Transforming boring into FUN! sort of a madmax/cafe look

well.... long story short since the weather has been poor here i got real bored and had some fun with the maxim. i already have my touring bike so all this is used for is zipping around town and to work to keep the miles off the vstar. anyway.... i made it a little faster and a little more fun to ride. you'll see what i mean by the before and after pics. only thing left i'm waiting for is my pod filters. all the jetting is done and bike runs like a scalded dog! haven't decided if i'm going to paint the rims or not. i think i might. also i'd like to put a cafe fairing on it but it's got a 5" headlight so none of the ones i've found so far will fit. oh well..... what do you guys think? here's a list of what got done

cleaned & rejetted carbs for pods and 4-1 pipe
lowered front 3"
flipped and dropped handlebars
stripped off any excess parts (pass pegs, centerstand, etc)
new rear fender & lighting

 

what a big diffrence those modifications make, completely changes the look of the bike, looks really good actually looks 100% better than before. check out these windscreens from national cycle i think either one of these would look real nice on your bike.

ebay item no. 130042719351 f16 #n2526
130042719380 f18 #n2528

allthough i think both these windscreens are headlight bracket mounted i dont think you would have any problem adapting them to fit your bike.

i like the f16 and am thinking of buying it for my bike.you can also go on national cycle website and check out the other models of winscreens.

 

heres the f16 and f18 shields

 

f18

 

thanks for the compliments. yeah its way more fun to ride now. really sticks to the road with the front lowered. i'm really stuck on the windshield/fairing thing though. just cant decide.

 

Yea, does look better and I think that F18 fairing will complete the look especialy if the screen cuddles the gauges.

 

Oh yeah! Looks like it's going fast just sitting there!

Nice bit of customizing. It looks great! Love the headlight!

Go to your auto parts store and get a "Chrome-look" edge strip. Wrap the gas tank's under-seam in that edging. A hair dryer will help make the turn.

Give it a shot. You might like it!

 

I really like it a lot. How did you do the rear fender and seat mods?

 

i really like the f18. only thing i don't know is what size headlight it's for. they only give bike applications in the guide not headlight size. mine's a 5" headlight so if they made one for a bike with a 5" headlight i'd get it and make my own brackets if i had to.

 

it's funny that you mention that because i've got a bunch of it left over from when i did the gas tank on my vstar. forgot all about it until you mentioned it. i think you're right, it'll look great against the flat black.

 

it wasn't too bad i guess. the fender is the back half of a front vstar classic fender cut down. made a bracket to mount the front of it and used the existing bolt holes in the frame for the back on both sides. the seat was easy as i've modified seat shapes before. it still locks into the bike the same i just cut out a lot in the middle area. the stock shape sucks and really rolled me forward onto the tank. this is way more comfortable.

 

Well hey, good job. It looks great. I'll look forward to seeing when the fairing gets chosen and put on.

 

Nice, new life for an old warrior.

Nothing like making it fun to ride and having all the looks from other riders.

 

Great stuff, it looks quite custom and I dig it!

 

check this screen out cruz, this is what I am saving $$ for for my next purchase; http://www.flyncycle.com/acatalog/Super_Fly_Screen.html
Ithink that oughta look nice on our bikes aye? especially the black one. BTW, how and what did you make your rear fender out of? Looks killer man, way to go!

 

scratch that last question,as I see you already answered it above.

 

me too! lol. i wish i could find something for this darn 5" headlight. haven't found one thing yet!

 

it's kinda funny cause i've dumped so much money in my 05' vstar, and don't get me wrong, the thing is a cruizin machine, but this has been just plain FUN to work on. i think it's because if i screw something up i just laugh and not have my pocket book pucker!!

 

thanks a lot. kinda fun making a little rowdy scrapper bike.

 

i would love to get one of those but i've got a 5" headlight and they only make them for 7" as far as i saw. i haven't seen one thing yet for the 5" headlamp. sucks bad!

 

anyway you can put your stock light back on?

 

the 5" one is the only one i have. it's what was on the bike when i bought it.

 

yeh both the f18 and f16 are for 7" headlights, i think you`ll be hard pressed to find a 5" windshield. have a poke around on flea-bay see if you can find yourself an original xj700 7" headlight bucket, i see them from time to time for cheap.

i`ll keep a look out for you.

 

heres a couple a 7" headlight item no.230054808882 just the headlight and a 7" headlight and bucket assembly for a xj700 maxim item no. 190043186450.

 

thanks for checking. i do like the look of the 5" light better but i really want to be able to tuck inside a little something anyway. thanks.

~nick

 

is your light truly a 5" or is it actually a 5 & 3/4" ? Reason Im asking is that I saw some decent looking shorty windshields in dennis kirk that would fit a 5 & 3/4" headlight.

