So my valve adjustment experience... honestly

F**k pretending I am some experienced know-it-all when it comes to my bike... or anybody elses bike.
I figured I was doing good... rebuilt carbs (who hasn't), and replaced a bunch of crap.
Decided to do my own valve adjustment. I did it. I went by the book but actually more by Fitz's thread on valve adjustment.
Everything needed new shims. It's wierd though because all of the exhaust shims were off by one size too big. The intake valve shims were all off different. But I did it and they are all right when compared to the book specs and from what the feeler guages tell me.
The valve cover was the hardest part. It wouldn't come off. The when it did, I couldn't get it outfrom between the frame and the head.
It took 6 hours total to do the job (2 sessions). I just hope I did everything right but I used a check list.

Also the master cylinder rebuild isn't as easy as I thought. I never even thought about it but this is going to be a problem.
It appears I need 8 crush washers to change the lines... for starters. I have 4. But that isn't a problem so much. Just that I didn't realize each banjo fitting is secured union bolt->crush washer->banjo->crush washer.

Also... another thing I didn't consider... the union bolt has holes in it. I am guessing the hole on the side of it has to align with the hole on the banjo fitting. Then there is the caliper. Yes... someone really did use the bleeder valve as a lube point. Luckily it wasn't open or... what happens when grease is in the brake system?

The new master cylinder was ok. I got this from another thread that if I punp the brake and fluid fountains up that it's a bad thing. So I am going to have it rebuilt.

After the valve adjustment I have decided that serious things like rebuilding brake parts need to be done by someone who really knows this stuff.

We just got a some kind of seca in the garage now. My buddy picked it up for free. I don't know anything about it other than that it is a seca. That bike is for practice. I love my xj550 little baby maxim. Seriously. I am done practicing real mechanics on the bike I really don't want to screw up.

Guess how I finally got the screws out of the reservoir cover. Both weren't going anywhere. But I got the cover, diaphram and screw from chacal to replace what I did. Haha. A carbide blade. Ithe allen wrench wasn't going anywhere. The hack saw was taking too long to cut grooves. So I went over both screw head with a grinder. Cut nice grooves for a flat-head and was sure glad to have the replacement cover.

So... that is where I am at with my mechanics. And I am a redliner here. Haha. I love this site. But I am sure as hell no where near a wizard.

Needless to say, this was a humbling experience. I am having the rest of the real stuff done by a professional shop that loves these old yamahas. The seca is where I'll learn. I only caught a glimps of it today at the garage and didn't see more than the condition. Its a heap. And it looks like a shafty from where I stood.

 

Patience, grasshopper............

6 hours for the first attempt at a shim replacement for all 8 valves isn't all that bad. It's a tedious process.

It does not matter whether the hole in the union bolt matches up with the hole int he banjo fitting on the end of the brake line. There is a grooved ring that allows the brake fluid to "travel" and find its way home.......

The grease in the caliper (bleeder hole) is because someone used a grease gun to pop out a frozen/seized piston.......that happens, and if they're really frozen, then a grease gun is about the oly way to build enough pressure to pop the piston loose. Check the piston and the bore of the caliper carefully for any scratches/pits, give it a quick clean-up hone or polishing with 800-grit paper (wetted with WD40), and you should be good to go after all of the grease is removed completely from that caliper! And if greasue interacted with new brake fluid, time to completely flush and re-fill it with new fluid. You want absolutely no contaminants in the brake fluid.

The master cylinder pressure relief hole will "fountain" if the forward seal on the m/c piston (or if the piston bore) is bad, or if that forward seal was installed backwards, or if you just tried to build up a hideous amount of pressure......

 

Well I got the honing tools form you but I am not going to do the brakes on the 550. There is a place in Kenosha, wi... about a half hour from me who I am going to have do the brakes for me. I am giving them the parts I want used on the bike and they are really cool about letting me watch. They actually showed me how to bench sync my carbs and how to rivet the chain together without the $120 tool. But I am going to make sure the honing tools are used and the grooves in the caliper are completely cleaned out. I just want to use the honing tool... looks fun.
But I really am done experamenting on my bike until I get some experience and trial and error on bikes I don't care about, whether it ever runs or not or if I destroy something.

