My Build

Hey, my name is mike, and I'm 17. First off, I have been obsessed with bikes since the beginning of time, and I am by no means a squid. So now that that's out of the way, the XJ

It is a xj 550 seca

I picked this thing up as a toy to tinker with. I knew I would never really get anywhere with it, but it'd be interesting to learn to work on bikes and stuff. I picked up this piece of junk for $50. It was totally rusted, parts missing everywhere, bent everything. Spiders had made a nest in the pipes, the carbs were gummed, everything that could go wrong had gone wrong. The bike had been exposed to the elements for some 15-20 years. Fun stuff eh?




for all you keen observers, the PO put a maxim tank on the bike, so thats why it looks out of place


up close it isn't too pretty




I stripped it so I could get access to the parts more easily


things to fix
FRONT END
-change slashed tire
-rebuild caliper/piston
-bleed system
-?replace brake lines?
-?replace fork seals?
-speedo cable
FUEL SYSTEM
-clean tank
-rebuild petcock
-rebuild carburetors
-buy throttle assy
ENGINE/tranny
-valve adjustment
-replace friction plates
-connect the shift linkage
-change chain/sprockets
RANDOM
-Find/fix all the open circuits in the harness
-but mirrors/turn signals/headlight
-speedo cable
-clutch cable
-throttle cable

aaand, I want to finish by the new year
ambitious, arent I?


More Updates later

PS. - I'm a picture whore, and I always thought it was more interesting when people posted pictures, so you'll be seeing a lot of those here. It's a lot easier to visualize and to see the problems I'm encountering so I can get a better, more precise response too. And it's not even xjbikes.com's bandwidth. Win win situation!

 

As keen observer I have to tell you that you have a 750 Seca tank that looks out of place on that 550. The front fender is a Seca but the paint says it's not original. The chain drive is no doubt a 550. So the best thing to do is give us the first 6 digits of your VIN so we know what we are dealing with. You can check and see if they match the digits on your engine. That plate will be located on the right side of the engine on top of the clutch cover. Then we will know if it is the original engine or a replacement. I also noticed that the air box was missing and you have a 4-1 header. That means you need to check your carbs to see what size jets are installed. Without the right ones it will never run well. I highly suggest you reinstall the air box.
Still a good deal at $50. Engine looks good and clean and the damage is mostly cosmetic. Finishing by New Year's day ........Na!

 

Have a little faith Blue Maxim. He could have it running by the new year. You've got to figure that he's 17 and on Christmas break from school so he's got all day everyday for the next 11 to get it running. Welcome daliumong, I look forward to seeing your progress.

 

There is a definate difference between having it running and having it on the road by the new year. Not sure about the having it finished part is really about. I dont think mine will ever be finished. All ways a work in progress. But good luck to you. Hope to see you on the road. Its nice having a toy to tinker with through out the winter. You have found a good source of info here.

 

You are so right. I forgot to factor the Christmas break into the equation. Well then......Go for it dude!

 

I guess you're right on the tank, it was definitely too large for a 550 cc bike. The front fender is original, it is the other body panels that are not. The bike was originally red, like this one.
(not my bike, just a pic of what mine was before sitting for 15 years)

so today, all I really wanted to do was clean all the crap off my bike. Engine degreaser, elbow grease, major scrubbing. I first polished the 4-1 headers. Here are the before/after comparisons. No powertools, so I basically spent the whole afternoon with pads of steel wool.. hard work for the financially depleted highschoolers yay.
(inside two are before, outside are after)
(you were right, bluemaxim, it was an aftermarket 4-1, Kerker. Here it is polished. Top=after, bottom=before)



unfortunately, I ran out of batteries before I could get a picture of the entire bike after it was degreased. It still isn't pretty forsure. THis is going to be a very long, time consuming, money eating process. Unfortunately, I don't have that much money..

Yea, I'm still not sure what my goals are for this bike. I know I will never be really done with it, but then again, as a highschooler, I don't know how much money I'm willing to pour into it. Maybe after I get it running i'll sell it. Maybe after I get it road worthy I'll sell it. Maybe when I go to college I'll sell it. Or maybe i'll just keep it. It all depends

 

Anyone remember those high school years.....where anything is possible!

