82 xj750rj motor revs and goes by itself

My 82 XJ750RJ is reving on its own. In every gear and neutral the motor goes on it's on. In neutral the motor goes to 5000rpm and won't drop unless you let the clutch out part way and that can't be good for the clutch. What needs adjusted?
Also I can't start my bike in the morning. When my bike is cold I can't start it. It's 70 degrees overnight and it doesn't ever want to start in the morning!

 

History please...
How long have you owned the bike?
Did it ever run proper for you?
What was the last maintenance item performed on it?

 

I have owned the bike for a few weeks. It was restored 6 years ago. I replaced the spark plugs last Thursday. Air filter and oil change in April. Previous owner cleaned and synced carbs in April. There has to be a problem with the sync or with the vacuum. I have no clue how to figure it out. I have the Haynes book and I'm technically advanced but need some guidance on this bike and problem.

 

Over the last week it has been getting worse. You don't have to give it any gas just shift gears to go past second gear. I'm going to end up getting wheelie practice soon I'm afraid.

 

First off you need to stop riding it. Riding something without any throttle control is a good way to end up injured or worse....

Easy things, check the throttle cable for binding. Pull the tank off and make sure the cable is opening and closing the throttle all the way. Unhook the cable and see if it will idle. Next you need to check for vacuum leaks.

Have you read the XJ Information Overload area? That's a good start. We're here to help too.

 

I will check out the info overload section. How do you check for vacuum leaks?

 

I did stop ridding it. I want to fix it though! It's beautiful outside!

 

Yes, but eagerness can get you hurt really bad... like in killed. We do NOT want that. Take a breath and slow your roll - safety is the priority, then we move into reliability of the bike. Read the Information Overload and know that you may be taking those carbs off and going to Church because the PO did not change the throttle shaft seals.

http://xjbikes.com/forums/threads/the-information-overload-hour.27544/

 

Sounds like you need to take your carbs off, make sure the throttle isn't binding up but if not sounds like a massive vacuum leak somewhere

 

So what I found is that somebody messed with the throttle and clutch adjustments on the cable ends, maybe not even knowing that they were moving something important. I got the throttle to back itself down by itself. The only problem is when the bike warms up and you go to stop the bike will jump to 3500rpm while waiting to go again. Starts and idles just fine once I dropped the throttle back down to where it's supposed to be. Do I have a problem where I'm leaning out once warm?

 

Could be the idle was set when the bike was cold...or you still have a vacuum leak. Throttle shaft seals (likely) intake boots, etc are all potential culprits

 

It had to have been set on cold. I adjusted it today and she is riding like a raped ape!! I love all of the input. Thank you.

 

Double check the plug color. You might still have vacuum leaks. Better safe than sorry.
If you hear any hint of popping on deceleration, then you do have vacuum leak.