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when i engage the first gear there is a grinding sound and clacking sound...shifting through other gears seems effortless...am i not working the clutch properly...is it slipping...is it a bad gear maybe?

also...after riding for a while the rpms will hold steady at 3000 after i let go of the throttle...it will hover for a few seconds the slowly back back own to either 1500 which is where it should be...or it will hold at 2000 and if i let the clutch out a little it will drop back to idle...any ideas felllas?


oh yeah....1982 yamaha xj550 seca.

The first problem may be a slightly bent shift fork, but you'd probably have to pull it apart to find out for sure. Alot of these older yammies hate old oil. Try putting some fresh oil in and see what happens.

Your second problem sounds like you have a slightly lean idle. You may want to try adjusting your idle mix screws a little bit, but only adjust them in 1/8 turn increments and let the bike run for at least 30 seconds between adjustments to allow the mix time to right itself.

awesome ill try the adjustments....we just flushed the oil and put in yamalube about 2 months ago...should i still do another oil change?


as far as the clacking sounds....my chain gaurd was rubbing against the chain...and the chain desperatly needed lubed...so i lubbed the sucker up and took off the chain gaurd...no noises now... running smooth.

i chenged the air filter on friday morning...then i dropped it before i could notice a difference ...a lady cut me off in a parking lot and locked up on dirt and dropped my baby...its as much my fault as hers and so far the only damage seems to be a broken clutch lever...so i ordered the part and hopefully we'll find out that was the only problem...but back to the air filter...it was really dirty...im mean almost black in some parts...so 2 questions...

1. could the dirty air filter have been causeing the the over revving problems?

and

2. would the open air filter type air filters, perfomance ones, and a 4 into one exhaust make a noticeable power difference? ive seen some and its pretty in expensive...and would i neet to get diffeent jets if i did?

Sucks to drop a bike, but glad it was minor. Nothing like riding around a parking lot, bent over with your head next to the engine listening for that one dam noise to wake-up the ol' reaction reflex, eh?

A dirty air filter can affect your jetting, so having a clean one is never a bad thing.

Open pod filters and higher flow exhaust will most probably require re-jetting, requireing a lot of tuning to adjust correctly. That can be another expense on top of the parts you just installed.

BuzZz wrote:Sucks to drop a bike, but glad it was minor. Nothing like riding around a parking lot, bent over with your head next to the engine listening for that one dam noise to wake-up the ol' reaction reflex, eh?

A dirty air filter can affect your jetting, so having a clean one is never a bad thing.

Open pod filters and higher flow exhaust will most probably require re-jetting, requireing a lot of tuning to adjust correctly. That can be another expense on top of the parts you just installed.

would it make that much of a difference...im not planning on drag racing the kiddies on their R6's or anything...im just tryin to hang with my buddies monster...will it all be in vain?

Freer breathing filters and exhaust with proper jetting will make a small difference, but it won't be earth shattering. Getting the bike running crisply and at it's best would be about the best thing.

well i maxed it out...shhh....and got her up to about 112... and its specs say it should do 109. so....i dont think i even want to go any faster...and shes pretty quick enough...and seemed much quicker with the new air filter although i only had a twenty minute leisurly ride before i went to lunch...then i dropped her...so im awaiting the new lever so i can give her a better goings over.

got the new lever on...its great...went to put in the key...and the whole ignition column just fell off...im assuming it broke in the drop as well...the yamaha shop want 96 bucks for a new one...so my buddy and i are going to rig up a toggle switch instead...just keepin you updated.

so i rigged up the toggle switch and took her for a ride...it was great...i may have bent the handle bars alittle though. so im gonna try and make a new pair...or find some clubmans cheap.