Idle and Alignment

Hey guys,

I'm new to bikes. I've ridden them before but never worked on them before. I have worked on cars but nothing really older than 2000. My friend is letting me borrow his 1981 XJ 750 while he is finishing getting his PhD in Scotland. I'd like to touch it up for him while he is gone and return it to him better then I got it. The bike was taken out of a barn and the guy who owned it before him re-built a lot of the non-working parts. There are some things that have either developed or were never completely fixed that I've noticed. a few things I'd like to do first:

- The bike idles at around 4500 RPM. What can I do to get that down to a reasonable level?
- The front alignment is slightly off. It drives straight, but the handlebars are a little to the left (I think it may have been dropped). How can I adjust how they sit?
- How often are bikes due for oil changes?

 

Start by reading the Informatin Overload Hour link in my signature.

High idle can be caused by a lot of things. It might be as simple as turning the idle adjsuting knob that sits under the carbs, or it might require replacing parts. You won't know until you start diagnosing.

For starters. Have the carbs been off and cleaned, and vaccum leaks eliminated? Have the valves been adjusted?

Oil changes are a 3,000 mile affair for me, but how often will depend on hwo and where it is ridden.

 

Holy hell. Thank you so much for the information overload hour stuff. That will help a lot as I teach myself about bikes and engines!

 

I've read through the information overload hour a few times, and still pick up new stuff when I check it out. There's more stuff there than I can fit in my brain, and I've been going at it for months!