Help starting my 82 550 Maxim

This is my first post, so please be kind. Also, I'm a newbie, so speak slowly.

I got my 1982 XJ550 Maxim last fall on a trade. At the time, the bike was running, although the battery was very weak and the weather was turning cold, so the only ride to get it to my house was the last time she was running.

This spring I have changed the spark plugs, and air filter, put in a new fuse block (thanks for the help, guys), did all the basic break and clutch freeplay adjustments, and drained the gas tank and filled it with fresh gas. The previous owner put Stabil in the tank before giving it to me.

After all this, the bike won't start. I checked for spark, and it's there. The battery is very strong, as I have it on the Battery tender when I'm not trying to start it. I have not cleaned the carbs, but I didn't think this would be an issue since it was running in the fall (and I'm afraid to think about cleaning the carbs). Any suggestions of what should be my next step in getting it running or diagnosing the problem? Weather out here is getting nice, and I'm itching to ride again. Thanks for your input.

 

Howdy to you DomRoc! Did you ensure that the fuel is getting into the carbs? It is possible that you need to pull the carbs and clean them out. Even using Stabil (which is an excellent product, no argument from me), some folks forget to read the lable and run the engine long enough to get the stabilizer into the carbs and jets. Thus, untreated gas is left there to gum up the works. Pull your carbs and get to cleaning.

 

Thanks Robert. Actually, I let the new gas sit for the night with the petcock on PRI (by accident) and it started up the next day. It ran really rough and after a few stalls, I was unable to get it started again. At least it gave me time to change the oil and filter. The next day I started it again, and it was really rough again. Wouldn't run without the choke all the way. Also, any time I twisted the throttle, the bike would stall. I'm guessing there's no getting around it - I'm going to have to clean the carbs, unless you can tell me another cause of this.

Before I do clean up the carbs, do I need the carb rebuild parts or should cleaning be sufficient? Also, I'm guessing the info on this forum and the info on the XJ CD should be enough of a cleaning guide.

 

I've got my carbs partially disassembled and have run into a problem. I've removed two of my float hinge pins, but the other two will not budge. I've put a little dab of Liquid Wrench on the ends and tried the last few days, but no luck. They seem totally stuck. Could the previous owner have done something? I see in the cleaning instructions that I should not damage the pillars, so I don't want to force it too much. Any suggestions? I don't want to do a half-assed job, but this is getting really frustrating.

 

Make a tool to help you.
Cut a big nail in half and grind down the end to be a special pin punch.

Support the Hinge Pillars so you don't fracture or break one off.
Drive the Hinge Pin out until you can take hold of it with pilers or grips.

Adding some heat, even the flame of a "Clicker-style BBQ Starter" will help loosen it up to get it out.

 

I finally finished cleaning my carbs, sealed the boots with the bicycle tire tube trick, and put them back on. It's now firing on all 4 cylinders and sounds pretty good. Only a few points of concern.

I started it up today with the choke all the way on and after a minute or two of running, the RPMs jumped up to 3-4K without me touching it. I had to kill it. I thought it might be caused by having the choke on once it was warmed up. Any other thoughts?

Also, after running it a while later in the day at idle, when I twisted the throttle it would stall out. It repeated this after I started it a few times, so I called it a day. Any idea of the cause?

Thanks guys.

 

I'd love to see photos of the inner tube sleeves. As for the stalling, what color are the plugs when this happens?

 

You have to do some tweaking.
Carbs very rarely go from the Cleaning pan and onto the bike and be ready to go.

The additional rpm's as the engine warms-up is -- Normal.
Give the Idle Rod a few turns and get some air sneaking-in there. That might keep it going.

You might be close. I hope you are.
Try to keep it running by adjusting the Idle Adjustment Rod.

Submit your findings and we'll go from there!