Couple of problems, Carb ?, Cluth and front brake.

Hi Guys,

Firstly this is an awesome resource for my new (and first) motorcycle. I have spent the last couple days reading over everything and its fantastic.

I had a couple questions out some of my problems.

I just purchased an 82 XJ650 Maxim. It was idling rough and had no top end. I figured it was the carbs and purchased it.

I pulled the carbs, cleaned them all out, and put it back together and voila it ran great. Good idle, no problem getting it up to 8K under full throttle. I have done about 150K since then and on the highway today at about 100KM/H i tried to give it the beans and it just sputtered at me and laughed. It is still idling okay at this point, but as soon as it gets to about 5-6K it sputters under load. It will cruise just fine though.

I never bothered to clean the gas tank and i have a sneaky suspicion that it might have sucked something up and its lightly blocked again in the carbs. The bike ran fine, was parked in December and was started early this month in the original condition i bought it in.

Any thoughts on anything else i should be looking at? Or am i right to blame the carbs again?

#2
The clutch seems to be slipping and is engaging very late in the release of the handle, i will try the adjust bolt near the transmission. If i have read correctly, if that's not the issue then i will have to replace the clutch springs? Also which direction should i be adjusting the cable?

#3
The front brake handle, it does not go all the way to a full return when i release the handle. It goes about 85% of the way, and it is holding the front brake on enough to keep resistance on it. This appears to be a hydraulic brake so that ruled out a sticking cable. Thoughts?

Thanks guys. I'm sure i will be here a lot now

 

Would take a look inside your gas tank if that is where you suspect. Check the fuel filter attached to the petcock--probably needs to be replaced regardless. Do you have an inline fuel filter? this is a must!

If not carbs, compression?
#2 is above my pay grade
#3 I had brake fluid coagulating that gave me less breaking power, maybe this same problem could do the opposite if it jammed the hydrolics? Not sure what other members would say, but a bleed solved my problems.

 

#2 Adjust your clutch at the transmission and if you don't have any room there, move the arm back such that there is no slack in the throw arm when the clutch is all the way out. If adjusting the clutch doesn't affect when it grabs, you are looking at a clutch job. Not hard at all, but it will require springs and a gasket at the least. If you ride around too long like that you might warb your drive disks and you'll need to replace them too - along with the friction disks if they measure out of spec (or if you don't want to pull it all apart again). You'll also need a new washer for the large nut in the clutch. I had a similar issue that could not be adjusted out, and my disks were warped and I went ahead and replaced the drive disks, friction disks, springs/bolts/washers, nut and lock washer, and gasket. Over $100 but well worth it.

#3 - change the fluid. You could have the relief port in your master cylinder clogged. You could also have a sticking caliper. Did you mean 15K? If changing the fluid/checking the brake pad thickness doesn't work, you might want to consider a full rebuild of the brakes: new stainless steel lines and rebuild the calipers and MC. That'll run you $300 or so in parts - but you want to trust your brakes with your life.

 

Oh...I just realized you might have meant 150 km...how many miles (or kilometers) are on the bike. This may tell us a bit about the clutch.

 

Fuel starvation "Under Load" as something will require you to inspect the Petcock to see:
>That the Filter Tower has not fallen out and debris allowed to enter the Fuel Lines.
>The Filter Tower is in place but clogged.
>The Filter Tower had become dislodged and contaminate left the Fuel Tank.

>> The "Beanie-Screens" on the tops of the Float Valve Seats, protecting the Fuel Bowls from particulate, are clogged.

1982 Bike
Replace the Clutches and Clutch Hardware.
YOU and the Bike deserve to motor about on some new clutches.

Look to see the Thickness of the Brake Pads.
There are wear indicators.
I'm guessing you aren't going to see the indicators and you don't have fat pads anymore.

 

Thanks for all the replys. Here is some information that has been requested.

The bike has 27000 KM's. And new front and rear brakes were put on in October, thats 2 months before it was parked.

Those little beanie screens that you were talking about were not that bad when i pulled the carbs apart the first time, but were cleaned and placed back on. Unless you are talking about beanie screens somewhere else.

And filter tower? I am afraid i don't know what that is. I will look it up in my manual.

I do not think there is an inline fuel filter. Its just a straight tube from the petcock to the tank.

I just about got my idle right at this point, one more small adjustment and it should be good. Man that idle screw is in a stupid spot. Can only adjust it once then wait for the bike to cool down before sticking my hand up there. I thought about trying a socket but i have just been making small adjustments at it each day i take it out.

