yamaha xj650 help

Hey everyone. I just got my first bike last week. 1981 yamaha xj650 maxim. Im 17, so obviously im on a buget. I need to replace the orings inside my petcock, and i need a new front break rotor. Any good places to order from? I cant find the size for the petcock ring. I dont want to buy a full rebuild kit because of the cost. Im also looking to drop thebike a few inches in the back.any ideas how to do this cheap? Im also going to repaint it. Sand,prime,paint,clear coat, with walmart spray paint? Im doing the tank, & know any spilt gas will eat the paint and make it run. Any alternate ideas?
Also looking for new-
Bars (probably cheap drags?)
Grips
Airfilters. Good websites i can trust to order from? Ive been looking at stuff on eBay, but id perfer toorder from a motorcycle site soi know exactly what im getting.
im changing the oil + filter&spark plugs. What else should ido to just clean it up & make it run a bit better?
Im going to cleanthe carbs. Anything else i should clean?
Also,my speedo/tach make a loud whirring noise when the needles move. Im assuming the need to be cleaned?
Thanks for your time & any imput you have!

 

1: If you are replacing the o-rings that means that other parts in the petcock are probably a mess. and because this is a vacuum operated petcock that can cause a lot of problems with either fuel leakage or like was in my case just a petcock that stopped sending fuel...while i was 120 miles away from home...

2: I would suggest a complete overhaul on the break system. the rubber lines have a life of about 2 years from the factory (says Yamaha) so you are gonna be way past any safety specs on those at the very least. Also think about how badly you are gonna want to be able to stop this bike when you are on it. Safety is nothing you want to neglect.

3: Ebay has a large selection of shocks for sale that will work. I have heard of a few guys on here going with an 11" RFY shock. Be careful though with how you change the angle of the driveshaft. in some setups you can bind up the u-joint inside of the swing-arm and you wont be going anywhere. I just stuck with the stock 320mm length but I did pick up a set of RFY shocks that I like.

4: As far as filters go. Many are going to say stick with the stock filter and air-box setup. This is for tuning purposes. I say get a nice K&N filter that will last you basically forever because you can clean it. they make drop in units that fit the stock setup.
Now there are the also many who have ditched the stock airbox and switched to pod filters. You do not want to do this if you are not ready to invest dome decent time and effort into tuning the carbs so that the bike wont run incredibly lean (as in really hot and damaging). If you are ready to put that kind of time into it i would still say get a set of K&N pods. I bought a cheap set a while back and they made tuning a nightmare because they were just not consistent. I switched to K&N pods and everything just worked better.

5: PAINT- if you put on a few good coats of clear-coat that should resist the gasoline. I did my tank with shaker cans and it turned out great.

heres a link to my thread
http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=3 ... art=0.html

6: Grips.... anything you want that will fit on a 7/8" bar will work. Ive got a set of foam grips off of ebay that I love.

As far as maintenance. you will see toward the bottom of the first page in my thread bigfitz52 talks about what needs to be done. If I were you I would do everything he lists there (which I ended up doing on my bike). If you dont you could be riding a bike with a short life left.

 

with painting try using the vht engine enamel to keep it cheap. It has some decent oil/gas resistance.
Careful with the bars. Some require major cable rerouting and or changing. I put flat drag bars on mine and nothing fit right. Ive ended up replacing every cable.
Grips could be anything 7/8. I use dirt bike grips on my bobber.
Filter- cheapest would probably be oem or equivalant. K&N would be about 50 bucks.
Check the valves and rear brakes for delamination. Also redo the front brakes if they are old. I just got a set of braided lines for mine that were less than 40 bucks.

 

I have everything you need. Send me a PM or call 215-622-1844. I'll hook you up with a package deal. Look at the link below to see my donor bikes.