And dreams of accomplishment are more attainable than they are now?

Good Luck to you daliumong!
Give er your best shot, we're all with ya on this

 

I think that 750 tank has some nice possibilities with a set of low rise bars.

 

soo I managed to track down a clutch cable, and nabbed it for $5. After installing it, I noticed that there was absolutely no resistance when grabbing the clutch except from the spring itself

by spring i mean the spring out of the clutch cover pictured above.

and here is a picture of my mangled clutch controls

I went to the yamaha dealer and asked around. One of the guys told me that it was a simple fix, that all i needed to do was tip the bike on its side (since I changed the oil) open up the clutch cover, and reattatch some linkage. The thing is, I'm not seeing anything of the sort in my repair manual, and i'm skeptical that I'd finish this type of work by the end of today, leaving my open transmission overnight...

thoughts?


ps
from the same place I nabbed the clutch cable, I also got a red seca 550 tank. Whoppee, 30 bucks.. whatever, i got the cable for 5... it evens out, sort of

I took the gas cap from my 750 tank and screwed it on the red tank. Now I have to deal with the rust issues, the lack of a petcock... and other fun stuff


pss after a day of this much work, I am damn tired, probably wont touch the bike very much for the next couple days. It is grueling work cleaning the bike

 

You may never wind up with a bike worth thousands, but what you WILL end up with is a pristine example of a nice riding bike, and you will be an expert on repairing them! I say, go for it. Damn the torpedos!
Twenty years from now, you could be the next XJ Guru!

 

Wow! Headers cleaned up very nicely. Gives me great hope for mine.

Nice project, oh to have the time I had when I was 17 again! Of course now I have all the tools. I need a 17 yo to use them............

If it were me though, I'd bag the cosmetics for now and get her fired up. No point on polishing and all the other details (and $$) if you have an aluminum case full of random parts rather than an engine.

 

Dalimong, your efforts are bearing fruit! It is most enjoyable to see a young person (such as yourself) take such keen interest in a subject near and dear to most everyone here. Keep at it, I'm interested in seen the finished product, wheither it is on time or not! Be sure to get in touch with some of our other bay area 550 folks, they have skills and knowledge to spare. Might even show up to help you turn a wrench. Best of luck to you!

 

Tomorrow I'm going to change the front tire and try to see what is wrong with the front caliper. It's really annoying hauling the bike around on a slashed tire and dragging brakes. Hopefully all that will be needed is a tire change and a bleed of the brake system+a little cleaning. In the worst case, i might have to rebuild the entire caliper /w new pistons and seals and everything


-still waiting to hear someone's opinion on the tranny issues.

 

You should be able to lay the bike over and leave it without detriment to the internals provided you cover it back up with the cover or a plastic bag. Go for it!

 

first off, I took off the wheel today to change the tire.
It took me a while, it was my first time and I was always afraid I would bend the rim.

here is the bike w/o a front wheel


front wheel /w tire on


tire off

 

I'm having some trouble with the brake calipers. I tore them down, and I found that there was no dust seal or piston seal, so I was a bit concerned. Also, the piston compressed when I got the caliper off the rotor, so now I cant get it back on. Is there any way I can push the piston back?

I'll get pictures later so everyone can see what I'm talking about. Until then, any opnions would be great.

 

A regular auto brake compresser will work. If you don't have one then many have used a c-clamp to do it.

 

Here is the tool I am refering to.

 

Looks like your heading down the right track. Keep going, just don't hurry anything. That is precisely when things go south in a hurry. Don't forget to spend some time with the family, it is Christmas after all!

 

For the time being, the electric system is totally dead, but all I want at this point is power running to the coils. I guess i'll have to hotwire the starter circuit. Its all good though, as long as it is running.

All I need now are:

Brake caliper rebuild
carburetor rebuild
de-rust tank
rebuild petcock (hopefully I wont need this)------about this. If I don't actually replace the petcock, what is the worst thing that can happen? A leak? Flooded carbs? Hard starting?




I THINK I CAN FINISH THIS BY THE NEW YEAR, I AM STOKED