IKE

Sorry Barcus, can't help you with a collector box but I might be looking too in a few months as my one is rather tatty looking. If you are going to take the engine out and do a rebuild, like me, you have to enjoy the challenge and not do it in a rush to get the bike on the road. Go for it though, and rest happy in the knowledge that you are probably saving it from the breakers yard.

Thanks Slice, yes that's what I thought. I was looking at another forum and there was a fairly long debate about getting them plated but that threw up all sorts of complications around the final strength of the bolts after being heated during the plating process. I have already been using new SS screws when I rebuilt my carbs and they do look good. OK, I'll go for stainless - thanks, although I am nowhere near that in my rebuild progress.

OK, back to topic. I am trying to decide what I'm going to do with my engine mounting bolts. I have a few options but any advice or suggestions would be welcome: 1) Bead blast the bolts, washers and nuts (I have a small blasting cabinet) - assuming they come up clean, do I need to spray them with undercoat/primer before spraying/painting with (what type?) engine paint? 2) Chuck them all away and buy a new set - originals from yamaha, stainless steel items from local supplier, or aftermarket items? 3) Get the originals cleaned and plated? My main concern is that if I paint them or get them plated, how will they react to my torque wrench? I don't want them to end up scruffy and chipped, so what do you guys and gals suggest? Thanks

Sorry Tommy, just keeping some N. E. Scottish Dialect (the "Doric") alive.

Fan did e dee n fit did e dee o?

Hi Blackhat, I live in Crieff but spend most of my time over in Dunblane at the moment working on my Daughter's cottage. I see lots of bikes passing through going West and East during the summer. Crieff locals are up in arms about new parking restrictions and Parking Meters as it means traffic doesn't or can't stop and park - not the best way to encourage visitors to stay and spend. The guys who did the powder coating are called "Perth Powder Coaters" and they are in Lochty, which is the first village you come to after leaving perth on the road west. I am originally from Peterhead (way up the East coast), and have been in Crieff for 20 years. All the best, and safe riding.

So, I have completed my first item of the resto! Not a very big item, but at least it's a start. I have fitted new bearing races to the swinging arm. The races were frozen for two days in the freezer then tapped into the housings. Used a drift to knock them home and "the job's a good un" - as Guy Martin would say.

Hi Ressie et al. Just collected my frame from the Powder Coaters in Perth. Frame and stands are black with the swinging arm in silver. Looks sweet but I'm almost scared to start putting bits on in case I scratch the paintwork. I'll be using loads of those copper pipe insulating foam tubes when I get round to reassembly. Oh, I have obtained a bench blasting cabinet so that I can have a go at some of the smaller bits and pieces. Good luck with your project Ressie, I have my eye on some of those nice new braided brake hoses all over eBay. I probably won't be doing much until after Christmas but I'll post some photos of the rebuild in the New Year. Season's Greetings to everyone.

Hi Slice, yes, that is plan "B", but I'm a sad git and really would like to give it a try. If the expert says no, that's where I'll go (to E-Bay).

As promised. The hole has been busted out the side of that flange so my plan, if it can be done, is to getter hole completely filled and then re-drilled and tapped.

This photo shows the damaged stud-hole on number 1 cylinder exhaust. I'll post a close up next...

Ha ha Drewpy. No, my workshop is so small that I would have to take the photo with the window behind the engine so it would have been a wash out with glare.

The, almost, stripped frame. I started to wire-brush some of the paint to make sure there is no corrosion underneath. So far, so good.

This shows the engine on my bench in my workshop. The photo was taken through the window and the Orange tint is a reflection of autumn leaves I the garden.

OK, here is my first attempt at posting a photo. This was taken on the day it arrived. As you will see from my latest posts, the engine is out and the frame is nearly bare.

Hi everyone. Sorry for the delay but I am back on the project again - still need to master the photo bucket thing though. Anyway, here's a progress report: Engine out and on the bench, wiring loom removed, wheels and plastics all off. Rear wheel off, shocks out and about to remove the swinging arm/drive shaft - I already have a set of new bearings as there is some play in the old ones. Still have the front wheel and forks on just to keep the frame stable. Plan now is to get the front end off and get the frame powder-coated. Damage spotted so far is a broken stud hole at an exhaust port. The stud had been araldited in place to hold the pipe on! Anyway, the head will be taken to a local alloy repair man and only if it can be fixed will I take off the valve gear for a top end overhaul. No point in grinding the valves if the head is to be scrapped. I try to get some photos on here in the next week or so. Happy spannering.

