What did you do to your Yamaha today?

Finally got around to trying to do a vacuum sync -- as one of my four gauges wasn't reading right, I went back to Rick's one-gauge method. I discovered a few things.

1) Despite using one of Rick's homemade restrictors *and* a fuel filter to try and dampen the needle down, it still swings wildly at idle.
2) When I pull the golf tee from the #2 hose to plug in the gauge, the engine keeps right on chugging along. The other three -- it dies in seconds.
3) I had forgotten to bolt the #2 airbox-to-carb boot on. Just hanging there.
4) Even after putting the airbox bootie on, #2 will *still* keep going if it's sucking air into the vacuum nipple.
5) Yet, the gauge shows it's pulling about as much vacuum as the other cylinders.

Curiouser and curiouser...

 

Your bike is possessed by demons........

 

put it under cover from the rain

 

Today she got a badly needed new stainless collector box... Did more damage to it in last weeks accident that I thought.

Tightened the headset bearings and fitted my newly acquired enrichment valve courtesy of Chacal.. Cheers Len

Running a bit smoother now with less air leeking from the exhaust... I just have to find a way to plug that last little hole in No 1 header

 

You are more than welcome Mr. Alive!

 

Got everything Engine wise back together on the Turbo, remounted repaired gauge cluster, Installed seat from Ebay. Took it for a ride Neked. Gonna have to replace the front fork seals, got one rear shock looks to be leaking, probably going to replace them with some spring over shocks. It runs pertty good, have yet to sync carbs as I didn't break the rack apart cleaning them.

 

congrads on getting the turbo back together!

you need the fairings on though, it's so much nicer at highway speeds. I'm gonna have a couple spare turbo's, some i'll rebuild some i'll just set aside for parts.


anyways, last couple of days it's been nice out.

and I go riding if it's anything about 0c (32f). around 35 is when i'll start to get out. 40's are really nice.. 50's and 60's in the afternoon, and back down to 30's at night. I just figure, a layer of thermals is all i need.

unfortunatly, i bought a horrible bike, and am really thinking of getting a newer one.

 

Thanks, The fairings are off for ease of working on it and I had to repair the gauge cluster.. but now that they are off it will be easier to pull those front forks. The fairings are not in too bad of shape, will need some glass work and a mount or two fab'd. They were a nice white pearl color and someone had buggered them up taping pinstripe all over them. So I'll probably strip, fix and repaint them.

One thing I did learn, is that you cannot pull the front footrest's and re-install them without pulling the headers, collector and collector mount to get to the nuts for the footrest bolts. Just too tight with that turbo in the way!

I thought I had major oil burning problem just after it warmed up. Smoked real bad. Pulled the headers and ran it, no smoke, just loud as hell. Pulled the collector and cleaned the check valves on the turbo. Re-installed the headers & collector, same thing after it warmed up. Thought I had a turbos seal problem. Decided I was going to pull the turbo. Again removed headers, collector, but when I removed the muffler I heard something in it...Shook it and a large oil soaked mud dobber nest fell out and there was still more in it. So I work at getting it all out, had about a quart of it on the floor all looked oil/carboned up. Decided to reinstall everything and see if that was my problem. Soon as it warmed up it started smoking again...So I thought what the heck I'll do a little tuning on it, put the fan in front and proceded. After 15 minutes or running all the smoke stopped and the turbo's fine! All that mud that was in there for years probably kept blocking off the exhaust heating the pipe with all the carbon and unburned oil and it was just burning off once it warmed up. This bike was kept outside on a deer lease for years with little or no maintenance only 19k on it. Oil filter was so hard and plugged, I'm sure it thanked me when I changed it!

We are looking at 83f today, I wish I had it ready but with Spring break I guess I'll have to go south on thong patrol 8) ... Of course I 'll do some fishing too ! Be back in a week !

 

I swapped out my carb rack today with the spare from the 750.

Boy what a difference!!!!!!!!!

 

Pulled off the pipe for painting. Removed front and back wheels. New bearings to go in. Front bearings seemed good but one bearing on the back was in need of replacement Removed front disc. Will paint the center of it too.

