Project YamaGreen

OK guys... I am going to be straight forward.
I don't know a lot about motorcycles. But I think I know enough, and I learn well. So I am hoping you all can guide me through this project of mine.

Intro- Bought 82 XJ650RJ for $375 not running.
As far as I know, it is an XJ650RJ, but not positive. It has 4-1 exhaust, and a lot of the pics I have seen have 4-2 exhaust? What's up with that?
Anyway, so far from what I can tell it needs:
Carb cleaning
General cleaning
Motor flush
Gas tank work
Clutch/throttle cables
Battery
Cleaning some electrical contacts
Air filter
Headlight bulb I believe
Possible rear brake
Seat repair, a little bit
Basic tune up and synced carbs (never done sync before...)

STAGE 1:
Compression test, to see if it is even worth it.

Tear down and clean everything I can get my hands on. I will be putting all bolts I take off in baggies and labeling their location on the bike.

Clean Carbs. Install new air filter. Test motor.

Repair Gas tank or buy new aftermarket... are they available?

Get all mechanicals going. Cables electrical etc.

Fix safety issues, ie brakes and lights.

Get legal and on road, test out.

Stage 2:
Fix seat.

Get some new lighting.

Clean up exhaust and rear suspension, paint with high temp black.

Super detail clean everything, including whole motor and frame.

Paint tank, fenders and side cover neon green. Black yamaha logo sprayed onto tank. Yamaha lettering on side covers. Black barbed wire overlays on front fender.


Now, all input is appreciated. I will definately need it. I will change this first post as I go to keep people afoot of what I am doing. I don't have a lot of money, at all... so everything will be the cheap routes, but as good as I can do. Where do you guys recommend I get I get parts, like more specifically the cables and air filter I need?

Thanks for the help, and I look forward to this journey with you guys.

 

Our local Merchant will be with you shortly!

If he ain't got it ... you don't need it!

 

You can comparison shop for the parts you need at;
1) Dennis Kirk
2) Rice Paddy
3) Bike Bandit
4) Parts-N-More
5) Moto Grid

I am sure other members will offer suggestions as well,but this may steer you in the right direction.
Good luck,and happy hunting!

Dan

 

I'd buy the XJcd, get a Haynes manual for the bike, and start reading. Go to the FAQ suggestions forum for lots of good reading on cleaning carbs, REPLACING FUSE HOLDER, and others. I would clean all electrical contacts and replace fuse holder prior to attempting to start. Make sure the battery is good and make sure the rubber parts are good. There are some fixes for these. I don't want to scare you because a year ago I was in the same position (I'm mechanically inclined) and read everything that I could. The basics are going to be check for spark, check compression (maybe, maybe not), clean electrical contacts, clean carbs, and then try to start. You'll probably want to do an oil change and filter change. That's a start I guess.

 

Update:

OK so I am going to clean out the tank tomorrow. This is my plan:
Bunch of BB's in there, shake shake shake, empty.
1 cup of muratic acid in the tank 1/2 full of water, shake and drain. Repeat.
Fill with water and 1/2 gallon of muratic acid. Let sit overnight. Drain and flush with a bit of gasoline.

My cables should be here mid week (clutch + throttle)
I want to flush the motor. My plan is once I get the tank cleaned and cables on and carbs reinstalled (which are clean now) I will drain the oil, run an engine flush through it, drain and fill with fresh oil and new filter.

Also probably going to add some engine restore, should I put in like a 1/2 can of 4 cyl car engine restore?

Now here is my big issue right now. I don't want to deal with that airbox. I don't even know how to get it out right now. I need to clean it. My idea was to run the 4 pod filters... but I realized that I probably need to rejet the carbs, which I can't afford. Is it necessary, or will it run ok without being jetted?
My other idea for that was doing some minor 'plumbing' and plumb all 4 carbs to one aftermarket cone style filter. Would that work? Heck, I could even make it a regular filter (paper etc) I just don't like the looks of that airbox system. I hope I can do something fun with it (like maybe the 4 into one plumbing idea)

Any more ideas hit me with em. All comments welcome, thanks! -Doug

 

IMO the safest way to "flush" these engines is to drain old oil, refill with new mineral oil, run until hot, then drain / new filter and refill again.

