Stoked to be on my new '83 XJ650, few probs starting though

Hey there,

I only just found these forums and loving the info so far.

I live in Sydney in Australia, so if anybody is close by let me know.

I just picked up a fairly clean 1983 xj 650, i'll get some photo's soon.

I took her straight to the mechanic to get registered, he took the carby's off and replaced some of the minor seals. I'm pretty sure he did little else and charged me shit loads. So, this is why I want to work on her myself.

After some probs with Premium fuel making her run like a dog, she is running fairly well.

The only thing is that she won't start in the cold, and this is Sydney folks its not even that chilly, it's still t shirt weather.

In the morning she turns but won't catch?

what are some basic tests? i'm constantly late for work!

cheers guys,

J

 

Re: Stoked to be on my new '83 XJ650, few probs starting tho

G'day jonathon - welcome to the site

XJ's can be cold blooded things at times, so don't be too alarmed. They do like to have a FULLY charged battery to fire up, so I would check the charging system and make sure your battery is good (or excellent). If that checks out it might be a case of experimenting with choke positions to get the "right" mix (my 900's where finicky cold starters :x )

Also, put your bike model in your signature so we all know what model you're referring to when you post again :wink:

 

Those little starter jets in the bottom of the float bowl caused me the same grief. They are TINY and a pain to clean, but once I got a good jet of carb cleaner shooting through it, it made my bike start MUCH better - even in the winter.

 

Congrats on deciding to do work yourself. It'll seem a little daunting at first, but I think many on this forum started working on bikes because they realized they couldn't afford for someone else to do it for them (I know I did). MANY shops make money bolting chrome parts onto new bikes and charging more than you bike is "worth."

My XJ will start, no problems, when the temps are in the 30s. Like gitbox said, the enrichment circuit (called "choke" but isn't) is required to dump extra fuel into the intake, ahead of the butterflies and slides, to start cold. If those are blocked off, you're basically asking your bike to start without enough fuel.

Also noted is the electrical system. There have been threads in the past, describing how the bike will "catch" if you let off the starter button at the right time. The issue is that a poor electrical system (weak batt, poor connections, bad coils, etc) can have enough juice to turn the starter or spark, but not both - resulting in a start if the button is let off right before a cylinder fires.

You probably should start with a good carb cleaning (since you wisely don't trust the shop that did it last), fully charge your battery and have it load tested, test your charging system output, and consider blade fuses if the original fuse box is installed. This will give you a good idea where you are, and what the possible problem is.

 

Re: Stoked to be on my new '83 XJ650, few probs starting tho

I appreciate the tips guys.

As suspected its looking like i'll have to take the carbs off, I'm hesitant to do this as I'm far from a mechanic, but from a brief search it looks like there's heaps of tutorials on here about how to go about it. I have the Hayes manual, that should help.

Are there any specialized tools that i'll need?

The battery seems ok, I pulled it out and charged it fully last week, but then she wouldn't start when it went back in. Come the morning, boom, started right up. I'm guessing I will find a trick, or sweet spot to where the choke needs to be.

cheers

J

 

Re: Stoked to be on my new '83 XJ650, few probs starting tho

Damn this is getting annoying.

She'll run fine all day and then the next morning nothing, give it two hours and she starts right up.

I'm keen to try spraying some WD40 into the airbox, where exactly do you do this? And how much?

 

WD40 into the airbox?? Don't do that. You need starter fluid (Aerostart or Start ya bastard). And only use a TINY squirt as you are cranking the motor. Once it fires, STOP spraying.