..yet...

 

Continued the good work today, by starting to clean the engine block. Had to stop because it started to rain (doing it outdoors so I don't trip on the fumes).




Are these supposed to come out? Because they're stuck in there good, and if I have to use pliers, I'll score them.

 

Don't bother with those, they look fine, just replace the O-rings and the head gasket as well as the big cylinder o-rings.

 

go ahead and open up the bottom, there's all sorts of fun stuff in there

 

Wiha and Knipex tools... I like your style!

 

Like the dark side, eh? ;-)

Someone noticed! I'm lucky that my job sells all kind of tools and equipment, so not only do I get everything on the cheap (or as cheap a good tools cost), I also get a bunch of really handy co-workers. And they don't mind explaining stuff to their resident IT-jockey ...

 

I couldn’t possibly miss that. I am a tool snob, my tool box at home with hand tools contains mainly Hazet, Knipex, Wera, NWS, Snap-On, Witte, Wiha.

 

Personally I'm a big fan of UK brand 'King Dick' - although principally for the amusing connotation.

 

Tbh, I'd buy those for the brand name alone ... "Son, please hand me my King Dick 10mm wrench." The Dad Joke potential is almost endless!

 

Are you planning on replacing the rear fender as well?

 

I'm looking for a similar front fender. Anyone can tell me where i can find it?

 

Lol. I'm looking for the rear. And maybe the seat.

 

nobody can help me?

 

maybe eBay or xj4ever.com

 

what bike are you looking for a fender for. you should post this in the wanted section

 

I have an Xj 550 from 1982, i looking the same front fender

 

Ebay germany has one or two, none perfect though..

https://www.ebay.de/itm/Chrom-Frontschutzblech-Yamaha-XJ550-XJ-550-291008K14/183984588711

 

CMSNL may have one.

https://www.cmsnl.com/yamaha-xj550_model16827/

 

XJ550 euro or xj550 seca or xj550 maxim

XJ650 Seca fender will also fit XJ550 euro or xj550 seca

 

3 years since I posted here, and 3 years since I really worked on my XJ. For shame!

Got kind of disheartened when I noticed the PO had butchered the frame as much as he did the rest of the bike. Made it hard to figure out discrepancies when something didn't fit immediatly. Ordered a secondhand frame from ebay but never even took it out of the box. Felt slightly guilty every time I saw it standing in my shed, though. However, I have some time now and started working on it again! Took the second frame out of the box, fixed the rust and give it a once over with black primer so it's protected. Started changing over the front and rear assemblies; found some missing bolts and washers and ordered those. Some bolts are barely finger thight. Also found out that the butchered frame has tapered bearings and the new one has the old ball bearings, so had to stop work to look into that. Figured it out thanks to the forums; ordered the correct bearings. Now I can look forward to getting the old race bearings out, yay me.

 

Really late reply, but my go-to sites for my 1981 XJ550 4V8 in Europe are:
- ebay (for secondhand parts, bought an airbox, saddle, fuel tank and frame off there)
- cmsnl (for new hardware)
- wrecker sites that specialize in this kind of stuff like https://www.boonstraparts.com/nl/onderdelen/mke=yamaha/mdl=xj+550+1981+1982+4v8, https://www.motorparts-online.com/nl/yamaha/xj-550/1981-1984?page=1. There are others, too.
- sites catering to older bikes like https://japparts.nl/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=79_90_106_540&language=nl&sort=20a&page=1 or https://www.sparks-online.eu/onderdelen/yamaha/xj550/1981

 

I know the feeling. I got a few more kids, blinked, and ELEVEN years went by. But over the past month, I got back up and running. You’ll get there too. Slow and steady. Just not three-year slow.

 

High five, fellow XJ-slacker! Slow and steady sounds good to me; up until now I have just the slow part covered. But yes, we'll get there eventually!

 

Welcome back.. I just read some of my posts and forgotten I'd written them.

 

I love that. I was recently looking through my old maintenance notes and saw that at some point I removed my fairing and had the bracket rewelded. When TF? LOL. I swear, I don't drink that much.

 

Good thread for me to stumble on, thank you for documenting so much. I have an 82 550 Seca in basically the same condition. PO's completely butchered everything on it. From what I can tell the only stock items left are the engine, fenders, forks, and maybe the frame.

Got it years ago and ran like crap, finally have the space and tools to fix it all. Nice tips on the mid RPM bog down, thought it could have been misfires, improper jetting, or crude in the fuel system, but guess kind of air filters it has