XJ550 Maxim Project - Carbs finally off! -#PictureHeavy#-

Hey Everyone,

NEWEST POST
http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/p=1 ... tml#198398

I found what I thought to be a great deal on an 83 xj550 on craigslist a couple on months ago and finally have some time to tear into it. I don't have experience working on motorcycles but I have done most of my own car maintenance in my life and I think I would find a great deal of satisfaction both restoring and customizing this awesome cycle.

First things first.

Some of the electrical stuff is pretty bird nesty. Most of the harness is fine but I am unsure about how the Ignition Switch and Headlight tie into the rest of the electrical system.

Currently the headlight and Ignition switch are disconnected from the bike entirely.

I have looked at some wiring diagrams and cant sort out whats what. I attached the diagram I was looking at and I will try and contribute as many detailed photos and descriptions for my rebuilding process.

I found this diagram online : http://i.imgur.com/dnVpF.jpg

At this point I am just getting my feet wet but any guidance would be appreciated.

Other concerns I have at the moment is the transmission seems a little stiff.
Shifting from neutral to first is smooth and expected but shifting into or past second has been less successful. Any common or uncommon problems with transmissions in the 550's?

Much Appreciated.

 

Re: XJ550 Maxim Project - Help Needed.

Hi welcome, all the wiring ends up in the headlight bucket, the connectors are all color matched, so unless some PO has cut the ends off you should be able to find where they go.
It allways looks a birds nest in the bucket, take your time & identify & label what is easy & just gradually whittle it down.

 

Re: XJ550 Maxim Project - Help Needed.

Thanks for the quick reply Wizard.

I see the connectors match connecting the Main Ignition Switch to the Headlight bulb but how does it integrate into the rest of the system?

Thanks for the advice. I will sit down and try and clean everything up so I can report back.

 

Re: XJ550 Maxim Project - Help Needed.

From an '83 550 Seca, only slightly different (extra "cluster" wires):



The three connectors circled in red go to the instrument cluster; the one marked HL is where the headlight was unplugged from; the big white one in the upper right with the blue, red and brown wires is the ignition switch.

The little skinny green one hiding in the back there is to the clutch switch;

The black one on the lower left has the diode block (laying in the bottom) connected to it.

Turn signals are blk=ground; dark green=right; "chocolate" =left. Yes, chocolate; there are brown wires elsewhere.

Having done two 550 Secas now (check gallery) I've got a ton of reference materials including the factory dealer assembly manual with cable routing, component locations, etc. I've got the Maxim diagrams too. Let me know if you need anything.

 

Re: XJ550 Maxim Project - Help Needed.

Am I missing something, Fitz, or are the turn signal wires not connected in the stalks?

 

Re: XJ550 Maxim Project - Help Needed.

Wiz; It's an optical illusion. The stalks are behind the bolts you're seeing; the stalks mount to the ears about 2" rearward of the headlight mounts, the signal wires feed in through the holes in the bottom of the shell. The ends of the signal stalks don't protrude into the headlight.

The bolts that appear to be the ends of the stalks are just the headlight mounting bolts. You can see the head of the left-hand one (on the right in the pic.)

 

Re: XJ550 Maxim Project - Help Needed.

Ah so............

 

Re: XJ550 Maxim Project -=[ Picture Heavy ]=-

Hey Everyone,

Thanks for your responses! After looking at the wiring harness again and cleaning all the contacts ( AKA unplugging everything ) She went back together fine. The Neutral light on my cluster works Once I get the rest of these controls cleaned up and some new handlebars and put stuff back together I will know more.








Now that the lights work my suspicions about the transmission were right. I cant seem to shift up to second. Neutral and first shift as expected. I also found what seemed to be oil or gasoline that had saturated the filter and airbox. ( see pictures )








I also see my choke cable is frayed.






Locally I found a xj550 engine and tranny in working order for $175 and am pretty tempted by that. Calling over there tonight to ask some questions. Wanted to see if anyone had input about transmissions and rebuilding them.

