What did you do to your Yamaha today?

I think I saw the dog food in the muffler in a video a woman did some time ago. Rodents like to "stash" things away in the strangest places. Today I was clearing out some storage in the garage re-arranging things and throwing things away to make room for bike parts storage. Well, found Deer corn from last year stashed in old hockey gloves. Several different gloves had corn in them.

On the XJ, I was removing rust specks on the pipes today.

 

Actual dog food. Not a lot, a couple of teaspoons but it still doesn't belong there. The Kerker was open enough that the critter that stored it there must have been able to get in and out easy enough to retrieve the rest.

 

My gas-tank rust removal efforts on my wrecked Midnight Maxim were effective. Vinegar method. Coated the tank with MMO to prevent flash rust. Overhaul peacock next.

 

Looks like my neutral switch is toast , ordered a new switch but won't be here till next week. Drained oil and went to remove oil filter...of course I cant find my six point 14mm socket . Went to try to remove switch ...can't get to it as the frame tube is in the way ...looks like I will have to disconnect the drive shaft and pull the motor mounts and jack up the engine few inches . Before I do this I think I'm going to pull the left side cover it just does not shift right , my yellow seca shifts like butter , this one is very difficult to shift right could be the shift lever needs adjusted, but I want to make sure it is not something else.

 

Hey! Nothing wrong with me.

 

I'm loosing my patience on 100$ , slid off shift linkage , put on the linkage from my spare engine . No better , soooo pulled off left side cover , pretty sludged up this thing has not been cared for, I don't see anything with the shift fork and it has rained all day it is very damp out so gave up for now . My new neutral switch showed up , still looks like it is going to be a real hoot to change out .

 

HCP15718 Aftermarket neutral position switch REMOVAL SOCKET. On many models, it's almost a physical impossibility to remove the neutral switch from the crankcase "well" without removing the exhaust system or removing the engine from the frame.....the left lower frame tube conspires with the exhaust system to make it unbelievably difficult to access the switch. This special "open side" socket is the proper size to squirm through those restricted spaces and make it possible to remove and re-install the position switch without going through a tremendous amount of effort. Standard 1/4" drive socket should be used with a 3" extension bar, or, it's even easier to use when attached to the HCP13516 flexible shaft driver listed below.

HCP13516 Aftermarket flexible "spring shaft" 1/4" SOCKET DRIVER TOOL, just the thing to use with the HCP15718 socket above to reach the neutral switch. Large plastic handle with 6" long flexible shaft.

 

Is part 2 stuck? With the selector mechanism off I can move the shift drum on my machine by hand. Is it jammed in gear? Can you turn the engine over using the back wheel with the plugs out?

https://images.cmsnl.com/img/partsl...-c-usa-shift-cam-fork_bigyau0790c-10_ae57.gif

 

No just does not go into gear very easy , with it on center stand and engine running, I get it to go into gears but is rough . I can't ride it as I don't have a battery in bike using a car battery and jumper cables. Tires won't hold air and NO BRAKES ! So far very little invested trying to keep it that way as I have many parts already .
If I really felt like I could pull engine and see if it looked like chain guide was breaking up , my last resort ,or put my spare engine back together and swap it in .

 

Are the clutch plates sticking?

 

I don't think so ,when in neutral the rear wheel does not turn and when dropping it into first gear no clunk , and lever feels fine.

 

No it's not the clutch then.

 

Removed the tank and filled w/ vinegar. Rust in tank looks moderate. Planning on 3-4 days to percolate. Removing all 4 turn signals, replacing all with new 2 terminal wire contacts; F&R will have parking light & turn signals.

 

1983 XJ550 Maxim

• Oil and filter
• Air filter
• Installed side covers complete with badges (found in a junk pile at estate sale)
• Reinstalled original metal blinker housings lfound on eBay (I had to replace the old pigtails and springs). Just couldn’t get used to the cheap Chinese plastic ones that were on there.
• Added pulsating red LED bulbs to the brake lights.
• Replaced aftermarket, wrong-sized rear brake switch with functional used original.
• Changed seal and o-ring on tach drive gear assembly. The old seal was basically baked in so it took some work. I finally softened the rubber parts with Simple Green for about 15 minutes, and it was quick work to remove it after that.

It was a day off work, so I made use of it on the bike.

 

Feel like i made some progress, the oil filter bolt was rounded off , used my largest bolt extactor, 1/2 inch drive ratchet and an inch and 16th socket and a two foot cheater bar and it finally broke loose, Moose Cholock must have installed the last time . Reinstalled left side cover and shift lever , adjusted it and it seems to shift easier. Today I ordered the socket from Chacal to remove the neutral switch was not cheap and will probably only use it once but will have it .

 

HOT DOG , my socket for the neutral switch showed up , thank you to Franz and Chacal wow that was fast ordered Tuesday and it showed up today . The old switch was in there tight , after I broke it loose was still in there tight , installing was not real easy , but being ever resourceful and a few things from my aircraft days got it in , turned the key and a nice green light on the cluster  . I'm over joyed . Since the bike was missing the cluster , I'm wondering if this is why bike was parked as the neutral light was not working and a couple of relays were missing.

 

Finally have it standing on its own two feet again. Working on a pile of small parts and front brakes. Next up will be cleaning up the motor.

 

Replaced the throttle shaft seals that I had previously replaced. I sourced them before finding this site and our beloved sponsor. Alleged to be for an XJ 650. When I took them out today they were nice and soft and loose around the throttle shafts. Not like hula-hoop loose but "hey look at these britches since I lost 10 pounds" loose. Maybe for a Mikuni carbs with a slightly larger diameter shaft? I hooked up a cheapo set of gauges and the sync was pretty close, but I'm not going to fool with it until I have a proper carb sync tool. Also need to adjust the idle mixture and fine tune, but otherwise it's pretty rock steady at ~950rpm.

Installed a set of Progressive 412 shocks which are a huge improvement over the ragged out OEM units that came off. Picked up the seat from the upholstery shop and it looks very nice. Weather will be nice tomorrow so I'll have a chance to put a few dozen miles on it and snap a photo.

 

Made more progress today , reinstalled rear turn signals , the front brakes were totally inop. Was surprised master cylinder still had fluid and did not look too bad . Refilled master cylinder and broke open the bleeder screws and actually got pressure on front brakes , the rear brake was totally out of adjustment so fixed that , reinstalled the headlight bucket and horns . The rear broke switch is stuck on so still need to fix that . Making a list this will need tires, front brake pads, rear brake shoes , battery and most important a TITLE . So far most parts I already had , the only item a new neutral switch and switch removal tool, and a used instrument cluster so not a bunch besides my initial 100$ purchase price .

 

The adage two steps forward one back was me today . I replaced the rear brake switch and repainted the mirrors and installed. Went to move the bike and front brakes are locked . When I bleed the brakes my huntch the pistons are not releasing . So looks like I will have to pull calipers , but that will need to wait.