What did you do to your Yamaha today?

Dang, Boy!

I just Google Images a Huntsman Spider.
Them critters is BIG.
Do they pose a hazard other than being so frightening looking?

 

Rick,

The Hunstman Spider is an inhabitant of dark places in garages and other dark places in the home. Just when you least expect it one will raise his hairy legs and scamper across your car bonnet, windscreen (had that happen once fortunately on the outside), up a wall in the garage or across your petrol tank (yikes), instrument cluster or fairing.

Strangely enough they are not hazardous in that they don't carry any poison. But from my perspective they can give you a heart attack when one pops up out of nowhere when you least expect it and crawl across your bike while riding. Must be breeding season in Spring because that's when I've come across them.

So my routine is from now, wash, wax, clean...Raid in all the nooks and crannies. I'm either going to wipe all traces of them out on my XJ or create a new supersized breed which will keep cockroaches company after a nuclear fallout.

 

Well, what sort of critter likes to EAT those spiders?

 

Nothing smaller than a bird, if they dare. Those Huntsman have everyone bluffed.

As for us (male) humans...I hunt them with a glass jar and then release them into the wild (read...neighbour's yard).

 

Did a valve job, only had to switch out 4 but I couldnt get ahold of 275's today, have to go back in once I get ahold of them. Synch'd the carbs, set the mixture, re synch'd the carbs, drove to school. I didnt realize just how much better it would run... It does however have a ticking noise coming from the top of motor... Hopefully it is one of those good sounds. I had to change one of the shims a full 3 sizes, had to put the first one in just so I could find out what size it needed! Thanks for all the info, tips, and mechanical know how everyone!

 

Hey Jack, sounds like you're cookin' with gas now! If you need any shims, just remember that I keep all sizes in stock......and can ship in a hurry!

 

It's scary finding a shim so close you can get a feeler gauge in there to determine what shim you need to replace it with ... huh?

Make a Cheat-Sheet if you haven't already ... so you know what one you have in there, next time.

Makes not having to pull the shim and reading the number on the back ... saves a little time doing the job ... nest time!

 

Congratulation Red on scaring the entire northern hemisphere away from OZ! I guess you have to live with huntsmen to understand them. I've a 4 year old niece who will pick one up and put it outside.
I'm pretty sure their only known predator is old ladies who swallow them after eating a fly!

 

Well, after being tricked by local NBC to watch all the news last night to see if I would be fighting sn@w in Philly, and learning that it's still just north of me, I had the distinct pleasure of having to jump the bike in a slight drizzle first thing this morning. I think I will be looking into getting a new battery to have with my turkey this week.

I also have been searching out the different car-part stores here around me for spark-plugs. I am planning on putting on NGK DR8EIX 6681 if I can find anyone who sells them, but so far, autozone and strauss right near me don't carry them and CAN'T ORDER THEM either. It's maddening as I can understand not carrying what you aren't going to sell on a regular basis, but to make it so the people in the store can't order it is beyond me.

 

Hey Time, I carry them in-stock!:

Sparks Plugs and Related:


sp2) Genuine NGK Spark Plugs, available in either their standard or high-performance Iridium IX styles. NOTE: NGK plugs that begin with the letter "B" are 14mm plugs. Plugs that begin with the letter "D" are 12mm plugs.


HCP1296 NGK Standard Spark Plug, D8EA, correct for all XJ550 and 1985 XJ700-X models. Each.
$ 2.50

HCP1296SET4 NGK Standard Spark Plug, D8EA, correct for all XJ550 and 1985 XJ700-X models, set of 4.
$ 9.00


HCP1297 NGK Iridium Spark Plug, DR8EIX, correct for all XJ550 and all XJ700-X models. Each.
$ 7.95

HCP1297SET4 NGK Iridium Spark Plug, DR8EIX, correct for all XJ550 and all XJ700-X models, set of 4.
$ 30.00


You may want to check your plug boots also and replace if needed:

pc2) Genuine NGK Plug Caps ("Boots)", available in a variety of styles and configurations. All plug caps include weatherproof rubber end boots. NOTE: NGK plugs that begin with the letter "B" are 14mm plugs and are used in all XJ650/700 non-X models/750/900/1100 models. Plugs that begin with the letter "D" are 12mm plugs and are used in all XJ550 and XJ700-X models only.

