Hello from the new guy

Greetings!

I just bought a 1985 XJ700 (2 owners, second bought it in 1995.) I was looking for something newer but drove this bike and instantly fell in love. It's 100% factory, and needs tons of love. Slow leaking oil all over the place, idles like crap until warm, list goes on. Guy did only basic maintenance, tires, oil changes, brakes but hasn't been cracked open...probably ever. I'm hoping to have this beautiful old girl road ready by spring so I'm glad I found this site. Just looking around, I've already found some good stuff (ex.. took off the back tire last night to check the drum brakes.) Only a few more weeks in riding season so I'm going to get a few miles on her then this winter I plan to rebuild carbs, shim valves, replace some wiring, and try to find seals and gaskets to plug up all the leaks. Any advice on other places to start looking for issues would be great too! I'm not looking to do a museum quality restore, just to keep her safe and on the road for a few more years...right now anyway.

-Bob

 

Nice bike.

Don't forget new brake lines may be needed.

 

Damn! I like those rims sooo much more than the swirleys!

 

Looks like a good starting point !!!! Agree make it safe and reliable first AND PLEASE do not take a sawzall to the frame or rip out the airbox to put on PODS this is a highly collectable bike...Keep us informed on progress.

 

I

Want to keep it as original as possible, definitely not going to start hacking on such a great bike, just restore what's here.

 

I like original. Once you chop, there is no going back!

 

I have a red 85 XJ700N that is bone stock. Although when I bought it it had a foam air filter th P.O. had installed. Trust me, it ain’t going to run correctly unless you have an OEM paper filter. Took me a while to get everything in good shape but all the help I needed was right here. Just ask. For me it was valves, carbs, brakes—front and rear—, calipers rebuilt, brake lines, master cylinder rebuilt, and petcock, and a lot of time fine tuning the carbs. But it runs great now and was well worth the effort. The final process of fine tuning the carbs is what will start easily and run well. A colortune plug will be a great help. 120 miles today and got about 43 mpg.

 

Welcome from another new guy. You will be glad you found this sight. I've been going down the path you seem to be heading. Been having a blast working on my project and riding again after 25 years. I've been going through all the safety first issues found here and I can honestly say each step I feel the difference in how safe I feel. New front tire has made the biggest difference.

 

I forgot to mention it's like Christmas. Every day a package shows up at the door but I'm only in a grand for w h at should be years of fun.

 

XJ4ever (top right corner) is the most reliable and quickest source of correct parts. A few penny's less on eBay does not guarentee savings in the long run.. Trust me.

 

Yup, took the filter out this weekend while cleaning/inspecting everything and it has a foam filter. Might be part of why it will barely idle cold but who knows. The caps are off the adjustment screws on the carbs but I doubt they have been cleaned in over 20 years. Brake lines are OEM dated 3/85 so brake system rebuild is first priority then valve adjustment and carb rebuild (scared of the 4 carb setup, never rebuilt more than a double). Going to be a fun winter, I just hope I can get it back on the road by spring! Looks lie PO also did some bad polishing/grinding work on the covers that I will have to fix...small dent in the tank and a little rust inside...list goes on.

 

Be really careful when removing the pilot screws. Since the caps are off there will be a lot of dirt and grime on the threads. They are very fine threads and can be easily damaged if you don't get them really clean before trying to get the pilot screws out. After getting my carbs back together I made some "caps" out of some plastic tubing. Can't remember what size, but probably aquarium tubing. In any case I had to use a little sanding wheel to taper the tubing a little bit so it would go in and fit tight. To seal the tubing hole at the top I used a little caulking. Worked well for the last two years.

 

Good idea. I will probably just use some high temp liquid gasket. I do alot of work on my I/O boat too I have a lot of liquid gaskets and sealers around, lol.

 

Just make sure you can easily remove whatever you use.