The XT550 Thread: Info, Stories and Mods Inside!

ED is that mixture screw under that brass with the pinhole where the rail connects the carbs together? just noticed it tonight. I am clueless on these carbs. I have fooled with rubber vacuum carbs on my ninja 250 and Kawasaki 440 LTD as well as old 2 stroke mukunis. Who makes these and where is the 411?? Teikei? My ninja developed problems and I would REALLY like to get this jewel thumping. It is warming again in GA. May be sunshine and 70 again before Christmas.

I could spring for a CDI. Any experience with the model out of Great Britain. It seems to be the value leader at about 160 bucks exchange from the pound. 6 month warranty vs the year on the New Zealand one???????

I have a guy who is a ex-yamaha tech. He cleans my carbs for me. I ask him on saturday were the mixture screw is. Do you try a new plug? Also, make sure that rubber hose on the bottom of the carbs is not crack.
We had the first snow of the year. Next week we will be back up in the 50s!! :eek1

new plug gappped, rubber hose??

This guy has a plan Bob. Google is your friend, I had seen this but didn't know where. They must have been badged tenere's in Europe?
http://www.tenere.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=807

Just for piece of mind I would start with a new plug and a plug cap. They are cheap and worth replacing. Then if there is still weak spark, it sounds like a cdi.

Good luck and keep us posted on what works.

Got a good link on a quality cap that will work. That is something I have never purchased. I order from these folks pretty regularly or I can pop on ebay if the price is right.

http://www.powersportsplus.com/parts/search/Yamaha/Motorcycle/1982/XT550J/CARBURETOR/parts.html
http://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/

Virtually any NGK cap that is of the same shape should work. Any good bike shop should have a selection.

you do a compression test?
check valves?
Chances are reasonably slim that it is the cdi, considering you have spark.

You don't know XT CDI s then.

No offense. All of mine that are bad had spark. It was weak or sometimes acted like it was out of time. I pray it is something else simple though. Compression should be an obvious when you kick her over but a good thought to check.

Checked the spark again and it seems poor. So any advice on the Great Britain CDI vs the new Zealand hypertec
165.00 vs 198.00?

I also am thinking this bike quit running at some point in the past and has sat for a lengthy period of time. Maybe back when cdi's were 500 instead of 200. What would side line a bike with 1900 miles on it original tires complete? I know I see the old 2 stroke enduro's with 2k around but they lived a different life than this beast.

I have the New Zealand CDI. It works well but expect to wait 2 to 3 weeks for it. Also check your pulser coils. They use 2. One for 12 degrees BTDC and one for 36 BTDC. If your 36 is bad, it will really flatten your power, like it is running out of breath, so to speak.

Hello fellow inmates, here are some pictures of my bike that I recently picked it up from my father-inlaw. It's a 1982 XT 550J that he purchased new and it has 3800km. I've made some mods to it but it is basically stock, it's still running the original tires! I've had the carb apart three times now to clean, the problem was at first it had sat since 1988 and was pretty gumed up inside. I used sea-foam and now it starts on the first kick with no choke, even in the cold. I have it leaned out and it is still dry fouling the plug. The original exhaust has been patched up for now so it has close to the right back pressure, does this sound like the primary needle and jet? The starter plunger (choke) is in good shape and does seem to be seating. I've read every post here and I can't recall seeing this problem. The carbs on these bikes have been an issue since day one, I have a magazine road test from 1982 and it took them 10 kicks to start and they had trouble with mid-range hesitation and bogging at that time.
Any help would be appreciated, I love the bike and if it wasn't for the 16 inches of snow in the yard I would be out riding today.
Thanks to ThumperStorm for the service manual info!

Yamaha XT550cc Enduro 6 Sigma Custom Carburetor Carb Stage 1-3 Jet Kit - I see this listed on ebay. Does anyone know anything about it? Have any thoughts?

http://ebookbrowse.com/yamaha-xt550-service-manual-ocr-small-pdf-d307157172

Is this the correct tail light? and bracket. I need one and want oem.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1983-Yamaha...=&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Does not look like mine, mine is a rectangle.

Probably why its not selling.

Hi guys, here are some pics of my XT 550, before and after a few changes. Can't wait for spring!