My success story - Thanks guys

I've finally finished working on my bike!!!

After buying an 81 xj550 in March or so, I found out that there were... a few problems with her... So, here's a short list of all the work I've put into her

Carb clean X 2 (missed VERY gunked enrichment circuits the 1st time)
Replace airbox (had to partially drop engine)
Replace faulty ignition switch
Repair petcock switch
Replace oil pan
Adjust valves/replace shims
Full tune up job (vacuum gauge sync, colortune, etc.)

She's running amazing right now. Who KNEW that my bike could even idle at 1,100??? She wouldn't do under 1,500 before. It's also worth mentioning the tons of minor things that I had to do to get all of the above list done... For example.... I drilled just enough threads out of a stuck idle mixture screw to render the threads ineffective, so I just tapped out the hole with a 1/4-28 tap and used a bolt pressing down on the old screw to adjust the mixture. It took me 2-3 hours to try to remove the original screw by the way, and I almost succeeded. Yes yes... I'll need a new carb body for sure, but right now I'm going to just enjoy riding her around.

I'd like to give a very sincere thanks to all of you guys here on the forums. I'd been lurking here for months as a complete wrenching and riding noobie before I even started posting, and the advice you guys give out is absolute solid gold to people like me. After trouble shooting and narrowing problems down on my own using others' posts, I started asking questions of my own, and many of you came to my aid, including Bill, who helped me fix a vacuum leak the day before he got into an accident.

Not only that but Chacal is the man. Who knew that one guy could have any part I could even think about needing to fix my ride? His stuff arrived so fast any time I ordered it, and he freely gave me wrenching advice.

After all of this, it is simply amazing to not have to work on my bike, at least for awhile

Thanks guys and gals