Just starting out

Hi folks,
Apparently the polite thing to do is introduce myself and then hit everyone for tips and hints.

I got my first XJ in 1984 and customised the hell out of it from the ground up, unfortunately fell on hard times and had to trade it for cash shortly thereafter.

So like a moth to a flame after 28 years I have returned to bikes and XJ’s. Being older and wiser it is now about the journey, practically and philosophically.

Alas my return is with a project bike. Like cds1984, clutch84 and sandgroper I hail from Western Australia and have secured a XJ750P in the hope of returning it to its former glory in full Police livery and fittings.

Although I have previously had an XJ the mind is fragile so I am hoping all the knowledge on these forums can short cut some of my heart ache. It is a 37H so from what I read on this site it is a bitsa and going to be hard to match parts.

I would love to document the journey like darkfibre but doubt I will get around to posting regularly enough to keep anyone interested. Perhaps a beginning, middle and end photo might suffice.

I picked the bike up on the weekend, so here is the start of my journey.

 

Hello XJMoth, looks like it's all there. Does it run? cds1984 should be able to answer specific 750P questions, he's done a frame up resto.

 

G'day few of you blokes in the west joining up,country's so big we all meet up on International forums.
That avatar pic your first XJ? got any better pics?

 

Hi and welcome, looks like a good starting point.

No doubt cds1984 will be along shortly, we should have a West Aussie XJ get together one day.

 

As it turns out I do have a couple of photos of the original XJ. Taken with wet film when digital was what you inserted. All my own work and turned some heads in the back waters of Kalgoorlie.

The guy that sold me the project bike assures me he was riding it up until mid 2011, but alas the battery was flat, so I have to wait until the weekend to turn it over. Still has good compression as I dropped it into gear to slow down the descent off the trailer but I will check the compression against the specs as one of the first jobs.

As with all my previous bikes, going or not, first job is to strip it down and give it the once over. Early plans are a re-paint of the frame and new bearings all round including tapers in the neck.

 

That is sharp!

 

I've never seen a naked police XJ like that. I think that's one of the best looking XJ's I've ever seen--a clean white, with those beautiful panniers and that back rack, but the naked front?

Is it just me, or do those handlebars look way upturned?

Welcome!

(I thought all of Australian civilization was on the SE edge...

 

Welcome to the site. That’s a nice 750 you got there but I really love your old 650 that’s one sweet ride. How long did you have it for?
Al

 

Had it six months before I started the mods, another six months in the rebuild, then managed to hold onto it for two years before the growing family forced a sale.

 

Well folks

Two largish disappointments today. Charged the battery and installed it for 'take off' as the guy that sold it to me assured me it ran. Well I got dash lights and headlights but nothing from the starter button. I did get a fluctuating fuel level when the indicator was activated. No doubt an electrical problem so it looks like no chance of even a murmur before I start to strip it down. Times like these I yearn for an old school kick start lever. I was looking forward to a couple of short trips before the resto started. Aw well can't complain to the guy that sold it to me as the price was so low.

Next blow was the fairing that came with the bike was not fitted so I put it up for size. Not the correct fairing and by the look it was the top half of a full fairing that someone took a disc cutter too. So now I am on the hunt for a genuine XJ750P fairing. Big shout out to all West Aussie XJ750P owners for an original fairing. Any condition short of scrap accepted.

 

There is a XJ750P in Mandurah for sale on Gumtree as we speak, may pay to ask the question.

 

DF
Spoke to the guy yesterday to sound him out. He has a looker coming around this week and I told him if the guy does not take it give me a ring. It also is a 'non starter' but hey getting them going is half the fun. The guy has some bits and pieces he stripped off the bike so I said to him I'm in for any left overs, just depends whether the looker is after a genuine restore or wants an xj as the foundation for a project like you. What we need is a good old fashion swap meet for everyones bike left overs.

 

Because I want to be purist about my resto I have been looking for old pictures for reference. A guy I know told me there was one on display at the State Traffic Office so I went to have a look. Managed to convince them to let me take some photos so thought I would post them as reference material anyone else.

 

This guy's looker never turned up so he rang me back. I played hookey from work yesterday afternoon to check it out. It was a total train wreck, in worst condition than Pumba when you got it. The only thing of value was the fact the chassis and engine number matched. The only original part on it was the check speed odometer.

I thought the classic hand paint job over the top of the original white duco was a touch of class. The guy bought it as a restore but has now got an old Triumph so the rice burner gets kicked to the curb.

The guy had a bunch of spares in the corner as part of the deal including the panniers, spare tank (stripped back and surface rust), spare front & rear fender (stripped back and surface rust), spare 4-1 exhaust and spare set of carbies but all were in poor condition. He's not prepared to split them out. Probably too much work for a genuine restore but suit someone looking do a cafe or bobber.

I was sorely tempted but could not bring myself to pay his bottom line price as all it was going to give me was two of everything except the parts I really need, the Police stuff. I did consider taking it to restore as a daily ride but that just means double the work on everything. If it is still there when I finish the Police bike I might re-think it.

So as I have said earlier, turns out the fairing with the bike is the wrong one. Some research thanks to cds1984 and others identified the original as a copy of the classic Jetter Windjammer. Anyway, I won’t bore you with the long story but I have tracked down the original manufacturer of the XJ750P Police fairing and he told me he also did the panniers. He stills lives in WA but not in Perth and only does fiberglass work occasionally on his breaks as he works FIFO. Best of all is he still has the moulds for both the fairing and the panniers. I am sending him a couple of photos to confirm the details and he will give me a price for a custom build.

One last bit for those restoring because I can't remember it being mention on these pages. The '83 model had the white frame but they went back to black for the '85.

 

Thoe pictures of the 750P at the traffic office are just 2 Darned Cool..........you should have offered to buy THAT bike!

 

Apparently the bike belongs to the traffic cop that rode it and then he bought it at auction. There was also a Suzuki GSX750, which was the model the cops used after the XJ. The same bloke owns that as he also rode it as a Patrolman. They are displayed, As Is, with a bit of surface rust and other signs of age, so I think the guy just wants to store them as keep sakes.

 

Hi Moth, hope the restore goes well and that the info I forwarded is useful to you!

Cheers!