I will try and adjust the clutch at the transmission tomorrow and see if it helps. I am also going to try some seafoam in the gas tank and see if that fixes this top end problem.

As for the front brake, you said try flushing it out first? Is the bleeder on the caliper as per norm? Is there not a return spring or something inside the handle that might be shot and just not retracting far enough? I don't think its a stuck piston, if it was i would not be able to just push the handle back into place and have the brake let off like it does. But you guys are the experts to me right now, so if you think its still a possibility after flushing then i might just grab another caliper from a dead bike out here or something.

 

I think most people will agree an inline filter is a must. they are like two bucks and can be purchased from chacal. The filter tower is the fuel filter attached to the petcock, it looks like a "tower."

From going from noob to slightly less than a noob in the last 9 months on this forum I learned one important thing. Find the root of the problem. Seafoam might do you good for a while, but if your gas tank needs a sandblasting and some sealant, then it needs sandblasting and sealant...

 

I couldn't agree with you more. But it will let me know if it did just suck something up, and its minor enough for the seafoam to help. I will definitely put an inline filter in but what is "chacal". Got a link or something maybe?

 

I have a "spare" complete lever and master cylinder here , if you want to try an exchange. I am not positive the 650 Seca and Maxim are exactly the same, but I expect they are.

I can bring it along when we meet up for a ride or take it to work to me in North Van if you are in a hurry to get it.

Eric

 

Chacal is a forum user and apparently the parts guru/seller here

 

I get mine from Napa.
http://catalog2.genpt.com/catviewer15/% ... ShowPics=1

 

http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=14561.html

Here is the store. The little part at the beginning tells you about how to order. looks like your part will be on the first page. He's real easy to send a private message to as well.

 

This is the filter screen in the petcock inside the gas tank. You have to take the petcock off to check it out.

Get some mechanics gloves. You won't hesitate making adjustment on a hot engine with these. I can even drop a hot spark plug in my hand with them on and as long as I don't grab it too hard I don't feel any discomfort. Best $20 you'll ever spend.

 

WOW what a thread... Very useful... I apparently have an XJ650J haha.

Thanks for the info on the petcock. I will pop that off at some point and take a look at it.

I just got back form napa and have an inline fuel filter and some seafoam. I will go put some in and run it for a bit. I will install the filter when i pull the petcock out.

 

Thanks for the offer. I will check the fluid first and maybe flush it. I will let you know before we meet if you should bring it along or not. There is not rush really, i just have to remember to push it back into place for the time being.

 

I modified the Idle Adjustment Rod.

I ground the Spring down a little bit.
Put a Nylon washer on the Rod, first.
Then, a small Stainless Flat.
Lubes it all with waterproof grease.
Put on the Spring and only took ... twenty ~ thirty tries to find the threaded hole in the bracket.

 

Well the sea foam doesn't seem to be helping. Low end seems a little more peppy i think. But the top end is still sputtering out around 5000RPM.

Im going to go down to it now and try adjusting the clutch and i will check the brake fluid as well.

I looked at the front brake leaver and there does appear to be a return mechanism of sorts. Im going to undo the one bolt holding the actual lever in place and see whats in there.

 

Take the Brake Lever OFF.
Clean and lube the Pivot, and the Pivot Bush and the Hole in the Lever.
Shine all rust off with 400-600 Finish Paper.
Roll the paper and shine the Inside Diameters, too.
Grease with waterproof grease.

 

Okay, i was able to adjust the clutch cable and it feels much nicer. Its much stiffer going into the next gear under acceleration and it wasn't slipping anymore. Unless i miss second and hit neutral, then it slips like crazy Although i think the clutch could probably use some mechanical work, i will get back to this once i have the engine running properly, for now i'm happy with it.

As for the brakes, i checked the little mechanism inside and there are a couple things in there. EDIT** As i was typing this Rick was kind enough to reply with my exact intention. Its all gummed up in there and not pivoting very nicely. So i will go to home depot tomorrow for some sand paper and weatherproof grease. So if this dosent fix it i will probably take you up on this offer Eric. I double checked the front brakes and there is still lots left on the pads.

As for the running issue i guess my next task is to take apart the carbs again. It ran so nice right after i had cleaned them the first time. I will use this time to inspect the filter tower, inside the tank, install the inline filter and of course clean the carbs again.

