Hardest thing to do on an XJ

Fill the gas tank for me. I always over fill it and end up with gas streaming down the side of my tank... One day I will learn how much gas I can put in it without it over filling... Or is this a gasket issue on the gas cap?

 

Look into tank while filling. Stop when reaches bottom of filler tube. Don't rely on the pump auto stopping and pump half speed/squeeze.

Hardest - not riding cause u took it apart :-(

 

I agree with you Metal_bob not riding because you took it apart would be very hard. I am looking at missing some time soon. I will have to rebuild the master cyclinder, replace break lines front pads, caliper rebuild most likely. It seems that it is about that time according to the service schedule. Not sure I can get it all done over one weekend, I am new to this kind of work and take it slow and read, read, read while doing to make sure I do it right.

 

Sometimes you also have to allow for expansion. Gas is usually stored underground, and on very hot days it will expand as it warms up in the tank. I've seen guys pack their bike slam full of fuel, and a little while later its running out. Gas nozzles tend to dribble as well, so I always make sure the dribbling is done before removing nozzle. Same as you would do before zipping your britches. LOL

 

I just need to keep an eye on it better and stop filling sooner. With a 2.5 gallon tank though i want every drop of gas I can get. However, I just scored a 82 XJ750 tank so I'll have that extra almost gallon very soon! I am hoping I can switch gas caps...

 

Ride it up here, I'll help and you can ride it home the same day with freshened up brakes.

I find the hardest thing to do it is the speed limit. :lol:

 

I may take you up on that iwingameover. Where are you in MD? I used to live in Baltimore and still have a good memory of the metro area.

 

I'm in essex. My garage space it near martin state airport on Eastern.

 

Cool, I have a clue in my fading memory bank of that side of town. I lived mostly in the south-west Baltimore/Balto-county and northern balto county. When I get all the parts ordered and in from Len, I'll set a time/date with you and we'll knock it out. Thanks!

 

No problem. You doing the stainless lines? I did and I like them. I'd go that route. They're not much more money.

 

Getting the air box in place w/o removing the engine was pretty difficult.
Yeah gas it's either fast or super fast it would be nice if it could flow slowly into the tank.

 

I've found pumps to be slower in poorer neighborhoods. Guess if your only putting in $10 they need to keep you around long enough to decide you are thirsty and go inside to get something.

 

Yes I wanna go stainless lines, they will last longer and look great from what I've seen. and of course Len has them so it is one stop shopping!

 

I knew I was in trouble when the pump read 2.53 gallons. I was really close to empty she was starting to stutter on res.

 

I find it hardest to park mine. I just never want to get off the dang thing!

 

Hardest thing for me is to stop making "improvements" to it when it's already just fine. now I'm thinking about new tires.........

 

Hardest thing to do is to not rev it when you are pulled up next to that Harley at a redlight

 

lol

 

Would the person on the Harley even hear an XJ? Mine runs so quiet that when I am riding with a bunch of of Harley's or other V-Twins I wonder if my bike is even running...

 

+1 on stopping working on it

 

HAHA, the revving by the harley business is hilarious. They probably don't hear it but you can be fairly certain they see it! Personally, I rarely rev my bike at a stop like those loud v-twin guys.

I do find it rather hard to not seem like a d*ck when I dust those guys on the green light. I usually don't even do it intentionally, unless they are blatantly revving and sizing me up! HA

 

so the gas tank on the xj750j is bigger? will it mount on the 650 as is?

 

The Haynes manual has the maxim 650 tanks at 3.4 gallons and the maxim 750 tanks at 4.5 gallons. I am working on getting one at the moment.

Some guys on here have assured me that they bolt right on. Also, the gas caps and petcocks are interchangeable. Only difference is the 750 has a sending unit so you could add a gas gauge.

 

A couple of hard things to do on an XJ.

Shift a hot bike into Neutral if the Clutch isn't adjusted just right.

Quit looking for another gear when bopping-down the Interstate.

Getting the Bike to Start when its actually C-O-L-D out.

Getting it on the Center-stand after bringing it in out of the rain with its saddle-bags on while wearing Bedroom Slippers.

 

I have to keep looking at the tachometer to see if the bike is running if I'm next to a harley at the lights, actually that is the case next to VWs and a few other noisy bastards. (Loud pipes might save lives... but what about deaf people, they drive too! Blind people don't drive so I guess High vis is the way to go!)

Rick I hear ya... I have a couple meself that I find difficult... Trying to get it on the centre-stand after you put the helmet on the helmet lock is a bit hard also, for other reasons obviously.


*1. I find it hard to stop trying to get that crashbar to touch the bitumen on my XJ. Love it!
2. Oh and I also find it hard to not stand around looking at the bike just looking for something else to fix or work on.

(*while turning a corner... not falling over )

 

I totally agree, stopping at a service centre just off the "Super Slab" the damn gun can almost feel like you are getting recoil when pulling the trigger, where as small town "Mom and Pop" stations give you enough control so that you can squeeze the gas in a penny at a time if you want too.
You also don't have to worry about backsplash as much and getting the sprinkler treatment when you fill the top third or so of the tank!

 

Hardest thing is to avoid spending money on it.

