30% of the way there...

Cool. Keep us posted

 

Get it all tuned up and enjoy the rest of the riding season. If you noticed you are burning a lot of oil and have no power, then maybe go back to work on it. Eight months of work, so go out and enjoy the work you have done.

 

After working 9 hours on a holiday, in 100°+ temps, I decided to wrench on her a bit more.

I have bench sync'd the carbs, so now I have to do the actual sync.

But that's for another day. I'm beat.

https://youtube.com/shorts/MiAsv5hZYlU?si=faZnhlUfcoZ42Pe8

 

I shot a text to guy I bought the bike from last summer with a link to the video. His brother commented...

 

Sounds a lot better than the other video already.

 

Here are the vacuum numbers with it running just off the bench sync... I don't think I should touch it. What do you think?

https://youtube.com/shorts/EuvJeVTf6rc?si=dx18Wif9w1Z_w7vI

 

Leave it alone, with your record on gauges it's likely you'll be fooled into stripping it down again....

 

New issue to resolve.

No matter how much I bleed the front brake, I can't get the air out of the line.

I've already run a whole bottle of DOT 3 through it, so the fluid is going through, but the air just doesn't seem to want to leave the line.

I've tried the traditional way of pumping the lever, cracking the bleeder, tightening it back up, then releasing the lever.

And I've tried a vacuum pump.

The same results every time.

 

I’ve had this issue before. In my case the non-anodized aluminum front brake caliper was oxidized in the bores and wouldn’t seal.

 

After doing the vacuum pump treatment, I like using a hose from the bleeder submerged in a jar of brake fluid. No cracking and tightening required, just keep pumping and filling the master. Use some grease on the threads of the bleeder nipple or it will suck air through the threads while it is loose.

The dual caliper setups definitely take longer. It's think sometimes an extra cranky air bubble will rise up the side you aren't bleeding and you have to chase it back and forth a couple times.

 

Physics is acting against you, you could try taking both callipers off, shimming them with a piece of flat metal and bleed them near the handlebars?

 

I still can't get the front brakes to bleed, but I have a rear brake. You only need one, right?

I may just take it to a shop and make it their problem. lol

 

You need one?? What for??

 

One more thing on the brakes, double check that when the brake lever is released, you get a gap between it and the master cylinder piston. If you don't, the cylinder can't refill properly on each stroke.

 

Riding a bike without a front brake is a lot harder than you might think....

 

I still have a few minor issues to fix, but she's basically finished.

(I do a quick walk-around at about 3:25)

 

Those ram type bars always seem to make the brake bleeding harder. Finding the right angle to put the bike at to get a good air bleed can be hard. Just stick with it and eventually it will give you some hydro feedback. The system is closed, and you are not losing any fluid during the bleeding process?

Why did you swap out the old for the ebay new? If you have the old one around, you could always swap back to it and see it the old one will hold hydro pressure? Then you could either swap out the guts or do as you choose from there. Some have tried to strap the brake lever pulled into the bar overnight. That seems to allow some of the air to be self purged from the system.

Very happy you were able to take her off the table and get a ride on her. Ya no worries about that front brake, only 75% of your stopping power

 

I created a new thread with the before and after pics.

https://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/before-after-1982-yxj650-maxim.132554/

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BPC5HSXH?psc=1&ref=product_details
About $4 less than I paid, worth every penny.

 

Awesome, thanks. I'll try it before taking it to a shop.