(im new)this is my 81 xj500 seca

Hi im new to this forum!
it seems like a nice community of xj bikers!

im 24 and from Sweden been riding bikes leagally since i was
16! and this is my 3d bike

a 1981 XJ 500 Seca it haven't been to an M.O.T in 18 YEARS!
it have been up and running a couple of times during the years!
and it have been i a garage all this time so its in good shape i think

im going to restore it so it passes the M.O.T and then im turning
her in to a café racer!







tomorrow im getting my new carbs and it got some rust in the petrol tank
so i bought some acid that cleans the tank and then some liquid pastic
that seals the tank inside, should work!

Btw. is this the stock exhaust? it seems so short?

 

whoo hoo, another young-blood on here besides me! You've got me beat by one year..

anyhow, I wasn't aware of an XJ500. nice! I understand its not the 'American' version since its labeled XJ500R but that's cool. and sorry I can't help with the exhaust question. although it looks a little short, I would think it appears to be stock (?) idk...

 

thank you for the warm welcome!
do you have any links so i can have a look at your bike?

yeah its a euro version i think, its a pain to find xj500 parts here tho
the 550 is more regular seen here to.

maybe the 550 parts like gaskets and carbs fit the 500?
does anybody know?

 

Welcome here!

Nice find, first time I see one.

 

Being a 4-1 I doubt the exhaust is stock, every xj from the time period that I can recall right now. And with 4-2's from the factory, and I would be Suprised If this was any different.

Welcome!!

 

Plus the un-used bolt on the left side passenger footpeg bracket, that's a typical place for the muffler to be mounted to.

 

Your bike will use almost all of the same parts as a 550 "Seca" and that is not the stock exhaust system.

The original exhaust system would have been the same as the 550 Seca, 4-into-collector box-into-2, as in the pic below.

 

thanks for the replies!

and i guessed that that wasn't the stock exhaust, but it has a nice sound to it!

nice to hear that i can buy 550 parts to, makes life alot easier

 

Cero,

Welcome to the Club. Nice 500. My first time seeing one.

Gary

 

thx, it has 23k miles on its back and its been sitting in my parents garage for
at least 6 years,ive started it 2 times during that period but the carbs was leaking fuel due to cracks, and it only cost 600 dollars, so i hope to be
riding it this summer!

 

The carbs weren't leaking fuel due to "cracks." The carbs were overflowing because your float valves are stuck.

DO NOT run the motor until you've checked to be sure it doesn't have a crankcase full of gasoline. Unscrew the oil filler, and stick your nose in the hole and have a whiff. If it smells of gasoline, your carbs have contaminated the oil and diluted it with gas.

You will need to attend to many things if you hope to ride it safely. We can help you with all of it; but you will need a service manual. If you can't find a factory book for your 500, find an XJ550RH book, it will pretty much cover your bike too. I doubt there's much difference except for carb needles and jetting, and of course the piston/cylinder/valve/cam(?) dimensions. Most of the service procedures will be the same, the brake calipers might be slightly different.

The white bike pictured above was my first XJ, a veteran commuter and is being handed down to my son.

But I love the 550Rs. Couldn't be without.

So this is the bike I ride the most now (you wanted to see some pics



We love a good 550R around here. Welcome aboard, you have a VERY nice bike there. Let's get it running right, and safe.

Speaking for pretty much every North American Seca 550 owner, we're jealous of your color scheme.

 

Nice.

Dave

 

So just a question to anyone who knows - is the engine the same as a 550 just marketed as an underrated 500? It looks awfully similar other than it being painted black.

 

Being in the transition period from the XS to the XJ. I am going to hazard a guess that yamaha did a little parts swapping with the XS/XJ 400, and the XJ 550. Using the 400 crank with the 550 pistons.

Very much like they did to create the XJ700 in 85. Which uses the 650 crank with the 750 pistons.

Ghost

 

cool to know! I deff learn some awesome stuff on this site.

 

Gee, it looks just like this one:




The engine isn't a "downrated" 550; it was a step in the evolution of the bike from its original 398cc form toward it finally becoming a 600.

