Know where you've been in order to know where you're going

After 16 years, I am finally been reunited with my '81 XJ550.  She travelled with me from Marion, Ohio (where I purchased her) to Oxford, Ohio to Fairfield, and finally back to Marion (round trip), where she lived with my parents and brother since I moved to California in 2001.  In August 2014, I had her shipped across country, so that I could attempt to restore her, or at least get her running again.  Why, you might ask?  Well, I'm not exactly sure yet.  I'm hoping that this blog will help me realize why I'm doing this!!!

So, as the story goes, I completely fouled up the gas tank and carburetors by letting a transmission shop seal the inside of the tank with a red resin-like substance, and then probably sealed the deal by leaving fuel in the tank during the winter season.  I went out to the parking lot the next spring, started the bike, and after finally getting it to start, it idled really slow and heavy, and finally let out a final "cough" as if to say, "it's over."  All of the remaining gas in the tank leaked out the top of the carburetor and my XJ officially entered her first retirement. 

In 2006, determined to resurrect my bike, I began searching online for parts to get it running again.  The internet was a full-fledged, full-feature experience now-- as opposed to the dial-up modem experience not just 10 years ago!  and I had very little problem finding parts for my bike-- on eBay and BikeBandit.  First, it was a carburetor... then a battery, then an auxiliary fuel tank, and finally I found an original mint-condition gas tank, petcock, and gas cap.  SCORE!!!  Now, I just needed to get it running.  And, what if, after all of this, the bike doesn't run?  If I seriously thought about this as a possibility, my stubbornness has surely gotten the best of me, because I am bound and determined to get this bike running again!  If for no other reason than to fix my mistakes.

So, in his spare time, my brother works on my bike and gets it running again.  Well, kinda.  The first time I rode the bike-- since rendering it inoperable in 1998, was in 2006.  I rode it with NO FRONT BRAKE, and the auxiliary gas tank hanging around my neck.  Yeah-- I know-- dangerous, crazy, AND STUPID.  And, depending on how long I maintain this blog, there will be many more stories about the idiotic things we did!  (I hope that restoring this bike isn't one of them!!!)


So, we've gotten this far.  My bike is in my garage in Oakland, California.  It needs some TLC.  Specifically, the carburetor needs to be rebuilt, and all I know about this is what I've read in my Clymer's Manual and watching kick-ass MC restoration and carburetor rebuilds on YouTube.  The internet is freakin awesome!!!  So I disassemble the entire carburetor, and everything is progressing smoothly, until I get to the pilot jets.  One is stuck and I can't get it out. 

Tune in to the next blog to find out what happens next!