And here she is....

Still has to be cleaned up and have a bit of the rust spots cleaned off the chrome and all. Also have to pop the dents in the tank bondo and paint it. All in all she's pretty clean. How do these bikes handle the pod filters? I think I want to rip that air box out.
First thing is to get her running. The damn battery is completely dead now so I can't even tinker with it today. Its comfy to sit on though :?
I'm thinking eventually I'll tear it down and clean it up right.

 

Looks good, I would leave the airbox. Do you have the side covers?

 

They don't appreciate pod filters.

-Check and adjust your valve clearances asap. Quite frequently neglected, and critical.

-But even before that, check your rear brake for delamination. READ this: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=15874.html You cannot tell by feel or how well it works, you'll have to look. Plan to rebuild the front brakes soon as well.

-Then get after the carbs; but you can't adjust them properly if the valves aren't in spec.

 

Yeah I plan to redo all the brakes. SS lines and rebuilds on the calipers and master.
I do plan to do the valves as well. She's got 19000 on her so they're definitely do. Hasen't seen many miles since 1997 though. Eventually I hope to strip it to the frame and really get it clean and painted.
I do have the side covers but theyre rough. Idk if I'll fix them up or just hit up eBay.

 

Don't even THINK about pods....heck--don't even say the word pods around the bike. For that matter, maybe pods should be spelled p#$%s. Thinking about it, can the word "p#$%s" be added to the banned words list for this site?

Dave Fox

 

By the way, Jeffy--

Looks like you got yourself a right good project there. You're gonna fall in love with it. Congrats.

Dave F

 

You guys and your pod bashing, haha

 

No pods! Check :lol:
These engines must be very particular about air flow and back pressure I assume? So taking some baffles out of the exhaust is probably out to then?
This is my first Yamaha but I'm learning quick that they're finicky girls :wink:
I've got so much reading to do on here.

 

It's not so much that they're "finicky" (except about their state of tune and fine adjustments) what they are is carefully balanced high-performance machines.

Start upsetting that balance, and you'd better be able to out-engineer Yamaha's 1980-era ability to achieve it. Otherwise all you do is lose overall performance for a possible gain somewhere in the powerband.

 

Congrats on the bike.

 

Well I haven't really torn into it yet. I picked up a battery for it but that's about it so far. I've been fairly busy at work. I have been doing a ton of research on this site though. Looks like I need to find a YICS tool and the valve adjustment tool but otherwise I don't think it should be to much trouble to get her running well.
Where do you guys buy your shims at?

 

Now I know almost every experienced XJer here is going to be surprised by this, but I got mine from the dealer for FAR cheaper than you would expect. It might help that I am in that building fairly regularly for various parts, fluids, accessories, and so on..

At the local dealership I have to take in a shim so they get the right diameter, but they have a box of 29mm shims in the back and sell them for around $5 each. They didn't have one I asked for last time I went in so they GAVE me two extras.. meaning including tax I spent $10 on 4 shims. It also happened that I DID need one of the sizes he gave me and did NOT need the size he didn't have, so what a steal!

If you aren't so lucky at your Yamaha dealer, click the banner at the top of the page for XJ4Ever or pm user Chacal. You can also email him at 'info AT xj4ever.com'

 

I am not sure on the regular n model but on the x model you have to cut the box to get it out. So really think hard before removing it once you start you can't go back. My x came with jetted carbs and pods ran ok. Ran even better with pvc intake with 2 pods instead of 4. I tried to get the air box back in but could not without lowering the motor. Will go back with the pvc till the need arises to tilt the motor. On an air cooled model it might not be to bad but on water cooled there are a lot of hoses and things that get in the way