The XJCD

I received my XJCD yesterday. This is the one thing I have been waiting for so I can really start fine tuning the work on my bike. While I've learned a lot from xjbikes, this cd collection contains a lot of information, as well as some fun stuff. Advertisements for my XJ700 from the mid 80's, articles, facts, specs, photos upon photos... it's a bike man's dream.

I'm going to start putting a lot of stuff together that I've pulled off xjbikes and add it to the cd. Bench syncing, carb cleaning, fork seal replacement, general how-to's on a variety of different topics.

The cd does seem to be a few years behind. I attended the 2006 SOCC but those pics aren't on there. I have my own set of pics, of course, but I think some updating is necessary.

The bike still sits in the garage. I've been avoiding going out to look at it, mostly because I feel ashamed that the bike is just sitting there, carbs off, awaiting gaskets so I can put it back together. I suppose I could be out there polishing it, although I did get some nice comments from folks on how shiny it looks. But, I still have a long way to go. I want to paint the engine at some point (all black with chrome highlights?). I need new tires both front and back, and of course, the carb tuning. I'll get there. I've picked up some great polishing tricks on the xj site, and am eager to dig in.

The dirty hands thing though... when you are a nurse starting an IV, the last thing you want is someone with oil and dirt stained fingers jabbing you with sharp objects, let's just say that that's not something you want to see.

I have my son's graduation party today, luckily I got off work so I can attend. I still want to take the bike on a long trip somewhere... where, however, is the question.

Gasket!

Yeah, it looks pretty bad. The bike is definitely out of commission until I get some new manifold boot gaskets.

The bike has been running pretty badly. I took it out for a test drive today (after doing a colortune... guess what? I have to do it again now!) and the throttle response was pretty poor. Couldn't get much above 65mph (not that I would mind you, Mr. Law Enforcement officer/speed trap demon) and I know the bike has potential. Way back when I first bought it, it ran pretty good! But then, of course, the PO hadn't changed the oil, air filter or plugs for I don't know how long.

Needless to say, I ordered gaskets and O rings from chacal today, and hope to have them by early next week. I sanded down the surfaces of boot the boots and the manifold, so when I do get them, they should just fit flush.

I did take a few snaps of the bike prior to tearing it down again.

That side cover sure turned out shiny. That's hours of sanding, my friends, and look! There's me, taking a photo! Is my hair out of place?

The bike looks pretty good when it's all together.

I also tried fabricating a piece to fit over the coils, using the old coil covers. It may work, I just need to find some sort of bracket to hold them in place.

I also bench sync'd my carbs, and will NOT mess with those adjustment screws again until everything is running smoothly. Which means, of course, I'll have to readjust the pilot screws...

Definitely a labor of love, and as much as I complain about how bad off the bike is running, I do like working on it.

So what did I do?

I got quite a bit done today. Valve cover reinstalled, oil added, put the bike all back together and started it up.

Did it run? Yep, though now it really needs a carb tune. I tried doing a compression test, but I think there is something wrong with the cheap piece of crap I bought off ebay. I got numbers ranging from 75-155, all on one cylinder! Just goes to show you get what you pay for. I did hook the colortune up to a couple of the cylinders just to see where I was at in the grand scheme of things. Based on a couple of the plugs, I knew I was running rich, but the first one I did turned out nearly perfect, that being cylinder #4. Check out the video.



Of course, the other cylinder I checked was #1, and take a look at how badly out of settings this one is.



I knew it was going to be work... but that first cylinder gave me hope.

I did take it for a short ride, and there were some hesitancy issues, I'm sure those will work themselves out with a proper color tune. Once I get it sync'd, I'll be golden!

Then what? I'm not sure, but I think this will become my main form of transportation for the summer and early fall. I'd like to plan a trip somewhere (Hell is nice this time of year :) I do need to ride out to Pinckney and show off my bike to DW.

Plus, I've never been to Hell, and it's about time I made a visit.

Big list today

I have lots of things planned today.

* Reinstall the valve cover
- High tack and silicone grease from HF
* Oil change (with new oil filter)
* Pull carbs
- Bench sync
- Fuel level check in wells
* Compression test
* Get it RUNNING!!

I know, quite a list of things to do, but since it's raining, things should go rather smoothly. (crosses fingers). I'd like for this to be the last time I tear those blasted carbs off the bike. Likewise, if I never remove the gasket cover again, it'll be too soon. It's not that anything was particularly difficult, I just want to ride the thing.

I've done a lot the last few days, more than I've ever done before. If someone told me I would be checking valve clearances and pulling the carbs off my bike 4 times, I'd think they were crazy.

I'll be posting pics later today.

An Obsession

Lots done today! Painting, polishing (a mistake, more on that in a bit) valve clearances checked, shims pulled... I am a machine! First, the painting.

Things went fairly well with the painting. Here's a couple of before and mid and after shots: The finished product didn't turn out as nicely as I wanted, and part of me wants to restrip it and do it again. But in retrospect, it's been through enough. It's passable, all things considered.

I kind of wish the YICS portion was a bit more shiny, but when I was wet sanding with MeTaL GloSS, it messed up the paint. Yeah, Ishould have waited a few days to let it cure, but all things considered, I think it turned out all right. I still need to pick up some gasket sealant, but I am going to be waiting a few days before I reinstall it anyway. I am trying to figure out if I need new shims. I think I do... I am starting to think that maybe I didn't do the clearance test correctly.
Yet the majority were in spec, so I'm just not sure.