 

indeed - hang in there. . . you can do it - just don't lose your cool. the best thing i ever did for my seca was pick up a newer, less fixer-upper bike that i know i can ride. keeps me from tearing my hair out and rushing through things cuz i want to ride.

what part of wisconsin are you in? i have a colortune, yics tool and vacuum gauges if you want to tune your carbs and don't mind heading to the UP.

 

Okay, sounds like a plan chuckles...........but, rather than just "watching" someone else do it, see if they will let YOU do it while they advise you. That's really the best way to learn the technique and the concepts....as long as they are willing to explain to you what to do, as well as what not to do, and the all-important "WHY".

Offer to pay them a little extra, in cash, and see if they'll go for it. It'll be the cheapest money you ever spent.......

Most people who are inexperienced AND who do things incorrectly on their wrenching adventures do so because they have a theory, in their mind, of how to do a task. Their theory is normally incomplete, or just plain wrong. The skill of becoming a "good mechanic" involves not just having the hands-on experience, but also HAVING THE CORRECT "THEORY" (understanding) of what to do, WHY to do it that way (versus some other way), etc.

So remember, your leaking master cylinder.....really, it's mostly just all in your mind...... 8O

 

There,s a book .."Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance"...as I recall th title. In there it says something like..th bike you are working on is yourself..
Sooo don't chuck in th towel yet bro'. You've come a long way to get where you are.

 

You have two great attributes already- enthusiasm and willingness, oh ; and also you care. Your XJ550 Maxim has a great owner.

 

Sounds to me like you were just starting to get the hang of it...

Brakes are easier than carbs anyday. If you mastered the carbs, you're more than capable of rebuilding the brakes, really.

 

Brakes are scary because if they fail, there's nothing left to stop you. If carbs fail, at least you can stop the bike. But it's that fear that makes it difficult. I recently replaced the brakes on my Mustang with Cobra performance brakes. Intimidating, took much longer than it should have, and still wasn't working at 11pm Sunday night. But I discovered the problem, corrected it, and they've been just fine for the past three months!

You should enjoy riding the bike, and that requires a certain degree of confidence in your machine. If you enjoy wrenching, and being able to fix your own bike, keep going (sounds like you're doing fine). But if you could care less and just want to ride (and can afford repair shop pricing), get her in and out and back on the road.

Either way, good luck. I'm in the middle of a valve job myself. Similar situation with the intake/exhaust measurements.

 

Thanks everybody.
Oh... I am definitely not giving up on fixing bikes. Haha. Totally on the contrary. I have always wanted something old (car, truck, motorcycle, lawnmower... didn't care) that I could make like new. I am nowhere near making this bike like new, but it has already come a LONG way from being the heap of fun junk I picked up on the side of the road for (way too much) $900 and just beat to hell by my late friend and i over the summer. It has gone from being the "hey I wonder if we can get the road rash started today" to a pretty reliable bike... and, in my opinion, subtly and tastefully modded both in performance and cosmetic areas.
I did most of this work since my bro died but before he bit the dust he and I had started on actually taking care of the bike and had ideas of fixing it and his Honda Ascot up over the winter.
I figure it is getting close to riding time (for me anyway) and I want the bike in good shape. A shop can get the rest of what I want done... well... done. And the right way. Then when something does go wrong I can focus on that one area instead of ripping into all kinds of things, some of which are areas that really don't need fixing.
I went and saw the Seca this morning when I picked up my bike. All three of us in the shop are going to use and abuse it as the whipping boy for what we aren't experienced in and are iffy about doing. Haha... watch this seca turn into an awesome bike.
With my 550 I will be able to have a starting point. There is not much left and I have the manual and this site which is definitely what every old yamaha owner (and even other makes) needs.
For now I get shop time with guys who do all of this stuff every day... over and over and over. Chacal brought up actually working on the stuff myself. I don't really know the owner of the shop but he is my friend's uncle's friend and they know me there as a customer and have no problem with me being there when the bike is there. So I am going to see if I can actually get my hands into the stuff.