Okay, before we get going, let's review a little bit about the original Yamaha COILS, PLUG WIRES, PLUG CAPS, and PLUGS used on these bikes.

Factory Yamaha COILS want to "see" a total load resistance on the secondary side (the "going-to-the- plugs" side) of around 20-30K ohms (ohms being a measure of electrical resistance). Electrical resistance depends on a number of factors: wire size, type of material, length of material, ambient temperature, etc. etc. In any case, all factory XJ coils and wires combined---BUT WITHOUT THE CAPS OR PLUGS ATTACHED---are specified to have a resistance of around 11K ohms, +/- 20%, at 68-degrees Fahrenheit. This means anywhere from 8.8K ohms to 13.2K ohms is acceptable. As a side note---and for future reference if you need it---the load resistance on the primary side of the coil (the "main-wiring-harness-connector-leads" side) should be 2.5 ohms +/- 10% at 68-degrees F, meaning a usable range of 2.25 to 2.75 ohms. BY THE WAY, in order to help diagnosing engine performance problems that seem to be "plug-related", always measure the resistance of your coils, both primary and secondary sides, before you start replacing parts. 20+ year old coils can and do fail regularly. If you need to replace your coils, and decide to buy used, original coils "sight unseen", always make sure that the seller checks them for you before you buy them! And also note: most analog ("swinging needle") ohm meters require that the needle be "zeroed" manually before you check ohms each and every time!

Factory coils can also suffer from tiny hairline cracks in their outer plastic housings, leading to electrical shorts which might only show up when the coils get hot, or when the ambient air has quite a bit of moisture (humidity) in it. Running your bike at night, with the tank off, in a VERY dark area will allow you to visually see if there are any tiny blue sparks occuring around the coils or lead wires, in which case the coils are in need of replacement.

Plug WIRES on factory coils are non-replacable, at least not without quite a bit of surgery (which I'm not going to even attempt to cover here). Suffice it to say that if your coils measure out of specs for resistance (as described above), they're junk and should be replaced, either with another factory coil or a pair of the various aftermarket coils that are on the market (Dyna and Accel coils work, but are a challenge to mount correctly in these tight XJ frames). We do offer an NGK plug wire in-line splicer (HCP2789 listed further below) that will allow you to cut off and remove a bad factory wire and replace it with a length of aftermarket plug wire. Aftermarket 7mm copper core plug wire is a good choice to use when replacing factory coil wires, as copper wire (in the lengths that are used on bikes) basically offer an amount of electrical resistance equal to zero.

Spark plug wire CAPS---or "boots"---are the hard plastic insulators that go on top of the spark plug threaded stud, and accept the plug wire from the coil on their other end via a simple "twist-on" method---yes, the plug wire end of the cap has a metal screw that bites into a "screws" onto the end of the plug wire, penetrating the plug wires' inner metal core and making a mechanical connection. Plug wire caps originally were either 5K ohm resistance (on the two center cylinders, #2 and #3, which use the 2-1/2" tall, 90-degree-angled Tokai Denso caps) or 10K ohm resistance (on the two outer cylinders, #1 and #4, which use the short, 1-1/2" tall 90-degree-angled NGK caps---although many of the original outer cylinder caps are not marked NGK anywhere on them). Plug caps have differing resistance ratings due to the use of a tiny interior resistor, and the resistance of each cap can and should be checked with an ohm meter on a periodic basis. Caps that are +/- 10% resistance from specified should be considered bad, and should be replaced. A variety of different size and shape plug caps are listed below, and although neither the original Tokai Denso caps nor the original 10K caps are available, NGK 5K caps come in a variety of original size configuartions and can be safely used to replace broken, missing, damaged, or out-of-spec original caps. They accept up to 7mm spark plug wires easily.

