A new project, the abandoned xj650RJ

I just picked up a set of 550 seca mufflers

 

and idk if im just not aware of these all being mis-listed, but there seem to be a few that appear to be in decent shape:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=se ... l&_sacat=0

 

Ok,

So today I opened the carbs just to find out buckets of nastiness, I can't believe this bike was running at some point, and if it was I bet it was not even close to ok and far from smooth.



I do have very large can or carb cleaner, the whole thing has been sittiing on it and now all the parts and pieces are getting dipped on the can of cleaner.

I will let that "cure" overnight and tomorrow hopefully will have time to get everything apart hoping that I can get it all back together.

All the gaskets look in great shape but you can see all the gunk inside the carbs. I am curious if this were running a charcoal engine because it looks like the inside of an old chimney. 8O

 

Yummy! I don't know what your talking about but those things look pretty clean to me (Sarcasim... obviously).

You mentioned that the gaskets and seals look to be ok, then you mention that the whole thing is in the carb cleaner. Make sure any rubber that is in the carb cleaner is replaced. That stuff will just eat rubber. You may already know this but I wanted to just throw it out there as a reminder.

 

NOOO!!!

Unless you plan to break the rack and FULLY disassemble the carbs including removing the butterflies (as in, replace the throttle shaft seals) DO NOT submerge them.

The throttle shaft seals are trapped in the carbs; and your carb cleaner can ruin them (if they happen to still be serviceable.)

ONLY submerge FULLY STRIPPED, individual carbs. Soaking an assembled rack is just a way of making a full tear-down inevitable. And a good way to drive yourself crazy when you can't tune it afterward, despite the fact that you did a "great job" on the carbs.

 

Hmmm.... well the good news is that the rack is not fully submerged, only the bottom portion is (where the floats are and all that gunk in the picture). The rest of the rack is off the cleaner. Hopefully I didn't mess it up more than it already was.

 

Well......now we know what to what out for each other for!

Actually, I've been having an easier time finding parts for the 900R's.

Eco, I've been collecting parts for 12 years. My approach has been simple:

Look for local dead/orphaned/abandoned/abused/etc...... xj's, regardless of model, and pick them up cheap to use as donors. I don't care whether there is a title or not. If there is, great.....I have a platform to build from. If there isn't it's strictly for parts. Then, I part the whole thing out, saving the best parts for my own builds, the next level parts get saved to build for other people, face to face sales or XJ groups that I'm in, then the next level is stuff that goes to ebay for cheap. The bottom two levels are the parts that are for either give-aways to fill an emergency need, and then the level at which I don't even save the part as no one would want it anyway. The only caveat to anything being thrown away, is that if it's a rare or obscure part, I'll save it-regardless. Someone will need it to copy, rebuild, restore, repair, modify, etc......

The list that you see as my current bikes is either bikes that I ride or am getting ready to ride. I don't have the parts bikes listed on there, nor the piles of parts that are squirrelled away all over the place. Most of my parts inventory is going to another list member in a year or so. Those may become available again, or they may become new bikes. In the meantime, I keep searching out more donors. That, in a nutshell, is how I came across this 650rj. So, more parts have come in to fill some of the empty spaces already, along with some more parts bikes.

The harder issue is finding the place to 'hide' everything so it always looks like the same amount of parts and bikes...............to SWMBO. LOL

Happy New Year to you!

Dave F

 

Keep in mind that there's no guarantee you won't need throttle shaft seals anyway. Just no sense guaranteeing you will.

 

Eco.....I just saw the last post from Fitz and from you (my reply was to an earlier post that just came in for me)

As Fitz said......only dunk them if you are literally dis-assembling the whole thing. I personally dunk each piece overnight....or longer if needed. BUT no rubber parts go in. All the metal parts go in the basket, and then the carb body goes in on top of the pile. I do one carb at a time.

Here's a suggestion.....don't leave the brass parts in too long or they turn a reddish/maroon color that you need to buff off. also, I try not to mix the brass parts and the steel parts--sometimes I get a funny oxidation color where they contact each other. Each rack will take multiple dips:

1. all the brass bits
2. all the steel bits
3. each body, one at a time
4. the rails and the bolts

The needles and the slide assembly parts are all done by hand.

Once everything is done, then new fuel rail o-rings, and new throttle-shaft seals, and mixture screw o-rings go in. Some fuel bowl drain screws also have o-rings, but not all bikes have those, FYI.