 

heres a link for a headlight off a maxim 700x on ebay for sale right now
http://www.carpadm.net/ebay/713/DSC08530

 

heres a link for a headlight off a maxim 700x on ebay for sale right now
http://www.carpadm.net/ebay/713/DSC08530 Item number: 320010344994

 

well.... now you've got me wondering.... where is it supposed to be exactly measured from? i'm sure one for a 5 3/4" would work but i didn't see any in there that floated my boat. looking for more of a sport-bike style.

 

tricky buggers... why would they be selling the headlight and outer ring without the rest of the bucket? thanks for looking anyway.

 

What do you think of this one cruz? http://www.nationalcycle.com/catalogue/ ... 31-180.jpg
This one should fit. I think this is the one for me.

 

that ones definitely not bad. it's the perfect size i just want one that wraps back over the gauges more. yeah i know, i'm picky. lol. i might go with something really off the wall like this one. who knows. i originally wanted a cafe style fairing but this is a consideration.

 

actually, I like those. you get the head lights and all. I wonder how it would look on a cruiser style bike. I can definatly see it on a street fighter or a hacked up sport bike. If you go with one of these, make sure you send over some pics!

 

yeah i haven't quite decided if it would look way out of place or not. it might just make it look like a real old school street bike. but then again, it might also make it look like i'm trying to polish a turd! lol.

 

My buddy had a SV and bought a fairing off of this site.
Wild Hair accessories

It looks osrt of like this one. Some cool ideas but sort of spendy though.

 

those are some sweet fairings but damn that's expensive. the one i posted a pic of above is off ebay for a regular price of $89. looks like it's the cheap one for me!!

 

What exhaust do you have and which jets did you find work best with the pods?

 

unfortunately i'm not gonna be much help. why you ask? well..... exhaust was on the bike when i got it and has no markings whatsoever. second, just recently figured out that someone swapped in a 750 motor out of an 83 xj750ml into it. so that wouldn't help much if you've got a 700. all my jet sizes and settings would be completely different.

 

Holy shit those are nice! But I'll say like cruz; way to expensive for my taste.I want to keep it under $100.00 myself

 

I love the 750 Engine. I really enjoy taking the 750 engine a little North of 65-Hundred revs and pretend I'm in a Formula event. I knew about how well the XJ-750's, seven-hundred forty-eight cc's can take the whip.

So, I've been riding like I'm running second to every damn thing on the road. Pass the leader. Suddenly, back in second place. The next guy ahead is the leader, now. I gotta go get him! Keep it cranked-up, use the exit ramps for practice and keep the power on through the line in the esses.

I cannot imagine how I survived "Summer '06 on the Max" without a ticket.
Does that mean I was out pushing that 750 around, and matching-up rev's every time I used a highway off-ramp? Going fast for fun? Maybe chasing a bunch of Plastic-Wrapper's a little farther than I should?

"I'm sorry, Senator. I have no recollection of any such incident?"

 

when I bite into a " york peppermint patty", I get that same sensation rick!

 

my X rarely sees anything lower than 6 g's when I'm riding. Although I do take it easy in school zones and at stop lights...

 

glad to hear i'm not the only one who rides like that! lol. that 750 engine has a very unique sound to it at about 7.5k. the whole tone changes and it's like it almost settles into it's happy place

 

check this one out on ebay at 19.9http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1981-YAMAHA-XJ-550-XJ550-SECA-FAIRING-CAFE-HARLEY-EXC_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ35583QQihZ020QQitemZ300051217924QQrdZ19

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1981-YAM ... 7924QQrdZ1

 

cruzmystar, I have a quick question, from looking at your pics, you said you lowered yours 3 inches, looks great, so I lowered my 85 X 2 inches, my question is are you still running the same brake lines & speedo cable? after lowering mine, I like the look but now the brake lines & speedo cable are at a more radical angle, just wondering, your bike does look good though, thanks in advance for any feedback!

 

thanks for the compliments. and yes, my cables look like crap! lol. i'm more concerned about the speedo cable than the brake lines. i do agree that it doesn't look the best however everything is working with no problems so far so for this bike it'll be just fine. only thing i had to do the other day was re-tighten the speedo cable at the speedo. came loose while i was riding. i don't know if it was loose before or the increased angle made it work loose. i'll keep an eye on it.

 

Do the bars hit the tank? I was thinking of inverting mine but havent for feat they'll hit.

 

I have found a set of braided stainless brake lines (all 3) with the clear coat over them for $110.00, I could check & see if they have a set that is 1 to 2 inches shorter....the speedo cable will take a little bit of homework unless someone on here knows of a different model that has a shorter cable, we'll see......

 

yeah they do. i decided to run them for now so i can get a good feel for where they sat so when it comes time to purchase new ones i'll have a better guess on dimensions.