1999 yamaha 1200 xl limited - problems

[art]

Hello, I just purchased a 1999 yamaha 1200 xl limited ski. It was a bank repo and I suspect that it has been sitting for well over a year. I checked it over and took it out for a spin. Before my trip I added fresh oil and fuel. I adjusted the gap on the plugs and took it out to the lake. At the lake it had slow acceleration, and a top speed of 37 MPH at 5600 rpm. The rpm's would not go beyond 5600 rpm on the entire trip. The engine idles smoothly, but it seems to lack power. What could the problem be and what is the average top speed for this unit? Thanks. ART

[Bryan Glynn]

The first thing you should have done was get a compression reading. I suspect you are for whatever reason, running on 2 cylinders. If you find low compression, go no furhter - you will need to tear it down for diagnosys. If they all come back around 125 psi, then you can go further, such as into the carbs. If it had been sitting for more than a few moths with old gas, you will need to rebuild the carbs. Not cheap, as kits are about $70 each, but you won't have a choice.

You should be seeing around 7000 RPM and around 61 MPH - the speedo should show more.

[Wolfman]

I also had a similar problem on my 2000 xl 1200 ltd. My ski would do the samething as yours is doing, but after I ran it for awhile it go back to normal. I replaced the CDI system in mine and that fixed the problem, but I still don't have the power that I once had when I am running under 40 mph. When I try to turn at any speed less than 40 it bogs down. But it will top out at about 60 (according to the speedo). I took it to the shop to have the compression checked out and they said that it was fine.