New 550

ok, so last night a bought an 81 xj550, it sounded great. this is my first bike, and i'm kinda new to the thing, and i'm only seventeen. this morning it won't start, it'll turn over, but thats it. my mechanic said he thinks its the timing, so tomorrow, thats what we're fixing. I have some sick ass ideas for this thing, i've been on this place before, and i love the bobbers you guys have been doing, and i hope you guys will give me plenty of tips.

 

Well welcome. I have a 81 550 that I modified. I am still trying to get pics of it loaded.

If your bike started last night but not again in the morning. Try putting a charge on the battery. It happend to me all the time before I got a new battery. I could ride it for a week straight and then leave it for two days and I would have to put a charge on the battery to start it. It will turn over like it wants to start but just won't start. Put a multi meter on your battery before you put a charge on it and I bet it will be sitting at around 11 volts. It needs to be 12 volts or higher. I would try that first before you go and mess with the timing. If that works look into getting a Clymer bike manual and use the troubleshooting tree for re-charging the battery to make sure that system works. I thought that the timing might be off as well at first. Just so yo know letting your bike sit at idle actually drains the battery. The bike needs to be above a certain RPM to charge the battery. I think its around 3000. You can check this if you leave the multi meter on the battery after you get it started and rev the motor. Watch the RPMs and the meter to see when the system starts to put a charge back on the battery.

I know I got a little windy there but check it out, it should fix your problem. Good luck

 

STOP RIGHT THERE.

Your bike may have just saved you.

You need to immediately check the rear brake for delamination. READ: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=15874.html Serious business.

It's NOT the "timing" the timing is fixed on these bikes. More likely carburetor related.

What's the HISTORY of this bike? Has it been sitting?

I'm not trying to dampen your enthusiasm, but I don't want to see anyone get hurt, or worse.

READ this: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=24010.html

And then go helmet shopping.

 

Fitz is right make sure you go over the bike FIRST, nothing is guaranteed on these old bikes.

congratulations on your pick up, those 550's seem to bob well and give options for extending the rear easier..(never know what you would want to do to it)

Im sure the rest of us will be as helpful as we can, but you should heed those warnings that others have learned from.

Lots of knowlege on here just keep in mind to "search" the forums for the typical questions before asking as most things can be answered through other threads...just time consuming

Welcome to the site!!

 

thanks everyone for your tips, the problem was a shitty ground, but thats fixed, carbs need some tuning, but they work, the problem is that its been straight piped, so theres bad back pressure, but it starts first try now. Now for the mods i've done; I lowered it with some sr260 shocks, took off the front signals, put some nice bars on it, and i'm about to make a better looking cluster. I'll run and take some pics of it now.

 

and heres the demon, i've been riding most of the day.

 

newcomer:

From the pictures, it looks like it's missing the airbox boots. If you've been running all day with out any air filtration, besides it probably running very poorly, you're taking an awful chance of sucking something into the cylinders.

Also, we not trying to lecture you about the rear brakes (well, maybe we are), but checking them is a life safety item.