echums

Yeah, the idle is rough as f*** i was told it might be the cam chain. The roughness goes as soon as I find the biting point. I only use it for a small commute, and its embarassing more than anything having is pee oil all over the floor whenever I park it. I think my mechanical ability only extends as far as sorting the air filter and breather hose out, but let me know if/when you get a chance to try the carb, would be good to know.

Ok, does anyone have any idea whats causing it? I'm going to change the oil, the oil filter, take the tank off and clean the breather piper, along with the air filter. Can anyone suggest anything to do to fix the problem?

My 1998 XJ600S drips oil like mad when hot (a ride of 15-20 mins), I thought it was because the previous owner had over filled the oil, so i drained some till it was about halfway between the two lines in the little glass window. This hasn't stopped it. I've got a big bottle of oil, and a new filter to go on, but I need any ideas of what might be causing it before I change them (incase its nothing to do with them) Here is a pic, of what I think is the breather hose? Its where the oil drips from anyway (the pic is taken from the left-hand side of the bike, under the petrol tank. Cheers. http://www.flickr.com/photos/35585468@N02/3296030558/

Cheers mate, the oil sounds right, I only use to get to lectures and back everyday, which is about 15 mins away. I'll idle it longer before trips, and I give her longer rides when the weather is nice. Yeah he just cut the cable near the switch so theres nothing to trace back, but I'll have a look when i've got a minute. Thanks again.

Hi all, 1/ I went to top up my oil a bit, and as I took the cap off, the oil looked a bit milky and thick. Does any know what this means? 2/ The previous owner snipped the cable to the kickstand switch (for some reason), I've got a new one, but the service manual doesn't tell you/show you where to plug it in. Can anyone describe where its supposed to go? Thanks.

Hi, Finally got my puncture fixed, when I put the rear wheel back in, when pushing apart the brake pads to slide in the brake disk, one of the shims fell out. It was rusted to f**k, and practically crumbling. I took both pads out and they were knackered, I've ordered a new set of brake pads thinking they would come with shims, but they didn't. Ebay isn't helping much, any idea where I can get new or salvaged shims from?

Thanks alot.

Hi, My rear tyre has a puncture, and its tubeless, so i'm assuming the best thing to do, rather than try to fix it, is just get a new one. ON the sidewall its says: 130/70-18 I've looked around a bit, and found some for about £80 including postage. My car tyres (from the ww dealership) were only £60. Does £80 sound right to you? If not, does anyone know anywhere cheap, I can get one from?

Yeah its smack bang in the middle of the tyre. Also i've heard people talking about tubeless tyres. If my bike is a bog standard 10yr old xj,600, will it just be a case of buying a new inner tube, and changing it?

Hi guys, finally took a screw out of my rear type, and....obviously it went flat. There is a hole, but its not massive, the walls of hole touch, if you see what i mean. Can I just change the inner tube? Or should I get a new tyre?

Learn something new every day, cheers. . Whether its magnetic or not won't answer my question?

This might be a stupid question, but on another post, when i asked what to clean my downpipes with, Oldgitonabike said to put a magnet to them to find out of they are stainless steel. The magnet sticks, well on some parts (the upper bits), and not so well on the lower bits, i've heard that stainless steel is no longer magnetic because of high carbon. Anyone know? The pipes r ten years old, with little care given to them, so they are in a pretty shit state anyway.

Magnet sticks well to some bits (like the upper parts), and only just or not really on the lower parts. I found a vid on youtube on how to synch carbs. Looks pretty straight forward. As for the fuel source, ive got a washing machine next to where I keep my bike, can I just put the tank on that, so long as its above the carbs? As for the fuel line, do I have to buy a longer fuel pipe to supply the carbs when I synch them? Is it as straightforward as he makes it look?

Another question. Downpipes, now the belly pan is off, they look much more prominent. Because they aren't chrome or anything, they look sort of yellowy, and blotchy. I doubt I can change their appearance, or can I? But when it comes to cleaning the bike, what chemical and cloth or brush or scrubber should I use on them?