 

I was able to start her up today and could tell she enjoyed it aswell. I took some pics and put them in my gallery. It said they needed to get the ok from ADMIN.
You will see I still have some more work ahead but thats what makes it fun.

 

Ride, ride, ride ...

 

Learned a lot. That means I was busy. (This was yesterday.)

pulled off the blinker switch and disassembled it again. Used spark plug boot grease on the ball bearings and the sliders and the control arm. MUCH smoother operation. Yay!

Then proceeded to take things apart again. Pulled everything off of the bars and removed them. Started to put new (stock) bars on, only to find that the clutch cable appears to be too short. Went down to the parts bike and found two more that appear to be the same length. Conclusion: cable routing must be strange. Will have to revisit that later.

Pulled the forks from the parts bike - very easy - and set them aside. Fork seal replacements for them soon. Very dirty, though. I dread the insides...

Since I was that far, and since I know the steering bearings in both bikes need some attention, I decided to start pulling apart the steering head on the parts bike. This took quite some time since no one in town - at least, no one who is open on Sunday - has a C spanner at all, let alone a 40mm one. Hell, a lot of folks didn't even know what it was! (Calling it "hook wrench" didn't help them.)

To make a long story short, I eventually bought a pair of channel lock pliers - which I've been meaning to do anyway - and was able to take the two nuts loose on the steering head. Didn't pull them all the way off, though, since my daughter was being onery and any more time spent on bikes was likely to create civil unrest. Also, ordered an adjustable hook wrench from Sears. About $37 delivered. I hope I didn't order one that's too large...

Also decided to pull apart the spare brake caliper. Having a good time getting the piston out. Ring clip and dust boot were obvious, but even pulling with vice grips around the exposed top only made the piston wiggle a little. Tried pushing compressed air into the caliper as well at various pressures up to 100psi. No dice.

My understanding is that there's an O-ring in there with a square cross section that grabs the piston. I have a feeling that the ring may be fused to the piston. Spraying WD40 in there to try to lube it up did not help either.

Any ideas, other than attaching it to a working brake system to expel the piston?

One step forward, four steps back...

 

One other interesting thing about the parts bike: The steering head had some SERIOUS "notchiness" to it at just about center and near the left and right extremes. After loosening the slotted nuts at the top, the notchiness is completely gone. Smooth travel stop to stop. Is that normal, since the bearings are not under compression any more? Or were they just overtightened before?

I plan to replace them with roller bearings anyway. I'm just curious as to whether the old bearings are still any good. If not, I'll pitch them.

 

broke the turbo

and selling bike

$500... i'm in the middle of nebraska.. bike drives great, just no turbo..

i hate myself

 

That "notchiness" is usually caused by ball bearings not being round anymore. They probably moved freely because you took the preload off them. Definitely replace them.

 

didn't you just barely rebuild that turbo? what went wrong?

 

What happened to it Turbobike ?

Spool break or bearing seize ?

The one on Ebay went for $400 yesterday

 

Rhys....now is the time to replace those 1930's technology ball bearings with tapered roller bearings! I have them in stock, of course:

HCP1912 aftermarket tapered Steering Head Bearings & Seals Set---complete set includes upper and lower bearings seal replaces the ball bearings. Fits all XJ650 and XJ750 models.
$ 39.00


The caliper need an application of heat (surrounding the piston) and cold (ice chips within the piston) take create as much clearances as possible. Then, alot of air pressure. And most important, keep your fingers clear!

 

turbine shaft broke..

and yeah i was bidding on the one yesterday.. but for 400, that's the price of a remaned..

the bike's more of a head-ache to me. needs repair and stuff that I don't know how to do. guess i'm just not cut out for bikes either.

 

Too windy to fish, so I took some time and cleaned up the engine, set part of the covers back on with the seat to see what it looks like.

 

Hey Turbo....I've got a good used Turbo assembly, but it has a slightly chewed up turbine blade (a screw fell in there!). The shaft should be good. Let me know if you're interested. Hate to see you give up on the bike after you've come so far!

 

I grinded out a scrapped oil filterbolt , replaced it , the filter , and gave her Some new 20w50 .

 

went for a beutiful ride around the california coast from san pedro to santa monica.