 

sounds like a employment opportunity to me

 

Polock, I was actually thinking that. It would be so bad a** to work on motorcycles for a living. Haha... and test riding other peoples' bikes. But this is an opportunity to learn some tricks as well.

 

Chuckles..did you take off the horn and brackett when you removed the valve cover? I had a bit of a time initially and then plain as day in the Haynes manual there it was.. Remove the horn and brackett. lol

Rob

 

Yeah i did actually. haha... That wasn't so much the problem. The first thing I did was check for anything that would interfere with clearance and... well there is pretty much a whole motorcycle in the way... so I did go for the next best thing which was securing all of the electrical as much out of the wy as possible, removing the horn and bracket. The thing I couldn't get was the bolts. I got them out but they weren't coming all of the way out of the cover and that was keeping me from pulling it off the head. And the cover was stuck in place pretty well. I figured the gasket is junk anyway so I did a naughty and used a tool from an antique medical box used for breaking casts open. And that really worked.

 

Oooooooooo that sucks.. 8O Yeah mine came out pretty good, I did however have a gasket leak prior to removal so maybe my donuts were crap anyway.

Rob

 

well my gasket had some black goo which got hard like plastic. It was what was used to keep the gasket in place, I'm guessing, the last time the cover was messed with.
And by the way... I hate snow. I am looking outside right now and all I see is snow.

 

I just started at my maxim this evening (valve check). Popped the tank off and noticed the horn (ha!). Fitz, you mentioned 7lbs max torque on those bolts right? Man, my PO must have been P-O'd when he put the cover back on this bike. Anyone have any tips for knocking those bolts loose? I suppose PB blaster or Kroil won't have much of an effect where they have those O-rings to keep the oil in...

Mars.

 

Use a 6 Point Socket [ Six Point ] and a Craftsman Ratchet Handle
(Or)
A 6 Point Box Wrench on the Cam Cover Securing Bolts

While holding the Tool on the Fastener so the Tool will not slip, ... And ... Applying Firm and Steady >Undo< Torque on the Tool, ... STRIKE the Tool with a Rubber Mallet or a Hard-wood Hammer Handle.

6 Point Tool
Otherwise you risk damaging the Fastener and heading-up sh1t creek ... rounding-off the Fasteners and having no paddle.

 

YICS motor, right? You're right about penetrating oil being of little use here.

The best bet is to use an allen bit on a ratchet extension wherever possible; for the couple inners you can't get to you'll need a super long key, and slip a box wrench over the end for added leverage. Make sure your allen bits and keys are nice and square and clean, buy new if necessary. (5mm)

Once the bolts are completely free, you can pop the cover loose with your wooden pry bar as illustrated in the how-to.

 

There is a tool called an impact driver. It can be fitted with sockets, allen drivers etc etc. You twist the tool in the direction you want to turn and strike the end with a hammer. Works well loosening most fasteners and is about $20.00 Most tool suppliers have them. As an old timer I learned it is an indispensable tool for any biker.

 

Having a Hand-held Impact Tool is indispensable for working on the Bikes. Agreed.

But, there are a few situations where using the Impact Tool aren't advised.

The Cam Cover is Torqued-down with such tightness that a blow on the Impact Tool might cause the Cover to crack.

 

impact drivers work by pushing on the screw while turning it out, the hammer blow pushes the screw in and relishes some of the friction holding it
unless the bolt bottoms out in the socket your not getting that shock
if you could stack some washers in the socket so it never touches the cover you might have a chance

 

I would NOT recommend using an impact driver on the valve cover bolts because of the stop collars. A socket handle and allen bit will work for any that you can get to, and a long key with help for the other two.