new XJ650 Seca owner

Hi everyone. My name is Christina, and I am brand spankin' new to the site :lol: . I just purchased a 1982 xj650 Seca about 6 months ago, and there is a lot of work to be done with this bike. I am on the fence about turning it into a Cafe racer, so I just want to fix the major issues that have been addressed when I took it to a mechanic. I'm not gonna one of those people who writes a list, and assumes that someone out there wants to help. I guess I am asking if someone would like to take a crack at helping me fix or narrow down some of the things wrong with my bike. This is my first motorcycle, and I couldn't have chosen a better bike. I love this little beast, and I do not want to give up on fixing it. Any help would be much appreciated!

 

welcome to the forum and congratulations on getting a Yamaha xj. any questions you may have, no matter how trivial, there are many members here who are willing to help in any way they can. fire away.

CN

 

Congratulations! You're in the right place..lots of patient, knowledgeable people on this site.

Here's a list for you to start with :lol:
1. Do a compression test
2. Get a manual and complete all of the routine maintenance listed.
a. Check/adjust valves
Things you should do before you ride:
Check date codes on tires, anything older than 8 years replace, complete rebuild of brake system...MC rebuild, new hoses, rebuild caliper, new pads, new rear shoes, New bearings, clean/rebuild/sync carbs.
That should get you close to running and safe condition...THEN make your decision on whether to cafe or not. Once you have a safe well adjusted motorcycle, making it look the way you want will be sooooo much easier!
Start by tackling these things and pretty much any member will be happy to help you through it.
Welcome and Good Luck!

 

I have had the brake system both front and back rebuilt/replaced, carbs synched, valved got checked out, and did a compression test, and the tires are both being replaced in the next month. It only has 30k miles on the engine, and the wiring looks good. There are some rusted parts, but the frame itself looks to be in good condition. My main issues are:

1) Starter/starter botton not working at times
2) Front fork seals need replacing
3) Front brake caliper (rebuilt) is screeching like a banshee when coming to a stop
4) Strong smell of gas when starting it, or revving at a light
5) Rarely but at times backfires in carbs

If anyone can give me resources for parts, or give some insight as to why these things are happening, it will definitely help me fix these issues MYSELF. I'm sick of getting ripped off by the local mechanic. I spent a total of $900.00 only for these problems to re-occure. I want to make sure they are being repaired correctly, and with care. Only I am going to put love, and time into my little beast.

 

Christina,

Welcome to the club. As you will come to know this is a "hands on" forum. Lots of knowledge here. We encourage asking whatever questions necessary to keep you alive. IMO you should stop riding your bike. There are a lot of things YOU need to check out before something really bad happens. The reason these things keep happening is that you have a 30yr old bike that has not been properly serviced in a very long time. Len, a.k.a. Chacal and xj4ever is our resident parts guru. In the process of asking questions and completing the list of things Pat has given compile a list of parts and click the icon in the upper right corner or send Len a private message or e-mail to place your order. You can also post a WTB (want to buy) thread here to purchase from other members and look on e-bay. Again...IMO stop riding your bike. That strong smell of fuel is possibly fuel in the oil due to the carbs not being properly cleaned and being circulated through the engine. Hope this helps.

Gary

 

Thank you rocs, I do not ride it much at all. I have had it serviced, and on the way back from the shop, I noticed the screech. I noticed the rest from a combination of shop diagnostics, and starting it up and riding it around the block every once in a while to ensure that fuel doesn't get into the oil. I am going to go through this list again to make sure that it is done correctly. Thank you for all of the tips, and encouragement!

 

bgh,

We are all here to help. Riding your bike around the block is not going to stop the fuel from getting in your crankcase. You stop the fuel flow by cleaning the carbs. There is a valve in each carb lower bowl that will shut off the flow of fuel into the bowl when it is not stuck open. Not trying to be a arse, honest. Hope this helps.

Gary

 

Welcome lots of great people here!!!!

To ensure fuel doesn't get into the oil...

Well sounds like the carbs may need a little more help.

That's why the wizards are here.

If the floats are stuck open then gas will go into the crank case. Take a whiff. If your oil smells like gas then DONT RIDE IT. Others will explain better then I can.

 

1. Starter button: try dismantling the control on the handlebar. Remove the screws, and be careful you don't lose anything. Take a wire brush to all of the components and make sure the contacts are clean. Next, rebuild the starter motor. Make sure all of the old sludge is out of the various gears, and keep track of the order of all of the pieces. If the brushes are too short, take not of that, you may need a rebuild kit. Use new silicone grease on EVERYTHING when you re-assemble the starter.