Spark PLUGS on all XJ-series bike were factory NGK models. Although many other brands of plus can be safely cross-referenced to the originals, NGK plugs offer both a value and performance that is quite satisfactory, in both original design configurations or high-performance "Iridium" design plugs. All non-resistor plugs have a resistance equal to zero ohms, while all resistor plugs.....those with an "R" in their part number.....have a resistance rating of 5K ohms. NOTE: all original and replacement plug caps are designed to be used on plugs that have their screw-on insulator stud cap removed, and used with the threaded stud exposed. And the NGK plug caps are specific to either the 12mm plugs (all XJ550's and all XJ700-X models) or the 14mm plugs (all XJ650, XJ700 non-X, 750, 900, and 1100 models).

In conclusion: you can safely use replacement NGK plug caps with a 5K resistance rating with either resistor or non-resistor type spark plugs. If replacing spark plug wires on either original coils, or when using aftermarket coils, it is recommended that you use copper core, non-resistance spark plug wire. Doing the above will give you the total 5-10K plug/cap resistance values that coils need to "see" to perform properly. And finally, always check, with an ohm meter, your coils primary and secondary resistance, and your plug cap resistance, before you start "throwing money" at engine performance problems that seem to be electrically-related!


For 12mm spark plugs: all XJ550 and XJ700-X models:

NOTE: XJ700-X models used "tall" plug caps on all 4 cylinders, while XJ550 models used "short" or "medium" caps on the outer (#1 and #4) cylinders and the "tall" caps on the inner (#2 and #3) cylinders.


XJ550 Outer (#1 & #4) Cylinders:


HCP1316 NGK Plug Cap, 5K ohms, short 90-degree angled boot, for 12mm "D" plugs with a threaded stud on top. Great replacement for the stock plug caps on the outer (#1 and #4) cylinders. Slightly taller than original caps (1.5" tall for these replacements versus 1.3" tall for the originals). Each.
$ 4.00

HCP1316SET2 NGK Plug Cap, 5K ohms, short 90-degree angled boot, for 12mm "D" plugs with a threaded stud on top, set of 2.
$ 7.75

HCP1316SET4 NGK Plug Cap, 5Kohms, short 90-degree angled boot, for 12mm "D" plugs with a threaded stud on top, set of 4.
$ 14.00



HCP1676 NGK Plug Cap, non-resistive (0 ohms), 90-degree angled boot, for 12mm "D" plugs with a threaded stud on top. Can be used as a replacement for the outer cylinders (#1 and #4) for those applications that require the use of a zero-ohm cap (for example, using a high-resistance plug wire along with resistor plugs). Almost the same height as originals. Each.
$ 2.50

HCP1676SET2 NGK Plug Cap, non-resistive (0 ohms), 90-degree angled boot, for 12mm "D" plugs with a threaded stud on top, set of 2.
$ 4.50

HCP1676SET4 NGK Plug Cap, non-resistive (0 ohms), 90-degree angled boot, for 12mm "D" plugs with a threaded stud on top, set of 4.
$ 7.00



HCP1322 NGK Plug Cap, 5K ohms, medium 120-degree angled boot, for 12mm "D" plugs with a threaded stud on top. Suitable replacement for the stock plug caps on the outer (#1 and #4) cylinders. Slightly taller than original caps (2.5" tall for these replacements versus 1.3" tall for the originals), and the 120-degree angled plug wire end offers some additional clearance as compared to the stock 90-degree right-angled caps. Each.
$ 4.00

HCP1322SET2 NGK Plug Cap, 5K ohms, medium 120-degree angled boot, for 12mm "D" plugs with a threaded stud on top, set of 2.
$ 7.75

HCP1322SET4 NGK Plug Cap, 5K ohms, medium 120-degree angled boot, for 12mm "D" plugs with a threaded stud on top, set of 4.
$ 15.00



XJ550 Inner (#2 & #3) Cylinders and XJ700-X all cylinders:

HCP1312 NGK Plug Cap, 5K ohms, straight, for 12mm "D" plugs with a threaded stud on top. Recommended as a suitable replacement for all four XJ700-X plug caps, as the straight-up design helps keep the plug wires off the valve covers, unlike the angled-tip configuration of the original style caps. Can be used on XJ550 inner cylinders (#2 and #3) as replacements, especially when using aftermarket plug wires and coils. Approx. 3" tall vs. the 2.5" tall originals. Each.
$ 4.00

