New guy here in AL with a nice 82 Maxim 550!

Newbie here, just purchased a really clean 82 Maxim 550 with 8k miles for $300! It had been sitting a couple of years and I bought it from a guy who bought it I think from the original owner. It was clearly well taken care of. But I got it so cheap because the guy couldn't get it running worth a damn and didn't want to pay someone to work on it. Well, after a solid day of carb removal and cleaning, it runs like a top, even with just a bench sync. I have yet to do really anything else. The tires are in great shape, as is the chain. I am really needing a front steel brake line as the factory one is REALLY spongy. Oh, I have added a set of bikemaster drag bars, which look great, but hit my tank. Not quite sure what to do about that yet, and the extra length has the clutch cable in such a bind as to be almost unusable, so a new clutch cable is due I reckon.

Edit: I am at work of the next three weeks and it blocks my photobucket so I can't post pics that way, so I tried to attach it and it didn't seem to work. Oh well.

 

Welcome to the club!

Couple of things you should do immediately:

A. Check the rear brakes for delamination
B. If it IS actually the factory break hose, replace it. It's 28 years old. Bad juju
C. Photoshop your pics to 500x500 pixels, or less, so we can see it. 8)
D. Congradulate yourself on an awesome find!
E. When you need help, and believe me you will, ask the Wizards on here for help. They're awesome guys.
F. Get a manual, so you can follow along with them when they have to help you.

Again, WELCOME!

 

Thanks for the quick reply. The rear brakes look good, and I am going to replace the front line, just need to get some good measurements now that i have the lower bars on there. I also have a manual. I resized the pic, so I will try it again.

The only real question I have now it that my fuel petcock is making a loud tapping noise. Sounds like a metallic tapping in the tank, and the vacuum is making the sound. I have verified that it is this part making the LOUD noise and it is driving me batty. I just don't really know what to do about it. I took it apart, and everything looked great.

 

Heres another!

 

Another. Not bad for $300 and a days work and removing the carbs three times to get her running good! IMO

 

you got a heck of a deal. You can try to replace the brake line if that doesnt solve the problem it probably needs the mc rebuilt or replaced

 

Last one. And I don't live in MN, but the last guy did and I haven't got a tag for it yet.

 

For the drag bar issue, one word: hacksaw. Just measure the original bars end to end and cut equal amounts off the ends of the drag bars. If the bars are the same width, just figure how much needs to come off and take a cut off each end, done.

 

From what i have seen on these bikes its not the length of the bar its those big switches so moving them in will just make it worse. get yourself a set of 1 inch handlebar risers off ebay that should fix it

 

well, its not the bars that hit. It is the left choke switch housing thingie that hits, I tried to rotate the bars up, move the housing slightly, no matter what it hits. I guess I need a little more rise. I don't know where to get some riser spacers at though, and it also takes away from the good, low look. But if I forget and throw the bike down on the kickstand, when the fork flops over to the left, the bar really knocks the hell out of the tank.

Edit: The above poster is right on the money. Thanks, I will try to find some spacers. I guess the 7/8 are pretty universal?

 

Welllllll, the only thing left to do is get rid of the bike if it's all that trouble. 8O
Tell you what, I'll give you double what you paid for it! :roll: :roll:
You're new here, so you can take this as good advice.
:twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

 

As tempting as that sounds, I will have to pass on the offer for right now. I got to have something to ride this summer.

 

Hey now, Max-X, I think the rule is first reply gets dibs if he gets rid of it! LMAO
But I seriously doubt Bama's gonna go with that option!

Bike looks great in the pics, you got one heck of a steal!...DEAL, I meant DEAL!

 

Yes, looks real good man! I just bought an '82 myself and paid a hell of alot more than you, lol, and yours looks nicer..........can you say "jealous?"

 

I LOVE a shiny 550! Gots a couple myself. (Secas tho.) Great find! Welcome aboard.

