May have messed something up...

So, I drove the bike up to FTMS today, looking to get some new carb boots. The ones I bought from the guy online still fit the old style plugs and not the big resistor type plug I need. However, FTMS did not have them. So, I came back outside and hopped on the bike to ride home. It wouldn't start. I tried and tried and nearly drained the battery. It finally started, so I drove home.

When I got home, I pulled into the garage and decided, since the bike was running so terribly, I would take a look under the carbs. What mysteries would they hold? Well, honestly, they were in pretty good shape. I tore them all down and cleaned them as best I could. Put everything back together and when I fired it back up, the rpms hit about 7000. I quickly shut it off, started it up again and WHaMMO! 7000 rpms again! Finally, I took the tank back off, checked the linkage to the throttle to make sure it wasn't jammed up, and took one of the carbs apart again (to make sure it clunked via the clunk test).

I have 3 more to do tomorrow... it was just getting too dark tonight. I should probably pull them off completely and do a proper clean, but I need the experience.

I also ordered... DYNACOILS!! They should be here in a couple days, as well as my YICS tool. This bike is going to be running great!!

If I can get that carb thing fixed.

I'll post pics of the entire procedure. Apparently there are guys online that think you can't do it with dynacoils. I'll show them.

Tires, coils and polish, oh my!

I checked my tire psi today and was shocked to see it at only 25psi for the front, and 29psi for the back. I corrected this. Could explain the cruddy gas mileage (as good an excuse as any). The bike fired right up this morning, (using the choke, of course) I let it warm up for a while. I'm liking this bike more and more every day.

I also checked the secondary resistance on my bike.

Coils 1&4: 13.78
Coils 2&3: 13.08-09

Well within acceptable limits (which happen to be 9.6-14.4ohms) I clipped off about a 1/4 inch from the end of my coil wires, applied dielectric grease and tightened them up. Looking good so far. Next I'm going to check primary resistance,, but will wait until I get the new plug caps. I'm just waiting for the arrival of the new caps (which, I was told, were shipped out on Tuesday). I'm not sure if that will have any effect, but at least I'll be able to put new plugs in. That resistor tip on the new plug doesn't fit my caps.

Hallelujah! My horns work! I tore down the handlebar assembly for the left hand controls, cleaned the moving parts again (with wd40 this time) and viola! The poor jeep-jeep sound now emanates from those stock horns. I wish it were louder, but at least they work. I just don't think they are going to get anyone's attention. I still need to adjust the little screw, but thank goodness they work.

One other issue that has come up (and I am sure it relates to the carbs) is the poor throttle response *sometimes* in first gear. It doesn't always happen, but sometimes when I am sitting at a stop light and the light turns green, I have to be careful that it doesn't stall out. Accelerating sometimes there is a hesitation. Again, once I sync my carbs, I am hoping this issue will work itself out. I posted a short video of the carbs and bike at idle.

Off to order my YICS tool.

Battery insight...

So I followed a do it yourself list on how to see if your battery is any good. While I know it's a brand new battery, I wanted to see where, after a full charge and several days of use, I actually stood.

Apparently, on shaky ground. While off, the bike battery should ready 12.8 volts. Mine reads 11.82V That's less than 25% charged! Zoikes! So, right now, my battery is on a trickle charger, and there it shall remain until it charges to at least 12.8%.
Truth be told, I hooked it up to a regular battery charger and it charged 100% the day I got the new battery, or so I thought. (note to self: avoid Harbor Freight in the future)

Here are some other readings:
Off: 11.82v
Engine on, starter depressed, but not running: 9.8 (this is actually good)
Running at 2500rpms: 13.62-65 (should be 14.2-14.8)

I took this opportunity to dielectricize the electrical connections I could reach around the battery. Some of them were pretty corroded, yet everything works still. Go figure!


I'll be testing primary and secondary coils here soon to see if they are up to snuff. I also wrote the guy I bought spark plug caps from to see if they have shipped. I have to snip about a 1/2 inch from the current cables to the plugs and rethread them, at least until I buy the new coils.

The spiffing up of the engine is coming along nicely. I could actually see myself in the reflection.
I'll be doing a lot of things in the next couple of days. Changing the gear oil tomorrow, buying a new oil filter bolt, and more cleaning of course.

Cleaning cleaning...

Got lots done on the bike today, including slowly rubbing away the gunk/varnish on the engine. I found that using a little handheld sander has made the job easier. Now, to just get into those little nooks and crannies.

Drove up to FTMS today to buy some things, including an oil filter, new spark plugs and a cleaning solvent that was supposed to work magic on the varnish. Nope. No rabbits here.