OK, have a couple of photos now but... How do I upload them? Do I do that here, or in the gallery or what? I'll have another look around, but any suggestions welcome. Cheers

Aha, good point. I'll post a couple of shots this weekend.

Ok, just an update and now back on the project... After removing and stripping the carbs, I bought some Honda rubber cement stuff and "repaired" two of the diaphragms which had splits in them. Replaced a couple of small "O" rings under the jets and cleaned all jets and ports. Also noticed that the floats had different heights so I adjusted these according to the Haynes manual. When I had rebuilt the carbs, I checked the return speed of the diaphragm sliders to see if they were all the same (if they are not, there is a leak in the diaphragm) and they all seemed to match. Just lift them up and watch the return speed through the vacuum. Didn't measure them with a stop watch, just the mark 1 eyeball. I reset all the jets and idle screws etc. (when I stripped the carbs, and noted the original settings, they were all different!) and slackened off the master idle-adjuster. Just for cosmetics, I also painted the two angle-brackets holding all the carbs together as the originals were looking a bit grubby. I finally did a complete bench-balance using a digital vernier gauge to measure the heights of each carb slider and adjust each one as needed (and they were all different too - so I can only assume that the previous owner had attempted to adjust them). Fitted the carbs and rubbers back on the bike, hooked up the throttle cable and clutch cable and put back the air-filter and housing. The battery had been sitting for three months on my bench without being charged but the test meter suggested it was fine so back on with the tank and battery. Fuel cock to "prime", choke out and press the button. Wow! Immediate start and running at 2000 rpm. I let it run for a while to warm up and I checked for leaks or knocks. I listened to the cam chain (ear on a long screwdriver - like a doctor with a stethoscope) and there was only an occasional slight rattle so that will probably need adjusting. Tested various revs and it sounded responsive and clean and after suitable warming up I slowly reduced the choke and screwed the idle-adjuster to maintain just over 1000 rpm on tick-over. So, am very pleased with the carbs and the engine - no leaks and no knocking. Next step is to remove the engine for a bench-overhaul and tidy up any bits of the frame that have suffered road-chips etc. I'll do a proper carb balancing when I put everything back again but at least I know I've got a "good un" in there. Really enjoying this restoration project and I like it when a plan comes together...

Have ordered some paper and a set of hole punches. You never know, if I can make a good job of these, I might make more for e-bay! I had to "dremmel" cut some slots on the carb screws to remove the tops and float bowls and am planning to replace these cross heads with nice new shiny Stainless socket cap and button screws. Oh, the joys. Cheers

Thanks for that, I'll check out the site. I am having a great time and happy to tackle DIY gasket paper. Any idea how thick the paper needs to be? I see 0.4 and 0.8 mm sheets on e-bay, but my old gaskets are showing 0.5mm on my vernier. Cheers

Just an update and a question... Took off the carbs today, cleaned and stripped them and at least one diaphragm has a split along an edge so that will need to be replaced. I also took off the inlet rubber mounts (wanted to check them for cracks or splits), and they look OK but the oval gaskets were crispy hard and broke into little pieces. Here is my question... Are these gaskets a standard size that I can just pick up from the local bike shop, or do I need to buy specific gaskets for the XJ900F and, if so, can anyone recommend a good Yam dealer? Cheers

Synchro kit arrived today and I have sourced the bits for the YICS tool. I might even post a metric version of the design drawing once I prove that my one is dimensioned correctly. Cheers

Just a quick update. Ordered a balancing kit and reckon I'll make my own YICS tool. Only problem is that when I investigate, they all say to have the engine running (for balancing) but I assume that means with the choke back in, and my one stops when I put the choke back so it looks like the carbs have to come off for a proper, deep, clean - then I'll take it from there. Haven't really had time to investige for leaks yet but itching to get stuck in. Spotted a great YouTube vid for cleaning mikuni carbs but seems to contradict the Haynes manual for removing the pilot/idling jet. Video suggests the jet is screwed all the way in, but Haynes says to note how far in it is screwed. Anyone any ideas, or am I missing something here? Cheers

Thanks for these tips, hopefully I'll be able to make a start early August - daughter's wedding taking priority at the moment. As far as imperial is concerned, yes, my age means feet, inches as well as shillings and tanners are all very familiar to me. Cheers