won't start after riding in heavy rain

Ok, my bike is a 1982 XJ750 Maxim that i picked up 3 weeks ago. Itnhas 59,000 miles but the parts have been maintained or replaced and cleaned at least once that i know of. My parts bike has 40k miles and tons of rust.

The bike was running smoothly although it needs a valve and timing check in the near future, it worked. I rode home in a nasty rain storm here in Bellingham, wa from my 20 minute daily commute, parked it in the garage and dried it off after draining a gallon of water from my boots.

Next day the starter turned but no ignition. I did get a few nice loud backfires that got security called on me

I checked the resistance on both spark units and they were good the main sparks are blue, the secondary sparplugs spark after the starter button is released.

I just got a new drycell battery, all the wiring looks good. No blown fuses. I swapped the starter solenoid with the other bikes and it turns the starter twice as well without delay. Still no firing.

I drained the carbs, there was some water present so i drained the tank and added seafoam to both the tank and carbs. I plan to flush the carbs in 24 hours.

If the flush doesnt work, what next?

 

The XJ ignition WILL NOT fire under 9 Volts.
XJ's will NOT start if the throttle is twisted - leave the grip alone.
I would make sure the plugs are not wet from cranking, or water,
then find a nice hill and bump-start in 2nd gear.
2nd try I'd add a whiff of START fluid to the airbox.

Take 2 aspirin - call us.

 

I will try this after work tomorrow, i tried bumping it in first gear (bad juju? This is my first bike...) without starter fluid and it wanted to turn over. Huffing that beast up our gravel hill to the asphalt hill sucks.

I will update you, thanks!

 

First off, thanks for the help! Im happy to join such a knowledgeable and helpful community.

Well I tried everything mentioned above with no luck. Good thing I had a friend to help me back up the hill.

It wanted to run, and was combusting in all chambers gently. When I used the starter, it would sound normal sometimes, but most over time the clutch would engage and freewheel. I would also sometimes hear a high squeal that stopped when the start was realeased. The plugs were dry when i pulled them.

What is the next step before I'm forced to call an expensive mechanic.... I'd rather spend the money on parts and try myself.

 

Is everything dry?? Coils under the tank, TCI Module (brains)
Pick-ups under the left cover, relay connections?? everything blown and sprayed DRY ?? DEE-ARE-WHY

You drained water from your carbs - - you got soaked.

Then - - more bump-starting, pushing, ether.

You may have a weak starter. Don't need to stress it right now.

 

It's been dry for about a week now, I sprayed suspect areas with WD40. All electrical seems to be working fine now.

I'll do more bumping/ether after the batter charges back up (it's brand new but my trickle charger is only 1amp/hr).

I can hear the starter click half the time, but the it seems that it wants to go. When I got the bike, the PO had the vacuum line off and was only running on PRI. I bet the carbs are nasty (on my to do list after valve shim replacements if needed). I put the vacuum line on the port attached to Carb #3 and it was working fine for a week until this incident.

The petcock is working fine, but it something is funny. I mean, it seemed to be firing albeit weakly.

Give me hope!

 

I ready somehwere that you need to hit the starter as you release the clutch during a bump start. I don't remember doing that the first time I bumped it at the PO's house when I picked it up...

 

You don't need to thumb the starter on an XJ while bumping it

Verify a good spark on all 4 by taping the plugs to the valve cover, cranking w/starter under a "no-load" condition, and at the same time, check the voltage drop while cranking.

Just a thought - could water still be stuck by cappilary attraction inside the Pilot Circuit ?? You would need to pull the Pilot Needles out and blast some carb cleaner in there WITHOUT losing/dropping the tiny washers and "O" rings and re-setting your Pilot Needles to the same settings.

 

I have never hear to hit the starter when you release the clutch on a bump start.

Do you have spark?
Check your battery for charge.

If you had water in the carbs maybe there are other contaminates that got in them and the jets are clogged or the petcock filter is clogged.

Take your time get the valves in spec then clean the carbs.
Check the fuel level in the carbs.

 

I got brand new NTK spark plugs and a brand new battery (hooked up to a tender), and still not starting.

I did a few more bump attempts with some ether, I can hear the combustion weakly kicking as the bike slows to a stop. Is it starving of gas?

I'll have to tear down the carbs (for my first time) and have a go at cleaning the bastards. I have another set of carbs on my parts bike, I think the bike was a 650 based on the cluster seen here: (http://www.drumhillcycle.com/Used_Yamah ... /3,3849119). Are there any potential problems with switching out parts of the carbs between the two? They look identical to me...

Also, I have a new air filter coming though I tried to start her up without the air filter on to see if she would do anything different. That was not the answer.

As for checking the fuel levels, the drain hole seems to be plugged (another sign they need cleaning) on carbs #1 and #2. Time to get dirty and open them up. *sigh*

I never thought I would be this depressed after only ever riding a motorcycle for 3 weeks. WITHDRAWALS!

 

Oh how easily we become addicted!!!

I ride even in the cold of winter so that I don't get withdrawals!

 

I'm betting the carbs are all gummed up. Don't be depressed, it's not as hard as it sounds, but it does take time and patience to do it right the first time. I can tell you from personal experience--and I'm pretty good with machinery--that there aren't any shot-cuts. Follow the instructions on this website--I think it is "The House of Clean"--allow plenty of time and then take your time and all will turn out well. If you have questions in the process the folks here are always happy to help out.

 

Alright Gents,

Thanks for all the advice and help so far. I'll need more later for sure! I've read through the carb rebuild pages once, working on the second read through. I'll order all the parts/tools and in the meantime check my valve shims.

I guess I need a shim removal tool and a yics eliminator and vacuum gauges for tuning...i'll be pretty close to putting into this bike as much as I paid for it soon! It's a good thing I got the go ahead from the wife, I just had to tell it was this or buy a brand new bike!

 

Your first misconception was thinking that you can just jump on a 32 year old bike and just start riding it. Not happening. It will keep "breaking down."

But it's not. Those are simply the symptoms of neglected maintenance and old parts.

Unless you bought it from a knowledgeable enthusiast who not only took care of it but kept it up-to-date, maintenance wise, you've got some work to do. OK, a lot of work to do. And there will be a budget involved; usually around $600 ~$800 for a proper recommissioning, if you do all the work.

Valve clearances, carbs, brakes, probably suspension and of course, electrics. At that mileage it's probably due for alternator brushes.

Read this: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=24010.html

It's worth it in the end.

 

Used is chaper than new, but only if you do all the catch-up work before putting it on the road. A similar type of late-model use bike with similar mileage to mine goes for $6k around here. I figure the $1200 total that I spent on the XJ and the recomissioning freed up $4800.00 in gas money

 

I know I got a steal on the bike at $800, it came with a parts bike with lots of goodies (no frame). I figured I'd spend just as much, but it was the timing that gets me... I would have liked driving at least another month before getting to the rebuild, but it is better to do it now than later.

I've done the brakes and checked the suspension, all is good on that end. Next is the carb rebuild and valve clearances before I think about any starter work.

I cleared a whole corner of the garage to drag my old wooden desk in. Its time to open this baby up and get dirty!

Expect to hear from me again, thanks.

 

It's not the House - that will just put you on the good side of your significant other.

You want to go to the Church of Clean; meticulous attention to detail and a healthy dose of patience, and like mana from heaven you will be rewarded greatly.