XJ650 Starting issues

That might be the way I go except with a hair dryer

 

Not an urgent thing, mostly thinking about the front fork suspension.

Len doesn't have (at the time I had asked anyways) some good high performance springs for the forks, and since the air only should have somewhere between 12-15 psi (pressure cooker amount of PSI) or you'll blow out the oil seals (iirc the max is 17), I don't think having air or not in the front forks really makes any appreciable difference.

I'll be replacing the leaking fork with a brand spanking new inner fork tube from Len this weekend, and if I have to, the oil seal (which looks visually perfect, though I certainly can't look underneath it, it is installed correctly, and I see no scratches on it whatsoever, inside the outer fork tube. It looks exactly as it did as I got it from Len)

I know I installed the spacers, and such correctly and in the correct direction, as per the manual. I am using Lucas 10W synthetic fork oil (the only fork oil sold in this area) as per manual

However regardless of the slow leak on the fork, it wouldn't make sense how it feels like the front shocks are "soft" and relatively easy to "bottom out" while sitting on the bike. The bike seems like it sits "low" to begin with, in that if I lift the bike's triple tree, then it seems as if there is several inches that come back up of give. I guess I would just expect the front end to be stiffer when parked. Is this normal or does it mean the springs should be replaced with something else, and if so, what should I get to upgrade this behavior?

edit: I didn't measure them, but I can check the left fork when I disassemble it this weekend

 

Upon further research, it looks like my two options are to get some regular aftermarket springs from Len, rather than the "high performance ones" or look into upgrading to "Race Tech" springs and Emulators.

 

All my forks had a spacer about 50mm on top of the springs. Basically xj650 turbo forks.
I swapped in progressive springs and the spacer went up to about 90mm to keep the front end from sagging.
Without air added it made a huge difference, hardness wise. Much nicer feel with the air.
In saying that. I have different forks altogether so, pinch of salt I guess.

 

Oh, I'm not saying I wouldn't put air in the forks, I just don't think a few PSI difference is going to be a big difference

 

Also:

Has anyone replaced their right "control switch" with aftermarket ones with a more simplified control switch? Of course you can go with like motogadget stuff but I love the simplicity of the XJ750 where it has a "ignition cut-out ON-OFF toggle switch" rather than the off-on-off, which I always incredibly disliked that. Eventually that's one of the things I'll get rid of once everything else is handled.

I'll probably keep the left "control switch" because it's fine and I don't dislike anything about it (besides feeling like my thumb is a bit too short to reach the blinker nub without partially removing most of my hand from the grip)

 

Looks like a handy upgrade would be a HCP26152, though I wish it was USB-C and 3A instead of two 2.1A (most connections like this on USB-A tend to not be able to output 2.1A to both USB ports at the same time, resulting in half the amps to both if it's connected to both ports). A simple pole switch to ensure it's not connected when the bike isn't on would probably work well, though I have no idea how to insulate at the moment that from water.

https://www.amazon.com/Nilight-Motorcycle-Voltmeter-Independent-Waterproof/dp/B0CJ2CPN1K

This might be something I go with

 

I put one of those on every bike I have, and wire it up live (it has an SAE connector and a glass fuse + spare. Work great, but remember to shut it off when you're at the end of your ride.

 

I upgraded to a blade fusebox last fall. I suppose I could wire it to an aux fuse since there's space in the box for one, but the actual wiring harness on the XJ650J doesn't have anything setup for aux by default. Figured I'd just do a direct wire to the battery with an on-off switch.

 

Well, few problems.

I went to drain the oil, and the drain plug was so tight I had to use my impact to remove the bolt.

Drained the oil, no metal fragments, oil looked okay, if not a little dark.

Tried the new chacal plug, it would not fit. Instead of forcing it, I put the old plug in, and used the crush washer with the new plug on the old plug and torqued it to 25ft lbs. (Instead of 31)

I went to assemble the new filter and housing, and that was also kinda stuck, but I got it out.

It was missing a washer (though nothing was leaking)

I struggled to get the new filter bolt in, so I took the bolt and only used it by itself to make sure the angle was right, and was able to hand tighten it pretty far, and took it out and reassembled it.

There is really not a whole lot of clearance, for the spin on kit, so unless I can somehow figure a way to spread these headers farther apart, which I have no idea how to do, I don't think that's possible.