Also DO NOT use additives in the oil - these will affect / ruin the clutch.

 

Oh good catch, Mineral oil huh? I want to get rid of the carbon deposits, will that do the trick?
What about the pod filters... is it necessary to jet?

 

Pod Filters = ReJet

What? How? Nobody really knows. The Rack is designed to run off the Airbox which has an Inlet that determines the Cubic Feet per Minute of Intake Air SHARED by all four Carbs.

There is NO accurate information on the CFM Drawn through the Airbox.
All I can say is that it's a can of worms and you are opening it!

SOME people have NO problems.
Others are still messing with different Jets after months of trying to make it work.

Good luck on that one!

 

Are you talking about carbon deposits in your cylinders? No oil type / additive will clean that off (to my knowledge). Maybe a fuel additive might, but I haven't used them.

You will need to re-jet if you change to pods. But don't cut up your airbox because you may not get it running to your satisfaction, and you may want to go back to the airbox.

 

I don't like the idea of trying to remove 26 year old jets, and don't have the money to buy new ones, nevermind new carbs when I screw up the jets.

I guess I will have to get a stock filter. And deal with trying to get the damn airbox out so I can clean it and then figure out how to get it back in... O_O

Also, there are holes in the airbox lid, they looked drilled in. Should I duct tape those up?

Thanks for the quick replies guys, I really love talking this stuff and glad you guys are helping me out!

 

Fixing the holes drilled into the airbox is easy.
Drill 'em out to 5/8th and stick some cabinet plugs in there with a little epoxy to keep them from moving.

Although they are a snug tight fit ... I put the epoxy on them for insurance.
Best way I know of to do the job and not have it look like crap ... although who's looking ... anyway.

The Jets will all come out. Its a matter of having the right screwdrivers to remove them.

 

I cut my air box out and installed pods and after a nice sync and color tune i am running great. I have after market exhaust also. no jetting.

 

You need to remove the jets to clean the carbs properly.

Mineral oil means non synthetic motor oil, not the clear stuff at the drug store. These engines run hot enough they don't typically sludge up. Just put in a new filter and some fresh oil, then change in a couple hundred miles.

I don't think carbon in the combustion chambers will last long once you start running it like it was intended.

 

Thanks guys. OK so if I was to cut off the exhaust and just put straight pipes on it (is that legal?) and then run pod filters from ebay, would I need to jet?

Where do I get the right screwdrivers for the jets?
How many jets are there? (pilot, main, idle, boost... something like that?)
I am worried about the gas tank. If I use muriatic acid, it will rerust in 45 minutes if I don't line it. It has two leaks too, which I was going to fix with JB weld. Can I just buy a tank somewhere that will fit? Cheap?

I get my cables this week, should I be able to get it to run at least and maybe idle, even if a bit high, without an filter?

Thanks again guys....

 

Maybe you can find a tank on fleabay. I had to grind down a screwdriver to get proper fitting on the jets.

You will lose back pressure by removing the mufflers. If I were you i would do your air filter and pipe mods then sync and color tune the carbs. That would leave you in a good spot for determining if you need to rejet.

 

Personally I would get it running OK before I start messing with the exhaust or PODS...if it's not running before you start you will have no idea what you screwed up after you mess with the exhaust or air filter.
One thing at a time or you never know what is wrong.
Once it's running OK, you will know that the electrical system is functioning, you got the carbs clean, and you have reasonable compression...then you can start messing with it if you want

 

Still can't find any good info on syncing... or color tuning. And I really don't like the idea of grinding a screwdriver for the jets, I'll have to look for jet screwdrivers too now ...

anyone with good info on cleaning the gas tank? Should I just run it with rust in it and keep the two fuel filters on it? I doubt that's good for it.