Potential future owner = new current owner

Well...I did it. I couldn't help myself. She needs a ton of work, but I fell in love as soon as I saw it sitting in the garage.


1981 xj650 Maxim

$400. I figure I could've done worse. I already have the carbs off so I can start cleaning them out. I also have to find a service manual somewhere to help give me an idea of what the hell I'm doing. I get the feeling from poking around that I am going to need to strip the frame down completely and give her a thorough rebuild to make her a strong reliable ride...I can't wait.

 

Great Deal, Good luck and hope to see come pics.

 

I'll be posting lots of pictures. With my complete lack of knowledge I am pretty sure most of them for a while will be me asking what something is. I'm pretty F'n excited about this

 

First investment should be the XJCD and/or a maintenance manual (the XJCD has the Factory Manual in it).
Next should be an oil change (if the P.O. hadn't already done it, which I would seriously doubt) and a compression test.

 

I already have an envelope addressed to:

Brad Bowen
4531 River Rd
Arlington VT 05250

Which is the address listed on xjcd.org. I have been looking at the Haynes repair manual and it lists the bike as an xj650 or xj750 Four. What is the Four model? Is that the same as the maxim? The bike on the cover looks different from mine and that has me slightly worried. Haynes
Is that the correct one?

 

Yup that's the right 1 - Fours refers to the 4 cylinder engines.

Congrats looks like a pretty good deal. There are a ton of posts on how to get ti street worthy.

 

Congrats looks like a great deal

 

I don't even think you'll have to remove and strip down the engine. As long as you change the oil and adjust the valve clearances, you should be fine (along with cleaning the carbs like you're already doing)

Why mess with the lower end of the engine?

 

Best policy is to get a service manual like you said, and then go through the entire recommended maintenance section item by item leaving nothing out. Thoroughly clean everything you take off and everything you can reach, and you will probably discover that a frame-off resto isn't necessary.

Don't assume that ANY of the recommended maintenance was ever done, most of these bikes have simply been "neglected to death." Might want to also plan on new tires before you do any serious riding unless you know how old they are.

Congrats on your find, it looks like another diamond in the rough. How many miles on the bike?

 

I strongly recommend AGAINST stripping down to bare frame unless you have to. I stripped my 81 seca down to the bare frame ... in retrospect i'm not entirely sure why now .... but yeah. It sucks putting it all back together.

Fitz is pointing ya straight, go through the standard maintenance and see where that puts ya before gutting her.

 

One of my 750's has some rust under where the battery tray is. I would love to strip mine down and get the frame powder coated and give it a ground up. But for now I'm just going to sand it down and spot in where the metal is pitted and try to stop the rust damage so I can get to it later.

If your frame is not rusty. Your bike does not look that bad enough to tear it all down. I think just a good clean and detail will give you what you want with half of the work and money.

 

Agreed.

We just got my motor back in the frame. Getting it out was hard enough. Getting it back in was 3x harder.

 

I am going to follow your guys' advice and not plan on a full restoration. The only reason I was considering it is because there are some minor rust spots on the frame and I don't want them to get worse. I may just buy some rust converter and spray it on, then sand it down and repaint black, I'll see. I am waiting for my manual to come in the mail now so I can start doing some real work to her. Right now I am just tinkering around in the garage seeing what leads where and finding things that are going to have to be replaced before she is road worthy. So far I have found that I need:

airbox to carb boots
the gaskets for the carb to engine boots
a new starter button throttle grip thing with wiring inside since the wiring on the current one is shot and the starter button is missing
new carb o-rings and seals?? I am not sure exactly what is needed for a carb cleaning and rebuild. I have read through a Hitachi carb breakdown .pdf that I found linked to from this site a few times and it looked like the only things he replaced were the o-rings and shims, is that correct?

I'm sure I will find a lot more when I start doing the maintenance work on her.

