First bike maxim 700 and hello

I am now the proud owner of a 1985 maxim 700 I am new to motorcycles, but love this bike.

It has 57,000 miles on it, but runs good.
I have browsd this site and will be ording the cd and before it gets any real use have the brake checked.
I have a few questions.
It starts right up, but should the choke be in the middle of its ajustment.
That is how it was when I bought it.
Also how long do these bikes go before something major needs fixing? Like the trans, clutch excedra. It runs good now, but it is old.

 

Shoulda had the valves adjusted a couple times by now. Check the rear brakes, the frame screws on the right side just above the radiator hose tend to wiggle loose, Check your plugs for lean mixture due to use of pods, put in an inline fuel filter and other than that pretty bullet proof as long as it is ridden sensibly.

 

Welcome to the site, nice Maxim X.

 

Thanks I will check the plugs and the bolts.

 

Welcome to the forum. Sweet ride!

 

Yup. Nice-looking bike. Not sure about the silver/grey wheels, but they're growing on me... :wink:

 

Took the bike out for about an hour putting around my rural neighberhood. Loved it. However it seems that after a while I noticed when idealing at a stop the bike would stall out. I am wondering if it needs to be rejetted. How would I tell.

 

Quote: "I am wondering if it needs to be rejetted"..Quick duck!

The PODS are not a good idea on the XJ bikes and particularly disruptive on the X
Rickomatic did a little testing to try and help the guys with pods tune: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=2 ... =pods.html

The CV carbs don't function correctly with pods and it's difficult at best to tune them.

There are a couple guys that have done it and claim good performance but no-one has stepped up with a dyno print out

IF you still have the stock jets in her, I would recommend going back to the stock airbox like many others have and save yourself a lot of aggrevation. You'll have to pull the carbs to find out.
IF I had to guess though it has probably been rejetted larger to compensate for the pods and at idle it's running way rich and fouling the plugs.
What did the temp gauge say after the "putting around the neighborhood"? Did you notice if the fan came on?

OH>> and WELCOME to the site!

Take a look at the choke linkage. It's possible that it's stuck part way open and causing a rich condition also.

 

Well the bike came with pods and no box. Also the fan runs as soon as I crank the bike. I would also like to say that I am smelling some gas fumes when I crank it and it ideals. Any sugestions were to go since there is no box?
Thanks for all the help.

 

Well, the fan is not SUPPOSED to run all the time, but better to have it on always than never I guess.

You'll have three options: either you make sure the carbs are good and clean, and tune as best you can with the pods (taking note of the jets when you have the carbs off). The guys with pod experience can chime in if gasoline smell is common. The float levels may also be too high and that can affect things a lot too.

OR you could fashion a custom manifold to link the carbs together and give you some balance and restriction in the airflow

OR you could get yourself an airbox and boots and take her back to stock.

Dbikers is considering parting his out
http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=27124.html

I am 90% sure you would have to at least partially drop the engine to get the air-box into the frame though. It's not a horrible task.

Probably first you should pull the carbs and identify the jets. Clean the carbs COMPLETELY (not just spray the outside with carb cleaner)...search for "whole nine yards" carb cleaning. I think it's in the FAQ section.
Then check the float levels

I'd probably slap the carbs back on and see how it does before I mess with anything else.

 

Welcome and nice bike. I have a pvc manifold with one pod on the end on my 85 maxim and it was not a whole lot of fun to tune. I imagine it was easier than doing it with a pod on each carb though. I would check the simple things first before yanking stuff off. You mentioned the choke is set halfway on. Are you leaving it at halfway the whole time? It may be as simple as that.

 

Okay thanks for the advice guys. I am going to clean the carbs first and find out what jet size. Will probably have to be next week. If the bike is running rich will the plugs be especially dirty. Come to think about it is the fan supposed to come on when it starts. I never checked the fan when I was riding. Maybe its a good excuse to go crank it up.

 

Normally the fan will not come on until the temp gauge is almost up to the RED hot zone. It pretty much only happens in stop and go traffic and exteneded idling. The P.O. may have installed a manual switch and you just don't know where it is. It won't hurt anything to have it on so don't worry about that much (except it will increase the drain on the battery while idling and tuning at low rpm)

Also per Treads; double check the choke linkage and make sure it is returning to the off position.

 

Well I just checked the linkage and it works and the crazy thing is it now is idiling and the rpms are steady around 900. I still smell a little gas when I crank it though. So should I give it another try and chulk it up to not being ridden much. Also the shop I bought it from said they did a thourugh cleaning on the carbs. I know these guys and I would not think they would lie especially for buisness reasons. However they are a car shop who likes bikes and not a bike shop.

Thanks again, yall. What kind of gas should I run I just put some 93 is that what I should run?

 

87 is good enough on the octane unless u experience knocking or pinging. I have read that using anything higher is a waste of money. Check the gas cap, mine vents gas fumes on hot days and I often smell gas from the tank, thought I was having a leak someplace at first. Also check the oil for gas just in case.

 

welcome chuck, its good lookn X..mine idles slightly rough on 87 and idles beautiful on 91 hence i stick to higher octane..run SEAFOAM 1/2 can for a full tank of gas..that will clear up some of the carb issues..you will defnitely see an improvment on performance. Carb tune with Morgan carb tune II will also help.

 

It is possible to get the airbox in without dropping the engine. You need to have very soft, pliable boots (mine were new). I jammed the boots into the box and left just a little sticking out and then worked the box into place. Then I had to work the boots out and get everything connected. It does require just a little Zen and a good shove though to get it to work. I pulled mine out and put it back a couple of times when I was working through carb issues.

 

Welcome.
She looks in better shape the many bikes with 1/2 the miles.
From what I've read on the site-stock air IS good air.
So, if you feel more like ridin then tuning,It's prob best to drop the
very cool looking pods for the unattractive but kick-ass stock set up.

Some bike motors can be podded and tuned just fine-It seems the
XJ's (almost all 62 models) have a near perfect air, carb, fuel set
up from the factory.

But...................it's your's now, You will love her best if you like the
the results of the work you put in. not that she conforms to some-
one else's idea of whats right or not.

 

I am alwayse okay with 87 and it certinly hot in florida
ETA I will try the sea foam. Also I am going to take it out for one more ride and if it does better then I will not get the box, but my goal is to get this thing running top notch. So if it needs the box then that is cool to,