First real ride on the XZ550R UPDATE 2 (Happy days)

[zore]

First impression of the bike.

I get pull in my driveway and climb off the M900 and fling open the garage door.? I had got the XZ insured and registered.? On went the plate and a few 27w light bulbs.? I threw in a bottle of Berryman B12 since the tank is spotless and I'm far to lazy to rip the carbs apart again.? It really dosn't run that bad.? So I'm ready for a little ride... oh wait, no mirrors...hmm... that kl250 doesn't run anyway, so it donated a mirror for the cause.? I had check the tire pressures and such on Sunday so I'm ready to rock.?

On goes the helmet, jacket and gloves.? The trailer is hitched to the explorer and ready to go just incase i have to make that phone call to the wife to come and get me.? After all the bike has been sitting for 5 years and an oil change and new battery really isn't going to change that.? ?Ignition on... choke on (not something I'm used to seeing as the Monster has FCR41's and the Sprint is fuel injected) hit the start button.? If it actually made 1/4 of a rotation before starting, I would be suprised, but I was impressed.? Kick stand up and I'm off.

First thing I noticed was how upright I'm sitting and believe it or not, it took me a while to get comfortable with this.? Second thing i noticed was how little vibration there is for a twin.? The bike is also too quiet.? The stock pipes make it sound like an SL70 or something.?

I'm getting ready to come to a stop light and hit the front brake.? I'm one of those guys who never uses the rear brake.? Just something my instructor told us to try at the track school.? ?I noticed, however, that not using the rear brake on this bike will lead to death.? Maybe someone can give me some insite on how the front brake is supposed to feel because coming off the monster where 2 fingers is enough to lock the wheel, to going to the xz where I can't possibly lock it up was quite an eye opener.? I would most likely guess this is from sitting for so long as the front did get a little better as I used them but the back seemed to provide more stopping power.

With the first brake test out of the way, I'm off to my favorite twisty road (if there is such a thing in New Jersey).? Taking my time and not expecting to be scraping hard parts the first time out, I went into the first turn at my relaxed pace speed... or so I thought.? ? I took the first turn a little faster than I should have for a shake down run on 10 year old yokahama speed line II's.? Put tires on the things to get list.? I think I'm going to have to get used to the handling and definetly stiffen up the susption a little.? The front end wobble that i've been reading about didnt' exist at any speed thankfully.

Conclusion:? I need stiffer seat, new front pads, mac exhaust, stickier tires and maybe stiffer springs.? I should say, other than pads, the rest is a wish list because it really doesn't need anything.? Parts i'm noticing are fairly inexpensive and as long as I don't end up having to walk home on my ride in to work, it should be a great commuter.? In the end the bike was free with the only expense so far being a battery, some brake fluid, a few light bulbs and carb cleaner.? All in all, I think i'm going to be happy with it as long as I go in knowing that it will probably never handle as well as my Monster or Triumph.? It is 23 years old after all.

[QBS]

Change to '83 risers, softer brake pads and ss brake lines, new fork oil and stiffer springs, new tires: You might be surprised.  Having said all that, you'll also soon discover the Achilles heal that is the rear shock.  Cheers.

[Lucky]

DO NOT assume that you can throw a few parts at this bike & ride the hell out of it. this bike is from a different era, & she's high maintenance.

As is often said here, someone before you has run all the "good" out of the bike, & time has taken a lot of it too.  this is a wrenchers bike & will be for a long time.  there are literally dozens of reccomended procedures for resoring the "good", none of it expensive, but all the gremlins will show themselves, in time, untill addressed.

That said, most here feel it's worth it. once the bike is back in fighting trim, it'll give you a ride like no other, it'll eat twisties with it's own style.

some of the things you'll want to strt with:  install a fuel filter if there isn't one, cut the yellow wire with the black tracer at the TCI 6 prong connector (rev limiter, it goes haywire) and clean & tighten EVERY electrical connection on the bike.  go to www.electrosport.com & download the fault finding chart.  test out the charging system & bring it up to snuff. do no skip any steps on the testing.  then relocate the R/R to either the left underseat rail, or left passenger foot peg. right now it lives in the oven above the rear exhaust.  then eliminate the connectors on the R/R, solder them tight.  also, you'll need to pull the left engine cover & do the starter clutch mods, tighten the balancer shaft nuts & replace the shift shaft seal.  don't forget the valve adjustment too.

Scared yet? lol...

--Lucky

[zore]

Remember I own a ducati, so nothing scares me. ;D

[Lucky]

& look! there's the first of your Vision Gremlins now: your Avitar has diapeared! lol

[zore]

Well, I made the 62 mile commute to work with out an issue.  I threw the YICS box that i just fixed back on and ended up pulling it off and plugging the holes half way thru the ride.  The box doesn't leak but who knows. 

