82 XJ650 Facebook Find

So,
I already brought back to life an 83 XJ650 last year and bike is still doing well.
For this one, I got a more than fair price on a non running bike with lots of extras he threw in. He was expecting his first born and wife actually delivered between making deal and picking up bike.

Seat was replaced, Turn signals, Tail light, removed rear fender and passenger pegs.
Its missing tank emblem but I actually have a spare one I got with my XS650 I think may fit.
I got the original seat, that Seat is in excellent shape but I think it had the cover replaced.
I can use this on my '83 which has 2 small tears in it. As you can see, the tank and side panels were repainted at some point.
Its missing hardware to put the original seat back on but seller will let me know if he finds more parts.
When I evaluated it, I checked for spark, minimal compression, magnetism on the alternator and some other things.
He also included an armor vest, armored riding jacket, 2 full face helmets and a Spare set of carbs!

Bike was not running and tried starter fluid and it popped and ran for a second but no more. I have video of it idling from the summer but he admitted he rebuilt the carbs and switched out all the brass with what he got on the ebay kit (ouch).

I have a spare carb set already rebuilt and wet set floats ready to pop into it now. Hope to get it idling this weekend.
I have a plan to get this running and a friend wants to ride again and I'm going to surprise him if he wants this.

There are a number of things to tackle before getting it titled and road worthy.
Swap carbs
Check valve clearances
Fuse box replacement
Fix wiring to tail light
Tires (tread is great but has some dry rot where it likely went flat for a period of time).
Brakes (fluid looked clean but I may pull apart caliper)
Swap Master cylinder w/ a flat one I have, it has the Maxim one and its tilted so much that the sideview mirrors are hopeless.
and more

I'll start out just getting it running and to the point I can take a test ride before I sink more $ into. If something is really wrong, it can become a parts bike to get my $ back out of it.

 

Another victim of senseless sawzall crime!!

 

Yup, they welded the back end.
Busy day today so not much time on the bike.
I already have a spare set of carbs but the enrichment hole in the bowl is clogged and tried like heck to clear, so opened up the spare set of carbs that came with the bike.
Seller said he pulled from a bike at the junk yard.
It was pretty darn clean on the inside but the carb had gone thru a hack rebuild and jets are not stock at all.
Fuse box and the rear lights are buggered right now, but I knew about that when buying the bike.
Y403S is on the needle
Main fuel Jet 122
Pilot fuel Jet 43
Main Air Jet 80
Pilot Air Jet 225

No immediate plans to right the wrongs of this carb since I have one already built up to go into it.

 

I had a really ugly set of carbs with that same passage blocked on all four bowls. I alternated 1 hour in Berryman's with 15 minutes ultrasonic. I think it took 8 cycles to clean them out.

 

It Runs!
It was a bear to start cause #1 and #4 were not running.
I could tell because the pipes were not hot.
Pulled #1 plug and it was wet (fuel but no spark)
Pulled #4 plug and it was dry (no fuel which I can explain)
Well, I never got fuel enrichment jet in the bowl of #4 clear, pulled a bowl from spare carb and cleared the jet but then the bowl drain screw was alll buggered up, so just left the bad bowl in there and wanted to start it anyway knowing it "SHOULD" start on 3.
So, replaced #1 plug with a known good used plug and it started up and would run high idle on choke.
I got it to idle somewhat. It was cold in the garage and I never let it warm up enough that it would not throttle up.
Called it a night at that as I had to leave for a Beer League Ice Hockey game.
Came home late and I had pulled the original carb to find the following in there:
Silver Needle Y10 (it was very clean so must have been a replacement from when he rebuilt carb)
Main fuel Jet 110
Pilot fuel Jet 42
Main air jet 50
Pilot air jet 205

Noticed some smoke from the exhaust system either at the cross over or head pipes but not sure if that was spilled oil or exhaust leak.

If that needle is really a Y10 spec needle, then it should be usable. The jets are usable enough if also what they are marked as.
I did not inspect the rest of the original carb to see why bike would not start. I know at least one reason was plug #1.
I have more plugs coming in next week so I can run all new plugs. The plug I pulled had several hundred K resistance from center to ground which SHOULD be infinite. Likely carbon build up inside.

I'll work on this some more Sunday.