LOl, well I took the belly-pan off (it looked botched and shitty anyway), found out the guy who had it before has simply cut the wire comming out of the sidestand switch. Hayes manual says to follow the wire to the plug (to replace it), but obviously, i got no chance coz 1/ the wire is cut, and 2/ the underside of the bike is BLACK with gunk. I'll give it a good thorough wash to see whats going on. I also wanna take a couple pics of bits i'm not sure about to see if any of can help, coz there are strange things going on. For example, imagine you are looking at the chain front on as if you were about to remove the chainguard. Look at the swingarm, and on the underside of it comes out what looks like a cable (at least its black, and cable-like), which goes.....nowhere. Its sticks out about 4-5 inches and just ends. No idea what that could be. I'm wondering if he cut the cable to sidestand switch because (appart from being a twat), maybe there was something wrong with the clutch switch. I went to test it (following the hayes manual), and from what I can tell its just sort of underneath the clutch lever. The mounting bolt was either so rusted and decayed that I couldn't get to it, or just gunked up. Again I'll check it once I've cleaned it. It's quite scary when you start taking an interest in, and looking at thing, you find all sorts or botched jobs, and crap you almost wish you hadn't seen (like one of the long bolts holding the belly-pan on, which was screwed into the engine mount, and instead of being secured on the other side with a nut - like the other one was-, it was simply rusted in and snapped off.) I had to bend the bolt to a right angle and use it as a lever to unscrew itself!

Lol, yeah a little bit, cheers though mate. By the way, its long shot, but I'm fluent in french, so if anyone out there has a house in france, goes there alot, is planning a road trip there, or just wants to learn french, I used to tutor people, so I could offer that in exchange.

Hi, I was wondering if anyone on this forum owns, runs or works in a Yamaha Dealership, or motorcycle garage in the North East. I live in Durham, have a 1998 Yamaha XJ 600 N. Being an old bike, its always got bits and pieces wrong with it, and I want to learn more about how to fix them myself. I'm a postgraduate student at Durham University, Booo! I know, but you can't call me a tax dodger, coz we get no loans, and I get fully taxed on any job i get to pay for the course! Anyway, I'm looking for somewhere were I can go along on a weekend, or the odd day to watch/learn whatever I can. I know its an inconvenience for whoever I'm watching, I'm definately NOT looking for any kind of pay, and I don't have any problem with being a skivvie around the garage in exchange. I have really basic knowledge of the mechanics of a bike, and virtually no experience. I'm not work-shy, i've worked in removals, was in the royal marines reserve for a year, and worked as bike (as in bicycle) mechanic for a while. Can anyone help? Even if you're not in a garage, if you're a biker, retired, bored, know you're stuff and don't mind sharing you're knowledge that would be great. Any advice?

OK, impatient, started it up, went along to tescos (no milk), and back: about 10-15 mins each way. When I got back, it idled steadily without the choke. It was idling at about 1000 rpm, so i cranked it up a touch, it sits someonewhere around 1300 rpm now. This helped a little with the rattle. I then revved it slowly to see if the noise would go and it seems to disapear completely at just over 2000 rpm. I then pulled the clutch it, not really any difference, let it out, same. Put it into gear, not much change, but when i found the biting point, it disapeared completely, even at 1300rpm, so i don't think its a matter of revs. I tried to have a listen with a screwdriver, not sure, but it seemed loudest when i touched it around the cam chain tensioner but not a huge difference. I difficult to know, because its always been like that, so i'm not used to what it should sound like. Also, i put the sidestand down while in gear, it didnt cut or stall or anything, then i tried pushing the sidestand switch in and out with my hand, nothing, engine didnt cut, so i assume its knackered. No I don't have the tools to do the carbs, but my housemate's old man has everything, and he's comming to visit in a couple weeks. Any ideas from this info?

