Meet my new 82 XJ

[natemoen]

Yup, looks like the plugs are still in there. I circled them in your pic. easiest way to get them out is to carefully drill a hole in the center of the plug and then I used a wood screw and screwed it in and then yanked it out.

[trdriver71]

I also you can see in your picture that you still have the octy as you mentioned the PO mention to you that you need to turn off the fuel to keep the crankcase from filling up with fuel so you need to check that it is working properly. JAT

[MaximPhil]

Hi WQSL91,
I suggest if you have not already done so get that oil and filter changed. Seafoam is very effective and only needs 5 to 10 minutes of idle in the cranckcase.
Too long and it will start to be more negative than positive result
Plenty in the fuel might flush out some demons.
Phil

[trbig]

OK.. with the octy installed, as it is, for fuel to leak into your fuel box OR the crankcase with your petcocks on the tank turned to "off", you have to have leaking petcocks, a bad octy, AND bad float needles all together.

Nate suggested pulling those caps off of your fuel mixture screws. At some point, when you get a carb synch tool and a Carbtune tool, I would do so, but with a set of CLEAN carbs, and a stock air box and pipes still, you shouldn't need to.

At minimum, you are going to need to take out the carbs, clean them, install new float needles and seats, and make sure the floats are adjusted right. With a new set of needles and seats, it won't matter if your petcocks and octy leak, but you will need to address those at a later time in case your needles start to leak again in the future.

You will also need a YICS tool for this bike before you can do any carb synching. Last I saw, they were available from a member here for a lot cheaper than you can find an OEM one.

Maybe someone will chime in here to help you out the first time you dig onto those carbs. People around here will usually come help for some hops/barley and maybe some charred animal flesh. I would NOT recommend you taking the carbs to someone else to work on. We've seen time and again how people dropped 3-400 bucks on a mechanic who supposedly knew what they were doing, only to end up having to do it themselves anyway. Even if you find someone who would do it cheaper and knew what they were doing, you're still better off getting to know your bike and saving some money.

[WSL91]

OK.. with the octy installed, as it is, for fuel to leak into your fuel box OR the crankcase with your petcocks on the tank turned to "off", you have to have leaking petcocks, a bad octy, AND bad float needles all together.

Nate suggested pulling those caps off of your fuel mixture screws. At some point, when you get a carb synch tool and a Carbtune tool, I would do so, but with a set of CLEAN carbs, and a stock air box and pipes still, you shouldn't need to.

At minimum, you are going to need to take out the carbs, clean them, install new float needles and seats, and make sure the floats are adjusted right. With a new set of needles and seats, it won't matter if your petcocks and octy leak, but you will need to address those at a later time in case your needles start to leak again in the future.

You will also need a YICS tool for this bike before you can do any carb synching. Last I saw, they were available from a member here for a lot cheaper than you can find an OEM one.

Maybe someone will chime in here to help you out the first time you dig onto those carbs. People around here will usually come help for some hops/barley and maybe some charred animal flesh. I would NOT recommend you taking the carbs to someone else to work on. We've seen time and again how people dropped 3-400 bucks on a mechanic who supposedly knew what they were doing, only to end up having to do it themselves anyway. Even if you find someone who would do it cheaper and knew what they were doing, you're still better off getting to know your bike and saving some money.

I'm ready to go for an oil/fluids change. The next move is a front tire (like tomorrow) and I think the carbs are coming out. I have seafoam in the oil but not a half can so its ok for a couple more miles. I'm not afraid to work on the carbs just not looking forward to it. I need to get the YICS tool bought but I just bought the bike, additional insurance, a tire next and tomorrow I'll transfer plates to the state of IL is next in line for my $$$. I want to get some sync tool either home grown or manufactured so I'm looking for one of those. I love all the VTX guys that said they don't like fuel injection on the 1800s cause its so hard to work on so they went with the 1300 which is a carb, little to they know FI generally requires nothing. I suspect the bike is lean in the low end of the power curve. I work nights so right now I'm not getting a lot done and I've only had it here for a little over 48 hours. Today was my 3rd and longest ride at just 20 miles so It's not getting ridden a lot..yet. While the day temps are in the 40s we are below freezing at night so I'm not riding to work yet, don't want to scrape frost off it in the mornings when I get off : )

[WSL91]

I also you can see in your picture that you still have the octy as you mentioned the PO mention to you that you need to turn off the fuel to keep the crankcase from filling up with fuel so you need to check that it is working properly. JAT

No worries, I turn the fuel off when I'm done riding. I was working on the bike at the time the pix were taken so the fuel was on.

[trbig]

No worries, I turn the fuel off when I'm done riding. I was working on the bike at the time the pix were taken so the fuel was on.

If your petcocks leak also, which frequently tends to happen over time, turning it to off won't necessarilly help you. If they leak, then you could still get the fuel in the oil.

You could turn the petcocks to the "Off" position and take the fuel line off the rear outlets and watch for a bit to see if they leak at all. If they do, or just for a little added insurance, you could park the bike slightly uphill or even park the front tire on a 2x4, and if it was to leak, the fuel would run backwards into (And out of) your air box instead of running forward into your cylinders and down into the motor/oil.

[WSL91]

Heres the XJ1100 I picked up in Feb. It's come a long way IN 60 Days. 3 weeks ago I pulled the swingarm, wheels, rotors and calipers and cleaned and painted, re-greased all the related bearings. I also wet sanded all the polished aluminum on the wheels from 600-2000 grit then polished with White Diamonds polish. I'd previously taken apart and cleaned the 3 calipers and 2 master cylinders. Then I installed an 850 rear end. She's a better beast on the highway but I'm sure the 1/4 mile times have been impacted.

Last weekend cleaned and painted the sidestand and pulled the center stand. Today I repainted the back half of the frame starting at the end of the tank. The lower part of the frame around the pivot bolts looked similar to the center stand as did the swing arm. I've turned the corner on this one! Center stand gets re-finished tomorrow. The caps for the pivots will go back on tomorrow. The paint is duplicolor primer and Acrylic Auto enamel rattle cans. Not my favorite but no access to a booth right now. Still looking at a stock replacement left muffler to swap mine as the PO used a 4.5" grinder with a sanding disk to remove melted shoe sole Front fender was a ebay score on a clean Nevada part out bike. The bike just rolled 11,000 miles.

[bikerphil]

Bro, that's sweeet.

[tweeleft]

Nice find Looks SWEET

[Cuda 69]

that vetter looks awsome on your bike,sweet ride, welcome to the site.

[WSL91]

Wire wheeled/sanded to bare metal (mostly) 3 coats primer 4 coats black Rust Oleum. Should be hard in a couple days. Guess this means I need to buy the rubber bumper for the muffler I destroyed last week

[GTXS1100]

Looks Great Nice Bike Man.

[WSL91]

Easier said than done

Like most things in life easier said than done. Ended up using a few more nails. Since I painted the swing arm, wheels, and frame its starting to look like it should. Also swapped the left muffler. The one I had has a big raspberry on it where the PO ground off some burnt on shoe rubber. The mufflers came apart much easier than expected, just cost more than expected.

[justme1100]

Is it just me or does it seem like most of the XJs are all that maroon color?

I don't know as both of mine are black