I went to go install the bolt with the filter assembly, and I was able to hand screw it in a decent way and then I continued tightening it. I made sure to use a torque wrench set to 10 ft lb, instead of 11, and I notice it wasn't going down all the way but I was hitting 10 ft lb. I figured this didn't seem right, and I backed it out and looked at the threads, from the bottom they look okay, and I looked at the top, and it's like the middle section here is crumbling, I could use my finger and metal pieces looked like they were showing up.

See attachment

I'm not really sure what to do at this point. Help!

 

Looks like it was cross threaded at some point.
The real fix is to get a tap that size and carefully fix it.
The tap would cost an arm and a leg more than likely and hard to justify for a single use.
or
Carefully use a hardened bolt that size and lubricant and realign the existing threads, kinda like a tap without the cutting.
See what everyone else suggests though!

 

Looking over the previous technician logs, he said quote:
"Repaired stripped oil filter housing"

So I'm not sure what specifically he did. Maybe I made it worse by using the new oil filter bolt that I got from chacal? The head on the old bolt was 11mm, and the one from chacal was 17mm. The thread pitch looks okay, and very similar, so I'm not sure what went wrong.

There is so little clearance behind these headers, that I can't take out the oil filter cover with the oil filter bolt installed. I have to rotate the filter cover sideways, remove the bolt, and then I can remove the filter.

Why would someone design headers like this if it's just going to be a pain in the ass to do the oil filter replacements in the future?

In any case I'm not sure what went wrong, I initially was struggling to get the assembly in the hole, so I took out everything, and dry fit the new bolt by hand, and hand tightened it in, idk maybe halfway, so I took it out, reassembled the oil filter, again went to put it back hand tightening it a little bit until it looked like it went in fine, and then it just seemed wrong, so I stopped and backed out. I can take another look tomorrow, but I'm pretty sure the threads on the bottom seem fine, it's just from the angle I showed in the image

 

Ahh, sounds like the repair was pretty much like the 2nd method I mentioned.
You probably didn't notice that it was tight most of the way when loosening it off, more likely.
Tight is tight I guess when it comes to this sort of thing but it kills the torque wrench concept and sends you to the tighten till it doesn't leak area instead.
The bigger head is a good thing as the original size is stupidly small for this bolt and always gets rounded off at some point.

You should be able to lay both bolt threads into each other neatly to check the thread pitch. Check to see if the original has been altered/damaged.

 

I'll check the thread pitch in the morning, I do remember when I was unscrewing it, it was decently tight, like it was definitely not something I could unscrew by hand, when initially doing this. The first unscrew to get it to unstick, took a decent amount of effort, and then I needed to wrench it the rest of the way off.

 

If you look at this attachment, this shows the bottom of the threads, see they look fine!

 

Not really. Look closer.
Some are flat, some are taller.
Cross threaded to start with at any rate.
The bolt tries to cut a new thread by flattening the existing threads and extending a few others that kinda match because the insertion is angle is wrong.
Unless the tech put an imperial thread onto the bolt, forcefully, or a different pitch using a die then you have the same thread overlayed on an angle mutilating the original thread, basically.
Pain in the neck but fixable, not perfectly, but fixable.

 

Unfortunately, that looks like it's going to take a heli-coil or similar to remedy.....I'm not sure there's going to be enough thread "meat" left even if a tap is run thru it (a real tap or just even just a hardened bolt as a "quasi-tap"). There's plenty of surrounding metal to make using a heli-coil or time-sert (etc) possible, but either one is going to be a semi-pain to do as you'll have metal shavings to contend with and get rid of.....dropping the oil pan may be necessary.

I'm wondering what happened with the oil pan drain plug........for most Yamaha's --- over a huge number of years --- (and actually most all Japanese bikes of that era and before/beyond) the pan plug is a universal size (bolt heads and bolt depths can differ, but bolt size and thread pitch are pretty much one common size). Was the bolt that you got from us too small, too large, or ????

 

One of the things that I noticed when I was unscrewing the original, it was, it felt entirely too tight in there, the entire step of the way. When I uncracked the bolt, for either of them, subsequent untightening required the use of a wrench, I could not unscrew it by hand. My only sort of consolation to myself is that maybe I wasn't the one that cross-threaded it. I was so sure that I didn't with the new bolt, I dry fit it to make sure that the angle was right and it looked good.

Yeah I can't really do any of that myself. I don't have the means to pull the engine, drop the pan, remove the exhaust, etc.

