82 yamaha xj550 maxim problem

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nabonline
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82 yamaha xj550 maxim problem

#1 Unread post by nabonline »

hi-
i'm new to bikes and recently bought a yamaha xj550 maxim as a starter (your call on whether it was a good choice). yesterday i was riding and near the end of the ride it started dying when i would give it throttle. it would accelerate some and then nothing, accelerate again then nothing. first i thought i might be running out of gas. i switched to the reserve as i pulled over and it stalled and i could get it started again. fortunately i was only a couple blocks from home. right before this started the gear pedal seemed to not be locking in when i tried to shift - maybe i was imaging that though or it was just not accelerating at that moment when i was trying to shift. when i try and start it tuns over fine, but doesn't catch. it also seems to be turning over louder than before, almost with a vibrating or fast low rattle.
anyway i had been having trouble starting it since i had bought it until recently when it started getting warmer. a little starter fluid would usually get it going. i charged the battery and checked the plugs. soon realized the choke cable was frayed and thought that might have soemthing to do with the bad starting (no choke when cold). had that replaced and had the same problem until it started getting warmer and it would start on its own. friend thinks the carburetor might be gummed up somewhere - i forget which parts he suggested it might be. i know very little about maintenance anyway and don't know if i could tackle that.
so, any thoughts? (if you made it this far ... sorry about the rambling)

Nathan in NJ

padedwalls
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reving

#2 Unread post by padedwalls »

I have same bike. I have been experiencing same prob since got it up and running for 1st time in 13 yrs. My carbs are recently rebuilt, and had that reving problem when 1st turned over. After returning a few days later , now I have cylinders 1 & 3 not working. Noticed gas spewing out of both exhaust. To the best of my knowledge perhaps my metering on associated carbs is sticking. With float issues (bowl level/metering) you will experience such fuel/air issues. Because my carbs were rebuilt, its hard to accept them as an issue. I know that Yamaha used what is termed "YICS" on our bike. YICS is an induction carb system where our carbs (1-4) are connected and must have proper synchronization to maximize performance. In order to achieve this u must use a special tool man'd by Yamaha, which isolates/blocks off the carbs for sync'ng. There is knock off's in circulation. I'm gonna get one soon for around $40 and norm is $125, so I can make appropriate adjustments and go from there. GOOD LUCK.....Scott P.S. I'm in no way a bike mechanic, I have achieved this knowledge through a little research, hope it's been conveyed correctly.

tootall67
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My Motorcycle: 1983 yamaha XJ550

Re: 82 yamaha xj550 maxim problem

#3 Unread post by tootall67 »

sounds to me like you guys have ignition issues. If fuel is coming out of the exhaust then its not igniting. I would look at that first.
while you are here, can any of you look behind your headlight, there is a bullet connector the has a dark green wire and a brown wire going to it. what plugs into that?
much appreciated

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NorthernPete
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Re: 82 yamaha xj550 maxim problem

#4 Unread post by NorthernPete »

Im going to go out on a limb and say they’re most likely not here anymore since this post is from 2006.
1988 VN1500
2009 GS500F

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NorthernPete
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Re: 82 yamaha xj550 maxim problem

#5 Unread post by NorthernPete »

Looking online it looks like brown/green could be turn signal related.
1988 VN1500
2009 GS500F

Gussie
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Re: 82 yamaha xj550 maxim problem

#6 Unread post by Gussie »

I had a similar problem that was caused by a wiggly connection where ignition circuit connected to fuse box.

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