Carb Rebuild SUCCESS and Lessons Learned

I just finished the rebuilding of the carbs on my '82 Maxim XJ650.

First, I want to throw a big thanks out to Len and XJ4ever for his writing on carb rebuilding. If you follow the suggestions in that post, and read it 10 times before you start, you will have a story that ends like mine, WITH HAPPINESS! Also, a thanks for the new O-rings and seals he sent me, as they were perfect and arrived quickly. SO kudos all around.

A couple things that I did that helped lead to success.

As stated above, follow Len's suggestions, but I can't stress enough the idea of doing one card at a time. I took the number 1 carb apart and put it back together probably 10 times, until I probably could have done it blindfolded. And honestly, for as often as you will hope to do a carb rebuild, do one carb at a time and save yourself the possibility of mixing up parts or losing them.

Another success tip that really helped, if you are tampering w/ idle mixture screws, count the turns to gently seat them BEFORE you take them out. That will give you an idea of where you were, then set them to the specified location before tuning. I did this to get a feel for how poorly the bike was running before, and most of mine were out 4 to 5 turns. They are all almost perfectly on 2.5 turns w/ tan plugs on all four. This explained a lot of my questions about poor running conditions.

Also, a shout out to whoever first posted, or pioneered the 2 bottle home made sycn tool. That worked like a charm. A note for those of you about to build one, USE GLASS BABY BOTTLES. Plastic baby bottles work, until one collapses on the last part of the sync. Once it collapses, you will never get it to hold up again.

And also to the wet t-shirt YICS method, worked like a charm. I didn't have a helper, but a 5/8" dowel (48" cut in half) and was able to pack it from the center out on both sides. A 99 cent tool, that saved lots of trouble.

So, as for the bike, I was happy to say, that when I got the sync all done, and checked plugs, and test rode it, I had just got on a brand NEW 1982 XJ. With the way it runs now, I can honestly say, I had never really "riden" this bike before.

A note for the future however, the worst part of this whole experience was float bowl height. I used a piece of clear vinyl tubing about 8 inches long, spiral wrapped with copper wire (to give it strength) and bent into an "L" for my sight gauge. But pulling the carbs and putting them back and over and over and over again. Draining in between to turn them back upside down, what a MESS. SO i got the idea for a rack, that would have adjustable feet to "level" the carbs to their measured orientation on the bike, and then allow you to adjust the float bowl height off the bike. This would make things much easier, and probably save a lot of time. I was thinking brackets and all-thread, but when I get a drawing together, I'll post it up.

Anyway, thanks again to all that posted on carb problems, and solutions, as the research on this site REALLY paid off big time.

Cheers,

 

wdenny,
one day we should get together. I'm only 15 Km north of Milton. But my carbs won't be touched till winter.

George

 

I will be stuck up here (no offense, Canada just isn't for me) until probably winter of next year. So, I am up for working together. I can't resist a good project.

 

Awesome to hear denny! glad you got her all sorted out.

You should be saying Milton isn't for you hahah, i wouldn't want to live anywhere close to Toronto either That's just me tho, i don't like "the big city" I'm much happier in a town of about 15-30k

 

You are right KR. That was an unfair generalization.

I have met many fine people here. I am a flatland farm boy from Kansas, and cities and large groups of city dwellers, generally don't mix well with me.

I am more struggling w/ the customs and culture shock more than anything. And understanding the govt and tax stuff. A cooked chicken has GST and PST, but a raw chicken doesn't? Milk is a necessity, no tax, but liquor is triple the states if you can get what you want in the first place... Just different than home, and I guess I am guilty of resistance to change.

I will say this though, a Kansas, Missouri or Texas driver's license, and a twang in your voice will get you out of just about anything with the OPP.

 

Float levels should be checked with the carbs level; you do not need to "approximate" their position when mounted on the bike. The published float height spec assumes that carbs are level side to side and front to back. Getting them level to check them while still ON the bike is a greater challenge.

 

REALLY!

Well that is good to know. I will have to look into readjusting them after I get some more test miles on it. It seems to be running perfect now, but I will look into this when I go to check valve shims.

That seems so counter-intuitive to me. But then again, these are carbs.

 

Hey I'm just reporting.

My factory 550 book has a great long set of instructions on leveling the bike so the carbs are level front to back and how to use the same "fluid testing" principle to check the level from side to side.

The problem with checking them on the bike is that is all you can do, since they have to come off to be adjusted.