This can't be a good sign...

So I bought my 1980 XJ650 Maxim (my first bike) at the end of last summer. With all the time I spent fixing those common problems like the fuse panel, starter rebuild, stuck oil filter bolt, etc... I didn't get a lot of riding time in last year. With the warm weather we've had the past two days I've pulled my bike out and been riding. Yesterday I rode it hard. Really hard. Raced a buddies 2004 Kawasaki KLR650 dual sport. Maxim won by a long shot of course. My problem however is that a few minutes ago when I was going to start my bike up to ride to town to take my skills test to get my license not only did it start raining, but when I tried to start my bike I got this loud metal clank. When attempting to crank from then on I can hear my starter trying to start turning it over but it isn't budging. So..I'm a glass half empty kind of guy and am assuming some pretty bad things right now considering this is only a 10,000 mile bike even if it is 28 years old. The bike ran fine the past two days other than the first day I rode it, when I was getting on the highway to ride to town, I made it a few miles down the highway when I lost all power. Pulled her over and knew she wasn't getting fuel for some reason and the clear filter was dry. Switched her over to pri and fuel flowed through, started her up and no problems since. I have however left it on pri since then...which in my mind means my carbs are shot, I've flooded the block with fuel thinning out the oil and locking up my motor. What do you guys think?

 

Check the oil for the presence of fuel, it should not be run with fuel present.
If it STOPED flowing that could mean the vacuum line was disconected or compromised somehow.
Or could be a petcock issue, Rick will suggest a brand new one I might concur due to the ease of replacment.

If your float needle seats were in good condition they might not have leaked fuel into the sump....maybe.

Cant help with the starter problem though...sorry

 

Just drained the oil. No signs of fuel. Did I break or bend a valve or something? I know my cam chain had probably been needing adjusted. All I know..it ran fine yesterday..attempt to start today and get a metal clank and now it seems to be locked up somehow.

 

I'd take the timing cover off and see if you can budge the crank in either direction. If it does move at all, take the plugs out and with the bike in neutral see if you can do a complete revolution.

 

Well..now I'm not sure what the heck is going on. After draining the oil I filled it back up with rotella t 15 40. Attempted to crank once and it turned it over once then made a weird noise again. Tried it a second time and she fired up. I don't know what is going on but something can't be right. Maybe I just wasn't meant to ride to town this morning.

 

Check your float levels. You might have had liquid fuel going into the cylinder and trying to compress it.

 

Hydro Lock. Sounds like a likely candidate.

The Clank you heard was the piston slamming a puddle of gasoline into the head. Can break things.

Sounds like you got lucky.

Over time the gasoline drained out (probably into your new oil).

 

Thanks rpg and micarl, the hydrolock was exactly what it seemed like to me, but since I don't know nearly as much about bike mechanics as auto mechanics I wasn't sure about the possibilities. I guess by closing off flow from the petcock, draining the oil, and giving it a little time for that fuel to drain, it freed up and started. I went ahead and rode the bike to town this afternoon and took my skills test. Passed it just fine, but do you know how hard that is to do when your bike doesn't want to stay running? Yep, now my bike that used to not idle until you rode it a few miles won't idle at all, period. Any thoughts? Obviously that carb removal I had planned is going to be coming before I do any more riding this year. Can someone give me a list of exactly what parts I'll need to order up to get my carbs back in operating condition and where to get them?

 

Adjust float levels
bench sync before installing.
sync the carbs. While blocking the YICS passage.
use a Colortune plug to adjust the idle mixture

repeat steps with sync and Colortune

This is the process to get the carbs back in action...

*EDIT* I assumed you already cleaned your carbs.
If that step has not been done move it to the front of the class(first)

 

Haha..nope..unfortunately I haven't gotten the cleaning done yet. Be my first time disassembling a carb of any sort..and lucky me, I get to do 4 of them! I plan on doing it the right way to start with, no doubt using rick's carb cleaning steps. That's why I need to know exactly what I need to purchase though so I've got everything before I pull the carbs off. I'll probably end up purchasing the colortune, and whatever I need to do the sync too..even though I can't really afford it. Shouldn't have to worry about the YICS though..one advantage to a 1980 model..

 

You will need a can of carburetor cleaner and an assortment of screwdrivers. A set of welding tip cleaners or some fine wire will come in handy.

I think it would be prudent to slap a new set of needles and seats in there first go around. They're relatively inexpensive and you probably need at least one anyhow. Might not hurt to have 4 float bowl gaskets on hand. When I tore one I made my own, but if you're ordering needles and seats might as well get them too.

Then there's butterfly shaft seals. Putting them in raises the level of complexity quite a bit, so I wouldn't do it unless you find out you need them later. Still might be worth considering going ahead and ordering them too to have on hand. If you find out later you need them you'll be into another shipping charge and wait for parts.

 

Okay, one more question. Although I'd prefer a completely stock exhaust on this bike, a previous owner removed the baffles. Does this have enough effect that I should rejet or not? If so, what do I need?