Basics for XJ owners

Just give the word as soon as you know the date; the XJers from AU and NZ need plenty of lead time to make the trip.

And I agree: earlier clinic = more riding days. wonder if we have enough XJs for a South/Central TX clinic?
Or statewide? Or national? Or planetary? [Uh-oh, it's clearly time now to cap the carburetor cleaner.]

 

I actually wanted to make the carb clinic in Sept but work interfered with my bike!!! I had been keeping an eye out for anything on it. Im ready just tell me when

 

gcrick, I mounted them on the turn signal stays. I'm headin down to the garage this morning to finish wiring them up and I'll post a few pics of how I did it

 

after several edits to add your input, the list of Basics I Need To Know (above) is coming together. One thing I'm still not clear on: Any air filter changes recommended for stock XJ reliability (not maximum performance)?

Also, since I haven't read much to the contrary, I assume the stock exhaust system doesn't need modification for normal riding.

thanks,
gene

 

Air filter: about the only upgrade that I would consider is the UNI foam filter element, it can be washed and re-used indefinetly, flows as well or just slightly better than the stock paper element, which means no jetting changes are needed.

 

thanks, Chacal. I've edited that info into the post beginning this thread.

 

JIS Phillips

recognizing good advice, I have been looking for JIS screwdriver bits.
[CHACAL, didn't see any in your list(s). Let me know if I overlooked them.]

Did find this tool site with #2, #1 and #0 bits. Think those JIS sizes would do all I need?

gene

 

OK now for my dumb question. Why the JIS? Why not just good old regular phillips?

 

Re: JIS Phillips

I don't think he has bits; rather, the entire screwdriver. A set of them, in fact.

Chacal addresses this in his price list. No, I don't have a set. I'm tempted to get a set of those bits on the website -- wish they had the larger sizes, though.

Quoting from Chacal's price list:

-------------------------------------

Almost every screw on these bikes are "JIS" design screws, JIS standing for Japanese Industrial Standards, and both the depth and design on the phillips-head "slot" is different than typical US slots. In a nutshell, JIS screws (which can be easily identified by the small punched single "dot" on the screw head, in between two of the screw slots) have both deeper and "squarer" slots and thus can hold more torque than their rest-of-the-world counterparts. They also require a JIS screwdriver to take full advantage of, and to prevent rounding out the slots as typical phillips-slot screwdrivers will do. The more "rounded" edges of a standard phillips-head screwdriver cannot exert as much torque on the screw head (by design, actually) and will "cam-out" of the slots, taking some of the slot material with it unfortunately!

HCP5904 JIS Standards SCREWDRIVER SET.

Japanese phillips drive screws have sharper corners than regular phillips screwdrivers so they won't turn out under heavy torque. In order to take advantage of this feature, and to avoid stripping out the JIS screw heads by using US-standard phillips screwdrivers, it's a good idea to invest in a set of quality JIS-standard screwdrivers. This set of 4 contains one each of #1, #2, #3, and #4 sized-tip screwdrivers, and this range of sizes will handle everything down to an M3 sized screw (that's tiny, like the size of the petcock faceplate mounting screws) all the way up to screws bigger than anything I've seen used on these bikes. They all feature sturdy plastic handles, chrome plated steel shafts, and come in a handy vinyl storage pouch.
$ 34.00

------------------------

There, Len. Saved you the trouble. :mrgreen:

 

Others can give better answers but when I had a Kawa dealership we used JIS screwdrivers for them because the pitch seemed slightly different and we thought it reduced chances of stripped (tunneled) Phillips screwheads.

Which, as we alllll know, can be a genuine pain.

 

Schmuck, you're my hero!

GC, the #1 and #2 sizes are the most common on these bikes, anything smaller than that is really for working on computers, etc. and won't be useful. The #3 size can be used on some of the REALLY large screws. The #4 size is good for tanks and large industrial equipment.

 

PS.....and by "tanks" in the above posts, in relation to the #4 size screwdriver, I meant as in "military equipment" type tanks---the ones with machine guns and turrets and the like---not little ol' XJ fuel tanks!

 

Schmuckaholic answered LBelle faster and better (above) while I was still looking up how to spell the big words, like screwdriver.

Chacal, so you're confirming (remember I'm not the brightest bulb in the halogen module) that if I get your screwdriver set, as planned, and those #0,1,2 loose bits, I'm covered. Well, that works for me!

Tanks a lot,
gene

PS. A reason I also want loose bits is not just for interchangeable and electric drivers but also because they'll fit a single handle in the new rider's mini-kit currently under development at the XJBikes.com R&D center. I've added the road kit to our growing 'XJ basics' list.)

 

You'll be more than covered!

 

HERE'S MY OWN LIST (top of thread), COLLECTED FROM EXPERTS HERE...

 

Here is a tip for Phillips headed screws or any other screws. If you want extra gripping power use a touch of valve lapping compound on the tip of the screw driver. The abrasive will add friction and not let the driver slip.