new to forum - 1983 Maxim 550

hello folks -

I've had a '83 XJ 550 sitting in my garage for a while now. It has 7800 miles on it, but it's been sitting for a _long_ time.

there's still oil in the crank case, engine rolls over (via transmission, haven't tried the starter yet). I was told that one of the carbs was spewing too much fuel, but was going to replace the carbs anyway (should I?).

It needs a few new parts (just from first glance) - front brake lines, maybe brake master cylinder, rubber, chain, few accessories...

my question is... is it worth messing with? I'm not new to engine work but I've never worked on a bike engine like this. Am I beating a dead horse or is it worth working on? I'd hate to trash a bike with so few miles on it. Would the motor have to be rebuilt since it sat so long?

Oh, and it did run when before it was parked.

thanks!


-vlad

 

you have yourself an amazing bike! your story is the same as mine! its been sitting in my buddys garage for about 6 years, and i finally got him to sell it to me! been working on it here and there over the past few days, just got some pics up today, but as my garage is not insulated and no heat, i dare only work on it in the + degree weather.
so i would say dont trash it, tinker with it, get it runing, and go from there!

 

Definitely not worth fixing! I'll give you $150 for it. All joking aside,these are great old bikes. Do a forum search for carb cleaning,and find RickCoMatics article. This guy knows his stuff. As far as the problem carb,when you have the carbs apart,look for a stuck fuel metering valve,or a damaged/misadjusted float.As far as the mileage,unless it was abused,this bike is just getting broken in. Welcome to the community,and happy wrenching.

 

Definitely worth fixing. 7800 miles is only just run in so long as it is original and not around the clock once.

Do a good carb clean first, change the oil and get her running. The key to spending any money is how the motor runs. No rattles and you have got a good one.

Change of oil and carb clean will cost about 30 bucks in cleaner and oil to find out if it's worth proceeding.

The 550 is a great bike. well worth the effort.

 

The main thing that could kill this "rip van winkle" project would be pitted cylinder walls. Since at any point, at least 2 of the 4 cylinders are exposed to the air (via exhaust pipes) the moisture can cause oxidation which leads to pitting. The best way to store a motor for extended periods of time is to pour oil down the spark plug holes and turn the motor over a few times to lube the walls every so often. The easiest way to check for this problem (short of disassembly) is to check the compression of all the cylinders with a compression tester. If the compression number goes up when you pour a tablespoon of oil in the cylinder, there is a problem. I lost a Honda CB350 Four to this problem! :cry: Best of luck to you!

 

Well, I did some digging, and this is what I found:

I took the bowls and the membrane assemblies off the carburetor. The bowls and all the mechanics inside (floats, needles, etc) are covered in lacquered gasoline. The floats do not move freely, and I have to force them up and down. In one of the carbs, the little screw in the middle with the hole going through it has broken off, and most of the screw is stuck inside. At this point methinks I need new carbs. I tried soaking them in different solvents, and the floats just won't free up.

Any idea where I can get a decent used carburetor set for this thing? (83 maxim 550 YICS)


Vlad

 

Vlad,
I'm going to re-echo danno's response on the carbs. Rick's article is awesome! The way I rebuilt my similarly trashed carb set was to borrow a ultrasonic cleaner and fill it with carb cleaning solution and let that run for a while. It works wonders! (remember though, with carb cleaner, no rubber parts!) I still think you could salvage those carbs of yours if you're willing to spend a little extra time and effort. Otherwise EBAY or a salvage yard would be your best bets.

 

I just called around town and a couple of places might have a good set... anxiously waiting for them to call me back.

you know those little hinges that hold the floats in place? well.... they feel like someone packed them with some 1000-year old tree sap. One of those adjustment bolts has broken inside of the carb, so I dunno if I'll be able to get a tool small enough to reverse it out.

what really sucks is that the membranes are almost perfect... The rest of the carb assembly looks new.

On the bright side, I know why this bike didn't run well when it was parked

Would any other year XJ550 carbs fit the '83?

 

Don’t quote me Im new to these bikes but companies don’t usually like to change things that work so I would THINK that something in that era would work and a stealership could tell you for sure. As far a a place for parts there is a motorcycle junkyard near Minneapolis called sport wheels. They clam to be the largest one in the US. I’ve been there looking for parts to an 86 KTM I had I ended up getting a whole engine including pipe, carb, coil, and service manual for 250. You might try them the web site is www.sportwheel.com

 

Is $325 a good deal for a used set, ready to bolt on?

 

Bench set is good but I would insall them and set them to the motor