I bought it last May, with just under 40k on the clock. I've just done an oil and filter change (which stopped the breather hose dripping oil all over the engine after any ride more than 15 mins). I don't know how regularly changes have been done, by the looks of the old filter, not too often. Am I right in thinking I should try upping the iddle a bit, and if that doesn't work, take it to a garage for a diagnosis, then seeing if its something I can do, or something i have to leave to them?

Hi, I've started doing bits and pieces to my bike, and so far so good. I have two questions though: 1/ My sidestand switch doesn't work, which is ok, because it never did, so i just got used to it and never ride off with the stand down, but i want to change it. In my hayes manual, it says to check continuity in one position and infinite resistance in the other. Will a bog standard multimeter be able to take these readings or do I need something different? 2/ When idling my engine sounds quite rough, not clanking, but its definately noticeable. if the choke is on (ie more revs) the noise dies down, and as soon as you put it in gear the noise dies down, and disapears when im riding, unless im going really slowly in traffic. Someone said It might be the camchain, so i took the tensioner off, checked it, and reinstalled it, hasn't changed. Do you think it sounds like its down to the camchain be worn, or the sprokets (i assume there are some if theres a chain). If you think it is that, is a cam chain something you can change yourself without having to go to a garage? Sorry, there is 3rd question. The bike will only start when it is in neutral. Someone asked me why I would want it to start in gear, all my mates bikes start in gear, which is useful if u stall in traffic, or because my yard in on a slope, so i park it in gear. My housemate just holds in the clutch on his bike, and it starts. Mine doesn't however, if i push the starter button when its in gear, the oil light comes on, and nothing happens, no noise, no clicking, no whining. In neutral, it starts first time everytime. Is this normal for this model, or is it a fault? Its a 1998 XJ600 N by the way. Cheers.

Thanks. I never used to used to use forums, but this one is great! How newbies must have wasted loads of time and money before!

OK thanks. Might as well be matching ey!

Should I get an install one then? I dont know much about it, but I expected something like was missing if he left some random bulbs in there.

Hi I got an xj600n off someone who was a mechanic (car mech), he changed the read indicators to LEDs. I'll explain the setup and the problem: Firstly, when I took the set off, I noticed two bulbs just glued down inside the hollow under the seat, to the rear. They seem too big to be indicator bulbs, but blink individually according to the indicators. Weird, but doesnt seem to affect anything negatively (that i know) Secondly, The LED rear-indicators, when i put one on, and am just idling, it is really faint and can only just be seen (quite worrying if im stopped at a junction or a traffic light) Once I open the throttle to pull away, its suddenly really bright and works fine. Surely indicator brightness shouldnt be affected by revs?! It seems weird and dangerous. Any ideas one what's wrong and how to fix it? Cheers.

Hi all, This is linked to an old post by someone else, but I dunno if I have the same problem. I have a 1998 XJ600N. Appart from a rattle somewhere in the cam area when its iddling, it seems to run fine. After a meduim length length ride (an hour and half), its drips oil, quite fast for a couple minutes, then less and less, and stops after about 5-6 minutes. I just bought the bike, and the guy I bought it off is a mechanic so I assume he knew what he was doing. I read off an old post that It could be something to do with the breather tube being blocked, or because theres too much oil. I think it might be too much oil, because when I stand the bike upright and look in the little oil level window, its completely full and I can't see the top level. My first questions is: How do I take some of the oil out? I though of just syphonning some out with a straw or tube, but when i take the oil cap off, I can't see the oil. Second question: I'm not sure what the part is called where the oil is comming out of. Its on the left side of the bike as you sit on it, its above the engine, so the oil dripping out goes all over the engine. It like a little hard black tube that just ends, theres no plug or anything, its just an open ended tube. Is this the breather tube? In which case how do I clean it? I'm sorry for the poor technical descriptions, I'm new to all this. Can anyone help, I'd like to fix it quick, coz its probably not good for the engine, and its pretty embarrasing when you stop after a long ride and the engine is leaking oil all over itself and the floor! Thanks guys.