Cylinder not firing?

Yes, the metal nipples on the carb to engine boots (manifold) is where the vac is measured at.
those nipples cant be left open

 

WHOA STOP HOLD ON.

If your valves aren't in spec, don't even BOTHER trying to sync the carbs.

If you didn't wet-set your floats, go back and do that while you wait for the shim tool to arrive.

Yes, your manometer or whatever you're using to sync with attaches to the vacuum nipples (the 4 little metal spigots on the intake manifolds.) Since you'll need to read the #3 port as well, you run the bike on "PRI" for the sync process.

The YICS tool being in place usually drops the idle; you need to make sure you compensate by bringing it back up to the recommended RPM for the adjustment. You'll need to adjust the main idle knob slightly. Once the sync is complete and the tool removed, you'll need to bring the idle back down to spec.

BUT YOU CANNOT SYNC THE CARBS UNTIL YOUR VALVES ARE IN SPEC. You're wasting your time.

FROM THE FACTORY MANUAL note "must" not "it would be nice:"

 

Ok, well, thats pretty definitive on what to do next. Guess I'll wait for the shims. I'm going to go see if I can order a set from ebay. Don't know what I would do without you guys....oh wait, yeah I do....toast this bike and have to buy another! =D

 

Dude to be honest your best bet is gonna be Chacal (Len). he'll be faster, most likley cheaper and he wont pawn off some wrong shim on you. 3 days and youll get the CORRECT shims for like 8.50 each.
Best bet I promise

 

umm, yeah.

You don't "order a set" of shims.

Did you actually read through the procedure? http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=14827.html

You MEASURE the valve clearances. Then, for the ones that are too tight, you REMOVE THE EXISTING SHIM, and "read" (and record) the thickness marked on the underside.

THEN, based on the measured clearance and the currently installed shim, you decide which size shim(s) you need to order.

YOU CANNOT TELL WHAT SHIMS YOU'LL NEED UNTIL YOU MEASURE THE CLEARANCES, GET YOUR TOOL, AND REMOVE AND READ THE EXISTING SHIMS. They come in like 20 different sizes; you have no way of knowing what's in there now until you look.

Go back and read this carefully: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=14827.html You've missed the concept.

 

no i read it, I'm just tired and swapped terms....I meant wait for my set of feeler gauges....Ordered a set of off-set tapered ones. Metric of course

 

Gotcha. But you still can't order shims just yet.

And I was serious about wet-setting the floats, if you didn't you're going to have to. HAVE TO.

That would also be a good opportunity to record all of the numbers on your JETS, because getting the bike running is only the first step. Getting it running so you can actually RIDE it is a whole other challenge we're not even to yet.

 

I did wet set the floats, as well as I could without the proper connectors anyways. I ended up using this putty stuff that hardens like steel (or so it says on the package) to connect the tip of my hose connector to the bottom of the bowl-drain. It worked well enough to get a reading, but I'm going to have to find something that gives me a good connection, I don't quite trust the reading I got. However, the crabs don't flood so badly that they pour gas into my crankcase anymore, so thats a good start I guess.

In short, I need a list of items to continue the process of getting this beast on the road.

1. Feeler gauges
2. Shims, after I determine whether or not I need them and what size to get.
3. the little clip-on tool that holds the shims down so you can check clearence
4. something to connect my hose to the bottom of my float bowl.
5. stator (already ordered)
6. rectifier (already ordered)
7. numbers of my jets to make sure they're the right ones.
8. patience and more money

Only reason I was able to get the rectifier and stator would be thanks to e-bays bill-me-later thing, great idea btw. I should be getting paid for a web-site project here soon, so hopefully I'll be able to get back to fixing her....and please don't tell me how cheap this stuff is, I already know....I have $2.37 in pennies and nickles =p

 

cancel the ordered feeler gauges, e-bay said no the the bill-me-later on that.....

