30% of the way there...

Well done.
You're going to have an awkward time with a lefthand throttle, though.

 

Not if I'm left handed.

...and I'm not. lol

I tried to flip the video the right way round, but that's how it recorded when I used that lens.

 

Not the carbs, but it was fuel related....
Well done, I think...

 

Way to go, good basic troubleshooting and why I always start my bikes off an AUX tank and know good fuel lines. Good for you, I hope you can get her fine-tuned now. Wonderful feeling having her running!

 

I swapped out the factory vacuum actuated petcock for a good ol' fashioned old school petcock, and it ran better.

I'm slowly getting the bugs worked out of her and beginning the fine tuning.

https://youtube.com/shorts/_L40sICwSxI?si=-MogbTXBrHipFN7f

 

Glad to see it running. So when you were trying to start it before, the fuel line blocked all flow and the bowls were dry?

When is the road test?

 

Sorry? Good basic troubleshooting?

 

No, it was a partial blockage, which is probably why it was so damned difficult to diagnose. I still have to synchronize the carbs, adjust the clutch, replace the turn signal relay (the aftermarket relay I bought off Amazon was a complete dud), and figure out what is going on with the front brake. I put new (aftermarket stainless braided) brake lines on the front, but I suspect the I.D. is too small and it's not pushing enough fluid through to push the piston out. And find replacement spark plug boots (I accidentally broke the #3 boot).

 

So is the compression problem a red herring?

If it is that far out, even if it ran I would think it would run like garbage.

 

I don't know. I'm still checking that out. It's rather odd.

 

Cool. Keep us posted

 

Get it all tuned up and enjoy the rest of the riding season. If you noticed you are burning a lot of oil and have no power, then maybe go back to work on it. Eight months of work, so go out and enjoy the work you have done.

 

After working 9 hours on a holiday, in 100°+ temps, I decided to wrench on her a bit more.

I have bench sync'd the carbs, so now I have to do the actual sync.

But that's for another day. I'm beat.

https://youtube.com/shorts/MiAsv5hZYlU?si=faZnhlUfcoZ42Pe8

 

I shot a text to guy I bought the bike from last summer with a link to the video. His brother commented...

 

Sounds a lot better than the other video already.

 

Here are the vacuum numbers with it running just off the bench sync... I don't think I should touch it. What do you think?

https://youtube.com/shorts/EuvJeVTf6rc?si=dx18Wif9w1Z_w7vI

 

Leave it alone, with your record on gauges it's likely you'll be fooled into stripping it down again....

 

New issue to resolve.

No matter how much I bleed the front brake, I can't get the air out of the line.

I've already run a whole bottle of DOT 3 through it, so the fluid is going through, but the air just doesn't seem to want to leave the line.

I've tried the traditional way of pumping the lever, cracking the bleeder, tightening it back up, then releasing the lever.

And I've tried a vacuum pump.

The same results every time.

 

I’ve had this issue before. In my case the non-anodized aluminum front brake caliper was oxidized in the bores and wouldn’t seal.

 

After doing the vacuum pump treatment, I like using a hose from the bleeder submerged in a jar of brake fluid. No cracking and tightening required, just keep pumping and filling the master. Use some grease on the threads of the bleeder nipple or it will suck air through the threads while it is loose.

The dual caliper setups definitely take longer. It's think sometimes an extra cranky air bubble will rise up the side you aren't bleeding and you have to chase it back and forth a couple times.

 

Physics is acting against you, you could try taking both callipers off, shimming them with a piece of flat metal and bleed them near the handlebars?

 

I still can't get the front brakes to bleed, but I have a rear brake. You only need one, right?

I may just take it to a shop and make it their problem. lol

 

You need one?? What for??

 

One more thing on the brakes, double check that when the brake lever is released, you get a gap between it and the master cylinder piston. If you don't, the cylinder can't refill properly on each stroke.

 

Riding a bike without a front brake is a lot harder than you might think....

 

I still have a few minor issues to fix, but she's basically finished.

(I do a quick walk-around at about 3:25)

 

Those ram type bars always seem to make the brake bleeding harder. Finding the right angle to put the bike at to get a good air bleed can be hard. Just stick with it and eventually it will give you some hydro feedback. The system is closed, and you are not losing any fluid during the bleeding process?

Why did you swap out the old for the ebay new? If you have the old one around, you could always swap back to it and see it the old one will hold hydro pressure? Then you could either swap out the guts or do as you choose from there. Some have tried to strap the brake lever pulled into the bar overnight. That seems to allow some of the air to be self purged from the system.

Very happy you were able to take her off the table and get a ride on her. Ya no worries about that front brake, only 75% of your stopping power

 

I created a new thread with the before and after pics.

https://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/before-after-1982-yxj650-maxim.132554/

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BPC5HSXH?psc=1&ref=product_details
About $4 less than I paid, worth every penny.

 

Awesome, thanks. I'll try it before taking it to a shop.

 

It sounds rich at idle, but then I think I heard at least two backfires - if this was into the airbox it means it's weak - which possibly means you need to set the idle mixtures, but could be you have some idle jet inconsistencies?
Did you re-use all the original idle jets?

 

Yes,I re-used all of the original jets.

That backfiring has cleared up. I suspect it was due to a mixture of 110 octane racing fuel and two stroke fuel.

 

The day after I finished the bike, I got a mysterious Amazon package at my door.

It was from my sister.

...who is just as much of a smart-ass as me...

