XJ650 Turbo restoration

Hello all, i've just bought a XJ650LJ from ebay for less than i expected (well i hope its a good deal). I was thinking about making it into something different but i've decided to restore it to original.

The bike does have some history that im trying to find out about - belonging to The Combe Martin Motorcycle Collection at some point in its life.

Here it is after i got it home



Ive stripped the plastic down to see what the condition is and started looking at starting it..





here's as it is at the moment, pet lock was jammed, petrol in the carns stinks and is the colour of wee, so im off to buy a fuel filter, oil filter and some fuel pipes....

 

Is it just me or do those forks look shorter than normal Maxim forks? Also they are center axle, I bet they would improve the Maxim handling also?

Anyone rode a turbo and a maxim and compared the turn-in handling??

Thats a nice turbo mate!

Jay

 

It looks like fun and a very rewarding project to. It also looks like the fuse box has been replaced - so somebody has been looking after it!


Good luck an keep posting pictures.

 

Well i started on the bike at the weekend, armed with fuel hoses, oil and fuel filter i replaced the old pipes and got my fingers crossed...! Well it didnt work - there is no fuel to the carbs, bowls are empty..

So i'll be stripping the fuel side down to see whats occuring??



Also looks like these panels are fibreglass moulds - is that usual?

 

Quick question, does your fuel pump work? If that works you should be getting fuel to your carbs. If your fuel pump does not work, soak it in kerosene for a few hours, overnight or a few days. After its been setting apply some 12 volt power to it. If you get nothing, grab a rubber or plastic mallet and start giving it some light to medium raps on each end, it should come back to life. Also if you havent already done so, replace your spark plugs with new ones.
As for the lowers, Yamaha could have chosen a better mounting system than this. This is a major stress point and the lowers crack very easy here.
Good luck with the bike

 

Ditto on the fuel pump, also be sure to clean the screen on the oil return line from the turbo. You seem to missing an exhaust pipe too. It's cosmetic and attaches to the wastegate on the turbo. The brakes on these bikes are pretty bad, the fronts are downright scary, so look into fitting R1 calipers as an upgrade. The front suspension is a joke too, look for a fork brace, and cartridge emulators for the forks. I just finished an 82 LJ and it's a good bilke if you understand the design flaws. Good luck with your build!

 

im about to start again on the bike (got a few problems with a GL1100 that im sorting too) i'll be taking the fuel pump off and the carbs while im there... fingers crossed for success.

 

I have a similar problem with mine, some idiot at a "professional" shop tried to synch my carbs, all he did I think was a bench synch and now my baby doesn't run at all.

 

I just brought one of these home last night. An 82 non running with 11000 on it. It's missing the lower air dam. Tank smells like varnish. This could be a long project.
I read on here about using the R6 fuel pump. Anybody know what year?
I'll get some pics when it's unloaded.
Thanks

 

i think the early r6 pumps are the ones to use - seem to have the correct bend in the fuel line too.. the newer ones appear to be in tank

 

Once you get the fuel pump working fuel will be sent to the check valve. The carbs are pressurized and the check valve returns excess fuel back to the tank. That's why the petcock has the upper line. If this valve is stuck you will never get fuel to the carbs. It will be pumped back into the tank. Also, be sure to have a manual to familiarize yourself with the Turbo system. Well worth the money spent. They are great all around bikes. Very reliable, but must be ridden on a regular basis. If you let one sit, the fuel system will gum up and you can start all over again. Take your time, arm yourself with knowledge, and enjoy the project.

 

Once you get the fuel pump working fuel will be sent to the check valve. The carbs are pressurized and the check valve returns excess fuel back to the tank. That's why the petcock has the upper line. If this valve is stuck you will never get fuel to the carbs. It will be pumped back into the tank. Also, be sure to have a manual to familiarize yourself with the Turbo system. Well worth the money spent. They are great all around bikes. Very reliable, but must be ridden on a regular basis. If you let one sit, the fuel system will gum up and you can start all over again. Take your time, arm yourself with knowledge, and enjoy the project.