 

PM sent

 

For connecting the tube, I use a little plastic hose connector fitting that I either robbed from my Mity-Vac kit, or got in a $3 assortment pack at the auto parts store. All you need is something that the hose fits tightly on, that you can jam in the drain hole.

You have to do each carb individually.

Float levels are one of the critical carb adjustments that affect how the bike runs.

 

I'll figure something out, the maintenance guy (i.e. harley guy) is warming back up to me and my bike, so hopefully he's got something in the shed full of odds and ends that'll work. Guess since he noticed me going through the steps to tune/fix the bike in the right order, the right way, he changed his opinion of I know nothing and I'm just a punk kid. He doesn't know about this forum yet

 

Then dont tell him, we'll chip in and make you look like a bike wiz

 

Can't wait to see the look on his face when i'm checking valve clearances and adjusting shims (if necessary) that'll be a kodac moment for sure! lmao

Just wish there wasn't 20 valves....yikes....my vulcan only had 8...then again it was a 2-cylinder twin

 

Yea don't tell him where the sacred fire comes from, keep him guessing and amazed.

+1 to what Bigfitz says about the vacuum adapters for your carb drain hole. I got an assortment at the Auto store ($3)and it had just the one I needed. I had to cut off the wings and make it nice and smooth but that was easy. Small fuel hose and clamp and it was good to go.

Your valve tool is called 'valve shim tool' and some refer to it as the 'valve hold down tool'. When you get it use a bright light and make sure it is centered on the cam lobe perfectly, hold it there, and screw in the allen bolt which holds it to the top of the head. It has a little 'tooth' that goes down and holds only the bucket (lifter) and lets the shim pop free so you can remove it. Bigfitz details this in his write-up but I just wanted to emphasize it for you to save you the frustration of it not working-off by just a little side to side and the whole assembly will just keep coming up and pin your shim. This may sound confusing right now, but when you get there it will all make sense.

Feeler gauges are a dime a dozen there are plenty around. If you go and ask nicely, I'll bet you could borrow some from someone. Try a friendly looking mechanic in a shop that does foreign cars or motorcycles, or a neighbor with a garage. It doesn't have to be metric-they just make it easier to do.

 

WAIT WHOA STOP.

TWENTY VALVES? Is this a Maxim "X"??? Or an aircooled Max? (With only 8 valves.)

If this is a Maxim X, all of the valve clearance adjustment info we've been providing is INCORRECT.

You CHECK the valve clearances in the same manner, with a feeler gauge between the backside of the cam lobe and the bucket.

ADJUSTMENT IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. My pictorial doesn't apply.

Unfortunately, in the case of the watercooled "X" motors, the shims are little aspirin-sized (and shaped) "buttons" that live UNDER the cam follower "buckets."

Valve adjustment on an "X" motor involves reading clearances, then pulling the cam shafts to get at the shims.

So is it a watercooled bike, with a radiator and fan; or is it aircooled?

If this really is a Maxim "X" then PLEASE change your signature to prevent future confusion.

We were all assuming you had an aircooled bike because of your sig.

 

That sounds like an "X"
What part of Orlando?? I could swing by some day, PM sent.

I'm wondering if you probed the many, tiny passages hidden in your carbs with a small diameter, stiff wire strand??

Your compression check, with an "iffy" battery you would need to boost it from a non-running car or charger, AND have the throttle wide open.
If you did the compression check with throttle closed, then 120's sounds pretty good.

 

I would definitely take TtR's offer to stop over.

Best advice I can give you if it's an "X", because I don't know jack when it comes to liquid-cooled 4s.

 

The only liquid-cooled 4s I've ever wrenched on have been in cars; I thought OP had an "airhead" XJ. But I do know the differences in the motors, and they're beyond me experience-wise, as well.

 

its definitely NOT liquid cooled, no worries there....

And I ordered a stator some time ago, and it got here, and its too damn big....go figure