I currently have one shim pulled awaiting instruction from some of the fine folks at xjbikes.
It doesn't seem to make any sense to reinstall shims you are going to replace. Once I figured out the trick, it was pretty simple to do. Perhaps I should reinstall them and see if I get a different number.

I've had a lot of fun today. Learned quite a bit, and learned you can do a lot more with a zip tie than previously thought.

More later.

Gettin' er done...

I'm not a big fan of the redneck fellas, but that particular phrase fits tonight. I've gotten the ingnition cover off, stripped the valve cover, bought all my supplies (including a wicked powerful impact wrench for $40 from HF)

First things first. I removed probably 95% of the paint from my valve cover, the rest I'll remove while sanding it down getting it ready for primer and painting. There are some great guides on xjbikes on how to do this. I used aircraft stripper (a super powerful paint remover that will literally eat the skin off your hands. Use with caution) The crevices were the hardest, and a couple spots were just immune to the paint strippers strength, but my guess is, it won't hold up to some coarse grit sandpaper. I bought heat resistant primer (up to 1200F) and gloss enamel rated to 500F. If it gets much hotter than that, I should probably shut the bike off.

I bought an impact wrench to remove the stubborn screws in the ignition cover. Let's just say it works amazingly well. Removed every trace that a notched screw head was there. (although, in truth, they were slightly stripped to begin with. Thanks PO.) I ended up pounding a notch in the screw so that a flat head would fit, and it slipped right out. I'll have to clean it up a bit or at the very least order a new one from chacal. The cover came off easily.
I'll have to take care when reinstalling.

The important thing is, it's off! I bought a feeler gauge set (for $2.99.. sorry chacal), making sure the sizes fit the specs of my bike. I'm going to read up some more before I just start poking around. I also bought some zip ties for shim removal, a super colossal screwdriver set that fits the impact wrench, so I should have everything I need.

Needless to say, I'm a little nervous about putting it all back together. But, I have nothing but time. I am going to contact Steve tomorrow and see if he is interested in coming over and checking it out. I think I could use an extra set of hands. :)

Off to xj! Then to work. :-p

Step One

I know, this is an important part of the bike, so what is it doing removed? I decided to jump in with my next project, checking valve clearances! Yay! I have no idea what I'm doing.

The gasket that sits underneath looks and feels practically brand new, which makes me wonder is the valve clearances were checked as the PO said. Also, although the screws were on tight, they weren't so tight as to make me think they have been on there forever. I plan to strip this top piece and repaint, then sand the silver (now corroded with crud) part clean. Should be very nice when it's all done.

I figure since the bike isn't running really well right now anyway, why not get into something over my head?

Note the little X on the right side between the two bolts? More proof that someone was in there doing something. Adding to this difficulty is getting the ignition cover off. The bolts/screw heads are already slightly mangled (why do engine designers use lead for screws???) and I fear that without the proper torque, I will do them a grave injustice.







There's the little X on the other side. Not sure what that means, but I am sure someone on xjbikes may know.

I checked my manifold intakes, and they were all pretty tight, except for #2 (smack forehead) although by tightening it, it doesn't appear to have made any difference in the way it is running. I have a feeling the sync is way out of sync, and may require a pull and readjust. The tank is off... why not? The bike isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Tomorrow I'll strip the valve cover. Get it repainted. Then I am going up to a little screw and bolt place not too far from here and see if they carry the carb hat screws I am looking for. Chacal says he carries them, so that'll be my next option if this place is too expensive. It pays to shop around.

China Freight carries a set of feeler gauges. May go up there and pick a set up, if I want to do the valve clearance check. May look into an impact wrench too...

Man, the money I am spending on this bike! I could take a nice vacation...

More soon....

New Day

It's supposed to be beautiful today. Great riding weather...

Looks like I may be pulling my carbs again. (grr)

However, this time it's not to pull the carbs apart, but to re bench sync them and check that silly intake manifold on #2. It's a lot of work, but I should be able to have it done in a couple of hours.

I'm going to replace the throttle cable (19.00) and the carb hat screws. Some of them are pretty mangled, and that was before I got my paws on them. I didn't know that there were 3 different sized screws that fit. (short medium and long) There is a bolt and screw place not too far from here. I am going to see if they have anything comparable ($1.40 for the ones from chacal x 16 =22.40). I'm also going to China Freight to see if I can get my hands on a feeler gauge set. Online it looks like the one they have in stock will work. Truth is, I'm a little worried about doing this job. But, it can't be any worse than the carbs, right? :)

I know I'll get this bike up to 100% soon. I just have little issues to work out. More pics later today.

Tuning in the stratosphere

Tuning is way out of sync. I tried to ride my bike to work tonight, but no go. I got maybe half a mile before the I realized I wasn't going to make it. The bike accelerated poorly in 1st, but seemed okay in 2nd. Once I downshifted, rpms dropped below 1000 and the bike died. It started right away, but there is obviously some issues there.

Part of the problem I am having is getting the idle correct (which you think would be an easy thing to do) so that I can sync it correctly. There has got to be a leak somewhere, even though I took my time putting everything back on, tightening everything correctly. Someone mentioned they thought it was a vacuum leak on one of the carbs, that maybe I was getting too much air. That makes sense, considering the way it's acting.

Tomorrow, I am going to buy some RTV and seal up the manifold intake boot on cylinder three and see if that makes any difference. I hope it does. The way it is, I can't really drive it anywhere. It starts up right away with minimal choke, hangs a bit at 2-3000 rpms, but I know I can get that ironed out.

I'd like to get together with someone who has had experience with the Morgan, and see if we can't get it 100%. I've heard Hitachi carbs are very finicky... guess I'm learning that the hard way.

More tomorrow.