 

I think it was from a 02-04 but it won't matter. The part that matters is the pressure (43psi) and the volume. Here's a pic....showing my fabricated mount with the R6 pump. Yes, it was a "in tank" pump but they only mounted inside the tank to save space as fuel pumps are cooled by the fuel running THROUGH them, not the fuel they are sitting in!
jeff

 

Thanks, Jeff.
I've done so much reading on these bikes, my brain is melted.
The two problems I have is gas in the oil and oil dripping out of the turbo.
I've talked to Len about parts for the carbs. When I get that fixed I'll look at the check ball in the oil line.

 

Oops, about forgot the pics.

 

Did you get this off ebay? I seem to remember the "barn" pic.

Not to know anyone but I installed bdesigns carb kits after Brian promised me my money back if I didn't like the kits he had. They worked fine. His kits also include the check valve (FPR) oring.

I eliminated any chance of fuel passing by installing a 12 volt solenoid between the petcock and fuel pump. I wired it to the fuel pump so it only opens when the fuel pump is operating and as you know now from reading so much, the fuel pump only operates when the engine is actually starting or running...worked out perfectly!! The 12volt valve was less then 30 bucks and made for fuel.

I have no idea about oil dripping out of your carbs unless you might have a valve issue so of course you need to check the valve clearences anyway.
They are pretty cool bikes once you have them running right.

jeff

 

I hope I'm not hijacking this thread.
Jeff, I found this turbo locally in Kansas. Acording to the title it was sold new in 85. It does have the power up kit.
And I'm working on it in the barn instead of the garage because of the bad gas smell.
I'm going use a carb kit like yours instead of totally rebuilding them. It will need new fuel lines though. Should I just go ahead and replace the old fuel pump now?
Did you do the resistor mod for the battery indicater?
Did you get the fuel solenoid at a auto parts store?

Thanks
Devo

 

Sorry, I wasn't online for the past couple days, even though my laptop was turned on in the dining room....

I bought my carb kits from Brian at BD designs and while he wasn't cheap, his super duper kit included every single seal needed for the entire fuel system.....but I understand that Len also can supply those for you.

I DID totally rebuild each carb, seperating them from the rack to replace the seals, then rebuit each carb using all new pieces except floats, cleaned the slides per the "clunk test"(very good write-up)realigned and remounted them to the rack then set my floats and sync'ed them......it was no "slam and go" deal. If you do anything less, you'll be riding on borrowed time since each of those little, brittle seals is nearly 30 years old...and if one of them disintergrates, you'll have problems.

I had a bad pump and made the decision to replace it before learning how to free it up. I had just picked up the bike I had bought a month or so earlier and was taking stock to buy whatever I needed in prep for an upcomming vacation where I was planning on doing the restoration. You may decide to see if you can get it working reliabily or you might decide to replace it. I had ordered my new pump by then and just put my old pump on the shelf for a rainy day.

I got my solenoid valve at http://www.dan-marcrvparts.com/12vofuva.html and bought one like the one at the top of the page. Buy the 1/4" outlet valve so you'll pass enough fuel. Don't worry about the 30psi rating....the engineers for hydrodynamics use a 100% safety factor so your 40-43psi will be fine. I got that straight from the horses mouth so you can bank it.

No, I never got around to doing the battery bypass....but Polack sent me a diagram to do it. I just press the button twice each time i start it....

I doubt Rob will get pi##ed at you for hijacking....he's thirsty for as much as he can absorb too.....and we all got to hang together since there aren't many of us!!

jeff

 

well its been over a year - a change of job and my old goldwing and a celica alltrack to fix meant that this baby waited until last week. So i cleaned everything up, checked the fuel pump was working ok, cleared pipes and removed one of the float bowl drains, cranked it over and no fuel coming out of the bowls...

Squirted some easy start and it started up, but only for the few seconds that the easy start gave it. I looked in the manual that Jeff sent me some time ago and it says that there is negative pressure needed to open the valve to allow fuel to flow.. humph, back to the old drawing board!

 

did ya try putting it on prime?