My new XJ600s :) SECA 2!!!

I so happies, loving this bike- managed to sell that ninja 250 for 1800, picked the seca up for 1500 .... made about 100 bucks off of it after taxes and a new registration.

Also ... insurance went down 130 bucks a year !

... So riding to today, for a while (almost everywhere... locally few hours of riding on and off) I noticed after the bikes fully warmed up I get this slight ticking... seems to be just 1 cylinder so am I right to assume this needs some valve adjustment?

I am working on getting a service manual- is this process easy on these bikes? any write ups I can look for?
THANKS!
-Brendon

 

i doubt its that easy...pay to have it done

 

Also I have a set of COBRA mufflers for that bike if you are interested. I'll sell em to ya cheap.

 

By all means get a service manual.

Valve adjustment on your bike is no different that any other air-cooled XJ motor; ACCESS may be a bit of an issue. You have to get the valve cover off and I believe you have a bit more stuff in the way than on the earlier bikes.

"Airhead" valve adjustment: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=14827.html

 

Love the pipes ... i doubt that they will fit my bike.

 

Just checked the valves on my bike yesterday.. 1/2 an hour job, all you need to do is take the petrol tank off (lift the rear of the tank, unplug the electrics, turn the tap off and then pull the two hoses off, and slide the tank backward.

Then take the rocker cover off.. #5 Allen key or hex socket needed for this.. 12 bolts, when they're all loose, lift it up and slide it off carefully, trying not to knock the chain.

Now take the alternator cover off (4 phillips head screws on the round cover on the left of the bike.

Now you just need to align the line on the alternator with the line on the plate.. Twist the plate using the square central block with a large spanner, clockwise until the cams on #1 piston are facing away from each other and the two lines meet on the alternator plate. Measure under the inlet cam (towards the rear of the bike) with a feeler guage. The tolerences here are .11 to .15.. In other words, you should be able to get a .10 leaf under it, but not a .15. Do the same with the rear, tolerences .16 to .20

Now turn the alternator plate 180 degrees. You'll probably need a ruler from the mark through the centre of the plate to find the right spot. Do the same with number 2 valves (I think) then again 180 degrees, same with #4 valves and one last 180 degee turn and check the #3 valves.

If any of them fall outside tolerences, (ie you can't get a .10 leaf under, or you can get a .15 under for the inlet valve or .15 and .20 for exhaust) you will need to change the valves.. There is a special tool for this (Yamaha part number 90890-01245) But if you need to change the valves, I really would go and buy a Haynes manual, it's worth the investment.

My XJR makes a ticking noise from cylinder #1.. My valves were spot on, and it was driving me nuts.. Until someone pointed out that the noise was perfectly normal, and all XJ's seem to make this noise.. My XJR is a 2004, 20 years younger than my XJ, and with 1/3 the number of kilometers on the clock, and they both sound alike..

Check your valves, if they're spot on, just accept it as a "feature" of the bike..

 

Damn DW you've been holding out on me! Would you mind taking some measurments of those pipes and sending me a PM? They look like they'd fit on an FJ600 aswell, maybe need a bit of modification!

 

hey thanks so much for that little run down- that seems pretty simple.

I don't need those pipes all though they look nice- this bike has a 4-1 yoshimura setup (which sounds epic btw) I have heard this from MANY mechanics saything that the xj600's just make this ticking noise... the bike has 14000 on it and the previous owner remembers (although he lost the slip) that the owner before him had just had it for a huge tune up- carbs synced and valves adjusted.

Now the tick is there- always, from start to finish... its a little more obvious after a day of running but I think that might be because ive been hearing it all day- its only really audible below 3,000 rpm- outside of that it disapears... or seems to under the sound of the exhuast.

This bike does have a bit of a "rough idle" - it seems shaky- jumps around from 900 to 1100 rpm, this goes away after warm up (FOR THE MOST PART) - it does still fluctuate regardless of how long ive run it...

I saw some videos online of xj600s that seemed to have very steady idles- is this something I should be concerned about? Possibly carbs need a better sync job?

I will yank the plugs next weekend and see their condition (they are only a week old apaprently but id like to see if they are getting dirty)

Glad to have a forum backing me up here- this is a great bike and id like to keep it that way.

THANKS!!!!

-Brendon
ps- where can I get a bolt kit for the fairings (including the xtra lower cowling) ... everything is rusty and falling apart --- perhaps i need to make my own lol

 

Rough idle sounds like the carbs. Reading here, seems the carbs benefit from a good clean once in a while. I'm going to stage 1 mine next winter.