 

Oh yeah, the bike has just under 23,000 miles

 

shims on a carb? maybe im jsut daft... ive only heard about shims in relation to valves.. you can buy carb repair kits/sets either from your dealer on ebay... they usually run 30 bucks per carb from the dealer, or about 70-80 a lot on ebay.. but you carbs may not need them... maybe you'll be lucky... tell ya what... jsut getting into the carbs on my cb750 i already broke a needly, the thing that holds in a jet... not sure what its called, and a bolt that holds on the top... these carb screwes are really un lubed cuz thats what gas isnt, a lube, and made of soft metal.... not a good combo!!!
BTW, i had a media class as a junior, really liked it, but i had to do all the work while in a group... im the kind of kid that has to step forward, be in charge, cuz if you want something done right you have to do it yourself.. and my partner was the exact opposite, i was also the school newspaper editor (go figure) but i had a feeble little girl as my co-editer..... she wouldn't say or do anything, i felt bad cuz i knew she wanted to do soemthing, cuz she actually applied for the position, my teacher knew i was good at that stuff, so she made me do it... but when i let her do stuff... i couldnt stand it... felt liek i had to do it.. (we could only work on one computer) so i stepped down, and just made videos.
Your kids do spoofs? Our school always has food on a bun... like they say hamburger on a bun (no way) or chicken patty on a bun, so we did this spoof of a video on youtube called muffins, we named it buns... and had all these hilarious things on a bun... best video of the year... damn we were good. but yep.... ill have to try and dig that up and post it smoehow... give all you guys a good laugh

 

If anyone can translate what Schooter is talking about... please don't.

With 23K anything is possible, my initial advice still stands. As for the carbs, pull them down before you start buying parts unless you really want to do three or four parts orders and not just one (or two.)

I LOVE the rust converter stuff; with that and Duplicolor automotive spray touch-up "universal black" you can VANISH those spots. My '81 had been kept outside for 4 years when I got it and now it looks nearly new, without pulling the motor (lots of other stuff has been apart though.)

Plan on replacing pretty much any gasket or seal you disturb.

If you have the original rear shocks you're gonna need new ones.

Install an in-line fuel filter right away, and plan on upgrading the fuse box. Even in PERFECT original condition, the fuse holder blades just break on their own for no apparent reason (other than being old and the metal has apparently crystallized.)

DON'T SKIP maintenance items: Valve clearance check and adjustment, alternator brush cleaning and inspection, both a bit of a pain; STEERING HEAD CHECK oft overlooked but important and quite easy; etc. DO them all; when you're done you'll have that solid reliable ride you're looking forward to. Plus a whole lot of new knowledge and experience to go with it.

 

he's a media teacher....
gosh

 

Hey kid just busting your chops...

 

I believe he's trying to help the best/ cheapest way possible. I know I would not hesitate to listen and do what he is telling me.

no one I know here gives out bad advice.

this "IS" the place to be for help and knowledge.

that is why you came here correct?



Happy riding

 

wait..... are you saying you'd listen to me, lol.... im a redliner.... and i dont even know how to get the airfilter out of mt xj!!!! i was going to try at the end of the year.. but i got my sportster pipes and never got to it...


good news: i should hae my husqvarna sold today, thats 1800 in my pocket book, well 1200 after i repay what i already took form my collage fund for the cb750....and the racing sled... (i dont want to say it, but i think i have 1K into the cb already....)
but with that 1200, im goign to get my maxim fixed, second gear... and thr front forks.. then hopefully big fitz will help me adjust the valves.... i got lost on you how-to and the forks need to be fixed on my cb.. and valves adjusted, and carbs synced... new sprocket, chain.... anyone want some free money so i dont spend it on junk?

 

gotta ask him real nice like. :lol:

 

Thanks for the tips everyone. I am on this forum to learn as much as I can from those that have gone before so I appreciate all the advice. I am already making a list of parts to order from chacal so I can try to save some shipping costs. Although I need to order a new fusebox and starter holder throttle grip handle bar thing, can someone tell em what the official name of that piece is?

 

pm sent re: starter button/killswitch/throttle grip assembly Jon