Anatomy of an XJ550 high miler

Been a while since I posted here regularly. Thought you all might be interested in what I've done to keep my XJ550 running for a few miles. First off, I bought this bike back in 2007 with about 10,000 mile on it as a winter project to fix up and sell in the spring. Got to liking the bike so much I just couldn't part with it so 76,000+ miles later, I'm still riding it. The bike had sat for a number of years so I did all the normal things you'd expect like fork seals, wheel bearings, carb rebuild, etc. Got it on the road and started riding it.

First issue I had was the fuel petcock. I tried rebuilding it but I just kept having problems. So I got an adapter plate and installed a Pingel Petcock and I've not had any trouble with it since.

Next issue was the starter. Couldn't seem to keep the oil from getting in a fouling the brushes. I finally discovered that there is an oil seal in the front under the planetary gears and once I replaced that, didn't have any more problems.

Then the ignition pick-up coil died. Had an open in one of them so I had to replace them. Haven't had any trouble since.

Other than that, I've not had any trouble with the bike. I'm running Metzler ME880s front and back, have an x-ring chain, change the oil and filter every 2,500 miles (Castrol GTX 20w-50) and change the plugs (NGK Iridium) and air filter and adjust the cam chain every 5,000 miles. I check the valves every 20,000 miles or so and if they need reshimmed, it's usually only one or two valves.

I ride the bike all year round averaging about 500 miles a week. It's a great little bike, still has plenty of pep and only uses about a quarter of a quart of oil between changes. At this point, it's one of the most reliable bikes I own and I don't even hesitate to take it on a 200 mile cruise to out in the middle of no where.

Just thought you might appreciate hearing about it.

Happy Trails!
sanoke

 

Excellent, and proof that you are a biker!

 

Great story. Evidence that with regular proper maintenance, it's hard to kill an air cooled engine.

 

thanks for sharing! nice looking bike!

 

oh and how do you like those tires? im deciding between them and bridgestone spitfires

 

880's all the way. Third rear and second front. Used to run Dunlop 591's. 880's stick as well but wear twice ass long. Don't know anything about spitfires.

 

anyone ever reached 99999.9 miles? what happens? lol

dang that's a true biker. nice story and thanks for sharing sanoke. i still stand in amazement on these 30 year machines. they were built to last, for sure

 

I got 120000+ kilometers on my '83 maxim 1100. Still won't die!

 

well done, did you ever replace the cam chain?

 

I have a Honda Shadow 1100 that I run them on as well. Great mileage and handling. Never had any problems.

 

No, still the original. Like I said in the post, I just make sure to adjust the tensioner every 5,000 miles.