Again, as you're doing the carbs, if you get stumped, pm me or call me. I'll help you through it.

You'll be surprised just how clean the rack will become if you take your time.

DO be careful when you go to extract the float pins. The towers break EASILY. I would suggest soaking them good in PB, or Kroil, or something overnight. Then I use a super pointy nailpunch to LIGHTLY drive the pins out.....make sure that you support the back side of the post at the far end of the float pin so you don't break it off. Even better, is a tool designed to grab the tower, and push the pin sort of like a pliers action. I don't have one, but the guy who does sled carbs has one......nifty, I'm gonna get one SOMEday.

Feel free to ask if you get stuck.

dave F

 

Thanks a lot Dave, I feel like a true rookie trying to figure all this out. This is an overwhelming learning experience. I knew that I was going to mess things up and that is ok with me as long as I can learn how to put things together and get them right.

It is also a little annoying that I don't have time to work on this because baby needs a bottle or diaper changed, etc.

I guess it would be handy to buy the rebuilt kits for the carbs:
http://compare.ebay.com/like/1810529197 ... s&var=sbar

 

I think the dip is unnecessary. Keep the rack together and tear the parts down per Rick's instructions. Rick's muffin tin idea was great. Two dozen muffin spaces held all the parts.

Your parts look to be in good shape aside from the goo. The goo can be cleaned. In my opinion it is easier to clean each part by hand with a brush and small amounts of cleaner. It is also less time. I did all my parts in a couple of hours.

I boiled my carb bowls in lemon juice.

The only thing new I needed was new gaskets. Everything else was the 30-year old original parts.

 

Good point on the parts. Cheapo "carb kits" off eBay have been known to frustrate many a member, when quite often the original parts were OK.

Best practice is to disassemble, clean thoroughly and carefully inspect. Then order the parts you NEED, and get quality parts either from Yamaha or from Len. There are a lot of poor-quality "pattern" parts running around that don't work for squat, like throttle shaft seals that aren't the correct cross section, crappy float needles, etc.

False economy.

 

Seriously. Nothing but one large flat paper gasket. Traced out the pattern of the carb bowl gaskets and cut them with an Exacto knife. Everything else was original carb parts cleaned and brushed. Yamaha made the parts to last.

 

If you're going to do the carbs RIGHT, since it had been left in the condition you got it, play it safe and tear the carbs ALL the way down. Clean every part, replace every o-ring and seal. It does a few things for you....

1. you KNOW the carbs are DONE
2. you KNOW the seals are DONE
4. you KNOW every passage is clear
5. you KNOW the rack itself
6. you KNOW which parts were replaced

You'll end up with mostly the original parts except for the soft stuff.

In addition to the parts I said to replace before, I'd also recommend that you replace the fuel inlet needle with the metal-tip needles, not the rubber tipped ones.

Personal opinion.

Talk to you soon.....

Dave F

 

Eco,

x1 what BF, HC and especially what Hogfiddles said. In that condition I would do a complete teardown. Once they are back together whatever issues you may have with them it will be a lot easier to find and fix it (them). Good Luck...you can do it.

Gary

 

Don't worry about feeling like a rookie.........that's the beginning of the learning curve. don't let it feel overwhelming. It's not like there's no one to ask. There's PLENTY of experience here, so if you get stuck, stumped, scared, unsure, overwhelmed, confused, etc......just ASK us. If need be, we may ask for a pic of what you're looking at so we can see it from your perspective. Whatever the case, we WILL get you back on track. No worries.

Dave Fox

BTW, I sent you a txt.....I do have the shim you asked about.

 

Thanks a lot Dave. Since it seems like there are some unreliable carb kits with either less that good parts or not the right fit for the application. Where can I buy a reliable kit to get the job done?

 

Get the parts right from Len Chacal. Reach him at: info@xj4ever.com

Dave F

 

Hmm... Is it just me or this bike is what mine should look like and they mislabeled the ad

http://gainesville.craigslist.org/mcd/3492182249.html

 

You are correct sir. That is a quite clean 650RJ (yes, 1982) minus its tank badges and with a recovered seat.

It may even be titled as an '84; depending on the state, bikes sometimes got titled as being from the year they were sold. (Or in Michigan, whatever the dealership put on the paperwork.) A lot of 650 Secas got sold in '83 and '84 as "leftovers." But it's an '82.

Somebody needs to wave $800 cash under the guy's nose and rescue it.