550 maxim VERY slow

hi all thanks for all the help you've already unwittingly given me. i pulled a 550 maxim out of the shed where it sat for 8+ years. after a ebay master cylinder, a battery, some carb cleaning, the vacuum line to the petcock, and a lot of choice words it lives! but it is way slow. it idles decent has good throttle responce in neutral and my plugs old but i gapped em and they are a mid brown. why no power! i'm lost but in a 3/4 mile straight stretch throttle pinned it does 60 and that is hard as hell. has a slight miss under heavy acceleration. all plugs getting spark. i'm 18 and this is my first bike i love it but i am lost.

 

really? no ideas? i need this thing licensed in 12 days. any ideas would help.

 

Licences =\= drivable unless you mean one of those wacky state inspections.

After 8 years did you drain and clean gas tank?

Some carb cleaning? No after that long you need a full carb cleaning, bench and full Scyning.

Did you check and fix valve clearances?

Check for rear brake delamination?

You need to do a lot to get it right and safe still.

 

have you done a compression test, have you fooled with the mixture screws, is it airbox or pods, and how well did you clean those carbs?

 

Did you see if the throttle "sliders" move freely ?? (( Clunk Test ))

 

carbs were out three times all rubber pieces are good passed clunk test float and needle moving freely and sealing. all passages cleaned. i left the carb on the rack and the butterflies all lift in unison. where are the mixture screw? it has the airbox. i haven't checked the valves, but i am planning on it.

 

rear brake delamination?

nevermind figured it out.

 

Valve clearances can be critical/fatal when neglected.
Don't floor it until checked.
Mixture / Pilot screws are at the front top of the carbs, may be under a cap.
If you didn't pull them, then you didn't completely clean the carbs.
Did you wet-set the 4 floats??
What does the air filter look like??

And keep at it !!

 

+1, +2, +3, +4 and +5. Especially in regard to the valves.

ALL OF THE ABOVE, and then some. If you are serious about this particular bike and actually want to ride and enjoy it then read this: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=24010.html

Then get busy, you've come to the right place, but there is one XJ Law you need to know, and it's for your own good: NO SHORTCUTS. Do right or do over, it's just the way it is.

 

air filter is shot. working on getting a new one. i did pull the carbs for the cleaning every passage was cleared the sliders were cleaned and cleaned again as well as the bore they slide in all soft components were checked. i used 4 cans of cleaner the second time through. believe me they're clean. i'm working on float levels and valves but have no garage limited tools and a tight budget so like i said i'm getting to it.