I guess she's just sitting there until I can get her to a tech to do that kinda stuff for me

 

Bugger.
The headers and exhaust system aren't hard to remove, just annoying and first time around a bit scarey wondering if the studs are okay.
I pull them off when I do a filter, it's absolutely aggravating doing it otherwise.
Helicoiling is best done by someone who's done it before though. Good skill to have but you have to be dead on.
You can jam the old stuff back on, in the meantime, to get it running though surely. Not ideal but sometimes you need to keep the momentum going.

 

Gentlemen, listen to me please...... Yammy has had a ridiculous torque for oil pan drain plugs forever. Hell no to 31. IF anything that would be on first installation for dry threads, and even that it too high..........

So here's the deal, the usual crush washer starts to crush at about 17 ft. lbs. and once it starts crushing, a little bit more (20) is all you need to seal it. Why keep going and crush it into a flat steel washer? I strongly suggest you convert to aluminum washers used by Honda and a couple others... same deal, get the feel for it, but 20-22 ft. lbs. max. Don't be stripping those oil pans!!! I hear too much of this with Yamahas...... nobody else has that kind of torque for a drain pan bolt.

You want a wee chuckle, same drain plug and crush washer used on the rear drive of an FJR1300...... torque spec there is 17..... same f-ing setup.

 

Well, I covered the oil filter hole with a sandwich bag and rubber bands to keep stuff from going into it. I'm not going to try and put stuff back in.

The threads were coming out with just my finger on the top of the threads. The bottom threads seemed fine, even in that recent image, the bottom threads look fine to me. I touched the threads on the bottom with my finger several times, nothing changed at all, so I figured they were fine. That looks normal, as best as I know.

I have no idea if the top threads were already damaged at this point, cause I was doing this laying on the pavement. I suppose maybe I should have reused the old plug, but I guess based on this situation, doing this oil change would have shown that this needed to happen anyways. Maybe the previous tech said that he fixed the threads, and then it caused further damage when he torqued it down?

Like I said, the drain plug hole I initially used a 1/2" wrench, extension (since the headers are in the way), and socket, and it would not unscrew. I upgraded to a breaker bar, and tried again, still wasn't coming undone. I took out the impact drill to unscrew it, and it took several seconds of ugga dugga before it finally came loose.

I just wanted to ride my bike and this damn thing has been fighting me every step of the way.

Just getting it started was frustrating. I rode it back to my apartment complex about a week ago and it wouldn't want to start yesterday. With the inline filter, I set the petcock to RES, no gas movement, but I see gas in the bottom of the filter/hose section. ON? Same behavior. Set it to prime for a second? Fuel flow! I quickly set it back to ON. Gas flow stops. Bike doesn't start, starter motor seems fine, not sure what's up. Fresh gas in the tank, filled it up by hand. New spark/caps/ignition coils from Len. Battery is known good.

Friend suggests looking at the filter while I'm starting it to see if fuel flows when I try to start it. I awkwardly lean over the bike, stretching to see if it starts, I hold in the clutch, press ignition with full enrichment lever, pulling throttle a bit, starts right up. I don't quite understand this behavior.

That's why I never want to go full torque, for this reason. Both for age of the bike, and potential damage to the threads. I went to 25 instead and that felt plenty sufficient.

 

The petcock vaccum thing is cool. Although it is a whole other mechanism to worry about.
If the float valves are doing there job it isn't needed when the bike isn't running.
If the float valves are leaking you'll end up with an engine oil/fuel mix in the transmission and the petcock is left on prime. (Actually I think reserve might bypass it also but I'm not sure)
In saying all of that.

On is kinda off for letting the bike sit.

When your starting prime is fine.
Stick it on prime and wait minute, start the bike and when it's running stick it back to on.
If you have to do this every time then you have leakage from the bowls somewhere ... Or the fuel has evaporated if you are in a hot climate after a few days.

If the bike dies after turning to on, the petcock probably needs a going over as well.

Pretty sure you will be intimately aware of every single tiny thing on your bike by the end of your adventure. And it'll run like a beast!

 

I'm so worried that in order to do this they'll have to pull the engine and the labor in the work is going to be over $1,000 USD or something stupid. The local place here charges about $100 an hour. The cheapest place I know of that would be willing to work on this is half an hour away and still costs 80 bucks an hour.

 

That's not good.
Best mechanic, and cheapest, is always going to be you.
If you screw it up then you'll just have to fix it.
Much simpler if you put all the pressure on yourself to work it out. Not faster but simpler and a hell of a learning curve.