 

Got the handlebars mounted, though they're completely bare at this point. I'm going to have to take the headlamp apart to get some cable slack. NONE of the control cables are long enough without pulling some out. Also discovered a worn and rusted section of my clutch cable. Grrr...

 

Depending on which cables are needing slack, you may have better luck by removing the gas tank.

 

They ALL need slack. I'm going to start with the electrics, since that's slightly less trouble. But yes, I've noticed that when it comes to the clutch cable (which needs to be replaced), the throttle cable, and the choke cable, I will probably want to remove the tank for easier routing.

 

I actually took my 550 Seca for a 28 mile ride to a destination and back! 8)

No more test hops. Although I'm not through with the restoration yet, still needing to do the fork seals and paint, the bike is finally street legal and tagged and can be ridden legally on the street now. As far as I can tell, I think the bike had been off the road for about ten years. Now to mount the faring so it won't be quite so uncomfortible to run up the interstate.

 

I replaced the outer cover on the pickup coils and the generator wires. They were so brittle they cracked and split. Replaced the 3 gen wires, 1 had the outer cloth covering wore off of it. Replaced the neutral switch wire. Used elec-tape to wrap around the wires for the harness. They look a lot better now. I made jumpers so I could remove the clutch lever switch and the kickstand switch

 

washed & waxed it

 

washed & waxed it

 

I finished all my wiring woes and got rear inner fender back on.
Put the "new to me" headlight, kickstand relays I bought from e-bay on.
They were like new inside.

 

I'm still waiting for the previous owner to deliver it.... :cry:
It's suppose to be here today

 

Congrats, Spunner! What XJ did you get?

 

Just took delivery an hour ago, had a chilly 2 hour ride on the back of a trailer and started up first press! Now I get to look at it in my garage until this frickin' snow goes! 83 650 Maxim, pics in my gallery

 

Just cleaned up and installed the OEM backrest that I received yesterday. "Unobtanium" backrest for $50 (shipping included) and I still can't wipe this silly grin off my face

 

wish i had rode it to work, but it was 32F this morning, gonna ride tomarrow no matter what

 

Finished oil change, re-inflated tires, changed spark plugs, hit the choke and the starter .... then tripped on myself when the bike started (has sat for 20 years!) carbs come off tonight, get cleaned, then she hits the road!

 

That's awesome!

 

Tackled 27 years worth of chain lube, dirt, tar and crud that had accumulated on the swingarm, engine cases, frame and fender liner. Lots of varsol, rags, brushes and scrapers later it has cleaned up pretty good. I'd have to start ripping parts off to get in some of the tighter spots but that isn't happening. Washed my hands three times with hand cleaner and scrub brush and my wife still isn't going to let me touch her!

 

Installed my shiny new start button (thanks, ArizonaSteve).
Installed new Bar end mirrors.
Cursed the 10+ inches of snow we got on the second day of "Spring"

 

My brake disc has been repainted. I used Dupli-color High Heat Black and Dupli-color Engine Enamel Clear. It should stand up to the heat.
Before

After

 

re-wired my bike, relocated the ignition switch, installed a custom led tail light, new pegs.

 

punched my friend in the face after he busted my bike.

 

07, you had a productive day!

 

07,
Good one, and it was motorcycle related!!

 

RangerG, How did you do that?? How did you cover the surface of of the disc? I really want to do that to mine!!

 

teardown all the way to bear frame completed , started sandblasting last night.

also am attempting to polish and revive all aluminum and chrome

any methods known to the xj community of removing oxidation buildup and crud off the aluminum part and engine besides lots of elbow grease please pass the this on to all of us.

sos pads and mother's mag and aluminum wheel polish is working but taking a while.

hoping to make bike look close to brand new.

 

I used black electrical tape to mask off the curves and masking tape everywhere else. Just don't pull the electrial tape too hard and it will follow the curves and stay in place. Cleaned it with varsol and then rubbing alcohol, sanded with 1000 grit and sprayed away.

 

I used paint stripper. It takes the old yellowed clear off with a minimum of effort. Make sure to protect your painted surfaces. Polish with the mothers and put some wax on it. It takes some extra upkeep but it sure looks nice.