1982 XJ550 Project

Hey guys,

I have been getting all kinds of useful information off of this site, so I figured it was about time to start posting on it.

I got my first bike, a 1982 xj550 over the summer. I picked it up cheap because the previous owner could not get it to run without the coke on (all I had to do was put the idle screw back in). I rode it all summer and fall without adjusting anything, and it worked pretty well. There were some little issues, but I'll talk about those later.

Right now I have the bike all the way apart, which I'll post some pictures of, and I am going to start putting it back together. I figured that having a thread where I could ask questions and get advice would be better than hijacking other peoples threads... So here goes!

Thanks,

Joe

 

Welcome to the world of the XJ550. Do you have the Seca or the Maxim? Fill in your member info with your location. It also helps to add you basic bike info into your signature so we know what you are working on. It makes it easier for us to help you when you have question. No such thing as a stupid question. The stupid ones are the ones that aren't asked.

As I am sure you have already read, check the brakes for delamination, check your valve clearances because they always seem to have been neglected, and get those carbs squeaky clean before you try to do any tuning. Check the date codes on the tires. Don't take any shortcuts.

 

Nice looking bike.

 

Looks remarkably clean and complete. LOTS of potential there; don't take it too far apart without asking some questions.

You need to worry about brakes (full rebuild) valve clearances (critical) and the cleanliness and adjustment (close tolerances) of the carbs. Plus chain and sprockets (replace as a set) and tires (over 6 years gotta go.)

Get all that right and the 550s are rock-solid reliable screamers.

Just ask a guy who owns one (or two, or three...)

 

I may have gotten a LITTLE crazy taking her apart, but I think it will work out well in the end.

I took everything off the frame, stripped it, got rid of the rust, and primed it.

I am steadily working along getting all the parts prepped for painting(I've got more than a few questions to ask about paint), but have started to delve into the mechanical aspects of the bike.

I checked the valve clearances and 7 of the 8 vales are a tight, so I will need to do some shim work. My bike got hard to start as the summer went on. Could the valves have been a part of this?

I also took my clutch discs out because I thought that they might be bad, but they were is spec. I thought the clutch might have been roasted for two reasons.

1. When the bike was cold it would stall when I would shift into first gear. It would lurch and stall when i shifted, even with the clutch fully disengaged. I would either have to get the bike rolling, rev, and slam into first or get it rolling before i started it, put it in gear, and release the clutch.

Could this be due to shifter/trans issues or is it a clutch caused problem?

2. If i really got into the throttle in 4th or above the motor would rev up but did not accelerate like it should, like the clutch was slipping.

 

-tight valves will contribute to a "hard to start" condition, yes.

Your clutch issues are probably that, clutch issues. Just because the friction plates aren't worn out, it doesn't mean they're still "serviceable." Clutch friction plates are like a collection of tiny brake pads. After they've sat, some submerged in oil and some not, for over 20 years, they tend to not be so "grippy" anymore. The clunking/stalling generally indicates a dragging clutch, usually just an adjustment problem; while the slipping (rising revs without a corresponding surge in acceleration) indicates plates that aren't gripping anymore. If they're in spec thickness-wise, then they need to be replaced due to age.

Be careful whilst in the clutch; there are some model-specific intracacies that you'll need to be aware of. It's covered in great detail here: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=29541.html

 

fitz - what adjustment is nessassary to make it not stall when shifting into 1st, even with the clutch fully disengaged?

mine does the same thing from time to time unless i drop the gear selector harder...

thanks!

and nice bike! alot of those 550's were just beat to death - literally.

 

So I have made some progress and have a bunch of pictures, but got hung up working on the bike so I am not going to put them up yet.

I was rebuilding my front forks (new seals), but I cant get the caps out. I got the clips that hold them down out, but they will not come out. I tried to look at some other threads on here, but it look like they should just pop right out? Are they rusted in place? Any ideas for getting them out? would it be bad to just put the clips back in and not check the springs?

 

Spray some PB Blaster onto the caps. Let it sit a day or two and soak. Since you have the forks out of the bike, when you try again, put a towel over the end of the tube to keep the cap from shooting out and hitting you or the dog. Try to slowly compress the fork by holding the tube and pushing the leg of the fork down on the floor. This worked for me.

 

Get some Kroil. It's how I solved this very problem when nothing else would work (including PB Blaster.) http://www.kanolabs.com/google/

Warning: DO NOT hammer the caps down into the tubes any further than necessary to clear the snap rings. The inner bores are tapered, and you can jam the caps if you're not careful.

 

I put some wd40 on them yesterday, but I just ordered up some Kroil too- it sounds like pretty cool stuff.

I did hammer them some yesterday, not too hard though. Do you think they are stuck forever? Do I need to get that cap out to refill them with oil? If not, I may just put the ring clips back in and let them be since I was not sure if I would replace the springs anyway.


I think they are pretty stuck at this point- I put a board over the top and but all my body weight onto them to compress the spring/pop the cap out, but no luck.

 

Kroil will save you.

Be sure to loosen the upper pinch bolts on the forks too, as the pinching can cause the caps to bind.

