My XJs' in the Hosp.

[madmax-im]

MadMax has been giving me fits lately.First off I have finally got both of my bikes running at the same time.Well, when I compare how my '81 Streetfighter runs and accelerates to my '82 MadMax..its like night and day.The '81 pulls hard and doesnt miss a beat at any RPMs' especially above 5000RPMs.The '82 bogs down when trying to accelereate at and beyond 5000 RPMs.I cant figure out why.So I took it back to the dealer where I bought from(back in '83)The service mannager is a guy I have known for just as long as I had the bike.OFC they wont work on anything over 15 yrs old.But in expressing my frustration over the fact that I cant find any reputable shop to work on it..he told me of a place in Cherry Hill NJ that will work on all kinds of older bikes.So with referral in hand I went to see this place..it turns out the owner waas the salesman who originally sold me the XJ..small freakin world...he was amazed that I still had it.
So I was able to get Max into the "clinic"...He's been there for a few days and I prolly wont know whats up 'til nxt week.If I had to take a guess as to whats' wrong...I'd say its the carbs.Its just amatter of tweaking the bike.But if I cant get it right then I'm not sure what I'll do with him. I could always put him up forsale...but in the back of my mind...thats the last thing I'd wanna do.I've had this bike too damn long to give up on it now.Besides that and all the sweat TC and I poured into him and Randy too..so I'd hate for it to be for naught.

[soccer4m]

check the pickup wires

Madmax,,,,I just got done with the same problem on a 80 special. I went through the carbs numerous times and it ended up being the pickkup wires behind the left cover. Check the repair section in the forum. The xs had no power above 4000 rpm and sluggish after 2nd gear. I took off the left cover and tugged on the wires and it died, sputtered, ran like craxxxxp. I could feel the hourglass shape of seperated wires by running my fingers up and down the wires. I spliced the wires and it runs great. Since your bike sounds like the same problem,,,,,,it is an easy 20 minute fix. Before they charge you a fortune to go through the carbs, have them check the two wires under the cover. Good luck,,keep us posted, Mike in S.Diego

[madmax-im]

Thanks Mike ..I'll be calling them tmrw...BTW their shop labor rate is ...$50/hr! Thats darn good if ya ask me...I'm gonna look at the tech tips too

[trbig]

Mike, the XJ has solid points.. no moving timing plate to break wires. The TCI takes care of the timing and firing.


madmax-im,

YICS is da devil!! OK.. flash backs to the Water Boy, but I have never regretted plugging mine off. These motors ran great without it for 4 years, and you could tell which carb is the culpret. Unless you ride around with the YICS tool installed, you won't really be able to do a good plug check.

If you get bored, you could pull the carbs off your other one, stick them on the XJ and see if that's the problem. I wouldn't worry about messing with swapping the choke or anything. As far as that goes, put your XJ carbs on your '81, tune them, synch them, and put them back on the XJ. Same motor, same displacement, same valves.

If the 81 carbs have the XJ running like crap still... then I'd look at electrical and rule those out before I spent a ton on a mechanic to chase gremlins.

Tod

[Paintman]

Small world

Hey Max great ya found a good shop Cherry hill brings back memories thats where i went to Honda school at drove a yr from Englistown to Cherryhill had a ball il be back in NJ in a few weeks lol have to ramp my self back up to speed.


John

[madmax-im]

Interesting Tod....with my luck I'd "F" something else up...my '81 is perfect...dont wannna mess with it..at this point its already in their hands... I think I'll let them bring Max the rest of the way (to recovery).Ya know if I had known abt this place a couple of months ago...I wouldnt have had to go down to TC's and I wouldnt have answered that stupid stolen I.D thread either.But I am grateful and appreciative of all the help I have and continue to get from Ch.11.Cant change the past but it wasnt all bad.Still I am at my limit with this bike..so there is nuthin wrong with payin the man to fix it...

[madmax-im]

Re: Small world

Originally posted by Paintman
Hey Max great ya found a good shop Cherry hill brings back memories thats where i went to Honda school at drove a yr from Englistown to Cherryhill had a ball il be back in NJ in a few weeks lol have to ramp my self back up to speed.


John

Ya comin back to Joisey? Give me a heads up...will get together if youre in my neck of the woods...central nj that is...For those of you in this area who might want a shop to work on your bike...the palce is called... BE A BIKER and is at 622 Haddonfield Rd.Cherry Hill NJ 08002 856-661-8200