Or I could snatch that motor up and make a YICSenstien.

Comments and concerns welcome. Thanks again for being awesome everyone

 

Re: XJ550 Maxim Project -=[ Picture Heavy ]=-

how are you trying to shift it?
tie the clutch lever in, in first gear see if you can roll the wheel then while moving the wheel try to get second, third.....

 

Re: XJ550 Maxim Project -=[ Picture Heavy ]=-

Polock : I had a friend help me and she rolled right into gear Thanks for the tip! Saved me a trip to Chicago . Next steps are to get the tank stripped and sealed so I keep the ball rolling. More to be posted soon.

 

Re: XJ550 Maxim Project -=[ Picture Heavy ]=-

The oil saturated air filter is a symptom of either a simple idiot PO overfill or a petcock/carb float valve problem filling the crankcase with gas.

 

Re: XJ550 Maxim Project -=[ Picture Heavy ]=-

Thats what I have been reading. Getting a rebuild kit and some other odds and ends ordered tomorrow probably. I will share more when I can.

Thanks.

 

Re: XJ550 Maxim Project -=[ Picture Heavy ]=-

Parts have been ordered.

I am working on stripping and coating the tank.
Looking for plans / to purchase a roll cage for the engine.
Prep for Valve clearance check and Compression test.

If anyone has tips feel free to share

 

Re: XJ550 Maxim Project -=[ Picture Heavy ]=-

Bring that Choke Cable to a Bicycle Shop and they'll hand you all the Parts you need to make a new one.
>Or, ...
Have the Bicycle Tuner make you one.

Don't spent an extra 20-Bucks on a Bar-coded label with Yamaha written on it.

 

Re: XJ550 Maxim Project -=[ Picture Heavy ]=-

Hey Everyone!

Got some new parts in this week and plan on tearing into it again this weekend. Had a couple of questions.

Got a new right side control from ebay and I wired it up to the old throttle cable but it seems to be stuck. I haven't ventured too far into the depths of the bike as I wanted to do compression test etc before hand and don't know if my throttle is all the way open, closed, or implications/ solutions for me here.

I appreciate the feedback and in return I will post photos of the process for others reference.

Thanks

 

Re: XJ550 Maxim Project -=[ Picture Heavy ]=-

If your carbs are still connected to the throttle i don't know how tore down your bike is.
But if its still connected there is the throttle bar that is connected to all 4 carbs right in front of the carbs try moving it with you hand up and down. if it moves up then its stuck down and if it moves down your stuck open.

 

Re: XJ550 Maxim Project -=[ Picture Heavy ]=-

The bike is in the same state you see it in the photos on page one.

The old throttle cable was connected to the carbs and no Right side controls were present.

Got the new throttle handle and hooked it up and there is litterally no play in it. The cable is taught within 2-3mm of travel in the throttle handle. I will take a look and grab some pictures here for us in a second.

 

Re: XJ550 Maxim Project -=[ Picture Heavy ]=-

Hey Everyone,

There is definitely something stuck about the throttle. The cable moves freely but the part where it attaches near the carbs is locked. I tried to take some meaningful pictures but I dont know how helpful they will be.







Any ideas?

I ordered the wrong screws for the ignition switch. I was looking for the mounting bolts that go up through the black piece you put the key in. I ordered the larger bolts just behind it holding the metal bracket together.



Also got some new drag bars




Thanks everyone! More to come soon.

 

Re: XJ550 Maxim Project *Stuck Throttle* -=[ Picture Heavy ]=-

The throttle cable connects to a semi circular guide which opens the carb butterflies, 90 degrees. The linkage should shut and open freely (Against spring pressure). Disconnect the throttle and see if the linkage closes. There could be a mechanical reason - something like a stone or dropped washer mechanically preventing the throttles from closing.

