JimR

Who shagged it ??? .... and I hope when the baby tyres arrive the guilty party will pay tyre support !!! but I would perhaps look at Bridgestone Battleaxe if availble in the sizes you need .. these tend to be very good tyres with reasonable wear and good grip ... also look thro the owners manual to see which tyres have been recomended for use with the bike by Yamaha, there may be a road option there. Regards Jim

Hi Jim, you normally find me sleeping under table at weddings by the time the disco fires up !!! tbh bar my own I have only been to one wedding and u guessed it asleep under the table b4 the disco fired up. as you can see from that I'm the original "billy no mates" Regards Jim

Oh Ok I now remeber !!!! the bike did have an odd carb (photo's remind you !!!) ... both screws were set at 1½ turns out but there was a point where the inner screw needed to be adjusted to sort out bad starting & kickbacks via the kickstart shaft and again from memory that screw was adjusted to suit the bike running/starting correctly ... sorry I'm getting old and some points have been lost !!! Regards Jim

Oh Ok, dont forget the lab seal !!! it lives in the aliminum section between to 2 cylinders .. which is between the two inner main bearings. Static timming is :- setting the points to 12 thou at tdc then advancing the ignition via the cycle spoke & turning the motor back by 1.8mm to where the points should just break(open). looking at the reading you have from the condenser I guess you have other problems with the bike which may be a timing issue or a seal one. Last point compression :-if the bike blows your finger off the plug hole (with a burn or force) the compression will be fine if not suspect that. but I do suggest that the Lab seal is at fault Regards Jim

Hi I would guess there is no chance of a pre divi caliper working ...91 would be close to pre divi .... I guess you were a bit clumsey braking the nipples off but drilling them out etc sounds good but tbh I would have ebayed etc a working caliper .. would have been cheaper ! Regards Jim

Would you want to do ileagal speeds on a bike that wasn't designed to do it ? As I said before those speeds should be on a track & not the road but if you think this is ok I'm at a total loss Regards Jim

Hi, I guess the timing is still out ... cleaning the carbs out will be a good thing .. and just go back to the timing issue ! Regards Jim

Hi Bazza, whats wrong with the original wires & switches ... if you want new ones (micro switches) I guess you just need to connect them up to the old wires assuming the loom is working ok. If the current is to great for your new switches you will need to fit a relay in order to tone down the current supplied. I would guess if you have a working loom it would be easy to follow the original switches .. but tbh what do you need ? Regards Jim

Hi Edmonds, good old dry sump engines !!! I would guess the extra oil was lost to the gearbox but as long as it is sorted .... cool Regards Jim

Hi, how did you check the progression hole/tube ? photobucket is a simple host for pictures and you just post the img link in to your posts ... you could use any repository on the net as long as you point the html to the photo's storage but tbh photobucket produces the link for you !! I would have thought the last thing you need to do is run water thro a carb as that would produce build up of crud within the internal drillings/jets when it reacts with the fuel... unless you blew the carb out with high pressure air a few times over a few days in order to allow everything to be 'water free' tbh water in Carbs is a definate no no Regards Jim

Just thought .... is the main switch still in circut ? Regards Jim

Hi, a blocked pilot jet/progression hole then run (idle) idle with choke and run without it .... as regard to the extra mixture screw I guess there is a chance that the US version had some form of emmission control that the UK bike didn't .. to post pictures open a photobucket account & paste the img links to your posts. Regards Jim

Hi, yes there is a way to test the condenser ... it should read 0.22 microfarads (or was it 22 microfarads .. its an age thing but the condenser has it written on it) across the live wires & earth, then if you have the tool to charge it up you can 'shock' ur mates (not recomended but it was fun when at collage etc). But tbh I'm putting the money on the wiring being so ratty that the voltages are not being supplied to the correct items.... I'll build you a wiring list based on a UK diagram then you will have to work out the odd difference between the 2 versions Regards Jim

