Ohh Yeahh!! Got a Smoothie!!

[Cobia]

Finally got my XJ running smothly. Don't know if you remember, that no matter what BikerPhil and I tried we couldn't get this thing to run smoothly in the 1.5k to 2.2k RPM range. We had the carbs out at least three times and adjusted the floats to 23, 22, and 21 and had the idle jet adjusted out to even 5.25 turns...and it still starved for fuel in that range. I even installed the YICS Eliminator, which allowed us to synch it and color tune it properly...
But still the tumble in that range persisted....
Opted to go up one size in the pilots from 47.5 to 50, which I did this morning. And, Yeehaaa!!
The power band is now phenomenal. To really put it to the test I rode it in 5th gear down to 15mph = 1.2k rpm and gave it a twist. It climbed effortlessly to where ever I wanted to go...... chickened out at 90mph
Even the sound of it in that range is freakin' awesome, almost sounds like a v-twin OK, OK not that that is such a great thing but.... I'm excited about finally having this baby running as it should.
So, I hope this is helpfull to any excessive who may be experiencing the same kind of issue which haunted me for the better part of a year.

And yes, having an excellent mentor as BikerPhil allowed me to do this job in less that 3 hours, by myself!!!
And those who have XJs, with stock airboxes, know what a pleasure it is to pull and re-install the carbs. They are tighter than a gnat's a**hole stretched over a manhole cover...... sorry for the analogy but it's true.
Happy ridin'

[CatatonicBug]

Don'cha just love it when things finally WORK!? Glad to hear you got it all working right. So, what's next? There's always something else that can be done or adjusted, right?

[XJOK2PLAY]

Hey, Cobia... yeah, I hear ya bro. XJ carbs can be a drag... I was fortunate. Elevenator knows all the right twists and turns for carb removals, and after going on and off with mine about 3 times setting float levels, I think I got it down to a science. It's now a piece a cake.
Glad to hear ya found your problem! Took mine on a 250 mile trip this last weekend (maiden voyage) and she ran great! Ride safe.

[Cobia]

Of course!!

Yeah, gotta "love it when a plan comes together!!!" Sorry, couldn't pass that one up...LOL!!
After my last ride the darn cam seals strated to leak on the XJ, you know.. the ones at the right side of the valve covers!!
And I've yet to install the seal for the timing chain adjuster. But this is my daily ride until I finish restoring the '80G.
The '79F took most of my time until I revived it and sold it to one of our newest members, Mighty Eleven.
Purchased that one with the ultimate alternative of parting it out, but Bikerphil and I found its spirit alive and well and after a lot of work, brought it back to life. Strong runner for sure.
So now it's back to the restoration of the '80G, and when that one is done I'll restore the XJ.
Never a dull moment, is there?

[Cobia]

That's awesome, Bob.
Glad the maiden voyage went without a hitch. It gives you a good feeling, doesn't it?

[Thee_oddball]

i love it when a plan comes together (insert picture of the A team )

S!

[bikerphil]

Nice! Glad she's finally running up to snuff. Cobia, you're a carb Guru now!

[Mighty Eleven]

sweet

Man that sounds great,nothing better than twisting the throttle and pull pull pull!!!!!!!!!!

[Cobia]

Yep, pull, pull, pull alright

Thanks Phil, I've had a good mentor!!

But here's another one....
Upon heavy acceleration I get an oil warning light!!??
And I've checked the level and it's where it needs to be, even a little on the too full side.
Is all the oil going to the back of the crankcase precipitating a low oil warning? I've gotten this the last couple of days when I really lay the hammer down..!!??

[bikerphil]

Don't know for sure, from what I've read, those XJ oil level lights are a bit flakey. Probably sloshing around.

[Cobia]

That's what I thought. As long as she doesn't start starving for oil now !!!
I didn't hear any sounds that indicated oil starvation.

[bikerphil]

Oh, I'm sure a real XJ guru will chime in on this for ya, I'm just a plain ol' XS owner.

[Cobia]

I forgot to mention... No Popping!!!

Yeah, I forgot to mention that as a result of going up one size on the pilots it no longer pops!!
You know the popping sounds when you're decelerating, or in my case also just while it was warming up.

[0011mixam]

But here's another one....
Upon heavy acceleration I get an oil warning light!!??
And I've checked the level and it's where it needs to be, even a little on the too full side.
Is all the oil going to the back of the crankcase precipitating a low oil warning? I've gotten this the last couple of days when I really lay the hammer down..!!??

What weight of oil are you running? I saw a similar problem with my XJ last fall when it got cool up here in Canada and I was still running 20-W50 oil. Until the oil was warmed up completely, I'd get the oil warning light under even medium acceleration. Once it warmed up, everything was fine. My theory was that the thick oil took too long to run from the cylinder head back down to the cranckcase, so that combined with any sloshing caused the oil level sensor to close. When the light came on, even if I pulled in the clutch and brought it to idle it would still take a couple of seconds before the light went out. It really freaked me out the first time, since I only had about 1000 miles on a completely re-built motor.

[81xsproject]

Congrats on the work around. However, I am going to have to be the negative-Nancy here. You have some other problem that you are only compensating for. There is absolutely no way you should need a pilot that large. Have you checked for intake leaks around the boots and butterfly shaft seals? Are you SURE that the pilot circuit is clean and clear? Where are you getting these pilot jets from. Crappy, off brand, kit-jets were the cause of MAJOR problems with a member's carbs I worked on.