81 xj550 project

Remind me, what fuel injected engine is a 1:1 swap with my bike again?

 

Wet setting involves a clear tube to check fuel height in the bowl, pulling the bowl to adjust the float as needed.

I do not wet set them...... I will not send a set out that has been cleaned but then filled with gas again. It is the responsibility of the owner to do that step, as well as do the running syn and colortune stuff

 

No, that's understood, no worries Dave.
I'll read about how to measure it etc. and try to do it tomorrow - unless I don't have the equipment needed to do it.

 

If the fuel levels aren't wet there is no point in doing a final dial-in of idle mixture, or doing a running synch.

 

Thats correct.

 

Coolio. Watched a video on how to measure.
When adjusting the float hight, it's a matter of opening the individual carbs and adjusting the floater in there? Then test again after I put it back together? Or is there a more simple way that does not involve opending and closing the carbs?

 

Ok, just found something...
So it's basically find one carb (and float) that is set correctly and use it as reference. Turn the carb body around and just measure and set the others how they "hang" in the air?

 

Or, you have to adjust one to correct, then make the others match......

 

Yes, exactly.
Worst part of this is to remove and get carbs back into bike. I reeeaaaallllyy dislike this part. But I already mentioned it a few times

 

That's why it's recommended to do the wet-setting before putting the carbs on.... Lol

 

With charged battery and some throttle, the bike started up without issues.
Too cold right now to pull carbs, I'll do it later today.
The engine sounds so much better after the cam chain tensioner reset. Yay.
Next is setting the floats to get rid of the flooding and to prepare for sync.

 

Spent some time last weekend fiddling with the floats. Worst ever. I managed to bring the fuel level down and get rid of the flodding, but it is not yet quite within specs. And talking to hogfiddles, I decided to do it again and change my approach.

Anyway, I will put the clutch cable on today and hopefully take her around the block for a minute or two.

In the meantime, I created a slideshow video of the entire project. Enjoy...

​

 

Very nice craftsmanship saftie. This forum just keeps on doing it. It's second to none for restoring/moding these every day classic street bikes.

Gary H.

 

Thanks Gary.
Been a long road and still not done...
It's always the small things now that keep me from finally riding it...

 

Spent some time today hoping I could ride, but no luck.
I think the bike is running way too lean. Takes 5 min to idle on its own and stalls quite a lot when giving it throttle. If it doesn't stall, there is a lag. Managed to go up and down the alley, but throttle was very uneven.
Runs well with choke. I'm no expert but from what I read over last few days, it's because opening the choke makes it run richer, correct?
So anyway, I'll have to pull carbs again and adjust float height. I know it's too low.
Bike shifts through all gears nicely. At least one good thing.

Oh, and I have a small leak from the petcock. It's new and seal is new as well, but I still get a few drops where it sits on the tank. Aaaaand, it's slowly eating the paintjob. Only underneath, so no big deal yet. But still. Grrrrrr....

 

Btw, I ordered a colortune kit. Since i have another project bike sitting in garage, i will get good use out of it.
I will test the kit first before taking carbs off. This should give me a nice "before and after".

 

Yes, opening the choke makes it richer. Yamaha was very methodical when they designed these engines. Certain parts and components must be within spec to have any chance of a properly running engine. Float heights is one of them. Are the air jets correctly located?

Gary H.

 

Very nice work , and vey stylish , I am becoming quite proud of the work some of the members of this site are doing ,
Keep up the good work!!
Alan

 

As I cannot see an issue with the petcock seal (new and seated perfectly) or any roughness on tank surface, I decided to take the easy route (at least for now) and applied fuel resistant silicone/sealant. I hope this helps stop the leaking.
I'll have my answer in a few days when everything is cured and I have time to work on bike again.