 

I thought the Duck was a jeep thing, or so I have heard. I think the prop is cool. She should have sent you and angle bell. Those are cool to get from family and friends.

 

Any suggestions?

Or should I just take it to a shop?

 

I have made a suggestion, remove the calliper, stick a lump of metal between the pads (yes its a pain in the butt calliper), and raise it up above the MC, with he nipple uppermost. Then try it all again. Small strokes on the lever, start bleeding at the MC.

 

I'll try that for a third time and let you know if it magically decides to work.

 

No magic, just physics - you're trying to move a column of fluid and air down a pipe and out of the bottom. but it's all connected together by a spring (the air) that moves or "gives" more than the MC can shift. So you attack it in stages. MC banjo first, then the slave banjo, then the bleed nipple. It just helps if the air moves in the same direction as you want the fluid to move. I would expect it to work.

 

Stock master cylinder?

Not something crazy like a master piston seal in backwards?

When you are doing the pump and crack, is the lever holding before you crack, and then you feel it squeeze further after you crack?

Or are you never building pressure you can feel at all with the lever?

 

The piston moves just fine if I give the caliper a shot of compressed air. There is absolutely zero resistance on the lever.

I'm just going to ride it as is, I'm kinda f#@king done with trying.

I took it for a quick trip up the road and back. Seemed to work fine...ish...

 

Pitot tube muffler .

 

Front brakes are 75% of your stopping force, so might want to get them fixed at some point. It is easy to get to and just takes time. I would guess the MC is not working as it should. Either swap back to the one the came with the bike and see if it works, or get a rebuild kit for the MC you are currently using. You said you have no resistance at all. Make sure all the holes in the bottom of the MC are clear, small wire to make sure they are. Normally the small hole is plugged and does not allow for pressure to bleed of, but you are having a no hydro pressure issue.

Trust the troubleshooting you are doing, the work you have done, and find the simple answer for it.

Make sure you cover up all the nice new paint job on the bike when you are working with that brake fluid, splatter will do a job on the paint if not removed and cleaned.

If you think your brake bleeding is hard, try doing a Seca that has the MC behind the headlight area.

 

It is the factory MC, I've rebuilt it twice, and tested it. It works. If I can convince the local shop to work on it, I'll make it their headache. I'm done messing with it. I'm just going to run with the rear brake until then. (I also tried an aftermarket MC that was supposed to be a direct replacement, it wasn't)

Does anyone have a suggestion for a turn signal relay that actually works? I've tried two OEM replays (two, new old stock from fleabay, both were duds, and two aftermarket from the jungle website, neither worked) The OEM that's on there now turns the signal lights on, it just doesn't blink.

 

Have you tried the forum sponsor?

 

I just contacted every shop within a 20 mile radius. And NONE of them will touch it.

 

Have you tried the forum sponsor for the relay?

 

If the lever has zero resistance, is the fluid you've ran through it just gravity draining down? Or does anything pump out of the bleeder when you squeeze the lever with the pump and crack?

Or has the quart of fluid you've put in been pumped through with the other methods?

If you are pulling fluid through with the vacuum, but the lever won't build resistance, than either the tiny hole at the bottom of the master cylinder is plugged (not the big hole...there's 2 and the small one is hard to see) or the adjuster screw on the lever is not letting the master cylinder piston return back all the way.

The vacuum can still pull fluid past the lips of the piston seals (the wrong direction, essentially), but the chamber in front of the piston must refill through the tiny hole to make pressure or move fluid.

When the master cylinder is pumping and refilling normally, it won't have a problem pushing the air bubbles down the hoses. They might eventually rise back up, but over minutes or hours. The hose is too small and the fluid too viscous to just let them rise like a fart in the bathtub.

 

Since fuel injection has been around for a while now and newer bikes have all the electronic stuff on them, you will be hard-pressed to find a shop that will work on a carb bike. The price they will quote you will be worth more than the bike is. So, the labor of love will have to continue and more troubleshooting and trial and error.

You mentioned you are having issues with the turn signals. Did you stay with OEM or did you change out to LED? If you have OEM them stock relays normally are hard core good and really last well. If you are using an OEM relay and have changed out the LED or newer non filament lights, the relay will not flash.

Do your light stay on all the time? What issue are you having with the turn signal ckt?

I don't know if you have a "Power probe" but them little things are worth the $100 or so on Amazon to get. Can check a ckt, and power one as well. Very nice to have, then you start to have issue with the electrical system.

 

HCP25332 Aftermarket solid-state turn signal FLASHER. For all XJ550, XJ650, all XJ750 non-X, all XJ900RK, RL, and N/FN models, and XJ1100 models. These units will work with both incandescent and LED signal bulbs. Plugs directly into the stock wiring harness 3-place flasher connector plug. Your original turn signal canceller unit WILL operate properly with this style flasher, and this unit does not require the use of the HCP16880 adapter plug. Will require the fabrication of a mounting method as the original size grommet will not work.

 

I just wasted another two hours on the worthless hydraulic front brake. I might see if I can get a drum brake for the front. Those are mechanical, and they work, always.

All of the lighting is the factory incandescent OEM lighting, including the bulbs. They all still work.

The turn signal relay issue is, they turn on, but do not blink, I've tried 2 OEM relays off of fleabay, neither worked, at all. And 2 aftermarket from Amazon. Neither worked, at all.

I have checked with a meter, everything is getting the voltage and amperage it should be getting. The relay is just shot.

I'll try the one recommended above.