The Eagle has landed......

finally after months of deals falling thru or not being able to put funds togather i got me a bike.... first bike ive owned in 12 years...

its a 83 xj750 maxim (round headlight and round spedo and tack) here is the low down on what ive done with it last couple of days...

aug 12...2010
oil change no filter... oil very black and watery.... used mobil clean 5000 10w40 was on sale 1.99 a quart... and not gonna pile on to many miles before winter

ran 50 miles about half with dirty oil and about half with new oil... ran new oil in 4 gear @ 5300 rpm and rather agressive to clean out system....4k to 6k accel back and forth

ran approx 8oz of seafoam for entire 50 miles.........gas mileage was 36.462 miles per gallon..... again half miles with bad oil and half at high rpm to clean carbs.... spark plugs need to be changed and need to change or inspect air filter....
mileage....21,445

things to do.....
change plugs
run another bottle of seafoam... try to get it into carbs.....
pull jets and boil in lemon oil
check tire pressure
change shaft lube

it has a couple of issues still... i dont think main jets are working or atleast i dont notice anything from 5-6k rpm... bike has been sitting for long time.... and front blinkers dont work (rears light up but dont blink)

also it has a "notch" in the steering... right in the center you can let go of bars and it stays straight but feels like bearings are goofy... or mabey tire is just too low on front.. only had bike a day and havent checked everything yet... it just looked ok

anyhow just thought id try to keep a post of things as being done to it.... and any probs that might arise im a noob (this was first time i ever changed oil in any vehicle today) but ive been reading like crazy and have a manual......
hope to have a long haul bike by next summer (see some of the good old USA)

pics to come.... need to borrow cam
peace
frankz

 

Check you front blinkers. They may be replacement dual filaments (1157) instead of single 1156. That was my problem. I replaced the guts and made them single again.

 

\\m//__(̾●̮̮̃̾•̃̾)__\\m// thanks metal bob \\m//__(̾●̮̮̃̾•̃̾)__\\m//

 

CHECK YOUR TIRE PRESSURE!!!

Sorry about the caps, but I can't imagine not checking the pressure on a bike that's been sitting especially when you seem to suspect that the pressure's low! Seriously, what does it take? Two minutes? Without sounding too preachy, your tires are what hold you to the road... CHECK THEM!!!

And change your oil filter too!

Oh... And welcome to the site. Congrats on the bike.

 

Is that motor oil specific to wet clutch motorcycles? If not, it will most likely cause clutch damage due to friction modifiers added to most oil nowadays (from experience...).

 

i think its cool... did some reading before i put it in...

here is the stuff... i have no bike or car wrenching experience so i really dont "know" if it sets off red flags let me know 8O

http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/Mot ... _5000.aspx

only running it for a couple of weeks.. plan is then to add 1/3 bottle of seafoam and idle it thru the gears for a while then changing oil and THEN putting in a new filter...

bike had been sitting a couple yrs and thought since it was cheap on sale i might be able to clean out crank shaft better if i just ran it for a short while... added seafoam..... then change again

the old stuff was so dirty i dont think it could have "held" any more dirt in the oil.... not such a good sign but doesnt burn/smoke.. and seems to run happier now..
my concern today is the "notch" in the steering.... seems to want to stick in a straight line when moving... not so much when still although you can feel it a bit... but from like 10mph up def has a notch in the center....
doesnt bother me as much as make me worry about safety

 

metal bob was straight up right on the money with the lights.....

after looking closer they have the faded number 1157na

so.... What did you mean by "change out the guts and make them single filaments again" ??

it looks like the blinker stems might be replacements..... the wiring is not in the harness like every thing else as a single wire that runs seperate

not trying to be a forum hog but need to get this resolved before i can ride without fear of ticket (kansas requires front blinkers)
thanks again for the help.... this probably already saved me from doing damage...

 

1157 are dual fillament and have a mating socket("guts"), you'll need to change the socket to accept the 1156 bulbs. (ASSuming that's what Metal_Bob ment)
Make sure you actually get power to the front blinkers and that the higher wattage is hooked up.
From what I've read a lot of peeps actually change to dual fillament to overcome blinker problems, so ur prob may be somewhere else and changing back to single fillament might not do the trick.

 

Sounds like rusted race/balls. That can only be fixed with new bearings. See Len Chacal's parts list at the top of site.
You will be way ahead of trouble if you go through Rickomatic's "how to" on cleaning hs32 carbs. Search his posts to find it. Also there is a number of posts on here about the rear brake shoes de-lamenating and jamming up the rear hub. Tires and brakes are a Must Do on one that has sat a while. Don't pay the hard way!

 

When I looked at the Mobil link there was a catagory for motorcycles on the left. Mobil 1 is probably the oil you should use. The oil that you used has additives that might make your clutches slip.

 

Definately change your neck bearings, and use the tapered rollers, did it to both my bikes they had the same center detent, and now they are a million bucks. Its easy to do once you get all the plastic of the top of everything and get to the neck.

 

8O rusted raceballs 8O .... thanks for the heads up

this might come in handy... spent last night looking for info on mobile clean 5000 10w40

anyhow of all the different kinds of mobile clean 5000 it appears the 10w40 does not have friction modifiers nor is energy conserving

anyhow thought this link may come in handy

Specifications and Approvals
http://www.mobil.com/USA-English/Lubes/ ... n_5000.asp

at the very bottom it lists if its energy conserving.......

all of them are energy conserving except the 10w40... kinda odd
anyhow just passing along.... still dont know if its ok for clutch but the info was a bit hard to find

anyhow im only gonna run it until sept 7th when i get paid.... and i dont plan on putting on too many miles... right now last pennies were spent on bike and the stuff i have so far

ps.... after this weekend i should have basic stuff done.. or have learned what i need to do.... i wont bump this thread over and over.... but just had several things off the top i had to look into...

 

I had the same notch at center of steering.
Mine had ball bearings (not roller bearings) as stock.
The steering spends most it’s time centered and that eventually creates detent in steering race due to the surface area between ball bearings and race being too small. The detent can initiate steering wobble at high-speed turns with the combination of speed and steering flip-flopping across the detent walls.

Do as streetbrawler750 recommends and switch to tapered roller bearing. That will avoid the same from happening again – and oh so much smoother turning.

 

Changing the signal guts:

I went to autozone and bought a cheap single filament aka 1156 socket replacement kit.

I pushed out the guts (wires, spring and the round pad).
You need to insert the single wire replacement guts after you ground the assembly. I took a temp shortcut and wrapped exposed ground wire thru and around the original socket base. Long term it should be soldered to the socket base.

This fixed my replacement blinker that used a dual 1157 instead of a single 1156 as originally installed.

 

thanks for gettin me started.... have a few things that will keep me busy for a while.....

well until i get a better name for her.... here is the "eagle" 2nd night after i got her