The first few helicoils I did were on a cb900 boldor kneeling in sand at the back of a rental house after changing a cam chain and over tightening the head bolts that they pulled out of the case. I really had to get to work in the morning though. Not the best job I'm sure but it ran for another year at least.
Perspective. Don't think you can't do everything yourself.
Given time and space and a few tools it's amazing what's achievable.

PS: I sold it so who knows how long it lasted. Damn PO.

 

If you want to ride, get a replacement oem type filter and reassemble everything but only torque till not leaking. I don't think partial threads would prevent me from riding until a better fix comes along. You could run a hardened bolt into the hole like a form tap, as mentioned, first. Deal with the fix and spin on adapter later.

 

There are oversize drain plugs available..... and even 25 ft. lbs. is a bit much IMHO.
You will have to verify size and thread pitch.........

https://www.amazon.ca/Dorman-65402-...oppingads-lpcontext&psc=1&smid=A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB
https://www.napacanada.com/en/p/PAP263915

 

well I already have the oil filter and associated items from Len, though I seem to have forgotten to order the cover oil filter, or I lost it? I can use my finger to rub out any crumbling metal particles and try again but I feel like doing so would just make things worse.

 

https://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/oil-filter-assembly-install-detail.130464

 

Yeah, I downloaded those images to my phone ahead of time to make sure I wasn't missing something.

One thing I noticed with the old "PRESSURE RELIEF BYPASS VALVE & COVER MOUNTING BOLT" is that the head was 11mm. I thought it was 12mm but that absolutely didn't fit on the bolt head. 11 however fit. I thought I was going crazy so I checked it several times.

also, not my image, but this was the oil pan drain bolt:


the one from chacal felt like it was "too big". I fought with it for probably ten minutes trying to get it to go in, best I could do is get it to "grab" something right on the outer lip of the oil pan entry way with two fingertips but I couldn't easily tighten it with my 2 fingers so I stopped, not wanting to injure anything. This bolt went back in seemingly fine.

 

More than likely the oil filter bolt was filed to get it square again.
So 12 becomes something smaller.

You should lay the old and the new sump bolt into each other's threads to check. Clear picture of both side by side also maybe would be cool to see.

At any rate get the old stuff back in and forget the upgrade till you've had a few rides at least.

 

Honestly I'm tempted to get a 4-2 exhaust from ebay in the future and replace this 4-1 exhaust. I think it sounds really good, especially the vintage Gemini muffler you can't get anymore, but I've no idea, nor have the tools (or money if google is to believed on estimated cost to pay someone to fabricate one) to create a new 4-1 header that is a bit wider at the drain port. I suppose I can use a 4-2 header until I've saved up enough (in a couple years) to change it back to a 4-1 setup with better angles.

Having to fight with the clearance of the headers to do something simple like an oil change is bullshit, and I hate getting oil on the headers. The other benefit is that once there's more clearance, I should be able to use the spin-on oil filter conversion and not bother with this archaic setup.

The shinko tires the shop ordered for me were backordered so they got me dunlops I should be getting soon, once I swap those out, work on the breaks, work on the fork, I'll take another look at the filter threads. I'll use my finger and gently rub the threads and try to get as much of the material out of the hole without pushing it back into the crank case. I suppose I could use a junky toothbrush as well but I'd be afraid of that flinging metal flakes back into the crank.

 

So I had a can of corn to see if that would fit in between the headers.

Just as is, I can't fit it. You can see that in the first image

In the second image you can see that I moved the can higher up and then I passed it down. The middle of the can definitely fits better, and the ends of the can don't really and they're wider.

Is there a mini spin on oil can that's 2.75 in?

 

If you are using nonstandard stuff (exhaust, in this case), you will not be able to use all the 'stuff' designed to fit stock configurations. Just use the stock filter setup. To me, it looks better than a colorful, exposed oil filter. Filters are far cheaper too.

 

Going back over my emails, apparently all of the spin-on filters are 2.75"

I'd still need to figure out how to clean the threads though

Is this hole an m20 1.5?

 

Right with you there. I bought the kit back on day and stuck it on. Crushed the hell out of the filter when I tried to tighten the exhaust system over it mind you.
Reverted to standard and gave the kit away.

 

It sounds like I can get an m20x1.5 bolt and use my Dremel to cut it like this and clean up the threads

Based on another thread where this happened, I might try the spin on kit and see if that resolves it. Based on this canned corn measurement, it should just barely fit

 

You can try that. You don't want to re-cut threads but the slits may collect the bits and prevent them from going internal. make sure you clean up the threads at the dremel cuts with a file to remove any burrs.