Oddly, the spark plugs on my bike are stock, but the caps aren't. Or the plugs aren't stock, and the caps are. BP8ES is the plug on my bike, but the top of the plug has a threaded contact, not the blunt resistor. My guess is, the caps were switched out for these. I just ordered a new set that should be here in a few days, then, it's switch up time. I also found a great deal on a gauge that tests compression, though I have no idea how to use it, yet. No pics today, perhaps tomorrow. I waxed the tank again, and the side covers and fenders, and man, are they shiny.

Just a few more pics of the bike before that dreaded windscreen was removed. I'll be posting more tomorrow with updated pics, and extra shiny goodness.

Holy Hannah! I'm back!

It's been a mighty long time. Here it is, ladies and gents, my 1985 Yamaha Maxim XJ700. It's not an X, but it's pretty darned close.

I bought this bike from a fellow in Frankenmuth, MI, home of Bronner's Christmas Store and a bunch of German folks. You can call 1-800-fun-town and learn all about it. (Seriously. 1-800-fun-town.) The bike was pretty dirty when I first went to see it, and it had a lot of similarities to the X. In fact, when he first posted the bike on Craigslist, I thought for sure it WAS an X! I jumped on it right away. A friend of mine drove me to Frankenberry so that I could drive the bike back home.

When I arrived, the bike was on a charger. Not the best image to be presented with, to be sure, but I thought, "Okay, a new battery, not a big deal." The bike obviously sat in his garage over the winter, and hadn't seen the clean side of a sponge in I don't know how long. And what the hell? A HD windscreen jerry-rigged to the handlebars! ON a Yamaha! The nerve!

On closer inspection, I noticed the 5Valve chrome covers were gone, there was no radiator, no temp gauge... hey! This isn't an X! Plus, the biggest giveaway of all... YICS. So, I resigned myself to pass on this little bike. The guy wanted $900 for it. He claimed that the bike was serviced every spring, the head gasket had recently been changed, and the carbs recently cleaned. I offered him $700. Where's the pride in ownership? Couldn't you have at least cleaned the dead bugs off the windscreen? He countered with $800 and I said, "Sold."

I took it for a quick test ride. I had to keep the bike running, because once off, the bike needed a jump to start again. Acceleration was whoooeeee! Brakes worked fine, all lights, yadda yadda... yes, TCLOCS was observed.

So, handing over my hard earned cash, I jumped on the bike (after attaching my bike plate) and rode off into the sunset. The bike had a full tank of gas (probably low octane, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt). My back up driver pulled out, and I followed close behind. We had set up a complex system of hand signals (mainly, my waving like a madman if I needed him to pull over, as well as frantically switching my hi-lo beams in a random fashion) and he promised to monitor me closely.

We made it 72 miles before the old red-eye started glowing, so I waved to my friend, and we took the next exit. I knew I had to shut off the bike to open the tank, but my trusty friend was there with jumper cables to give me a boost. It took several attempts, but finally we were on the road again.

I made it home with little trouble, and by then, it was getting dark... but not so dark I couldn't ogle the bike for a while. I started cleaning it right away (picture above is post clean).

The engine is going to take a while to get shiny, as I am experimenting with the best solvents to use (a combo of low grit sandpaper, degreaser and rubbing compound) which is taking FoReVeR.
But, it's coming along nicely. The dirt has been removed, and the bike is almost to my standards of clean. Oh, I took that Harley Windscreen off and cleaned up the handlebars. If you're in the market for a used windscreen, check your local landfill. That's where HD accessories hastily rigged to a Yamaha belong.

The next day, I removed the air filter (looked like the original) and replaced it with a leftover from my X. The battery was bought, filled and installed, then tested. You'll be happy to know, the bike started pretty much right away. I cleaned out the dead bugs in the battery box... who knew it was an insect mauseleum? Wiped everything down so if the clean police show up and demand to check under my seat, I'll have nothing to worry about.

The bike came with the original Yamaha tool set! Yay! I used these to remove the spark plugs. They look a little lean, but nothing a carb tune can't fix. I plan to do that soon. Just as soon as I replace the caps and boots for the plugs. I think the resistance is high. I need a YICS tool. The plans to build one are on the net. I just need to download it and get to buildin'. I'm also ordering the newest XJCD set.

Here's a short video of the bike shortly after the battery installation. Adjusted the accelerator
so it's idling at 1050rpms (app.) More stuff to come.

Oh yeah. That damned windscreen is still attached. I removed it shortly after this video was taken.