1982 XJ550 Maxim rebuild

That or put the bike on the ground and put it in gear with the clutch pulled in. Do you have the cable adjusted properly?

 

The cable is fine, there is no chain yet. I still have to do the wheel balance and torque the frame bolts. Fuel tank is still not painted or plumbed and a clutch switch has to be replaced/rewired in an aftermarket lever. I guess I will move forward and ignore that for now. I have to save up for a sync gauge set so I will probably finish up the frame assembly and make sure the headlight works for now.

 

I highly doubt you’d be able to stop the front drive with your shoe in gear with the clutch pulled in. Your plan makes sense to me.

You can make an inexpensive sync gauge with some tubing and a few plastic tees. I used one for years, only bought a gauge later as I found my self working on multiple bikes.

 

The new voltage regulator was the issue with the headlight. Works fine as does the cluster lighting, though it does dim when revs drop to idle. Hopefully I'll have some time during the week to pull the rear wheel and balance it. I really should replace the brake shoes but I can't spend the cash right now. It's not going on the road for a bit anyway.

 

WTH.. This was supposed to be an exact fit for this model.

 

it's not very often you get more than you pay for

 

That's what she said...

 

Little bench grinding and some punch time fixed that. Everything appears functional. Video in a bit.

 

Why would the gauge and headlights turn on with the key but not neutral unless the engine kill switch is off?? I have reviewed the wiring over and over and just can not figure it out. I had to reroute the bundle on the inside of the motor to swing arm space. Only thing I did was unplug the TCI. Broken solder joint inside on a terminal?

 

What are the headlights, as in plural - your not saying the headlight comes on with the key are you?

Not sure if it is possible on the 550, but make sure you actually have the TCI 4 pin connector connected to the TCI and have not reversed the side stand relay and TCI connectors - the 4 pin connectors are the same so check wire color.

 

Yes, the headlight (high and low beams) as well as the gauge lights come on with the key. I will check that. I did one at a time so it's doubtful that's what it is. The odd thing is that the neutral light comes on when the kill switch is off so maybe it is the 4-pin swapped.

 

It was the black and white swapped with a blue wire. Bullet connectors should have been crimped opposite genders to avoid that. Headlight and gauges on with key, which is nice.

 

I'm not sure that would've helped since all those connections are in one "spot" on the bike. Based on your symptoms and the schematic, it looks like you plugged the sky blue wire on the main harness into the black/white wire on the main harness as they are opposite genders. The neutral switch sky blue wire would physically plug into the black white wire on the TCI also. No risk of damaging anything but you'd have a no run situation in neutral and goofy light as you described.

You'll find single multiple bullet connectors typical on bikes of that era, sometimes the colors don't match either. A little patience and a schematic will help identify if there is any doubt. I know on my maxim the speedo and clutch connections in the bucket will interchange if you're not careful and there are two relays that will physically but not electrically swap out on the harness.

 

Yeah, that's what I did. First time I've done that. But hey, the headlight and gauge lights come on with the key which is nice. It cranks now and the safeties work. Finished up the chain guard, rear fender liner and airbox setup with a new filter. Carb boots are on the box now, I just need clamps for them. It was missing them when I got it. Header pipe 3 and 4 will get cleaned up tonight and hopefully I'll have the exhaust mounted and cinched up.

 

Did you do something to make the headlight come on with the key? Normally, the headlight relay that turns on the headlight does not engage until the AC Generator spins fast enough to engage the headlight relay, at which point the relay becomes latched until the key is turned off. The thought process is to have all available battery power to start the bike and not have the headlight presenting a load.

 

Not that I am aware of. Same relay setup as before. It starts fine either way. I have a 130CCA battery but have not checked the float voltage since I put it in this weekend. The size called for in every store lookup is wrong(too tall like the one I already bought) so I found one on the shelf that measured just under box dims and it fit.

 

Glove box is back on, front engine stabilizer and crash bars installed. The header pipes don't look too bad after a brush and polish. I'm not going to touch the mufflers yet, they may get replaced since the collector straps broke off both of them. They work fine for now. The tank has a new petcock and is ready for fuel. Painting will be soon, still looking for the right single-stage to spray on it and the side covers.

 

Diode pack let out the magic smoke after I installed the fuel tank and got everything buttoned up and running. I guess my miswire with the sidestand circuit bit me in the butt. The new petcock is not working properly, go figure. I also had to cut off half of the handle to get it to fit in "on" state. The bike will run without the diode pack so I'm going to retune for the filter. It's bogging horribly at WOT so it needs major mix adjustments now. It idles fine.

 

Tuned the carbs on an IV last night and pulled the tank petcock off. Got the pipes about the same temp and as cool as I could. I can almost grab the pipes at idle, just a tad too hot. Will see how close I am when I get the colortune kit. Revs fine now and feels balanced. The gauges won't lie though. Still have to order a set. The chain has stretched already just from stand runs so I'll be adjusting that tonight. I might get a quick start and run video to post. The side stand diode is half shot so I will have to play a plug-and-pull dance to get it all to work on video without roasting the block more.

