New Owner, what do you think of my new XJ?

Hello Folks, it's great to find an XJ forum.
I soon will be taking ownership on a nice '81XJ650 as my first street bike. I have been searching for a year for something I can afford but also appreciate. I was attracted to the XJ as a lighter older bike that would be fun to commute with. 450 pounds is awesome for a 1981 motorcycle with 70 horsepower. Those specs are comparable to today's newer upright 650 bikes surprisingly.
I haven't even had a chance to pick up the bike but I put a deposit down after driving it. The bike looks great with a freshly resprayed tank and side covers. It has a new seat along with a pair of new white wall tires. The bike also has the K&N filter kit as well. The test drive was a blast. The power delivery was very smooth and the bike didn’t feel too much like an older bike. My only concern was the mileage, the owner has put 9,000 miles on it this last year and it has about 39K. I figure that the bugs have been worked out over the past year. The owner kept great records of maintenance and parts.

I am a car nut currently daily-driving a 1970 Dodge Swepty that I keep hummin. The truck has a 383/727 that loves gasoline. The new bike will help to put a dent my monthly fuel costs.

This bike is a maxim. The cheesy seat has recently been replaced with a new custom-job. The tires are new as well, white walled. I think the headlight fairing is pretty cool with a touch of retro. The fairing, tank and side covers have been freshly painted in black. Essentially the previous owner took an old bike and made it fun and reliable.
Check out the bike and tell me what you think, the seller put this together when he tried to sell it on ebay.
http://youtu.be/SObIMuMLH3c

I did notice that grips are a bit worn. Has anyone installed new heated grips, I wonder how the throttle module disassembles and if it is friendly for grip warmers. How about dual disks, any conversion kits of that or would a stainless line be enough to provide excellent braking?

 

I would be very concerned about things like neglected valve adjustment, a lot of people seem to think it's unnecessary right up until it starts causing problems. That 9K would have been enough for at least one check/adjust if not two. They're due every 5K.

MODERN brake parts along with stainless lines will go a long way toward improving the brakes. "Test" your previous owner on the thoroughness of the "maintenance" he's done-- look at the front brake lines. They have the manufacture date embossed in them. If they're original, the PO has been doing a great job of "cosmetic" maintenance but you will find you've got some work to do.

Unless he has a receipt for rear brake shoe replacement, start here: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=15874.html

 

1: Welcome to the forum!

2: The bike looks great.

3: Even though the bike looks great, there are still some things you need to check - Rear breaks for delamination, valve clearances, brake line date codes, tire date codes, fluid changes are also in order.

4: Stainless lines will be a vast improvement over rubber. You can use a dual setup from a 650R or a 750R or Maxim, just make sure you use a master cylinder for the dual disc setup also.

5: Lots of great advice on here, just ask, and we will answer.

Again, welcome to the XJ world.

 

I'm also a private pilot so I already believe in higher maintenance for air-cooled engines. A Cessna's 6 banger will last quite a while with 100 hour inspections.

The items you mentioned will be added to my intial to-do list.
#1 is ordering a shop manual.

What extra parts do you guys keep stocked, what items do you recommend for maintenance?
Is their a reusable valve cover gasket or should I buy one before I look at those valves?

The engine sounds like it has 3-4 chains inside of it, do those all last 39K miles?

What usually kills these engines other than neglict? What's the first to go?

 

Once an XJ is properly "recommissioned" all you really need to "stock" are spark plugs and oil filters.

The valve cover gaskets on YICS motors are reusable; the one on your (pre-YICS) motor can be if care is taken in the reinstallation of the NEW ONE. Your motor uses a heavy fiber composite ("traditional") gasket; the rubber half-moons on the right end of the head are separate plugs that I would replace the first time, anyway. Get a new gasket for this time; use gasket sealer to "glue" it to the cover and grease the underside; and it should prove re-usable.

There is a camchain (yours has a manual adjuster) a "primary" chain that drives the jackshaft (alternator on one end, starter on the other) and a little tiny chain behind the clutch that drives the oil pump. Primary drive is by gear which produces the trademark "middle gear whine" these bikes are known for.

The only real Achilles' heel in the shaft-driven XJs is the primary chain guide. It's a solid "bridge" with a molded plastic-like body, and they are known to disintegrate allowing hunks to lodge in the shift forks. When this happens, the pieces can generally be "picked" out but it will keep happening as the guide breaks up. Replacing it means splitting the cases.

Other than that, they're pretty much bulletproof. Cam chains are more like a 60K item, if kept adjusted. Valves need looking after at 5K intervals; and these bikes tend to "eat" spark plugs.

Known issues are the original fusebox fuse clips, they crystallize over time and break on their own; and wiring connections in general, especially those around the regulator/rectifier/battery. Alternator brushes wear out, but they are located in the COVER so it's an easy fix.

ORIGINAL REAR BRAKE SHOES DELAMINATE. Hopefully your PO would have checked that when replacing the tires.

 

Welcome to XJBikes from the Boston Mountains of Northwest Arkansas. Very clean looking XJ! I really like the small fairing/windscreen and the detail on the seat is nice. Cool bar mirrors too, and you don't often see white wall tires anymore.

Yes the performance on these bikes is really amazing considering when they were built. They are well designed and fun to ride!

You could do the conversion on the dual discs but I don't think you will need it. I replaced my front brake lines with stainless steel-they were the OE lines which meant they were 27years past their usable life! And rebuilt the MC and caliper, and completely drained and cleaned the whole system-now my 1981 XJ550 will do a front wheelie if I wanted.

It's hard to tell from just a YT video, but it sounds like the carbs need a little adjusting. The throttle response sounds a little bit slow on return. After a complete cleaning and fine tuning, mine snaps up and back very quickly. If there is one area that these bikes often need some tweaking/cleaning etc. it's the carbs, but you've come to the right place if you need help with that.

Glad you've joined us in XJ world it's a fun place.

 

I think white walls belong on old cruisers, sitting in museums so I don't have to look at them, but that's just me. Didn't like'm on cars and surely don't do anything for bikes, for me anyways.
The windscreen doesn't look like it is big enough to do much for protection or looks for that matter. I'd leave it naked, it would look alot better. To each his own.

 

gday and welcome, everything looks like its been covered , the bike looks great,once you know everything is as it should be enjoy,

 

Thank you for the comments.

I'm going to take it slow, perform the suggested maintenance, and spend a few weeks polishing and cleaning. I'll get you guys some better pics, ones with freshly cleaned white walls.