 

So, much better today. Pulled the #4 bowl cover from the Carb set that came from the bike. Cleaned it and put into my rebuilt carb set.
Started right up, all the pipes warmed up while enrichment were on.
Set the idle and now the next issue.
With Enrichment turned up, the RPMS will climb up to about 3-4K
But with Enrichment off and an idle of about 1200, when I throttle up, it bogs and dies. Not even going slowly on the throttle will it climb.
SO, First thing I thought was Diaphragms. This carb set, I put in JBM Industries diaphragms
http://jbmindustries.com/HITACHI.html
I felt that these were a bit stiff.
I have a borescope w/ a screen that records. I put it in my 83 xJ650 sticking it in from the airbox to the input of #2 carb to observe how the Slide would move up upon accelerating.
It bumps up then settles downward when you throttle up.
So put the scope into the 82 project bike and the amount it bumped up was very minimal.
So, first thing I wanted to do was make sure idle mixture was on the rich side. I color tuned the idle mixture and ended up a turn (or two) richer to get on the rich end of the blue color band.
That helped some but not the issue.
So, pulled the slide out of the rebuilt carb and compared the needle to the carb set that came with the bike. Y10 needle and using calipers verified the profile matched pretty well to each other.
Next I exchanged all the slides in the rebuilt carb with stock slide/diaphragms from the carb set that came with the bike.
Bingo. Bike will throttle up fine now.
My conclusion is the stiffness of the diaphragms were the issue and wonder if anyone else had this issue and maybe had to re jet the main jet or bump the needle up?
I'll have to do some research to see what issues people have had. Since I have still not test ridden the bike, I still may have an issue with something in the carb

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/rvBWdNytYCI

 

Carb synced with YICS tool
Now to tackle some electrical.
Need to fix the brake light now. Its a mess.
Also looked at voltage to brake light. No 12V when front or rear pressed.
Tested brake switch and it failed.
Pulled the top boot off (cut off) and then pulled the switch apart to clean, then wrapped it up, installed and adjusted and its working now.
Ordered a new replacement though anyway.
Will have to see what is up with front switch.

 

Pics from the hacked electrical.
Next is the Blade fuse holder.
Front brake switch pulled apart, cleaned and fixed.
Many people don't know that these can be disassembled if you want to spend the effort.
New ones will be ordered though and eventually replaced.

 

Cleaned up the wiring connections at the tail. Rolled up sand paper in the female bullet connectors then spray out with contact cleaner and blow out with compressed air. contact cleaner, wipe, sandpaper, wipe on the Males.
I had a spare XS650 fuse box but could not find the cover. Spliced that in and cleaned things up. If the bike runs well, I'll look to put a blade fuse holder in. As of now, I'm minimizing any part purchases till I get this on a road test.

I pulled petcock from the tank which is pretty rust free on the inside.
Petcock Tall pipe fell off in the tank. I replace with a manual petcock. Seal All sealant applied to the pipe/filters to keep it form falling off.
Bike had no tank emblems but I have 2 spares from another project.
They repaired a dent in the tank and the mounting screw on the back left is slanted so I'll have to dremel the mounting hole some in the plastic to make it mount and also get a longer 4mm screw for it.
I have the right one mounted.


I had noticed when I evaluated the bike that the front fender was bent up and the headlight mounting was bent. I did not realize till this weekend how bad it was.
The headlight is bent at the mounting bars behind it and I'll be curious to know if what ever damaged the bike will affect how it rides and tracks. This MAY be more work than I signed on for if the front end is damaged more than I thought.
does not make sense to spend effort on headlight until I road test.

Really, the next step is to road test this to see if I should pour more $ into it. Snow arrived last 2 days so it may be a while. For now, I"ll just finish the tank emblem and mount the tank and wait for weather to clear.

 

Took my tank and put the spare Yamaha emblems. I had to use VHB tape instead of one of the screws cause of the way the tank was repaired, the screw holes did not line up.