 

Unless there is something wrong with my tank it is only 2.5 gallons. I've run out of gas and it only take 2.5 gallons. So if a 750 tank is 4.5 that is almost double! I can't wait to get mine!!!! My factory manual actual has the xj650J which is what I have at 2.5.

 

I agree with you! I totally blew away a blvd. 950 not long ago in a 1/4 mile. His 950 just didn't have the top end to even catch up. I have a 650, he was said that bike is a 650? I said yes, the difference is the in line 4 geared for top end not low end. The style of a cruiser, but the performance of a sport bike with the ability to plod along like those big V-Twins.

 

The hardest thing for me to do today was actually make it to work!

It's just TOO gorgeous out today; temps only in the 70's. I really wanted to just keep riding in the other direction.

 

After three unsuccessful hours last night, I would say trying to remove a broken intake boot bolt is the hardest thing I've done so far on this bike. We tried the "hot wrench" method with acetylene, welded a nut onto the remaining bit of bold and broke it off (twice), and tried drilling into it.

Now I'll get to experience the fun of removing the head!

 

Hardest thing to do is stop looking at it and saying I took this from a pile of scrap metal and made it work and got it on the road.

 

It's easier when you put plates on it and ride!

 

[/quote]
Unless there is something wrong with my tank it is only 2.5 gallons. I've run out of gas and it only take 2.5 gallons. So if a 750 tank is 4.5 that is almost double! I can't wait to get mine!!!! My factory manual actual has the xj650J which is what I have at 2.5.[/quote]


That is strange. I just rechecked the Haynes. It deff has the XJ650 G, H, LH and J models listed as 3.4 I've never heard of a 650 having such a small tank. I'm out on a limb here but it seems like it might not be the original tank. If you wanted to inspect it, the tank should have a model number on it. Should be 3 letters. See if they match the first three off the frame.

If thats not the case, I'm sure one of the gurus here can set us straight!

 

Center pucnh a good dimple right in the middle of the broken bolt piece. Start with a very small bit and drill all the way through, being careful to stay right in the middle and keeping the bit straight and parallel to the bolt. Once youve gone all the way through, then start stepping up to ever larger bits until you only have a thin sliver of the old bolt left and can see the threads. Then run the correct size tab down into your hole trying to be careful that you are only cleaning up the original threads not cutting new ones. Worst case scenario you have to drill larger and helicoil it, but there really should be no need to take the head off to do so.



on topic: the hardest thing to do in my case was build a working YICS tool after failing to find a genuine one.

 

Doesn't matter at this point I have an 82 XJ750 tank on the way! It was even the same color as my bike, red. And I think most 650 owners here will attest to the small tank on their bikes.

It may not be the original tank I am most likely the fourth owner third for sure and the bike was in one nasty put down by evidence on the crash bar and speedo. Hence the dirt bike bars on my bike currently the stock ones must have gotten all bent up.

But I am replacing them in a few days once my grips and new throttle arrive from Len! Was planning on doing it this weekend but with a hurricane blowing in, it may be hard to work on the bike...

 

Hey, Doc, glad you finally have a tank on the way. I know you've been dealing with that little tank for a while. When you get the new tank, can you give us before/after pics and be sure to tell us all how well the new one goes on.

quote: "And I think most 650 owners here will attest to the small tank on their bikes."

FYI, my 82 Maxim XJ650J apparently has the 3.4. I typically put anywhere from 2.7 to 3 gallons in after 140-150 miles and the most has been 3.2 or 3.3 gallons after 170 miles.

Since my bike has been good to me so far and maintenance has been made relatively painless by this forum, probably my answer would be the hardest thing to do is get out of here without someone who wants to come along for the ride! I bet 60% of my miles are 2-up. (which aint a bad thing since I actually like my wife 8O and almost all my miles are recreational )

 

I will look at my tank tonight for the serial number to see if it matches the VIN I am courious. Plus I'll look at the manual again to confirm the size... I could have sworn it said 2.5 Gal for my bike. But nontheless, in a little bit it will not matter the new tank will be here. Hopefully a quick swap out of tanks and caps and I'll have more fuel for longer riding!!!! The most I've ever put in my tank was 2.53 gallons. And then when I closed the cap it was leaking out from under it. Hence the start of this thread. It was on reserve already and it was acting like it was running low on gas on reserve.

 

your petcock screen could also be clogged and not allowing the fuel to drain all the way down. If you swap petcocks be sure to check that.

 

Dude, it's not a Mercedes. You won't find the serial number on components like the gas tank. It's only on the frame (stamped thru the VIN label) and there's a "shorty" version on the top of the transmission case. THAT'S IT.

If you're talking about the part number and its often model-designating prefix, good luck. Part number prefixes actually more accurately indicate the model number of the bike the part first appeared on; a LOT of the part numbers for your bike don't have prefixes that match your VIN. Spend some time playing "cross-reference" in the fiche sometime. Quite a learning experience.

Now I'm going to go do the EASIEST thing:

Go get on it and RIDE!!! (Fitz--- out.)

 

thats funny cds, I took my crash bars off for that very same reason, they had such a wide girth that they scraped the ground when cornering tightly, that scared me, what if it caught a crack or a rock while scraping?? Just didn't seem safe to me. I would like to have crash bars but I need some a little smaller so they don't do that. I saw some on a xj550 that were perfect, just a little smaller, no way they were going to scrape......I don't know if they were stock or what though.