2.The fork seals are fairly involved. You need to drop them out of the triple trees, pump out the old oil, and get some new ones evenly seated in there. Search the site, there is a good tutorial on here for maxim forks, which are basically the same.

3. The brakes may squeal as part of normal operation. Make sure everything is installed in the proper order by going on a OEM pats website and examining an exploded view of the front brake assembly. Also, you could remove them and add some brake quiet grease from o'reilly or similar store. look up online where it goes.

4. The smell of gas could be a few things. Leaky fuel lines. Do you see any drips under the carb or petcock? Leaky gas cap, sniff around it, you shouldn't smell too much gas, and if you do, you should probably rebuild it. There is a good tutorial for both a gas cap or a petcock rebuild floating around this site.

5. Backfiring into carbs: http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=44642.html

Sounds lean. Get a colortune, or find someone who has one, and make sure they are running on the slightly rich end of the spectrum.

1. Valves in spec
2. Spark plugs gapped to spec
3. Vacuum sync
4. Colortune

I'd do the first two, ask the previous mechanic to redo his work, and order yourself up a colortune.

Good luck!

 

Also, a really good page:

http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=34781.html

 

I'm here to learn. If you hadn't told me that, I would have never known. Thank you for all of your input. I DO NOT think you're an arse! :lol:

 

Welcome to the forum, I don't know if you have also the brake lines replaced. If your bike has the original ones they will fail. Look for dates on the bake lines and make sure they have been replaced.

The most common reasons for backfiring are:

a) valves are not in spec (check every 5,000 miles)
b) carbs are not working properly

Best wishes with your seca, I am hoping to get mine on the road before I turn 70

 

Brake lines were not replaced, so back to the drawing board with that. I know nothing about carbs, valves, and how to adjust/synch them. I did learn that if there is back fire coming from the carbs, they should be looked at along with the valves. If anyone knows of a good way to learn about how to do this, I would love to be filled in. Do I rent a machine for this?? Like I said.... I know jack shit about what I'm doing. I just purchased my manual for the bike. This is going to be a crazy learning experience!!

 

I am a visual learner so this is how I learned about checking the valves:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3gxT57eoDE

You will need feeler gauges (make sure they are metric)

http://amzn.com/B000BYEQ3C

Once you measured clearances here is the chart to figure out what you need to be in spec.

http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq93 ... mChart.jpg

Once you know what you need, PM Hogfiddles he runs a shim pool so all you have to pay is for shipping and a deposit to swap shims.

About carbs check out the church of clean thread. Keep asking questions, that is how I got here about a year ago and at least i know which direction to point at now

 

You just stay here awhile, and you'll learn. It's not difficult. The difficult part is convincing yourself that you CAN do it.

I was afraid to go into my first set of carbs.........now--I can go through them with out any hesitation and KNOW every single piece. You'll be there eventually, too. Just DON'T be afraid to tear into it. If you get into trouble, we'll get it straightened out for you. You have found the greatest XJ brain-trust known to human-kind.

Learn to trust us--if we tell you that you can do it, you CAN. if we tell you that you CAN'T.....trust us--you probably can't.

Whatever the case, you CAN do it YOURSELF.....you CAN'T trust your Mechanic. LOL

We know these bikes......THEY don't anymore.

 

Welcome to your new favorite website. This is place to be if you want to learn the ins and outs of your bike. Don't get discouraged, a lot of us had little to no motorcycle experience prior to joining. The main thing is to have a willingness to learn and it seems like you've got that covered.
Since nobody else put the link to bigfitz's valve clearance adjustment thread...here it is.
http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=14827.html
You can also search the forum for old threads covering certain things you have questions about, although the "search" function on this site doesn't always give the best results. I usually just use Google and add site:xjbikes.com to the topic I'm searching to find what I'm looking for. Read up and before long you'll be amazed at what you've learned and accomplished.

 

Thank you so much Egologito!! This is a HUGE help in taking the first steps! All of your help is MUCh appreciated! :wink:

 

it also helps if you put your bike in your sig line. that way when you ask a question everyone will know what you are working on and can give better answers to your questions.

CN

 

In this case, though, it's in the subject heading...........we all know what she's got.

dave

 

Oops.....I mean, we all know what bike she's got.

dave