 

So, I have the bike idling good and also throttling up well (in neutral on the stand).
I have not taken a test ride yet and it may be a week or more before the weather and road conditions are suitable.
I did another take at the color tune today.
Its 35F in the garage w/ the doors open and I let the bike warm up really good before color tuning. Something I did not do as well last time.
I can REALLY tell its not warmed up cause it will bog down when throttling up.
This carb set has the fine thread mixture screws in it and using the colortune 1/2 turn lean from seeing Yellow (rich) in the colortune plug, This is what I have.
1: 4 1/8
2 4
3 5
4 5

All except one of them when I throttle up (1/8 to 1/4 throttle) , I still get a nice blue in the colortune plug. I need to go back and look at that one cylinder.
Its really cold here in the garage so I'm thinking when its warmer, I'll need to turn those in some. I"m running the stock 40 pilot jet.

 

tank on the bike. Fitted a filter on the outside. After a test ride I'll secure it better.
Snow on the ground but pulled it into the parking lot and tested the clutch engagement.
Also, the starter solenoid was not engaging all the time. I was ready to put in a spare used solenoid but the connections were pretty dirty at the solenoid on the white connector so I just cleaned up both sides and it seems to be much better so will leave it for now.
Since my '83 has saddlebags now, I moved the tool bag to this bike.

 

So, I had taken out 1/2 quart of oil from the bike as the PO had overfilled the oil. Site window is now at 75% cold.
I have yet to change the oil but will be doing that after I take the first test ride. After the first test ride if all is good, I plan to drain the oil and put new tires on.

Question, what are the effects of overfilling the oil on the XJ650?

 

You get access oil blowing through the vent tube back into the airbox

 

OK, that is what I thought, did not know if there was anything else like clutch slippage.

Took for a test ride in the neighborhood at lunch time. 40F out and bike was running noticeably lean as I throttled up.
Idle is at the rich side of blue on the colortune.

When I throttled up, it was hesitating and if I moved the choke/enrichment lever, it started to run better and not bogging.
Not really enough of a test ride to see what needs adjusting.
It should bump up into the 60's here on friday, I think I'll leave it be and try again friday afternoon.
Then I'll order new tires for it next week.

 

It warmed up a few degrees by the end of the work day and I pulled out last year's project the '83 XJ650 which ran just GREAT. Not much of a warm up and no hesitation or hiccups. That bike also is running stock Jetting/Needle.

So, on this '82 XJ650, again, Using the colortune, I'm 1/2 turn in from the border of Rich(yellow) and good (Blue). From what I read on CV carbs this is a Pilot Jet/Needle issue?

So, where do I go from here?
Shim needle? (this is easy as I don't have to take carbs off bike to do this).
Larger Pilot Jet? (I have some 42 and 43 from other spare carbs I can put in).
I don't know what main jets I may have to try but correct me if I'm wrong, that is not the issue?

 

When you say "a 1/2-turn in from the border of yellow and blue"......does that mean you turned the mixture screw IN (clockwise) from that "borderline point" in flame color? If so, you leaned the mixture out. And really, what you want is to be just a hair "inside" fully yellow (rich) rather than just inside the "blue" flame color.......that's the safest position for the idle fuel mixture. You'll get more power by running a little bit leaner, but just slightly rich prevents cylinder overheating/detonation under high-heat conditions.

 

yes, I leaned it in 1/2 turn from the border of Yellow/blue. That is what I thought i did the last time as I was adjusting it during the cold a year ago on the '83 bike
I'll try this again It should start out blue and I"ll start backing it out slowly and once it turns yellow I'll stop there. That sound right?

 

Yes!

And P.S.: a full half-turn is a LOT of leaning. What you want is to get it on the borderline of the blue-to-yellow transition point, and then maybe another dime's-width of rotation.....perhaps 5-10* of rotation......so just barely fully yellow, maybe even still with occasional flashes of the great big blue......

 

So, warmed it up, then ran the Gunson colortune.
did as we discussed and here is a video of each of the cylinders (1 first, 4 last) and where they ended up.
Just inside the beginning of Yellow so its mostly yellow with a few flashes of blue intermittantly.
throttling up sounds noticeably better.
Hooked up the Sync gauges but too hot to insert the YICS tool so will wait till the morning before I work at the home office. Fatigued and don't make great decisions late at night
Hopefully the weather will cooperate tomorrow for a quick test ride.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_CkLaZH4C4o

 

That looks good!