The bike in the pic above is a 398cc XJ400E or F, (the D had rocketship pipes) an example of the original home-market XJ series. When Yamaha first started selling it in Europe, they were 400s, which quickly became the 500. Then when it came time for the North American market, along came the goofy fairing and the 528cc 550 motor. Which eventually grew into the FJ600.

 

Ser ut o vara i ett relativt bra skick

Välkommen hit!

Jag misstänker att förgasarna är lika som på min xj550, så har den stått mer än ett år så har du definitivt beläggningar av bensinen i förgasarna.
Så min rekommendation är att du köper nya packningar och nålar till förgasarna och gör rent dom grundligt innan du sätter tillbaka dom.
(min hoj hade stått tre år när jag köpte den och det växte något alg-liknande skräp i mina )
Något som fungerade bra på att få bort bensinavlagringar är "kalkosan", avkalkningsmedel med citronsyra.
OBS! eftersom citronsyra fräter aluminium så ska du INTE som jag låta delar stå över natten i den blandningen.. då blir allt svart

Och när du ändå har förgasarna nerskruvade så kan det vara värt att se över diafragma guminnen längst upp, kolla så det inte finns några hål.


I övrigt så förespråkas det att även kolla upp bromsar när hojen har blivit med åren, framförallt beläggen i trumbromsarna som har en tendens att falla isär med åren (även om de inte används).

O kul att se en till XJ ska bli en cafe hoj! Vart är du belägen?

Återigen välkommen hit, absolut bästa platsen på nätet om du får bekymmer med din XJ!

Mvh. Pierre Broberg / Ã…tvidaberg

 

yeah that's true, im going to take a look at the gas in the crank tomorrow
and today i took off the front brakes and i will service them!

im getting my new(used) carbs hopefully tomorrow, my mechanic threw
the old ones away because there were cracks in 3 out of 4 carbs, i wasn't
to happy wit that, i could have used some parts maybe

i got some questions!

i should take the whole motor apart and replace all gaskets?
just to be sure its all in good condition?

and should i replace all brake lines?

nice XJ man! i hope to be riding my bike to work this summer!

btw, i just bought a manual!

 

hej kul med en svensk till här! gött då kan vi hjälpas åt lite!
håll koll på dina PM jag dumpar nog nån rad där!

ja de gamla förgasarna var katastof innuti!
men de nya är på g, får se hur de serut!

ah bra tipps med kalkosan! det får jag använda mig av!
jag ska göra nått liknande med tanken som är rostig
ett medel som heter kreem, vi får se hur det går!

jag plockade av bromsarna fram idag och oljan hade skiktat sig lite
och kolvarna satt fast så jag ska ge mig på dem i helgen!

jag är skåne bo! utanför lund närmre bestämt, fast jag är uppvuxen i uppsala så jag snackar inte skånska hehe!

 

[quote="Cero]i got some questions!

i should take the whole motor apart and replace all gaskets?
just to be sure its all in good condition?

and should i replace all brake lines?

nice XJ man! i hope to be riding my bike to work this summer!

btw, i just bought a manual![/quote]

Take the whole motor apart? No. But plan to replace any gasket you "disturb" during the recommissioning process. That will turn out to be quite a few. You're going to have most of the covers off anyway doing things like adjusting the valves, camchain, etc.

Replace all the brake lines? YES. It's a MUST DO. Check the date codes, they were supposed to last 4 years. Read this:
http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=41400.html

Also, read this: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=15874.html

Thanks for the compliment. Like I said, us North American Seca 550 owners are jealous of your color scheme.

 

X2 on the safety measures futz brought up, as well as the getting the valves in spec.

As for gaskets, I used ultra black rtv sealant in the
Clutch cover on my maxim when
I replaced the friction discs and springs, and I bet it would work for pretty much any other cover that needs a gasket, minus the valve cover. Also you need new "donuts" for the valve cover as well, as they are why actually provide the sealing pressure on the cover.


Cool to see the transition from the 400-500-550, legit.

 

And also will comment on the nice color- the 83 550's are my personal
Favorite of all paint schemes, but that's also becaus e
I have a thing for black bikes, lol. But the white releases here in the us for the 81's was okayish, but the bright non metallic bland red color used on the 82's is just meh.