On my '81, the caps were rusted in place. I hammered them down just a tad past the ring grooves, popped out the rings and they would NOT come out. I put new clips in and rode the bike that way for almost a whole season; during which time I put PB Blaster, JB-80, CRC "Freeze-Off," Liquid Wrench, SeaFoam's penetrating oil, down them and rode the bike.

They didn't budge.

My Kroil came 3 days after I ordered it.

I applied Kroil, and turned to go back in the house for dinner. I hadn't made it to the door when I heard the first one go "pop." The second one was free when I went back in the garage after dinner.

I've been using up all those other products wiping down wrenches and lubricating bicycles, etc.

It was another member of this forum that recommended Kroil; I'd never heard of it either.

Nothing else worked.

One more thing: ***WD40 WARNING*** WD40 has no place in the garage, other than maybe driving moisture off of parts you wash with soap and water or soak in vinegar. "WD" means "water displacing" it is NOT a good lubricant, and it can be DANGEROUS if used as cable lube. Use Tri-Flow or CRC or another good hi-temp lubricant for lubricating; Kroil is a penetrant. WD40 belongs in the kitchen drawer.

 

Hopefully it will work. If not, I think those springs might be in there for the foreseeable future.

As promised, here is the progress on the bike. The frame, triple, and lower front shocks are done in semi-gloss black. I still need in install the dust and fork seals in the shocks, but I couldn't resist mocking it up.



What i am doing now-

Painting the headers with black VHT paint
Prepping the fenders/tank/exhaust brackets/headlight bucket for pain
Trying to get the fork caps out
Planning a MASSIVE order to Z1 or Chocal
soda blasting the motor and deciding if I should paint it black.

Deciding if it is worth it to clean my carbs-

My bike ran really well once it was started in the fall. I had some issue getting it going toward the end of the season- could that have been the valves? Is it worth it to rebuild the carbs? If I do it i would want to break the rack and really do it right, but I fear that replacing all the seals, screws and components would be really expensive.

I feel like I am in WAY over my head at this point especially because I want to have it done by the end of March. I hope I get it done in time to ride this spring!

 

Also, that man in the bath robe it my roommate who is doing his own project bike right now. Here is a link to his if you have any interest!

http://forums.kz650.info/index.php?topic=6951.0

 

Hey guys.

So here is the recent progress...

I have the carbs all apart and soaking, so they will be clean and ready to put back together as soon as I get the rebuild kits. Just about every screw on them was hard to get out, and I ended up having to use vice grips on most, and screw extractors on ones where I could not get at the heads. I guess thirty years is long enough for something to get pretty stuck.

The only real snag I hit was with one of the bowl drain screws (3 had to be drilled and removed with an extractor). First the head broke off while using the same extractor that easily removed the other two.... so I used an smaller drill and extractor to try and get it out. Apparently the screw was really stuck, and the screw extractor broke off inside the screw. The bight side- I found a used bowl for sale on Ebay for 14 dollars.




Since the carbs were more than a little stressful, I decided to start on the part of the project I am least familiar with but most excited about. Paint. I stripped the tank and found good as well as bad. Overall it is pretty clean, but has some damage(not a surprise since the side cover, headlight, and gauges are scraped up on the same side). I have some Rage Extreme filler that I am going to play with tonight, so hopefully I can make it look good again. I might also try and repair the gauges I have so I can save a little $$. Any tips?

 

Following and also your roommate's bike too

 

Joe - what final look are you working towards? Just getting it back on the road with a standard look or something more custom?

 

Awesome Madaba! It is nice to have a partner to work with, there is always an extra set of hands.

I am not sure zap. I am not going for totally original. I am thinking of changing the seat, but might wait until the bike is usable first so I don't have it off the road all spring. I was going to change the stance and fame some (not full bobber), but after I got it apart I realized it was in better shape than I though and don't really want to start chopping it. The mods I am still thinking of are molding a tail light into the rear fender, building a custom exhaust, and changing the bars. The only problem is that the more I look at xjs, the more I like them and less I want to change.

I guess the plan I have right now is to get it up to par mechanically(I might do a 40 day road trip on if this spring since I am moving out west).


As for paint, I am planning on the headlight, tank, side covers, fenders, and exhaust/rear peg brackets to be painted the same color. I have NO CLUE what color though, and it is getting pretty close to painting time. I like the idea of a dark blur with small flake, dark purple, gold, or metallic turquoise. The problem is I keep finding more colors I like, not narrowing it down.

 

If you havent gotten the caps out of your forks yet I have a solution.

This worked great for me, on the bottom of the tubes on my 650 are little bolts, Im sure its the same on your bike as well. Remove those, take one with you to your local hardware store and buy yourself a metal dowel smaller then the bolt (so it fits inside tht hole). put your long dowl into the bottom of your fork and give it a nice lil tap. Mine popped right out! I
had to clean em up with some sand paper because of the rust but this worked like a charm. Hope this helps...

 

Hey Kerst,

Thank you so much for the idea! I tried Kroil, but with no luck. I was a little nervous to put them back together because I was afraid that if the cap ever did get loose the spring might blow it right out the top of the tube, even with the retaining ring installed (there is a 1.5mm gap between the top of the cap and the ring groove right now)...

I hope this works! Thank you very much!