The 550 is alive, mostly.

I got the carbs back together with the correct needles and jets. Put the mixture screws back in at loosened them 2.5 turns.

The bike actually fired up and ran for a couple of minutes!

Then, I noticed a drip under the bike. Which was more of a pour. It was gas.

I forgot to tighten the bowl drain screws.

While I figured out what was going on, got a wrench, shut everything off, the rest of the gas in the tank (of which there was very little) ran out. So, I won't be trying it tonight any more.

There is more work to do - I really should check the float height - but this makes me hopeful.

 

Re: The 550 is alive, sorta.

Should have checked the float height before putting the carbs back in.

 

Re: The 550 is alive, sorta.

Well, yeah, but I really wanted to try them. I want my instant gratification, dammit.

 

Re: The 550 is alive, sorta.

Cleaned the pilot jets, figured out the leak, and got the carbs back in.

Took the bike to the gas station and back and picked up a big effen screw in the rear tire. I have many completely forum inappropriate words just now.

Maybe it's not a bad thing that I need to pull the wheel. The chain seems rather loose.

 

Re: The 550 is alive, sorta.

You need to pull the wheel to CHECK THE BRAKES. BOTH of my 550s were delaminated; hence the warning article.

If the chain is rusted internally to the point where it's compromised the bearing surfaces of the pins, it's destined to fail quickly once being put back in service.

If it bleeds red when lubed, or won't hold adjustment then replace it (and the sprockets) before it breaks and wraps around the starter. If that happens it can break the starter away from the engine, breaking the crankcase castings in the process. IT HAS HAPPENED and more than once.

The 550 can make some serious horsepower; don't chance it.

 

Re: The 550 is alive, sorta.

Hope you checked the float heights. Mikuni carburetors seem to require a more "precise" amount of dedication for fine-tuning.

I will never forget the amount of time I spent all day Sunday ('a-long-time-ago') making sure the floats in my 550 were accurate. Seriously, spent hours doing the wet-set method and almost got sick due to the gas vapors by the end of the day. Now I drive the 550 everyday for my commute to work 78 miles round trip and average 51~53 mpg.

+1 on bigfitz's comments. Safety is #1 priority. Check the brakes & drive chain

 

Re: The 550 is alive, sorta.

Yeppers, brakes are delaminated.

BTW, I got a hell of a deal on a tire - a local guy has a brand new takeoff for $45 installed.

 

Re: The 550 is alive, sorta.

And the chain is gone, too. The adjusters are all the way in, and it's still got slack.

Also, I think I might need new intake manifolds. The ones there look mighty suspect.

 

Re: The 550 is alive, sorta.

A quick side note, did you check the XS's rear brake at some point too?

The only way to know for sure on the intake manifolds is to flex them from the inside and see if the cracks go all the way through. They can look pretty horrible on the outside but still be fine, function-wise.

 

Re: The 550 is alive, sorta.

XS has disks front and rear.

There is a slight problem with the rear brake on the XS in the sense that the caliper sometimes is slow to let go, which makes the pad squeal, so I will be changing seals and getting a braided hose for it in the near future.

I am having something of a wandering idle problem, which makes me think they aren't great. Also, they have pieces missing from the edge on the inside (I'm guessing from the carbs being shoved in too hard at an angle)

 

Re: The 550 is alive, sorta.

The 550 Maxim I have been working on needs new manifolds and intake gaskets. The owner has decided that he wants me to change them so the bike will run right. Just FYI for new manifolds, gaskets (OEM) , bolts and new clamps its $170.00 from Len.
The manifolds are not only cracked around they are cracked under the clamps (outside to inside) . Way beyond any type of spoogeing silicone or liquid electrical tape and inner tubes on them. Plus if they are coming off to replace gaskets and risking breaking the bolts for sure they should go in the trash in my book.

 

Re: The 550 is alive, sorta.

I think I can get away with old bolts and clamps. What was it just for the manifolds?

 

Re: The 550 is alive, sorta.

You don't want to use the old bolts, they are a poor quality metal and if they are re-used you can have one break when you torque them back up. Don't risk it for the price of new ones. I think the clamps were like 29.95 set of 4?
The clamps that Len has are the aftermarket ones that are rounded and don't dig into the new manifolds so you can get a better seal.

 

Re: The 550 is alive, sorta.

Alright. New chain in place, new shoes and springs in the rear in place.

Still can't get it to idle. Opened up the mixture screws, can turn the choke off, but if I open the throttle revs immediately jump to 3000-4000 and take a while to come back down.

I am getting a little tired of this...

 

Re: The 550 is alive, sorta.

Bet the carbs need MORE cleaning!

 

Re: The 550 is alive, sorta.

Sounds like vacuum leaks and poor sync. That is enough to cause hanging high RPM's.

 

Re: The 550 is alive, sorta.

Yeah, I'm getting pretty convinced that I'm in for new intakes.

 

Re: The 550 is alive, sorta.

The 550 that was over here needs the same thing. The owner has given me the go ahead to order them. I'll put them on and let you know how it runs. I know there is a huge vacuum leak on #3 on that bike.

MN

 

Re: The 550 is alive, sorta.

Ok, this is where I go kick myself for being stupid and not checking the simple things. I went and pulled a vacuum cap. The damn thing is rock-hard. They aren't sealing at all.

 

Re: The 550 is alive, sorta.

Got new caps. It got a little better, but not much.

 

Re: The 550 is alive, sorta.

Got new intakes, put them on with new screws and slightly siliconed gaskets. I also re-did the bench synch.

IT IDLES! Not perfect, mind you, but it idles steady and the throttle responds. I still have to keep the enrichment on, but I think that's compensating for the mixture screws not being in the right place. I don't have to hunt with it to keep it running, I just can't turn it off completely.

This, apparently, was, indeed, a problem.