 

Took it out just after lunch.
45F here.
It was bogging as I was starting up the driveway but I think it needed a longer warm up. Much longer warm up than my 83 XJ needed the other day.
It eventually was pulling fine from a stop. Idle was higher that let me know that it was warmed up (need to turn that down so I can tell when its warm).
Twice I failed to find first gear and took off from 2nd making me think it was the engine. For the last 2 trips up and down the street, stopping and then going, it was fine.
I just now need to secure this fuel filter better. I'd like to get it right on the side of that rubber boot.
Don't think I posted the #'s of the compression the other day.
I checked the valve clearances and the only one out of spec was In1 which was 0.003". It had a 290 disk and all I had spare was a 285 to bring it up to 0.004"
Here is what I got now for Clearances and compression

Ex 1 0.006" In 1 0.004" 136psi
Ex 2 0.006" In 2 0.006" 136psi
Ex 3 0.006" In 3 0.005" 129psi
Ex 4 0.006" In4 0.005" 131psi

 

That filter will work fine in that position for awhile but when the fuel level in the tank gets low I think it will be a problem.

 

Update, its 70F over here with a jump in temperature in the past day. Bike once warmed up is running and pulling much better in the warm air.
I still feel however its lean from take off to 1/4 throttle. Its hesitating until I get to about 3000+ RPMs then it pulls really well.
Suggestions?
Again, I currently have all stock needle and Jetting. Stock Airbox w/ Filter. Colortune at idle is rich just into the yellow from blue per my video above.

 

Are all the float levels correct and checked with tubing? Sounds weak still, low levels will cause this. Otherwise, are the idle jets the correct size ( if aftermarket they could be miles out, the Chinese aren't fussy).
I would clean and refit the original jets.

 

jets are all stock #'s for an 83 and were the ones that were in the carb set when I got them.
I did we set the carb floats to 3mm.
The jets were all picked clean when I rebuilt the carb set. The carb set went through church of clean and I cleared all the passages including the idle path that comes out in front of the butterfly valve.
Only issue on that carb set which I did mention is one bowl, the fuel enrichment path I could not unclog at the time, I did swap that with a good clean clear path bowl from the carb set that came with the bike.

I got in a set of acupuncture needles which I read about in another thread. That was the ticket to clear out that one clogged bowl. I flushed the channel out using carb cleaner on a straw going from the top of the jet so I could make sure what ever it was that got in there (grain of sand or something) got out.

Got in the Shinko 777 tires that I will put on myself.

 

So, with this bike it was time to learn to do my own tires.
I picked the Shinko 777 whitewalls. (hope I don't regret the WW tires )
They were $251 ship to store at cyclegear
As I was pulling these rims off, I realized the paint on them were in much better shape than my first bike, the 83.
Well, I first thought I'd do the wire tie method for everything but I can already say that the $20 Tire kit with 3 spoons I got from Amazon was WELL worth it.
So, what I spent
$20 Spoon and rim protector kit
$22 beadbuster lube (some people use dishsoap)
$35 Harbor Freight Wheel Balancer w/ coupon
$10 Weights (Likely to use just $2 of weights)
I also got some "beadbuster" lube which you mix up with water. It was well worth it too.
I broke the bead on Front tire with C clamp, but I left my big C clamp at work when I started rear so used the workmate 300 I got over 20 years ago (maybe 30?)
Moving tires out of the cold garage and warming them up helps alot. Even spot warming with heat gun when you hit a tough spot helps.
I spent less time doing this than bringing and picking up tires from a shop. Plus I cleaned up the rim inside which I'm sure the shop does not do for me.
I did wiretie the new tire so putting it on the rim was easier. The last bit of tire does need a spoon, it was NOTHING like the videos where the guys just shove the tire on, I'm not that big of a guy to do that. Spoon was easy. As far as balancing, I'm waiting on clip on weights for the tires, all I had was stick ons and I don't trust those. And not enough room really on the front.
Here are some pics.

 

The whitewalls are definitely...white! Would like to see those on the bike. Might fit the classic look really well.

Tires used to be scary, but I look forward to them now. I usually use a couple vice grip welding clamps (the wide jaw things) to hold the beads together, which I think is how the zip tie method is working but I haven't tried that. The regular car tire clip on weights will attach to the rim like the originals and are really cheap, although the don't look quite as sleek as the original Yamaha weights. And I agree, I've never had a tire just "pop" on like some videos, but it is satisfying when everything is complete.

