My 82 XJ550 is now doing this....help please.

Hello all, I took the bike out for a test drive after setting it up like this with the two nuts on the left side. It was set up like this:


So I set up the bottom the way it should be with the two nuts on the left side and i set up the top adjuster on the handlebars so it had little play. As you can see I had to use almost all of the adjustment to tighten it up. I drove around and it was good. I ended moving the bottom ( by the engine ) adjuster further out and out to see if that would improve the slipping between 4000 and 5500 rpm and it did a bit. I ended up at this point and i know its way out of wack but this is how it is the best for slipping:


You can see that the bottom adjuster is way out of wack but it works a bit better and is shifting okay until I hit 4500 to 5500 and then it slips a bit. Not as bad but it is still slipping. So now it is better for around the city driving but not highway driving. Whats next? I am thinking of or a new clutch cable. I ordered a new one for my silver bike and for some reason it was like 3 inches longer than the one that was on the bike. I am thinking and hoping that a new cable that is a little longer then that will give the clutch even more room? I won't order anything or adjust anything else until I hear back from you guys as I am not sure where to go from here. The bottom adjust is way out of wack and yet it still works and maybe even a little bit better so now what? thanks for you help as always

 

Have you checked the thickness of the clutch friction plates to see they are near their wear limit?

 

A longer cable assembly doesn't mean it can work better or worse. It's the actual cable length versus the cable sheath length that can make the difference. Operationally, a 30 in. cable in a 28 in. sheath will work and have the same amount of usable adjustment as a 60 in. cable with a 58 in. sheath.

 

Hey Franz, I just got the clutch friction plates and clutch plates put in new hoping that would fix something up. Huntchuks, that is a good explanation. So the new cable idea wont really do anything?

 

Probably not, unless your cable is horribly stretched and not usable. I believe a stretched cable would result in hard shifting as opposed to slippage. Those are opposite conditions.

 

leave the two nuts as they are, run the upper adjuster in almost all the way, then remove the clutch "arm" and rotate it counter clockwise 2 to 3 teeth to pull any slack in cable to a "taut" (semi tight) position. then fine tune adjustment with upper adjuster. promise this will put you to a correct smoother operation, then as the clutch upper adjuster "over time" gets adjusted further out (more than half way), relocate one lower nut to the left as originall had, this will give you a maintained pull over the life of the plates.

 

Okay did it. It was in that position pretty much before I even started to readjust it again but I did it again. now the cable is taut and the top adjuster is in all the way and I can adjust it out if I need to. I will test drive it again and see how it goes this time. I am betting that it is pretty much the same as I already had the arm adjuster all the way counter clockwise that it would go with a tight cable but we shall see. Thanks

 

The more the lever is angled to the left of slightly more than perpendicular to the cable, the less rotation of the shaft for the same cable pull. Simple trig.

 

Ok Hunt now you are just showing off with your trig....lol. (joke) Okay so back from my test drive with everything set up the way mechanic wanted it to be with the two nuts on the left side. It is still doing it. It happens between 4500 - 6000 rpm's. I could go in the city all day and not hit that rpm if I didn't want to but on the highway doing 60 mph or 100 kmh I am sitting at 5300 to 5500 rpm so I am right in the middle of the problem area. If I try to accelerate at that speed then its an instant slip but it slowly lets me increase speed. Any other suggestions or things to try? Do ou think that new clutch springs and bolts would help? Let me know and thanks

 

at this point I'm inclined to say weak springs, or the clutch pack is missing a disc or two...

there should be 8 clutch disc's, and 8 steel disc's.

 

Sounds good. In the kit I bought there was 8 pressure plates and 7 steel discs. Go them from ebay https://www.ebay.ca/itm/224419398262 Is this not right? Also wheres a good place to get those springs ? thanks

 

I have not been in the clutch in mine in a few years, so I may be off on the counts. Im pretty sure it was 8 friction + 8 steel. if its missing any or even out of order it will do what your having the issues with.

https://www.bikebandit.com/oem-parts/1982-yamaha-maxim-550-xj550j/o/m147107#sch228079


#8 is a spacer/seat -ones with inner teeth are the steel plates, ones with outter teeth are the friction plates.

 

I dont put any engine parts in my engine unless it has a name brand on the part... (veshra/barnette etc..)
I dont see the part manufacturer anywhere on that sellers page.

springs at..... info@xj4ever

 

Thanks Mechanic for your help, I just ordered the springs. If anyone thinks of anything else it might be or something else I can try please let me know.

 

I finally got the springs in from Yamaha and I took the bike over to my mechanic yesterday and dropped it off. I am anxious to see if this is going to be the fix or not. I got the silver bullet back approx 8 days ago and it has run great ever since. Everyday I wake up and go for at least a 60 mile drive and when I get home something needs adjusting or fixing. I do that and the next day and start all over again. Question: How far can you go on a tank of gas on a XJ550? I started by getting 100 miles on a tank with both city and highway combination. Then my mileage went up to 105 miles on a tank. Third day was was 111 miles. Seems like something is working itself free a bit.

 

Every bike will vary, with respect to altitude, ambient temps, carb operating condition, number of and quality of any mods etc...

Any time you have new parts, they will almost always have a heat cyle and a "seating" period. on engine parts like clutches and springs it is especially true...

 

I just got back from picking up the bike with the new clutch springs in it and it works perfect!!! I took it for a 30 mile test drive and all the gears are there and no clutch slippage or anything. Now I will take it out everyday to see if anything else will go wrong. Thanks for all your help people