Junkyard 550, first 20 mile test ride!

Yes! It ran but needs some tweaking. The engine runs out of power at 6000 rpm, the plugs look too clean, the ceramic is white. I'm thinking of shimming up the needles. It has the OEM airbox but the mufflers are from a Suzuki 750. Anybody have something to say about jet sizes?
Thanks! Bill

 

i'd leave the stock jets in. with the airbox being stck, and the headers being stock it'll run like stock. i doubt the muffler change is enough to need a jetting change. i'd bet you don't even need to shim the needles. just a GOOD carb cleaning and tune.

 

Dude! Sweet! Andy's right though, it's NOT the mufflers. 6K is where the REAL powerband starts when you've got enough throttle opening it's up on the mains and needles. I could pop the mufflers off either of my Secas right now and it would still run right to redline; the collector box hasn't changed. You need to check for pinholes in or stiff diaphragms; make sure all of the holes/passages in and around the top are 100% clean; make sure your slides pass the "clunk" test; make sure the needles themselves are clean. It sounds like the slides aren't lifting like they should or if they are, they're not allowing enough fuel to flow. Just for gits and shiggles, try running on PRI while you try to figure this out.

Did you check to be sure the jets ARE stock and you're not chasing someone else's mistake?

If you're gonna leave the fairing off, get a set of reflectors for the sides of the fork, Yamaha put 'em on the fairingless '83. I like the 'Zuki muffies, BTW. They look "trimmer" than the stockers without looking stumpy.

 

Love the correct black valve cover and jugs for the '82 model year. Shocks are not quite right (chrome upper "skirt" or cap).

They obviously have very nice junkyards up your way.........

I probably have your fairing and all the various bracketry if you ever want to go back to the way the factory intended it to be.

YICS tool, also, if you believe in those..........

 

I do!

 

The COOLEST part of this is the fact that another XJ550R has arisen from a midwestern scrapyard and is now back on the road. Another modern classic snatched from the jaws of certain extinction.

Good work, my friend.

 

Thanks for the tips guys!
After finding the idle jets full of crud, the problem with the mains must be more crud.
Two questions:
How do I measure the main jets?
What are "gits and shiggles"? :?
Thanks again! Bill

 

Sh^ts and giggles

He said it so it would be cleaner, lol.

You don't have to measure jets - they are numbered - USUALLY. lol.

I couldn't tell you what the mikunis run though.

 

Im guessing its the wonderful scaly dried snot / varnish stuff left over from gas... welcome to the carb cleaning club.. i soaked my bowls in some simple green and that helped a lot.

 

I got power over 6000 rpm now!
First I adjusted the cam chain tension as per manual, maybe that helped but I never read anybody recommend that here.
Then I opened the top of the carbs, looking for a problem. I decided that the little plate that holds down the needle spring may be upside down. I turned them all over so the needles now have more in and out movement, and test rode.
Yes, I got power over 6000 rpm now, but a little rough, more work to do.
Did I do right? I could not find an illustration large enough for me to verify how that little plate should orient.
Thanks!
Bill

 

NICE!

i love the look of those 550Rs so much better than my maxim....

good score...

 

Wow! I thought I had these carbs almost dialed in but, Wow!
I went through them again, couldn't find anything out of place or dirty, it's all stock spec. jets and needles. I just found one slide a tiny bit sticky and sanded the bore with 1000 grit, just a mite.
I took a test ride expecting no improvement and almost wheeled on my back. I don't know how to wheelie! 8O
This engine screams now! :twisted: Just goes to show how much another effort to get things right will yield good results.

 

Man, now you've got me itching to get mine cleaned and dialed in...

 

good deal on the carbs and getting it running well. Looks like all you need now is a 6 pack, a tub of polishing compound and some soft buffing rags and that bike should buff out to the shiny bright red it once was for very little cost and a little elbow grease. Thats a dang nice looking bike to come out of the junk yard. Maybe I need to take a second look inthe yards Lol..

 

Congratulations on the good work. Most likely be doing it myself soon.

You back shocks look to be from a 1981 Honda CB750

 

Thanks! I wish all it needed was a buffing. The finish has too many little problems, and the tank has a few rust spots. It will be a pleasure to sand it down and paint it, red with white striping. :wink:

 

Thanks for that info, me thinks this is the second time this bike has been rescued from the strip yard. 8)

 

Just painted it myself! Not bad for a junkyard rescue! I think I've logged 3-400 miles since I first posted this thread.
Bill

 

DUDE! SWEET! If you want a seat strap, PM me. I've got a few...

 

GREAT job! Good on 'ya!

 

very nice! high five...... what kinda junk yard did u get this from? an actual junk yard or a salvage yard... etc.
also, im 100.1% sure those are cb750 shocks, same as my 1981

 

I took the strap off, because it's uncomfortable. It's just a style relic left over from the '60 when seats were flat and long, and it could be used by passengers as a handhold. However, the impression left on the seat is unsightly.
Bill

 

Junk, salvage no diff to me. Those shocks are too long for the bike, the tire touches the ground when on the center stand, little hard too. I think somebody rescued this bike once before, based on the Suzuki mufflers, and Honda shocks. Still sounds wicked! :twisted:

 

Nothing wrong with an extra 1/2" of suspension travel, especially if you're a big guy on a small bike. (It's not an insult, I resemble that remark)

I eliminated the straps too, didn't know if you had done it on purpose.

That came from that cycle salvage place in Wisconsin, didn't it?

 

That is an incredible job! I'm about to start spray painting my XJ750 and I hope it comes out a fraction of how yours did. That is def a job you can be proud of, and make others jealous with....

 

Wisconsin Cycle Salvage, Neenah, WI, 920-722-6909. I think the owner liked it too much to separate it. A sentimental sod, maybe.

 

Man, that place is only 20 miles away from me. Good find, great restore!

 

I've bought a couple of parts from that guy; he does have a soft spot for XJ's.

Strange coincidence: My '83 came from a guy in Lake Geneva, WI.

What's with Wisconsin and 550 Secas?

 

Wow great job - I wish I could paint like that. That is a first class rescue/restore congrats!

 

Dunno, maybe an overzealous dealer in the early '80s? Mine was from Sheboygan, WI.

I guess we have good taste in more than just cheese?