A new project, the abandoned xj650RJ

Re: A new project, the abandoned xj650...

So I had a few minutes to run out and measure he valves, I am not sure if doing this right,I turned the engine by hand until the valve is totally close but even my thinnest feeler gauge will not go through. Is that what I am looking for? Total clearance for the gauge to go through?

I did this on the first to piston intake valves with the same result if that is the case all valves may need new shims

 

Re: A new project, the abandoned xj650...

turn the engine until the lobe of the cam is pointing 180 degrees from the surface of your shim on the valve you are going to check. it is my understanding the blade of the feeler that goes through and dosent stop is the one you will use for your measurement. if you cant get the smallest one through you will probably have to pull that shim and see what you have, then put it back and check all the other ones for one that is a size or two smaller to get your starting measurement. there are folks on here that have shim pools . and they will most likely have a shim they can send you to get you started on getting some base measurements. hope this helps. and welcome!


ALSO! beautiful fan! nice job there bud.

 

Re: A new project, the abandoned xj650...

Thanks man,

I did check all the valves and none of them have any clearance when the lobe is pointing 180 degrees (away) from the valve shim. I will have to pull them all out, see the numbers and try to find one small enough to get any type of clearance. I may have to ask for a shim that fits the middle of the chart by shims/clearance and go from there.

 

Re: A new project, the abandoned xj650...

yeah buddy sounds like fun. im waiting on my new feeler gauge to do mine . should be here today. its out for delivery. lol while your pulling them pull them one at a time. record the size and what cylinder its on. then put it back and move on to the next.

 

Re: A new project, the abandoned xj650...

dang, i wouldnt want to be runnning that fan with a baby around either!

good progress moving forward on the bike!

 

Re: A new project, the abandoned xj650...

Generally speaking, a dead-tight valve will require a shim two sizes (or even 3 sizes) thinner to get it onto spec.

 

Re: A new project, the abandoned xj650...

ahh yeah. thanks for the correction fitz. you can normally swap them around and get some readings and go from there correct? or is it really variable depending on the bike?

 

Re: A new project, the abandoned xj650...

Yep. The only way to get it accurate for sure is to swap a thinner shim in, measure, and then use that as your basis for choosing a replacement shim.

 

Re: A new project, the abandoned xj650...

The clearance was zero and the at least the first shim I pulled out was a 280 so the chart calls for a 265 shim to get the ideal clearance.

Like you said the only real way to know would be to get one 265 or thinner, measure again and go from there.

I also ran into a hiccup with the first shim I tried to pull. The sleeve where the shim rests will pull up and down and will not come loose. I tried a few times and different tools and no luck, I other valve shim on the same piston and that one came out in no time. I will mess with that one later, maybe I am lucky and find out that all the valves are the same size. I will keep you posted on my progress and take some pictures as I move along.

 

Re: A new project, the abandoned xj650...

I looked at other shims and i found some 265 and a 265a, is the a an aftermarket shim?

I swapped the 280 for the 265a and is not as tight (the feeler shim went through as I was turning the cam shaft but had to turn it back to free it up) I am curious if I am gonnna need to replace all the shims for stiff on the thin end of the chart. My guess is gonna be to replace the 280 shims with 260 and the 265 with 240. Just by eyeballing what I found

 

Re: A new project, the abandoned xj650...

ecologito,

That shim is not "seated". Are you rotating the engine a couple of times to allow the lobe to seat the replacement shim? (The lobe will "snap" the shim into the bucket). Key Note: You must have a shim in all the valves and remove any bucket holding tools before you rotate the engine.

Gary

 

Re: A new project, the abandoned xj650...

Correct, the shim is not sitting in the bucket, this is what I was dealing when trying to pull the shim out, the whole bucket would pull out and it took me quite a bit of wresting to get it out.

I just realized that I was testing with the wrong feeler gauges, The ones they sell at Advance Auto Parts are useless for this purpose (way to thick to measure such small gaps. I will be ordering another one from amazon that can actually get the job done.

 

Re: A new project, the abandoned xj650...

I got my fellers at Advance........just make sure you get the set that is in mm and goes down to .001mm

dave f

 

Re: A new project, the abandoned xj650...

Purely metric feelers (like the K-D 2274) make it much easier.

The bucket wanting to lift up with the shim is one of the drawbacks to using the "zip tie" trick. If you're holding the valve open from below, there's nothing to hold the bucket to the top of the valve, so the bucket is free to lift up with the shim. This is where you sometimes need "three hands."

If you were using the bucket hold-down tool (the "official" method) then the bucket CANNOT come up with the shim since it's being held down by the tool.

Yet another reason the (admittedly frustrating at first) tool makes the job easier (once you get the hang of using it.)

 

Re: A new project, the abandoned xj650...

It is also possible to use the zip tie to quickly hold the valve open, AND while the bucket is passively sitting down, install the shim tool to just keep the bucket from riding up........

Dave F

 

Re: A new project, the abandoned xj650...

I did use the zip tie method and all I did was to hold down with an allen wrench the shim bucket, it was only one shim that was really tight in there and did not want to come out. Since I am waiting on the mail to deliver the feeler gauges I will start working on removing carbs and the old engine.

I know cleaning the carbs will be a learning process and along one since little details are key on this step.

There is plent yof work to do so all I need is a bit of time to work on it.

 

Re: A new project, the abandoned xj650...

Today my baby took a long nap and I had time to work a bit on the bike. Since the new engine is being worked on (paused at the time) I thought about taking the old engine off the frame and start working on the carbs.

There were quite a few bolts to get loose and baby woke up. Before that I got foot pegs off on both sides, and front brackets off. As a good practice I try to put the blots back where they came from, hopefully that way I won't loose them and know where they are supposed to go. On the picture you can see one bracket flipped with the bolts in place and the other one that I am working on.



I can't figure out if there is a way to get the carb and air box out, everything seems pretty tight, I got screws and everything but it does not seem to be a whole of room to pull the carbs back and free them up from the engine.

The only thing holding the engine in place are two bolts and the dive shaft. Hopefully I can get this off soon.

 

Re: A new project, the abandoned xj650...

push the air box to carb boots back into the air box and you will have plenty of room to pull the carbs. Then the engine can come out which will allow air box removal with no issues.

 

Re: A new project, the abandoned xj650...

Make sure that you remove the oil filter housing, filter, and bolt. Otherwise, they'll be in the way and you'll end up breaking the fins as you try unsuccessfully to get the engine out.

Dave Fox

 

Re: A new project, the abandoned xj650...

Why do you feel the need to remove the airbox?

The airbox can be loosened and slid back, allowing the carbs to be pulled. That's a normal service procedure even when you're not swapping motors.