When I pull the hose off the front cyl it continues to run.  If I pull the hose or plug off the rear cyl, it stalls out.  I think I'll be pulling the carbs off this weekend and seeing whats up there. 

I think the handling isn't as bad as I orinally thought.  I think going from the duc right to the vision in the same day may have given me unrealistic expectations.  I will do the 83 bar conversion.  At cruising speeds of 50 and higher, the bike runs flawlesly.  Even the torque number is low, it feels broad.  I can just leave it in 5th gear at pretty much any speed and throttle thru it with out the engine giving any fuss. 

[RussD]

I had the same feeling with the brakes when riding it right after I got off the Bird. I thought I was going to have to pull a Fred Flinstone to get the V stopped before I went thru this intersection.

I never remember feeling that way about them before. I think I had just gotten acclimated to all around discs on the XX and it had been awhile since I rode the V as she wasn't running again    ::)  Plus the Bird has that Linked Braking System between the front & rear. I think that's saved my a$$ more than a few times!    ;)

[hfarley]

Zore, where in Nj are you located? I am in Nj myself and would love to see another Vision. There are a few of us around here from NJ. I am located in central NJ near New Brunswick. Good luck with your ride and maybe we will meet someday!
-Heather

[zore]

I'm located in Jackson about 3 miles from Great Adventure.

[hfarley]

Ok you are about 2 hours away from me I guess. I believe there is another Vision rider located closer to you. Look up RBFD415 in the member list. Maybe we could chat sometime or swap Vision wrenching stories  ;). LOL! Email me at my aol address and I will give you my phone number. hfarley1@aol.com
Thanks and good luck!
-Heather

[Superfly]

Don't forget... it is a 550!  but she likes the twisties.... 

Go with the braded brake lines, much improvement over stock, but dont try to do a stoppie... she was not made for that!!  and aftermarket exhausts help this bike out alot.  I noticed a nice change when I went from stock to aftermarket.

[STRATUS749]

 Zore,? I just finished my vision (many thanks to these board members for the help). And yea It ain't like my duc either. But it loves the twisties. I have always been blown away on how a heavy skinny tire bike can handle these roads when properly set up. I once again ride my vision to work and let the duc rest. Yea its a 4 valver.
? With the exception of the stator problems, the visions have done there job for many years.
? ?Listen to these people they got it going on!
? ?Hey superfly, Did your carb work out?
? ?

[zore]

So I did 133 miles on the bike today.  I bet it's the first time it's been out that long and I bet it's the first time it's been riden in the rain.   So the update.  I had run it around 2 days ago with out the yics box because it leaked.  After the ride I came home, cut it in half, glued it back together let it dry.  This morning I tested it and no leaks so I bolted it on.  I started on my journy and the thing still didn't feel right.  You give it a shot of gas and it takes years for the idle to come back down.  So half way thru the trip I pulled the hoses off and put the plugs back on.  It was only mildly better if at all.

  It also had a slight stumble below 4000 rpm.  Having tuned on Holley's and now the FCR41's I knew what the problem was.  An extreme lean condition in the idle and mid circuit.  So when I came home, I ripped the carbs off it.  Now I had taken off the carbs 5  years ago when my brother in law was still riding, but I hadn't messed with any adjustment screws as my assumption was that it had been running right before he parked it.  Ooops.  I rip the carbs apart and spray liberal amounts of carb cleaner thru out and all the ports are clean.  Screw it back together, bolt it on and no real change.  Idle just hangs before it comes down to about 1200.  Out comes the screw driver and with in a few turns of the mixture screw I found my problem.  The idle flew to 7000 rpm so I quickly brought the idle down.  I continued to play with both screws until I got the idle to 12k with the idle screw at it's lowest point.  Problem solved.  I now have a very slight stumble off idle which I'll deal with this weekend when I get a vacume gauge and see how close I got. 

Wanted to thank everyone for helpfull ideas and specially Lucky with his tutorials on the YICS box ficks. 

[QBS]

Hanging idle on Vs' often indicates need of carb synchronization.  Cheers.

[zore]

Ok you are about 2 hours away from me I guess. I believe there is another Vision rider located closer to you. Look up RBFD415 in the member list. Maybe we could chat sometime or swap Vision wrenching stories? ;). LOL! Email me at my aol address and I will give you my phone number. hfarley1@aol.com
Thanks and good luck!
-Heather

I'm actually 45 mintues from new brunswick if traffic is light.