maintenance requirements on xj700

Hi all,

I am looking at purchasing a XJ700 after getting my suzuki vl800 wiped out. I am a little hesitant in purchasing a bike that was only sold for two years in the US though. my main concern is with maintenance of the bike. I am not mechanically inclined and I am a little worried with the amount of maintenance required to keep the bike running. From reading through here and on other sites there seems to be a lot of carb rebuilds and cleaning out of them. sees also to be a lot of discussion on balancing the vacum pressure in the YICS. i think the bike itself is great as bike but i will be using it as a daily commuter so I really would have it more or less pur gas and change the oil in and go. can someone tell me if this would be the case

regards
J

 

i suppose if the bike has been extremely well maintained, then you might not have to do any repair work really... the maintenance required on motorcycles in general isn't that complicated to keep them running well once they're there. Getting there, on the other hand, can be a handful sometimes. =)

My 2 cents is go take a look and a ride if possible, see how it goes for sure, before trying to make a decision.

If you feel like learning, theres a great crew here willing to help you learn how to keep em in top shape!

 

If you get it all tuned up and ready to go, you won't have a lot of anything to do to it.
But, if its been sitting around and the Carbs need cleaning ... that's life for an XJ-Man.
The Number One element for having a bike that runs good is the Carbs.
They have to be delivering fuel throughout all its systems.

Tuning isnt that hard but it is time consuming.
Once you get the Carbs on-the-nose you can expect miles and miles of riding without too much to do other than what you'd have to do on any bike.

Does it come tuned-up?

 

thank you so far for the info, it was tuned up they said about 1 month ago, I probably be able to get it until maybe next month, I amstill recovering from the accident. The bike looks like it sat around for a bit but the guy fired up with some choke and then it ran without it. so it sounded good. just as another question do any of you have a windshield on your xjs and if so do you know what would fit an xj700

regards

 

The SlipStreamer HellFire-SS-24V is a good bet.
I have it on my 750 and love it.

Knocks down the wind and lets you sit-up and relax.
Completely clear and NO distortion.

Removable in minutes.


SS-24V Hellfire

A shield built to cruise, literally! Specially designed shield provides excellent aerodynamic wind deflection and good looks and styling. Fully adjustable anodized aluminum ball and socket four-point mount system. Distinctive graphic. Available in clear or smoke tint.

http://www.slipstreamer.com/Product/Sport/sport.html

 

you also have to realize most if not all the bikes on this site are 30 yrd old and some PO were not up to tweaking and cleaning and maintaining thing very well. Seems like most guy/gals on here are the hands on type. So we are rebuilding and cleaning carbs that have been 1 in service for 20+ yrs 2 some have come from homes were people didn't know how or care to get in there and keep on top of maintenance. Is what your looking at a xj700 X or the air cooled xj700? THe other thing about being produced for only two years is partly because in 85'-86' the wonderful US Gov. put an imbargo of sorts on any imported bike bigger than 700cc's to help out harley D. It was found to be unjust and lifted. I guess there were big I don't want to say fines but xtra costs tacked on that the foriegn companies found it more wise to build a smaller motor than to try and pass the costs on to the customer.

 

Hi Jseah. I recently purchased an 85 700 Maxim X. I was also hesitant, but after doing a considerable amount of research, discovered you can find just about anything you need for the bike. Chacol has all the parts you need for the maintenance aspect.

The forum here has all the advice you need, including pics and tutorials.

God Bless.

 

In answer to your question:

NO, it won't be a "turnkey" proposition at all.

If it's the simpler, aircooled version, it will need to have its valves adjusted every 5000 miles; and the carbs will need to be re-sync'ed at that time as well. Valve adjustment on the aircooled models is relatively simple, but it does involve some mechanical aptitude. The vacuum balancing you're referring to is carburetor sync adjustment, YICS gets blocked off for that.

If it's the watercooled, "X" version, it needs valve adjustment a lot less frequently which is good, because on the watercooled motor the shims are UNDER the buckets which necessitates pulling the cams to adjust the valves. Carburetor service requirements are essentially the same.

"Maintenance" is something that happens after the bike has been "recommissioned" or "put back in service." In order for you to rely upon it as daily transportation, it's going to need quite a bit of work ahead of time that is simply not practical to pay someone else to do.

If you actually want to use the bike as a daily commuter (and it can be done, I for one, do) it will HAVE TO BE gone through and all of the last 25+ years' worth of neglect reversed FIRST. Brakes will need to be rebuilt, suspension (forks and shocks) rebuilt or replaced, electrical gremlins excised, tires replaced, etc. Once it's back on the road, then we worry about maintenance.

If you're not prepared or equipped to work on it yourself, then you're not going to have a positive experience trying to use it for daily transportation. Until it's been properly recommissioned, it won't be at all reliable (or safe, for that matter.)

 

I'll second the duck, but will also say that while in writing, it looks like an awful amount of work, in practice it's all pretty basic and easy stuff to do. Look at many of our current ride lists and you'll see that there's a LOT of 700's here, and they are a great running, great looking, an extremely reliable bike.

Get it and have fun with it.

Dave Fox

 

Any bike, or motor for that matter needs to be at it's best to
run it's best.

My 700 gets far more attention then my van. But it also runs like new.
Not bad for a 26 yr old bike with 60+k on the clock.
Once you get all the maint done after a po has neglected it, it's a simple matter of staying on top of things.

What your seeing written by our guru's is advise that will keep the bike
running perfect all the time. There are hundreds of bikes on the road
that are just run into the ground without a care as to a PRE-MAINT.
sched.

All the extra work you read about is to prevent a future prob from showing
up at a bad time-like on a run, going to work etc.

Do the maint without short cuts and you will have a dependable bike day
in ans day out.

Oh, and bigfitz-as per the xjcd, yamaha revised the valve adj period on the 700 from 7k to 15k. I know it flies in the face of the other models (and I still do mine every 5k or so) but that's according to yamaha.

 

I think you're referring to the "X" model, but I don't have references for either so I can't say for sure.

 

No not the X