HCP1312SET2 NGK Plug Cap, 5K ohms, straight, for 12mm "D" plugs with a threaded stud on top, set of 2.
$ 7.75

HCP1312SET4 NGK Plug Cap, 5K ohms, straight, for 12mm "D" plugs with a threaded stud on top, set of 4.
$ 15.00


HCP1318 NGK Plug Cap, 5K ohms, tall 102-degree angled boot, for 12mm "D" plugs with a threaded stud on top. Similar in design to all four XJ700-X original plug caps, with the bent-up plug wire tip design. Recommended for the XJ550 inner cylinders (#2 and #3) as replacements for the non-available tall 90-degree tip caps. Approx. 3.25" tall vs. the 2.5" tall originals. Each.
$ 4.00

HCP1318SET2 NGK Plug Cap, 5K ohms , tall 102-degree angled boot, for 12mm "D" plugs with a threaded stud on top, set of 2.
$ 7.75

HCP1318SET4 NGK Plug Cap, 5K ohms , tall 102-degree angled boot, for 12mm "D" plugs with a threaded stud on top, set of 4.
$ 15.00



All the above and more at:

http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic ... t=135.html

 

chacal...did you get a website yet? dayumn! I want to be able to search by bike model and find all your parts listed.

 

Wow! I will be reading that when I have time at home. Thanks for all that information. I hope you didn't type all that by hand though.

Jon

 

PghXJ-----in time. Right now you've just got to "read all about it" on the thread, sorry, working 18 hours a day doing the research and trying to make sure that things and products are:

a) available
b) correct (this is what takes an incredible amount of time)
c) in-stock

I'll be adding a large amount of parts to the list between Thanksgiving and New Years, I think I've got about another thousand or so available!

Jon---only had to type it once, then it's all just cut-and-paste! Thankfully!!

 

killed my stock dual horns, and relocated the high tone horn to in front of the motor. Looks much leaner now, without the chrome mickeymouse ears poking out.

Started looking for a different gauge cluster.

 

Bought a bunch of used relays and other various electrical junk from eBay. The diode block may be good, but I think all the relays are bad. My quest for working flashers continues...

Along the same vein, I now have several of the rear flasher stays, but all appear to be bent. Are they supposed to be that way, or should they be flat along the long axis of the bike?

Put another way, if you were to take the rear flashers apart and look at the little bracket that holds the flasher to the frame, does it have only *bends* in it, or does it have a slight *twist* in it (which would then adjust the flasher's position *forward* or *backward* relative to the bike when mounted)?

Had the bike shop examine both of the front wheels I have and the rotors. In their tech's words, "I'd ride on those wheels." So the wheels are fine, the rotors are fine. Now I need to reassemble the front wheel and pay close attention to the schematic to make sure I'm not missing any spacers and that they are in there in the right order. I could swear that the rotor is out of position in that slot in the front fork by something teeny like 1/32 of an inch... just enough to make it so that there is almost zero clearance between the rotor and the outside edge of the slot.

Alos need to accumulate some money so I can get some more parts from chacal. The term "project bike" becomes more appropriate every day.

 

I'm overhaulin, and have to pull the alternator rotor, so as suggested by the Haynes manual, "obtain the Yamaha Tool....." So I head to the local Yamy dealer, who fires back at me ...WE DON'T RENT TOOLS, AND WE DON"T WORK ON BIKES OLDER THAN 1997! ... Doesn't that just make you want to fix up these old bikes in spite of dealers like that!

 

Call Customer Service - 1-800-962-7926 ... and blow the whistle on that guy!

Yamaha hates it when a Dealer tells a Customer to "Take a hike"

 

a340----I carry that tool, in stock:

HCP1404 Aftermarket alternator Rotor Removal Tool, this is the correct tool to use to remove the rotor without damaging the rotor or the retainer threads.
$ 12.00

 

rick, dude! that WAS a MIDNIGHT !!!
good job fixing it up rather than see it destroyed.

 

Chacal .. send me the goods, also want a fuse box and attachments.
Thanks