Got her up and running. Kind of.

So I got ol' June running today. It seems like she's idling a little high and after riding for a bit she just doesn't want to stop revving even when my hand is off the throttle. Issues?

 

here's a short clip. I know the oil level light is on. I put about 32 oz in the tank when I changed it. Is that not enough? I'm using a full blend synthetic.

 

How do the plugs look? Hanging high often means too lean.

 

if i remember correctly you have a 550 thats a 2.6 quart oil change with filter 2.3 qt with out filter change and the amount you are short will turn on the low oil light.
if you do not have a factory service manual start a conversation with me I will send you one.

when setting idle you want to run for 20 min then adjust idle you may have to do this every ride until it is correct , if motor is not at operating temp the idle will always go up when warm.

are your enrichment circuits completly closed? push down on the rod to check

as well as the idle knob between the carbs which is where you adjust idle ,your throttle cable adjustment (free play) may be a factor in your high idle as well as the cable routing you have lubed the cable?
you can buy a nice little tool for this I got mine at the dealership it included a can of cable lube $16.00 it is a must have tool

 

i see you have a 4 into 1 air filter did you rejet the carbs ?

make sure none of the wires are wraped up in the throttle cable.
should be idle at about 1000 to 1100 rpm

wd-40 is not a good cable lube

 

hmmm. watching this with interest , as mines doing exactly the same, after a lengthy rebuild. found it idles great when warm and off the choke, but after a ride ,stop at lights and its racing at 3000, if I partially stall it , the revs slow down?
got to do a plug chop next tine out.
stu
p.s. sorry --its not a thread hijack.

 

a propane test is in order see if you have leaks at the manifold boots, vacuum caps throttle seals, air filter to carbs, idle mixture screws
petcock problems? fuel leaking in through the vac line? disconnect plug line cap off nipple run on prime

 

I got the idle down to 1100 when just sitting still. Now I have a different problem. It seems oil is leaking from the bottom of my filter case. Is it just not tight enough? Is there a gasket there that I need to replace?

 

I had problems with the gasket myself. FRAM includes the gasket, but it's too small to fill the channel and seal. The hardware store had the correct size.

Under no circumstances should you tighten that bolt with anything other than a torque wrench. And I'll add on the sage advice of the knowledgeable members: spin on adapter kit from chacal.

 

Fwiw, I did have one xj700 that would idle high IF:

It was in the upper 80's or higher
And
The bike was well warmed up

There was a solution, but never a cure, not any identifiable cause.

Carbs were spotless, and dead-on. Clearances all in spec. No leaks, no binding cables, etc....

The solution- stay in gear til rpms were under 1500 before pulling clutch lever. If I pulled it above 15k, rpms would consistently climb way up. BUT, if I drew it down to under 15k, before pulling the clutch lever, the idle would ALWAYS drop to just about 1050 and stay right there, smooth as silk. Temp didnt matter.plugs were always a nice tan

 

there is an oring that goes in the filter cover channel
you could try a little black rtv oil resistant type gasket sealer around the outer rim thin bead 11ft lbs is the torque spec.

 

That is very curious.

 

I wonder if it could be the tci unit on Hogfiddles bike. tci controls spark and advances and retards timing. it the timing part thought it was (hung) at an rpm level or locked at that level of timing and would not change and the spark timing would dictate a higher speed and draw gasoline through the CV carbs
pilot jets would be enough to feed 2k to 3k with slides lifting due to the vacuum forcing gas past partly closed butterfly

heat does affect ic's and transistor

 

Nope, it wasnt

 

On normal idle, if I'd blip throttle enough to get over 1500rpm or so, the idle would then climb higher... If I let the clutch out enough to start engaging just enough to cause drag to pull rpms down, as soon as it got back below 1500 I could pull the lever back in and idle would settle right back to 1050. Rode it a few years, sold it... He rode it a few years, I've lost track of it.

 

Alright new problems everyday. I left the bike sitting today and my entire tank of gas leaked out through the filter pods. Like 1.5 gallons. The carbs were just cleaned and rebuilt. What could be wrong?

 

One or more float needles are not sealing. That could be because of some crud from the bottom of the fuel tank dropping down into the carbs, or it could be a stuck float. Did you replace the float needles and seats?

 

I have an inline fuel filter. Yes, new needles and seats.

 

Then you have a stuck float. Rap on the float bowls with the handle of a screwdriver. That will usually unstick them.

 

and take your petcock of off prime, check your oil lever see if your crank case filled up with gas

 

If the petcock was not on PRI, then a rebuild of THAT is in order, too.

Can pretty well guarantee that the oil level will be waaaay up if you lost 1.5 gal of gas......

Drain it