 

I have some tiny little jewelry files that I can probably use

 

This is a tap I bought to fix the threads for the swingarm. Pretty close. But you'll notice the flutes are huge.

 

How come those initials starting threads are rounded off? I've been noticing that when I look at various taps

 

They are not rounded off, they are tapered to start in a blank hole.

 

So I spent the entire afternoon driving around trying to find a m20x1.5 tap to clean the threads, and absolutely no one nearby that's open right now had one in stock. I also debated getting simply an m20x1.5 bolt and making the above example with my dremel. There is still a decent amount of threads at the end, and on the right hand side, and parts of the top. However, I couldn't find an M20x1.5 bolt. I could find plenty of SAE bolts that general size, and some M20x2.5 but nothing what I was looking for.

So I realized, there's an old oil filter housing bolt I have, that the intent was to replace anyways. I didn't find any thread pitch feeler gagues, but I did find a single store that carried some M20x1.5 nuts but not the bolts, so I brought those in and checked both old & new housing bolts, and they were a perfect match. However, (see images) I did notice on the original bolt some of the threads have been smushed (this would have been PO, I hadn't reused the old bolt whatsoever before now), which would explain at least some of the potential thread damage from the PO's.

So with no other things to do, I used my dremel to turn this bolt into a thread cleaner, making sure to cut out the part that was dented on the bolt so it wouldn't harm the threads. I also used a jewelry file to clean up any burrs on the edges of each individual thread that was touched by the dremel.

I would then use some blutack inside the housing, and remove it, getting as many metal fragments and some threads out as I could. I would then, using two fingers only, screw the bolt into the housing. As soon as I got some resistance, I would back it out completely, then clean the threads with some blutack (the motor oil seems to cause the blutack to deteriorate and get very sticky, so each time I did this was basically disposing of the bluetack after.) I would then use my fingertip to insert without hitting the walls, and drag my finger back out to see if there were any metal shavings or particulates.

At this point, I've got about, most of the way in there, but I'm hitting a "wall" where I can't finger tighten it any further, and, testing with where the filter cover would be, the bolt has some way to go. At this point, I am feeling confident enough that the current placement of the bolt being dry fit into the hole, is not currently cross threaded. It goes in with little effort, as one would expect when you're bolting into something with the same threads, such as testing with that correct nut earlier in the store, i can wiggle it a little more than I would normally like when it's early in its insertion, but that behavior dramatically stops as it goes in. Wiggling does not drop anything out of place, so I feel reasonably confident that it is not "skipping" and staying within the threads. Every time I do this, I remove the plug entirely and clean the threads with blutack and my finger and so far it's coming out clean.

However, I've been reticent to put any more pressure than required when cleaning the threads past this point. It's stopping likely because there is probably a part of the thread that is bent somehow, but I can't physically see where that might be. Based on the state of the threads, I'm feeling good that the dryfit attempts I am doing is not causing further damage, or is cross threaded. But whatever is happening in that last 4.5mm~, which also to my eye, looks pristine, is preventing the bolt from finishing it's journey. If I can just get past that hump, I can put the oil filter back on with the new bolt, fill oil, and check for leaks.

As some of my friends and I have been talking about, if there are no leaks, then I'm good enough to at least get the bike running again. (though there is the concern of thread damage & vibration coming loose, and the cheapest option appears to be JB Weld, at least as a temp fix, though the "real fix" appears to be a Time Sert, which is like a godforsaken $315 USD)

I think I'll use a wrench in the morning, very gently, to get past that one bit that seems to be giving issues getting the bolt back in. As has been pointed out to me, if it works, good. if it doesn't work, then at least you tried to clean it up and it was going to need to have a time sert anyways.

 

You were 100% right btw

it's not just filed down, the whole head was, and the bolt head is clearly slightly twisted

 

Those 12 point sockets are damn good for making a mess of bolts, that's for sure.

 

The problem is that in some Yamaha manuals, the torque spec for that bolt is something like 30 ft-lbs.......the finned cover itself has the proper torque value cast into it, but most people don't pay attention to it.

>>>> The proper torque settings for these bolts on all XJ engines (except 1100cc) is 11 foot-pounds, and no more!