Hi Alex, mechanic #2 is good use him again .. it would appear as if you had a weak mixture all along Regards Jim

Hi Mike, too right about the tee shirt/shorts mob !!! but back to the Divi when I say hot I mean cooking !!! Regards Jim P.S any chance of a pair of girps to fit a Fizzy

Hi, Plug fouling on the left hand cylinder does not indicate (always faulty points). Given the bikes age there is a chance that the fouling is down to another reason ! First off if the condenser is down totally no spark at all. Condenser partially faulty you would get a misfire with the lights switched on and not a total foul. Ignition timing (previous post) could cause a foul. but I did find more than one CS/RD 200 foul the left plug due to the laberinth seal being faulty, but tbh pull the carbs apart clean them & set the ignition up correctly, if it still does it I would guess the lab seal .... big job sorry Regards Jim

Hi, The minimum you need to get a spark are the following :- Charged 12v battery an on/off switch wiring to supply 12v to coils wiring to ensure the C/B points & condenser is in circut. but using the original loom & switches (assuming the wires to the points etc are sound) in the R/H switch you only need to insure that the kill switch is working, the starter button wiring plays no part at all. It would appear you have the voltage to the coils but not to the points etc which indicates the kill switch but I guess you have checked the fuses and statically checked that the ignition timming is correct or close. Without more info on the model (UK, US etc) I cannot find the correct diagram in order to give you a walk thro. Regards Jim

Dont forget the XT550 is a four stroke which requires oil in the crankcase unlike a 2 stroke which only needs oil to lube the gearbox & clutch. From my time servicing XT550, if the oil level was correct before you drained & refilled the oil it would point to doing something incorrect. The way we used to do it was as follows :- Drain oil & Replace filter refill the oil to the max mark on the stick remove the bleed screw in the oil filter housing & start the engine stop the engine & replace the bleed screw when a good spurt of oil comes out run the engine for say 5 mins (to allow the gearbox to fill) allow the engine to cool off for 10 mins check the level and top up to the max mark If the oil was drained from the frame & the gearbox drain you will need to refill both (engine & gearbox) which will take more oil than just draining the oil out of the frame. Regards Jim

Hi & to the forum it would be good to trouble shoot the bike first off .... as pointed out the air screw should be about 1½ turns out from fully home & the other screw could very well be the idle screw, adjustments of theses screws may have been done in order to mask a problem, but you must have had a problem beforehand in order to strip the carb out ... which was ..... ? Regards Jim

Hi Bash, I guess we are talking tacho drive .... and you are correct with an oil seal being present in the drive as the bike in question is a bit young for me where is the drive situated ? Regards Jim

ahem chough cough I guess the 360's are better Regards Jim

Hi alexi Issue :- which is ? Regards Jim

Bash, it would be good to know what model of Yamaha you are talking about. in the time period I worked on Yam's none had a speedo drive connected to the engine, but a lot of them had a Tacho Drive connected to the engine ! So I guess if you give a bit more info we could help you more Regards Jim

Hi XS400 timing is somewhat difficult to get right without the correct tools (strobe & dwell meter) if you have a dwell meter set the dwell to 22½% and then set the ignition timing to LF & RF via the strobe. If you have no tools, of that type, gap the points to 12 thou at LT & RT on the correct stroke and set the points to open at LF/RF (again on the correct stroke). tbh strobe lights are easy to get (dwell meter is not) so you could set the points to 12 thou and use a strobe to get the timing right (compromise), but I still feel the problem lies within the carbs Regards Jim

Hi Mike, before you do the oil & filter change try to get the bike really hot i.e 50 miles or so at high rpm (this doesn't mean high speed but is more fun if you do ) then drain the oil when well hot ... if you can drain it as soon as the motor stops which will give you a more thorougher oil change. Just wondered what you did for a living ... getting your kit off or is it something we shouldn't know about Regards Jim