 

Tires on. Took 10 minute ride in the cold. Engine needs to warm up a while then good. Still may be on the lean side.
Made mistake of removing the blue protective coating on the white walls before installing wheels back onto the bike. Made it so I have more to clean off the white walls.

 

Took another 10 mile ride and I really think I need to bump up the pilot jet a notch.
The brakes are bad on this bike and I ordered new pads and a steel braided line. I"ll rebuild the caliper while I'm at it. Line came in but I made a mistake and got one too short and placed order again.
I think I'll pull the headlight off and the headlight bracket. Its bent up so I"ll see if I can bend it back before ordering another one.
Don't know why anyone would voluntarily put one of these Brat seats on this bike, its hard, Stock seat is so comfy on my 83 Maxim

 

Still have not done the Pilot jets but with the bars Previous owner put on, Mirrors were useless. I converted it to Bar End Mirrors.
Need to next plug up the 10mm threaded holes in the top. Might just 3D print a plug.

 

Bike is looking good. White walls??? JK, they look good on that bike and the way you have it set up. I would not normally go for that, but you have pulled it off nicely with your work.

 

LOL, I had always wanted some, now that I have them, not so sure anymore. Of course with working on the bike so much, they are getting more grease/dirt on them than they should.
I don't expect to have this bike more than a year or two anyway.

 

42 pilot jets in and adjusted idle mix.
warmed it up good before I rode. 45F out here.
It was kind of gurgly at 1/8 throttle. Gonna let it be and ride when its warmer next just to see the difference.
It pulls nice when I'm at 4Krpm and throttle up.

 

So, about 62F outside
Let it warm up really good and seems to be similar to when it was 45F
Takes a couple miles of riding to warm up then its good.
Still kinda gurgly at 1/8 throttle but not as much I don't think as bad as when it was cold.
Will leave it alone still till even warmer .

Once its warmed up, it rides and runs good and the idle bumps up more.
My other bike the 83 xj650 does not nearly needs to be warmed up as much as this bike, even when its cold out.
What makes a carb bike so warm blooded that it needs to warm up so long? I"ve heard condensation and saturation of fuel on the intake metal but sure seems a long time more like it would be engine tolerances.

 

Good question!
My first choice answer might be are you sure it's a 650? Have you looked at the barrel casting size, bust behind the headers? If it's a 750 on 650 carbs it would be weak everywhere....

 

Its a 650 based on the VIN. Never looked for a barrel casting size.

Edit: Casting between 2/3 exhaust says 653

 

On my 550 it started like a champ with barely any choke, or none when the weather was warm. Warmed up quick with no cold motor hesitation. Then I changed the air filter. The old one didn't look dirty, but everything changed and it acted more "normal". Needs full choke to start, more warm up. I don't recall fouling plugs with the old filter either. Tiny differences add up I suppose. The current filter is still pleated paper...I didn't use a Uni or foam type...but its the off brand HiFiltro. I'll get a regular Yamaha filter next time and see if that changes.

 

So, in the reverse, is your filter one of those uni things?

 

Took the bike out to run it on the highway at 70mph. Warmed it up a little longer and at a higher RPM with the enrichment keeping it at 2-2.5K RPM.
It ran like a champ.

I have Uni filters on my 78 XS650. I had to bump up my pilot jets and Main jet richer and move the needle one clip leaner. It starts and runs really good. Idle does move up when warm and the idle speed screw is really easy to reach so I can bump it as its warming up and even turn it down at a stop light.

This XJ650 has a paper filter, not sure where he got it from as its the same the OP put in it. Gray plastic around the paper filter, no markings

 

Neither the old or current filter was Uni or foam. Both were pleated paper. But the new one definitely acted like it leaned it out. By the time I'd figured that out, I had thrown the old filter away, so I'm not sure what brand it was.

 

So, bike continues to run well although takes a while to warm up compared to my 83 xj650.
If I ride off before fully warmed up, I just bump up the choke lever a tad for a few miles then its good.
Friend who was going to take this bike is no longer looking to get back into riding so I'm going to put it up on facebook Market place soon.

Need to take pics but I pulled off the small turn signals that were on it and put on longer more visible LED turn signals recently. Put diodes on the indicator light to make them work. New Turn signal relay that works really well too.