Couple things: The rear brake: Did you take it apart and LOOK at the shoes; or are you going by pedal feel, etc? YOU HAVE TO LOOK. Read this: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=15874.html

Next and quite important: The bike has 8K miles on it. Initial valve adjustment was to have been at 3000, and is now due again, 5000 miles later, at 8K. If it hasn't been touched (a real good possibility) then you're flirting with disaster. I got my '83 with 7100 miles on it, untouched, and 7 or 8 valves were tight, 2 critically so. Check the valves right away, don't chance ruining that nice cherry motor. Valve adjustment procedure better than the manuals: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=14827.html

Like I said I love a shiny 550, so here's my '83 Seca:



(Sorry, couldn't resist.) Don't neglect your motor; get it right. These things are awesome once perfectly tuned.

Oh, BTW: I'm running BikeMaster's "Euro" bend bar, with a Seca 750 clutch cable and custom "shorty" (SS) upper line. The clusters have about 3/4" clearance from the tank.

 

nothing personal but i told you where to get a riser. Been there done that. The risers are probably more then the bars cost

 

I know why it's probably doing that and what will probably fix it:

Inside the vacuum "cap" side of the petcock there is a little "one-way" valve. It's nothing more than a tiny bakelite disc that flops back and forth inside its little "chamber." When working correctly, it allows vacuum to pass but shuts tight if it receives positive ("reverse") pressure.




However, if the little disc gets "varnished" in place, it will allow airflow in both directions, so the pulsing in the intake tract will act upon the diaphragm in both directions and hammer it back and forth.

I'm pretty sure this is your issue.

The solution is to remove the vacuum fitting and clean the little disc and its chamber thoroughly:




If it's impossible to get the brass fitting unscrewed, then flush it throughly from both sides until you can hear it rattle back and forth in the cap when you shake it.

If you do get it apart, put a dab of RTV on the threads upon reassembly, but not too much. You don't want to accidentally glue the little disc in place. (The vacuum nipple was originally "glued" or sealed with something from the factory so it needs to be sealed again.)

These pics are excerpts from my petcock rebuild article: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=25058.html

Sorry for the delayed response, I couldn't remember the name of your thread.

 

Thanks Fitz. Your Secas are beautiful, I had saw the pics of them on another thread and saved them . I wish this Maxim was a Seca, I just like their look alot better. I wonder if I could convert it over? :lol:

But seriously, would it take much more than a tank, rear end cowl, seat and side covers? I know the wheels and pipes and some other little things wouldn't match up exactly. But what else? the frame and all that stuff is the same, correct?

I know what you mean about the disk in the petcock. When I took it apart, I found the little disk, and scoped it all out and it looked great. After I put it back in, I blew on the fitting and sucked on it and the one way action worked perfectly. So I was hoping maybe I freed it up or something. But when i put it back on, the sound is still there. You wouldn't believe how annoying and loud that tap is.

Still not sure what to do about it, my petcock seeming to be in great working order, and does work great. It just makes that horrendous tapping.

Another quick question Fitz, I read alot of threads on handlebars and it seems you had to try a couple different clutch cables. I need one that takes at least a couple inches of the one that came stock. Which one do you thing would work best for me? Thanks again, you knowledge is ver much appreciated.

 

The 550 Maxim uses a different frame than the 550 Seca, the seat, tank, etc., won't fit. Besides the engine and drivetrain, there isn't a lot of interchangeability between the 550 Maxims and Secas. Yamaha made a Seca out of the Maxim a few years later-- they called it the Radian. (Radian was built on the 550 Maxim frame.)

I'm using 750 Seca clutch cables on my 550 Secas with the lower bars; I had originally tried a 650 Seca cable but the inner-to-outer ratio was wrong and it ran me "out of" adjustment.

Read through the petcock "how-to" and see if there's anything else you can see that looks out of sorts. I was sure it was being "operated" in both directions, now I'm at a loss.