On a side note, i pulled the spark plugs and found that there are 2 different styles of plugs, im not sure if this is normal. It looks like i also have 2 different styles of wires, and im assuming this is why. The part numbers are the same on all 4 plugs but #1 & #4 have threaded tops and #2 & #3 have clamp style tops.

Also, i don't really have the space to work on this myself (i live in an apartment). If there is anyone in the GVRD who has space and time to help me out i would be more then happy to pay an hourly rate for the space and some assistance. I do have a guy in Pitt Meadows who can help me, but he doesn't know these bikes specifically and i would rather give back to this forums users who have already helped me a lot and I'm sure will help me more in the future.

Thanks again for all the help guys, i will get on the brakes tomorrow. The rest has to wait until Friday when i get paid.

 

Okay, i was able to get some cash today so i went shopping.

I picked up some grease, wd-40, 1000 & 1500 grit sandpaper in case my clunk test fails, crab cleaner, oil, oil filter, spark plugs, pretty much everything for a quick tune up. I just need to find a place to do it and im off to the races.

Also i figured out the spark plug thing, the problem was I'm an idiot. I never knew the little tops came off to expose the threads.

 

If you are going all-through those Carbs again ...

Be sure you:
Flush the Fuel and AIR Passages

Here's a Tool that really helps push-out any foreign matter.
Its an Ear Syringe. Available at a Pharmacy.



Protect your Clean Carbs with a Quality INLINE Filter.
Go the next step and Polish the Carb Bore.
You can do it by hand but a Buffing Pad on a Dremel saves a lot of time.

 

Thanks for the info Rick. I already picked up an inline filter and will install it. I will go to the pharmacy tomorrow for the Ear Syringe.

I am going in to the guys garage who helped me the first time with the carbs. He is letting me use his shop for free .

And just to make sure my Haynes is not lying to me again, the plugs get gapped to .7 correct?

Also, are the pilot screws set just for cold starting or is it part of the normally running operation?

 

Pilot screws set the mixture (which you can see by plug color or color tune) for idle and off idle running of a warm engine.

Cold starting is handled by the enrichment circuit (choke), which are the plungers next to the pilot mixture screw that are operated by the "choke" lever. Integral in cold starting abilities is the enrichment circuit well - located in the front of the float bowl. It must be PERFECTLY clean, such that, with goggles on, you can spray carb cleaner into it and it shoots out the other end like a JET.

 

Plug Gap:
0.7 ~ 0.8 mm

 

Back to the rusty brake lever for a second: the lever is alloy and cannot rust; I believe the M/C is also NOT made of iron. What rusts? The bolt?

Just asking because I've never seen rust there just GUNK.

 

Hmm, looked alot like rust to me, but it could have been 20+ year old grease, i took the WD-40 to it and some sand paper. Cleaned up the handle, the inside connector and the pivot hole along with the bolt. Then some grease, put it back together and voila. Works like a charm.

As for the carbs.... Here comes an idiot moment. Somehow, the main jet of carb #3 fell out¿¿¿ I took off the bowls getting ready for the full tear down and there it was, just sitting there. I pulled all the other bowls and everything was fine. I also did the clunk test and they were all fine as well. I double checked all the other jets and put this one back into its home nice and tight. Took her for a spin on oh baby 8)

So, that's the carb fixed, brake and clutch.

I will put the inline fuel filter in later. I want to replace the fuel and vacuum lines so i will wait until i pick up some tube. I will do the plugs at the same time as well.

This was my first time being able to experience the bike at its potential, even after the last carb build it ran fine for 1 day, but i was still learning and not comfortable to really lay into it. Geeze that's fun, but so so dangerous, lol. I found my "comfortable" personal speed limit while on the highway. I think my girl might get jealous, cause i just fell in love with my bike.

Thanks again for everyone's help, especially Rick, you seem to be a wealth of knowledge greater then 1000 Haynes manuals.

 

That wealth of knowledge comes right from the pages of most Workshop, Owners and Technical Manuals.

That's why I recommend having the Workshop Manual to those of you who are about to embark on repairing your own Bikes rather than bring them in.

When you have the Manual, right there with you, when you get ready to do some repair job to the Bike, ... you have a guide that will instruct your each and every move.

Some of the knowledge that isn't in Manuals comes from what you learn, over the years, by making a mistake and not wanting to repeat the blunder, ... or ... trying something and having it work-out even better than you expected.

Then, there is the knowledge gained by learning what others have shown you how to do.
How to save time.
How not to lose time.
And, ... never take a job "Just for the money."
If you know it won't work right after you've tried to fix it, ...
DON'T start.