Chris

 

thats crazy, i actually read through your thread, and book marked it. that actually inspired alot of my ideas with my bike.
Ill just completely rebuild the petcock.
The brakes were just redone, i found out. the only parts the guy didnt replace were the front rotor and the cables.
any idea how much i could drop it wiithout having to do a lot of work with the drive shaft?
Im hoping to go with some cheap pods i found on ebay. but thatll be after i do most of the stuff. i dont want to do that first and end up spending all my $ onjetting the carbs & such.
& thank you so much. that post really helped me with a lot of things.
where would i get vht enamal paint? ive never used thatbefore.
What would you guys think about me wiring up a charging & using a mount to mount my phone & use it as my speedo? i downloaded some apps & used it while driving and it gives an accurate speed. i was looking at digital speedos & i dont wanna drop 400$ into one..

 

Petcock rebuild: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=25058.html

Valve clearance check and adjust: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=14827.html

Part Deux: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=29209.html

What's inside Yamaha mechanical instruments (tach and speedo) http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=15303.html

You keep mentioning brake cables. If you mean brake LINES by all means replace them immediately. They had a factory recommended lifespan of 4 years; you're way beyond that. And if the "completely redone" didn't include rebuilding the caliper or master cylinder, then believe me, you're gonna find that out one way or the other. (When the bike makes you do it.)

Here's what you need to understand about this process (and it IS a process, make no mistake) is that anything you skip, overlook, shortcut, ignore or try to "gloss over" WILL come back and bite you in the butt. The BIKE is going to MAKE you do all of the steps, trust me. You can do it the easy way (take charge and do it right) or you can do it the hard way (fixing "problem" after "problem" after they mysteriously crop up.) But you WILL do everything required, because the bike isn't going to run right nor behave itself in a dozen other ways until you do.

Honest.

The first thing you need (NEED) is a service manual. Seriously. Worry about grips and handlebars once you have a handle on all it entails.

 

Well, here we go AGAIN---

1. If this is your first bike, STAY AWAY FROM PODS. You say you don't want to spend all your $ on jetting and stuff, but if you go with pods, you will, grasshopper, you will.

2. lowering the rear---don't. It changes the angles at the front which will affect handling. If you want the back a little lower when you're on it, set the shocks to their softest setting. That way it will squat a bit. If you're adamant about lowering, you can put a pair of mid-80's virago shocks on it and you'll drop close to an inch, plus or minus a little bit.

Dave f

 

Thanks for all those links. Really useful. I dont know if ill beableto do all thatby myself though.
I dont know what all he had done. But most likely ill do the master cylinder and calipers. & yes, i meant brakes lines. Im really hoping to work on this bike and do it right. &&i already got the owners maunual.
Ive decided tojust stay with the stock air box untill i get everything else taken care of. And im not to set on lowering,just thought it was a coolidea.

 

Good start.

Now you need to find a SERVICE manual; because all of those things DO need to be done.

 

i have the hayne workshop manual,is that the same? i cant findspecefic service manual.

 

If your looking to drop the rear, find some 10.5" shocks(eye to eye). They will drop the rear approximately 2". It does change the handling but only slightly, nothing to fear. Personally, I like how it rides.

I found mine at the local scrap yard for $30. It's not gonna get much more affordable then that.

 

Zippy..... you CAN do all that by yourself. Just put your list together in order of priority. Do ONE thing at a time. Take your time, do it right, then move on to the next. Don't try to do them all at once. As a rookie, you'll drive yourself insane. We are ALL here to help you. Some of us have torn apart, repaired, rebuilt, or restored many many XJ's and we'll help you do the same thing. Listen to us, follow the advice and don't try to figure out shortcuts. If there is one, we'll tell you. Otherwise, be the grasshopper.......ask,listen, do, and learn.

Welcome aboard! You're gonna love this ride.

Dave Fox

 

The Haynes is fine.

Now you need to READ IT. Take RickCoMatic's advice; leave it in the bathroom. Read it every time you have one of those "free moments." Study the carburetor teardown and rebuild section which begins on page 119 in the Haynes. (Chapter 2, section 7.)

The only real shortcomings of the Haynes (besides some BAD typos) is that it doesn't cover the USA-market 650 Maxim front brake caliper exactly. The concepts are the same; you need a fiche or factory book for the correct exploded view.