Running on one cylinder... Honest opinions

Don't want to jump in Dave's way here cause he's got you covered. Good man so listen to him and he'll guide you home.
Takes about 2.7 quarts
What I do is this: from dry with new oil filter fill with 2.5 quarts of MOTORCYCLE oil, I use castrol 20/50 4T
run the bike a minute and shut it down
with the bike on the CENTER STAND check the oil window and SOWLY fill little at a time--- LITTLE AT A TIME--unti there is only a little bubble left at the top
more on why the litte bubble later.
for the CD go to the general lounge and there is a "STICKY" thread about it

 

I bought my XJ650 book On-line. Bought my XJ900 also online as CD. Takes 2.5 liters oi lwithout filter & takes 2.8 liter oil with filter change. Also shows High & low on the side cover (right side).

 

On your clutch cover where you put the oil in is a stamped quantity. On my XJ550 it says 2200 cm3 (as in centimeter cubed) which is the same as 2.2L or 2.32 Quarts. Your 750 will take more.

You have a sight glass on that side of your oil reservoir. It will likely need to be cleaned-I used some solvent and q-tips. When you fill it put in slightly less than the printed amount, run the bike then wait 3 minutes, add until there is just a small bubble at the top of that glass.

Fuel on your plugs mixed with soot will look just like oil. You can tell the difference by the viscosity. And fuel mixed with soot coming out of your pipes could be mistaken for oil by the "clueless mechanics."

One other thing since you don't know the mileage, why not add other info to your signature. Like the current modifications on the bike. If you can I would also take some pics of the things in question-your plugs, your headers, your pods etc-Just so we know what you have.

 

I put the oil in and it doesnt want to start for some reason... its probably my plugs they are so fouled I doubt the have any life in them, but I am getting some new ones tomorrow. The black is in fact fuel. SO in that case what could be the cause? I will update my signature to fill you guys in....

 

carbs carbs carbs, are they CLEAN? your rich
hows your valve clearences? numbers? gotta start there-- cant tune without valves being in spec and clean
also you should do like MercuryMan said and add your bike and all mods to your signature. can we see the mods? Start a gallery

 

sorry didnt see that, please excuse me I see the mods now. Ill put the crayons down and stop eating them

 

Yes my next step will be buying the XJCD and checking my valve clearances...
my carbs are pretty dirty and probably worthless but I am rebuilding and jetting a spare set I picked up on ebay. What all will I need to check the valve clearences? Feeler gauge, valve cover gasket...? anything else?

 

a shim tool. motion pro makes one and you can get those from chacal. less than 20.00.
if you are rich then it will probably tune out once youre clean and in spec.
Big fitz has a GREAT how to on the valve clearence

 

will I need new valve seals...? also is there anything I should replace while I have it torn apart?

 

No not for clearences, you WILL need shims but you cant get them untill after you see what you have. PM me for a phone number

 

I don't expect you to need valve seals unless you're blowing a lot of blue smoke. Since you didn't mention that, I doubt you need it.

Get the right airbox and get rid of the pods
Get the right exhaust and mufflers

You CAN tune the bike wiithout doing shims. You will get it running a whole lot better. KEEP IN MIND....if you DO go that route, you will need to re-tune when you finally DO do the shims. Since you have stuff apart, now is the time to do it. I think you already know that.

Quick question.....did you sniff the crankcase through the oil filler hole yet? Smell like just oil? Good. Smell like gas? Gotta drain it and get that gas out so it doesn't run too hot. Running too hot with too much gas in the crankcase = KABOOOOOOMM!! and I DON'T think you want that.

Case in point.......this past summer I was contacted by a fellow who had trouble with his bike: Couldn't go more than 2mi and the bike would stall out. He'd have to trailer the bike home or walk it to somewhere til it was cold. Then he could ride it most of the way home. I went to help him. The smell in the crankcase was as strong as the gas tank. I told him he had gas in the crank case, etc......... He said it couldn't be there. Yeah, ok. I took 2.25 gal of liquid out of the crankcase. It was so full it was backed right up into the airbox via the breather tube and the filter was soaked. He said he had a fellow already clean the carbs and didn't need to be done. Ok, fine, I left them alone. I put fresh oil and filter in for him.

Long story finally shortened.....that was June, he rode it the rest of the summer and into Oct. without ANY incident.

Without seeing your bike, yours sounds similar, except you do have jetting issues due to the pods, and cleaning issues, and adjusting the valve shim clearances will alleviate many other potential issues.

Again, keep us posted!

Dave Fox

 

Just to check your valves you only need a feeler gauge, the allen wrench to remove the valve cover, screwdriver (or impact driver) to remove the ignition cover (left front) and a 19mm wrench to turn the crankshaft.

You might need a new VC gasket, new VC bolt donuts, & new ignition cover gasket. When I did mine the gaskets were all fairly new and intact, same with my donuts. If you must ride then I would have these on hand just in case. I am replacing mine this winter so I know they will be good. Also I changed my stripped screws on the ignition cover for matching allen bolts (same mm as valve cover-available at Lowe's for $1.89)

There is a write-up on here from Bigfitz that walks you right through the process, and it is really easy and very important to engine health.

+1 to Hogfiddles advice about your intake and exhaust. At the very least you need something besides just headers. And if you keep the pods your tuning window is much smaller, and so you must tinker and be good at it.

Since that is fuel on your plugs it is possible that the po did re-jet your carbs and either got it wrong or there are other carb issues. It's always a process of elimination but you'll get there, and once there you'll practically be a certified motorcycle mechanic, at least on these related issues.

 

Ok so I need to...

1. Drain my oil and refill plus a new filter.

2. Check my valve clearance. Then shim if necessary.

3. Check my coils with a spare plug.

4. Finish rebuilding and rejetting my carbs.

5. Hope and pray that this thing purrs...

I do plan on fabricating some pipes in the near future and also making a PVC manifold with two UNI filters and just rejetting to them

 

Wow, you're starting to sound like an xj-mechanic now.

Dave F

 

Your on the right tract.

These guy's know the're stuff and wont lead you wrong.

One more thing that can't be stated enough.......

NO Short Cuts

 

to quote from comment on page 1, they're all, unfortunately, "in need of TLC!"

 

Yea that seems to be about right from what I have read NigeW...

Yea especially with carbs, I know that going in... I am a Heavy Equipment mechanic for the Marine Corps.

 

If you go through the bike and put everything right, the only ongoing "TLC" required is normal maintenance. Valve clearances need to be checked every 5000 miles, the oil changed every 2500 or so, and other basic things like spark plugs and air filters attended to regularly. The bike will only require constant attention if you don't go through and reverse the effects of the years of neglected maintenance.

Carbs don't need constant attention once they've been properly dealt with. Nor will the rest of the bike if you do it right.

 

Thats where I am now, I am rebuilding and re jetting the carbs. Checking my valve clearences and swapping out the plugs. Changing my rear shoes, and then riding.

 

Ok so I just ordered my new jets from Chacal. #126 main and #42 Pilot. almost done with the rebuild. This may be a stupid question but again go easy on me Im a rookie at this whole thing. What kind of syncing will be necessary? will a bench sync do (because that looked pretty simple from the write-up in the info overload) or will more extensive syncing be required?