 

Re: XJ550 Maxim Project *Stuck Throttle* -=[ Picture Heavy ]=-

More likely the throttle quadrant got caught under the fins on the back of the head when the rack went back on. Easy to do, even easier to do on the 550s (don't ask.)

Either that or the stub cable is not seated in its groove in the semi-circular guide and is caught on somethng instead.

Look under there carefully from the right; you should be able to see what's going on.

You'll need a shorter clutch cable for those bars; get a Seca 750 cable from Len it'll work great. You can re-route the extra throttle cable to go over the frame crosspiece there and have a straight shot down to the bracket.

 

Re: XJ550 Maxim Project *Stuck Throttle* -=[ Picture Heavy ]=-

"Quadrant", good word, I like it..........

 

Re: XJ550 Maxim Project *Stuck Throttle* -=[ Picture Heavy ]=-

Quadrant is a good word but brings back bad memories of a UK model Ford called a "Cortina".

The quadrant was a self adjusting plastic ratchet on the clutch pedal cable. They were cheap but a B1tch to change (Laying upside down, swearing,with a torch in your mouth and your head in the footwell)

 

Re: XJ550 Maxim Project *Stuck Throttle* -=[ Picture Heavy ]=-

Quadrant: From Websters: ...an arc of 90 degrees that is one quarter of a circle; a device or mechanical part shaped like or suggestive of the quadrant of a circle.

I was going for the latter...

 

re. XJ550 Maxim Project - Carbs finally off!-#PictureHeavy#-

The sun had come down on my face.. It was finally warm enough out to do some paint stripping in this part of the country... so I hopped to it





Rolled her out on the driveway and dug deep finally. Getting ready to check valve clearances I took out the original spark plugs to see how it was running before it sat for 10 years. Here they are :

Plug 1



Plug 2



Plug 3



Plug 4




One was pretty oily. Two and four were about the same. Dark electrode and reddish core. Three was very clean. It looked like oil and gas poured out of the bike at some point based on the buildup on the swingarm and saturated air filter / box. Lets look at the carburetor now.

Of the four the first three have frozen diaphragm assemblies and the fourth moves freely.

Front

Carb numbers ^(4,3,2,1)

On the inside of three there is a very solid pool of something that is rock hard and dark like oil but not liquid. Number two is by far the dirtiest on the outside.

Back
[img]http://imgur.com/B2QCF.jpg
Carb numbers^(1,2,3,4)


I have about 4 of these solenoid holders that are broken that need replacement. Any ideas? Are they standard at auto stores? I am looking at a parts bike on craigslist too that will probably be profitable in the end because of the variety of small parts I need.




Do you think cracked coils is a problem? I am getting my ohmmeter back from a friend tomorrow so I will test them out and let you know.






Thats all for now. Will post more details tomorrow.

-B$
re. XJ550 Maxim Project - Carbs finally off!-#PictureHeavy#-

 

Re: Coils-- not good, especially if the cracks go all the way through to the core. You can try flushing them out with some contact cleaner and then packing the cracks with black RTV, but I'd replace.

Re: Relay holders-- Not commonly available anywhere; never sold separately by MamaYama either. Ask chacal; or do what I do: wrap a small black zip tie around it, trim neatly and call it a day. I would say that between two bikes about half of mine are zip-tie "reinforced."

Re: Carbs-- Get your "eBay-fu" working and find another rack. Then you will have plenty of spare parts especially for the big stuff like bowls or a carb body. Be aware: The 550 Seca and 550 Maxim carbs, while the same, ARE different. They use a different needle and pilot jet but everything else is interchangeable. I got a nearly perfect set from the 'bay for $55.

 

Re: XJ550 Maxim Project - Carbs finally off! -#PictureHeavy#

I soaked the carbs and the diaphragms are all free now
Still looking at getting a new set or a rebuild able one. This bike really needs to come together next week so I will be ordering a pile of parts this weekend. I also have my workspace back now as well Updates soon.