So between the distorted threads and twisted bolt head, we would be safe to conclude that someone massively over-tightened that bolt and that's what stripped the threads in the case. Screw threads engage each other at an angle, with the side of the threads of the screw interacting with side of the thread in the (in this example) engine case and "lock tightly" against each other....and that's how and why fasteners hold onto to their mate. Over-tightening a threaded fastener will at first DISTORT the v-shaped threads----and this typically happens to the softer metal (in this case the crankcase threads) and then finally rips the threads right out of the (softer) metal. The cover bolt is made from steel, and while its threads may get slightly distorted from over-torquing, they may not be damaged/distorted much, at all......it's the soft-metal threads in the crankcase that will be "taking one for the team".

At some point in time, you're going to need to address those threads in the crankcase. Missing/sheared threads in the crankcase are not going to allow proper holding pressure that un-damaged threads would, even if you can (at the least) un-distort them using a tap of a new bolt to try and "straighten out (or straighten "up") the damaged threads. And since the thread-to-thread "grip" is reduced, you stand a fair chance that while riding down the road one day, the vibration from the engine and the "looseness" of the thread fit could blow that bolt right out of there, with a catastrophic loss of oil directly in front of where your rear tire is about to go......and that would be a Very Bad Thing(tm) that could happen to you in just an instant.

Remember, the filter cover (and thus the bolt threads and case threads) are under a good bit of oil pressure when the engine is running----up to 70psi or so----so there's 70psi pushing on the cover, which is also pushing on the bolt and pulling on it's threads, which in turn are pulling with that amount of force against the threads in the crankcase. Take your hand, and on a bathroom scale, push down on it until the scale reads 70-pounds......that's the type of pressure acting on the cover, the bolt, its threads and the case threads.

Wow, $ 315.00 for a time-sert...........I'm in the wrong business!

 

Yeah to be clear I recognize that it's not really going to be a permanent fix.

In the short term it's going to be just to be able to put the oil back into the engine, so I can make the five minute trip to the shop under its own power, rather than paying for a tow.

In looking in the process of what it would take to do a Time Sert, (frankly, I wish that this was for a oil pan, because at least I could remove that easily, it's more of a pain when it's a part of the lower crankcase.) I believe I could likely do one myself, but 315 for the kit, if I needed any other sleeves in the future, cost about $11 a pop from the company. I believe the process here, would be to jam a rag into the hole in the back, And then put a bit of Grease, on the drill bit, drill out the slightly larger hole, and then put some grease on the camfer, And then do that again. Grease being better than oil here, because it tends to absorb the majority of metal shavings. As long as those two things are aligned, literally all you have to do is align the time sert sleeve in the hole, which it comes with a kit, And then you just screw it in, till it's bottomed out, and then you put the actual bolt in. At that point she's going nowhere. Don't forget to remove the rag that was preventing shavings from going into the crankcase

I think once there is a time sert in then, preferably by a shop because I don't have a garage, doing this in a parking lot, on the ground, where headers, which are rusty as hell probably also need to be removed, I'll likely convert to a spin on later. I currently think I might have clearance but I'm not 100% on that.

First things first, this will either work or it won't.

 

That's it right.
Move forward don't get stuck.
Later there is a lot of meat on that for drilling and helicoiling too which is good.

Damn shame it's in that state, very weird but the 1.5 pitch is fine as hell and I can imagine someone starting and not stopping on a cross threading.

That tap I sent a pic of was fairly funky cleaning the threads of the swingarm pivots. Definitely a careful job, simple but easy to make a mess of I reckon, because of the large gap between cutting threads.

You can see why there was silicone all over the place on the valve cover now, I'm sure. Ahh the PO!

 

I think I'm going to try the spin-on kit. I've cleaned the threads about as much as I can.

If you look at the new bolt, see attachment, you can see where I can dry fit it until finger tight.

If I'm correct, this is roughly where the gasket would be touching until you start to torque it down. There seems to be threads a little bit further in that I can't seem to reach with the bolt, which I'm thinking might be by design. I'm not sure that you're able to bottom out this bolt by hand.

Because of the clearance of the headers, I understand how this got cross-threaded in the first place and overtorqued, because there's only like the tiniest bit of clearance with the oil filter assembly, and the little lips that are on the fins, that then catch on other parts of the bike

 

If you hadn't showed us the bad threads... We'd be saying "that looks great!"

 

Same problem but this is the thing chacals bolt goes into if you have an oil cooler block attached.
You can see why the spin on filter didn't work.
The block extends even further into the headers.