 

FUTZ?

I may be old, but seriously?

Personally, I have to agree as to the black scheme; maybe since I have one. The same scheme, in different variations, was used on the 750 Seca and the RD350LC here in the States.




The paint scheme on the '81 was a direct carryover from the 2-stroke RD400 "Daytona Special" that North American emissions laws killed; so Yamaha gave us the 550 Seca and painted it similarly.




I guess what I'm really jealous of is that they got CHOICES in Europe and we didn't:



Now THIS one would be sooo damn cool to get one's hands on, the VERY FIRST XJ, the XJ400D check them pipes baby!!!



Call me an old fart and you're gonna get a history lesson!

Apologies to the OP for horribly hijacking his thread with XJ enthusiasm.

 

cool! thanks for the show and tell! i really like the black
RD350

 

Just want to add - that the "550" is really just a 528, and your "500" might be just under 499 CC to hit a displacement break, for legal reasons, and there would basically be no other changes, as to gaskets, electronics, and other specs. These bikes were a development of an earlier 400.

 

i got my new carbs, this is how they looked


needs a good clean but its not that dirty compared with my old ones!
and the carbs interior pieces are really nice and they move as they should!



and i bought some new oil because the old one smelled a little like petrol.

is T4 15-40 MINIRAL motorcycle oil ok to ride with?

its cheap, just wanted a cheap oil
because if it fills with gas again its wasted money.

so as u understand now the crank was probably filled with a little gas,
the thickness in the oil was still good. but the gas has been in there for
2 years,

is the crank and clutch still ok you think or should i take the
motor apart?

 

I wouldn't take the engine apart unless you find there's an issue after you have PROPERLY cleaned the carbs as per "the church of clean" and they pass the clunk test. Then drained the oil and replaced with 20w 50 MOTORCYCLE specific oil, non sythetic. Castrol 4t works great, a decent price, and is widely available.

That mineral oil sounds sketch IMHO.

Don't forget to change the filter as well - the Fram ch6003 comes with all the o-rings that you need.

 

The oil you have bought will work just fine, Biltemas?

But yes, make shure the carbs are clean-clean and that the floats are set at a correct level and open/closes without problems befor putting them back on the bike.

about the engine, don't tare it appart until you actually need to, the gas in the oil has probably leaked in to it while it stood still and haven't made any damage since the engine hasn't been running with bad oil.

 

The gas got into the oil because the carbs and possibly the vacuum-operated fuel tap were malfunctioning.

DO NOT "take the motor apart." You will at some point need to rebuild the clutch; that is normal it's old too.

Take the above advice, get the carbs properly serviced and adjusted, your valves in spec, and change your oil.

 

Look for a commercial diesel oil - non synthetic if you can't find a motorcycle specific oil.

 

yepp its biltemas oil! how do i know that the floats are att the correct level?

 

Then your fine, I think there was a debate that Biltemas oil was infact statoils oil rebranded.

There is, as I said in the PM I just sent you, a great guide @ xj4ever.com
But if anything is unclear I'm more then willing to help you!

 

How many cc are the XJ500, did they just round down the 528cc instead of up like for the XJ550?

Front of the engine in the middle at the base of the barrel it should be cast in for the size

 

the engine is 492cc, just checked it in my regestation papers

 

Then I'm wondering (and asking) are the jets different ??

All, including the air jets - - this could be important to someone.

 

its a good question me and chacal, are looking in to it now, i just got the
complete manual of all parts and part numbers from Yamaha Sweden, so we are going to check with the american 550 part numbers and see what parts that are different!

 

i just realized that i don't have the stock exhaust and i don't have the carbs that was with my motor and exhaust anymore(got a new carb),

so do i need bigger jets? its a 4 - 1 system

im thinking of getting a K&N oval filters (they look so good)
and then its recommended to use dynojet stage 3 jets
has anyone tried the oval filters ?

 

Since you have the stock airbox (not POD filters) the typical advise is to increase by 2 your current jet size.

But if your carbs are wrong for your bike already - you must let your sparkplug color be your guide