1985 xj750 hard to start

Hi! I have a 1985 xj750 that is hard to start with electric start but when boosted or popping the clutch it starts fine, bought a new battery and it was fine for a while. it seems to be turning over fast enough. is there something i should look for? any help appreciated, thanks in advance

 

I have the same problem. These bikes are REALLY hard to start. The carbs are as clean as they can get. If you read about the carbs if you have Hatachi's they have a jet in the fuel bowl which is clean. I must have used 5 cans of carb cleaner on the carbs. I have spark fuel compression but no start. The compression from left to right is 150 145 145 145. But still the bike won't start. These particluar bikes defy the laws of physics. You have all the required elements but the bike refuses to start. These bikes are the biggest pieces of junk I have ever seen. All the motorcycles I have ever had I NEVER touched the valves nor adjusted them. One person actually said the motors on these bikes are high performance and trashed Chevy. These engines are junk.

 

Altlandif I'm not sure what your issue is other than you wouldn't know a wrench from a screwdriver if the names were printed on them! Weren't you the one that asked if you could put a holly carb on the bike from a car??? I bought my bike after it set for 8 years put a new battery in it and hooked up a gas line from an iv bottle hit the starter button and it fired instantly! I have since did all the maintenance suggested on this site and it fires right up every time even in 20 degree weather. Wince it could be your starter is taking more juice than it should. You might need to inspect/replace your brushes.

 

Ignore altlandf he doesn't seem to grasp that we've all heard his rant enough times to memorize it. That, and we all know from experience that he's wrong.

This is a good place to start (after first ensuring that your battery is not only good, but that it's fully charged.) It only takes a slightly flat battery for there to be nothing left to fire the ignition; especially if the starter (or solenoid) are "drawing" excessively.

It's also possible the bike isn't fully recharging the battery. Take the battery to an auto parts store and have it load tested. If you need to charge it (off the bike) don't charge at more than 1A/hr. Most automotive chargers are way too "hot" for our bike batteries.

You might be due for alternator brush service. How many miles on the bike?

 

Oh, and a properly serviced and tuned XJ isn't hard to start at all.

 

+1 :lol:

 

When I got my XJ it had no airbox, mis-matched main jets, dirty carbs, zero valve gaps, filthy oil, old plugs and 48000 miles on the clock. Starting it wasn't a problem (in fact I rode it home from the PO who lives in London UK)

Getting it to run 100% as Mr Yamaha intended is a different thing but I'm almost there now

Long story short, these 30 year old engines would not be running if they were junk, the fact that atlandf has never touched the valves on any of his bikes says all you need to know about the guy, personally I suspect that he lives under a bridge

The knowledge you need, to end up with a superb motorcycle, can be found on this site and in the manual, all you have to add is a quantity of effort, some cash and a willingness to learn, I'm thoroughly enjoying the process (apart from the cash part, obviously :wink: )

 

I am beginning to think that you have never even owned a bike or an xj for that matter.

CN