750 Maxims with round headlights and no Atari

So, after seeing a couple of 750 Maxims show up on the site, LOOKING like they'd had a "round headlight" conversion done, I did some digging in the fiche.

Surprise, surprise. For 1983, the ("K" model designator) 750 Maxim had a round headlight and conventional, rounded (but still flat on the bottom) gauges, like the 650 Max. No Atari.

Looks like the dual square headlight and "Atari" instruments got done away with for the 1983 model year.

Fascinating.

 

I'm assuming mine falls under this category

 

Yeah, maybe4 and I were well on the way to hijacking your thread so I started one.

Yamaha model and model-year differences are always a fascinating study; the XJ series is no exception. There are many instances of the specs/advertising/book/fiche saying one thing, and the bikes that actually hit the pavement completely contradicting it. In this case, the fiche confirms the lighting and instrument change between the '82MY (750J) and '83MY (750K) bikes.

Good stuff.

 

yep ditto, I did the same thing. if you google image 1983 xj750, all you see is round. very interesting. I like it better, never did like the rectangle look, especially the 750 gauge box. how could we all not know that here?

 

The single round headlight and the original-style gauges were probably also significantly cheaper to produce than the dual-rectangular headlight bike with the Atari-style instruments. Yamaha also dropped the little Cafe fairing from the Seca 550 for 1983; and I'm willing to bet cost savings had more than a little to do with it.

Granted, I'm sure Yamaha also saw customers converting the rectangular light bikes and pulling the fairings off their 550 Secas; but I'm equally sure they saw it as an opportunity to save some money. Times were not good for Yamaha in '83~84; most of the '83s we own were actually built in 1982; I don't know that Yamaha actually built very many XJs or anything else in 1983 proper.

As a matter of pure opinion, I never liked rectangular headlights, and still don't; they just don't seem "natural." Cars included. The only bikes I liked them on were the original GPZ's with the angular styling and the little squarish Cafe fairings.

 

also no fuel gauge

 

I grew up with those round headlights, both of my beemers had round headlights which work very well especially the H-4 in my R90s, but when the XS 1100 came out with the rectangle I was in love with them, my KZ 1300 was a rectangle as well. I guess it's a matter of personal preference.

 

Fitz. Your pretty close.

The '82 750 Maxim had the square lights (Headlight, Aux Light, Signals), square gauges (Atari), and that funky modular handlebar.
The '83 750 Maxim had the round lights (Headlight, Aux Light, Signals), round gauges, and round tube handlebar.

My guess would be that it was a matter of production economics as the 920 virago suffers the same styling issues.

The fact that Yamaha was big into trying to take over the sport bike market at the time leads me to believe that it was the reasoning behind the sportified styling of the '82's. When the 750 Seca did not do so well, and had to be dressed up with the touring package in an attempt to sell them as sport touring models. The switch back to the more natural rounded crusier styling was put it place on the '83's.

Interesting tidbit: Because of the square lighting the Sport/Tour fairings designed for the 750 Seca can be used on the '82 750 Maxim.

Another oddity: The Tour Deluxe package designed for the maxim/virago with the X-1 fairing also used the square headlight because it originated with the '82 model year.

Ghost

 

That was my point.