ID help please

I picked up a new used bike to chop yesterday and I'm trying to figure out what the heck it is exactly...

The seller claims it's a 1982 Yamaha Maxim 650. Here's the hang up though, it's not shaft drive, it's chain drive. It's an air-cooled 650 four banger, the body and frame are definitely an XJ650 Maxim.... I'll get pics up later.


As a bonus I only paid $100 for it, the engine is freed up and everything is there. (I hope)

 

If it's an XJ, look here

Sure it's a 650? Check on the head in between the #2 &#3 headers, the cc's will be cast into the head here.

 

Thanks for the quickie advice there. The link you posted. WOW, that's allot of data. I'll have to sit down tonight and poke through that. I'm on the way over to the shop right now to start grabbing numbers and cleaning it up. I'll get pics.

 

Show us a pic and we'll tell you what it is. Right now, we can tell you what it's NOT - it's not a 650 maxim of any year. NO 650maxims were chain drive. If it is indeed a 650 maxim frame, then it's either a 550 (or smaller) maxim engine (which means wiring issues, swingarm swap, etc..... ) or it's xs (Special) engine swapped into the frame (which means wiring issues, swing arm swap, probably motor mount modification, etc.....)

Any way you look at it, it's not a real 650 maxim.

Save yourself a lot of searching through databases and just show us a pic. Well tell you what it is.

Dave F

 

There are boxes that bolt on to convert shafties to chain drive. Should be an easy mod to spot though, the boxes look kind of goofy and out of place. Most likely though, its a 550 or smaller as Dave said if it is in fact an xj and not an xs.

 

Never seen or heard of any bolt-on conversion for the shafty maxims. Has anyone else?

Dave

 

No, and this is common. I'll betcha anything it's just a 550 Maxim, pure and simple.

I dunno how many 550s I've seen on CL touted as being 650s; the chain drive kind of gives it away.

Check the "shorty" VIN on top of the engine housing; compare it to the numbers on the steering head; if they match, no transplant. I'm betting it's just a 550.

 

Me too. Though I've seen a lot of 650 specials recently that people thought were maxims. But I went with the swapping suggestions simply because of his comment that the "body and frame are definitely 650 maxim".

dave

 

Upon closer inspection, it is a 1982 550 Maxim. On the upside, I'm not heartbroken. It's a chain drive and for this project it's a bonus.

 

Here's the bird turds for paint look



Half way into it



Getting ready for media blasting and chopping.

 

Might want to get a compression test before you sink a whole bunch of time and effort into a non-salvageable motor. Finding things like pistons for a 550 is quite a challenge.

 

I'll do that once the engine is back in the frame.

Worst case scenario and it's a p.o.s. What are my options besides finding a doner? Can I swap on the top half of a 650?

 

Nope. Donor engine; or you could swap a 600 upper end but that's it, other than another 550.

You can run a compression test with the motor out of the frame, all you need is a battery (and gauge) if the starter is still on the motor.

 

Good point, and I've got no pesky crap in the way then either.

Can you tell me how much oil I'm going to need for it? I plan on dumping what's in it and filling it up fresh so the jugs will be wet.

 

http://www.yamaha-triples.org/forums/th ... ightmode=1

Its not a mass produced item, just something that I've seen several times for different sized motors for the xs bikes. I've seen several different people make these and sell them via different forums... I know I'm not the only one who's heard of this.


Regardless, have fun. Looks like you got quite a bit of work ahead of you.

 

That little "2200CM3" cast on the clutch cover right by the filler is the "official" oil capacity. Accepted practice is a slight (200~300CC) overfill to keep the "low oil" sensor happy during hard acceleration. If you're not replacing the filter, just go with the 2.2L.

 

Any special requirements besides "motor cycle" oil?

 

No other special requirements. Just some advice:

Get the Fram CH6003 oil filter. It comes with both o-rings you need.

Make sure you torque the filter bolt to spec. I believe it's 11.2 ft.lbs, but don't have my book right here to double check.

 

Obviously NOT a 650 maxim frame....the rear frame extensions are wrong for a 650maxim, the cover behind the forks is not 650maxim, etc........

But by now, you also already know that.

Hey 'locker... don't know where you're located. If you're near central NY, I just parted out two 550 maxims, both of which have decent engines, and both are sitting on my floor.

Dave Fox

 

I'm about a half hour west of Minneapolis.

You didn't happen to list those parts on ebay did you? I'm not sure If I'll need anything yet. I got everything torn down on Sunday and come Monday; I've got a nice painful ear infection. First time in about 20 years. (not cool) I hope to get over to the shop today, (Tuesday) and test it out for compression.

I do know I'm going to need at least one carb so far. The slide valve is stuck.

 

No, I don't have any of the parts on ebay yet. What Carb do you need? I have a partial rack....one body has a broken float pin and someone bought one of the other bodies. Might be able to help you...........

Too bad you're so far away!

Let me know as you develop your list of parts. Like I said, I have two bikes worth of parts.

Dave Fox