 

Wiring fixed. Going to try to get the tank petcock working correctly and tighten up the chain. If it's not too late I may get a first ride video, barring more issues.

 

So, limited engagement of clutch at rev and shifting up is like trying to move a rock Downshifting is fine. I suspect the oil was absorbed by the friction plates since they were pretty dry, none has leaked out and the level was low. As far as the shifting issues could that be related to the plates not grabbing or am I looking at transmission work now?

 

Cable adjustment and replaced oil/filter from break-in. Much better, but the carbs still need tuning.

 

4-gauge vacuum set is in. Carb sync tonight or tomorrow and video maybe.

 

Was your clutch slipping?

 

Yeah, it still is if you goose it. It's no problem catching speed on upshift across the gears but you can't goose it in second to pull hard. I think the assembly lube got into the plates before the oil had a chance. Gonna have to replace them at some point to get full power out of it. For now, it's fine. I'm a noob so I've gotta learn the bike and how to ride at the same time anyway. So far it's a well balanced bike, not too heavy to learn and still will take my 215lb butt down the road fast and stop fast too.

 

I thought so but once you get it sorted it will be fine. A friend of mine rebuilt a Honda 250 Dream years ago to replace the cam chain and got the balancer shafts out. Had to strip the engine again. Clutch is an easy fix compared to that lol. We have all been there.

 

The oil filter cover is leaking now so I need to drain the oil again and swap the O-ring at some point. I'll just pull the clutch cover, replace the stack and repaint the cover all at the same time. I took it out for another ride after trying to sync the carbs, still off. I ran so nice before the airbox was put on. Popping like crazy under no-choke and both #2/#3 mix screws have stripped heads now due to soft metal and angle of attack from the frame being in the way. Guess I'll be pulling those out and see if the parts stack has 2 decent ones left. Need to find my mini-ratchet and use it with an insert bit instead.

 

https://www.harborfreight.com/2-piece-super-long-screwdriver-set-34253.html
so you don't burn your fingers
put a dab of neon fingernail polish on the screwheads so you can see them, sync screws too, 1$, dollar store

 

Same here my mixture screws are damaged so I need to get some but no rush I will get the bike rebuilt over winter.

 

My wife has plenty of nail polish. Seeing it isn't the issue. The issue is the angle of attack to carbs 2 and 3 mix screws. The frame tubes are directly over each carb there so I don't have a straight shot into the jet channel to get the screw, plus it's like 1/4" down into the carb so you can tap a plug in over top of it. You can try to hit it with a narrow slotted driver and "cam" it or try to use a mini driver that will fit between the carb and the frame (not much space). Cam-driving them has stripped the already widened slots out due to it being really soft brass. If I can get them out without removing the carbs I'll be lucky.

 

Here is a right angled one? Depends on how often you will use it I suppose.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sealey-C...036344&hash=item5207c93f6d:g:gucAAOSwhuxavVd~

 

If the screw head is in decent shape it's fine as long as you are easy with them. The 2 I replaced in from the carb parts have new screw heads and were a breeze to dial-in. Running pretty good after a resync and retune.

 

Good you got it running well.

 

7" LED replacement installed.



Low Beam


High Beam

 

Nice! I did that on another bike and I think I will do it to more in the future. They are a nice upgrade and easy to install, for the most part. Looks good.

 

For $55 with free shipping I can't complain. Very heavy duty housing and PC lens. I still have to aim it. The bucket is all the way forward so hopefully it is fine where it is. I am working on a DC-DC regulator for the headlight circuit to eliminate the AC strobing from the 1980's power circuit. It's not a disco ball..

 

most dc-dc regulators need a volt or more input to get the desired output. 12volts out might need 13/14 volts in

 

This specific booster pack supports 8-40 for 13.8V at 10A DC to make sure it picks up low revs from the stator coil.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07X9Y5MXT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I chose the 10A buck/boost configuration so that it won't tax the coils and caps in it. It should run pretty cool and last a while if the high beam LED circuit is no more than the stated 45W at 12V. That's only 4A so the 6A version would probably work and be smaller and easier to mount but it would likely run hot.

 

i think your ignition could benefit from something like that

 

Maybe. I would need to measure the amperage draw. I don't think one of those could do 2 coils and a headlight without burning out. It's proving difficult to find a location for one that will get airflow without being in the way or being near something hot. The only mounting spot I've found so far is where the horn goes.

 

One interesting thing I noticed on that main circuit testing was the drop in amperage when the generator spun up. I need to look through the wiring diagram but it looks like the OE rectifier is feeding the load circuit from another source and causing the flicker still. I may need to move the wiring over to the OE regulator output instead. It sounds a bit redundant to regulate a regulator but this electrical set up is not producing a clean 12V across all loads. The aftermarket unit I have is not any better. It's just the way these bikes were designed.

 

https://ibb.co/86qLpM9
if it's gona work, it should work right there

 

Yes I could also do that on the fuse circuit. I was trying to get the coils and lighting also on it. I guess the main fuse feed is not going to be the ideal place for it considering the amperage draw dropped to 0A DC across the main fuse when the generator built enough voltage.