I loved this forum so much, I got an XJ700 so I could join!!

Greetings all!

So, I got my very first bike in June of this year (a forgiving and timid '95 Suzuki DR125SE) which proved to be a great beginners bike and made getting my feet wet an absolute blast!

After riding my trusty steed 6+ hours every week and making a few out of town jaunts, I came to the burning realization that I needed MORE SPEED! MORE POWER! MORE GLORY!

Enter the 1985 XJ700.

I had found a guy on Craigslist who was looking for a dual-sport for his daughter and wanted to unload his old bike in the process. Really nice guy and super knowledgeable about bikes in general. Once I saw his bike, I just had to have it and took ownership of it on Monday. Woohoo!

It does need a little work; but I'm up for the challenge and really stoked about this forum. Seems like a nice place to call home

Anyhow, I just wanted to introduce myself to everyone and say howdy.


Thanks for being here by the way! Looking forward to get working on my bike and would appreciate any words of wisdom that could be imparted! Speaking of which, I need a complete set of jets (the mufflers have been removed and the intakes are all podded out now).

I can hear your warnings of impending doom on my choice to keep the pods; but I'm gonna' see if I can get it to work...Partly because I think they look sick but mostly because I have no air box and only one of the stock mufflers.

Anyhow, I followed chacal's advice and formula on what jet sizes would be good to start with. Based on the info provided, I should start with:


MAIN FUEL JETS

#113


PILOT FUEL JET

#38.5


I also have 12" baffle-less mufflers (not really sure what they're called) that I'm thinking of putting on but don't know if that will modify the jet sizes if I do. Excellent post with the jet formulas by the way chacal!

OK all, time to sleep...My typing fingers are rambling.

Thanks again!

 

Congrats on your new bike. I think that is a first that you found the forum before you got your XJ! Glad to have you join the XJ party.

Sounds like you have a plan and that's good, but please keep one thing in mind: Your 700cc bike is a whole different animal than the 125, way more power, torque, and weight-think of a domestic cat vs a cheetah type difference. So for your own sake I hope you take your time getting to know big bike performance and riding and learn all you can about safe riding and accident avoidance. A big bike hurts much more if you go down with it, and it will get you to dangerous speed in a heartbeat.

With the mods it's all about patience and trial and error. I do think they work better with staggered velocity stacks (you can make them). With 1 and 4 farther back than 2 and 3 so they don't fight for air flow. And the muffler is not a big consideration with jetting, it effects it but at a rate about 25% of the intake.

If you can post pics or give more detailed info about what your working with you can get some tried and true advice that will help you get there.

 

Welcome! Please put your location and bike details in your profile/sig. It makes it easier to help you

 

Welcome !
Let your plug color help guide you to correct jetting - you are shooting for a "tan" color, not white.
(Sig Line \/ \/)

 

Thanks MercuryMan for the tips! Yes, from the videos I've seen on the XJ and from what I've read, I guess it can be a real arm puller and deserves the utmost of respect for its power. I'll look through the forums and search for "staggered velocity stacks"...Sounds intimidating; but I'm up for that challenge as well!

Roger that adrian1. On it and thank you for the welcoming

Thank you as well TIMEtoRIDE! Good advice..."Let the plugs be your guide" will be my mantra until I get my beast up in working order.

Will post more pics of my bike tonight and some close-ups tomorrow

 

DANGER, WILL ROBINSON.

No front brake on an XJ? 8O

Either you're just plain stupid, completely crazy, or it's a trailer queen. (One can only hope...) But I sure as heck wouldn't ride it on the street, especially with knobby tires.

Old guy=not impressed. Sorry. It's a deathtrap.

(Please don't ride that bike in traffic. Unless you're trying to kill yourself. You wouldn't last long.)

 

For your sake, I hope you're bi-polar...Then at least you'd have an excuse for talking out of your ass.

 

Mate 90% of your braking is done by the front brake,and it's just plain bad manners to talk to people who can/could help rudely.

 

Seriously. I wasn't talking out my ass, I'm DEAD serious.

That bike, in its current configuration, is a rolling deathtrap. You have a relatively heavy motorcycle that's capable of doing well over 100mph in 4th gear and no good way to stop it.

Then what little braking power you do have is hamstrung by the fact that it has dirt-bike tires on it.

It truly is a rolling recipe for disaster. Since it's apparently your first "big" bike, I feel a pointed warning is in order. In its current configuration, you WILL get hurt. Not might.

If you're actually going to ride it, install a front brake. If you want to get serious about it, put street tires back on it too.

As it sits now, it's a show bike.

 

Okay so I need to know more about the bike. I'm just going to rifle off what I'd like to know about: the headlight, rear fender, fork gaiters: what size are they, rear shocks: again, what length are they; where did you get them? The bike is pretty cool, yeah a deathtrap is an appropriate title for this bike. Paint that shit on the side of the tank and keep on blasting down the road!

 

I'm with Fitz, no front brake and you'll be decorating the rear end of a vehicle in no time.
My bike weighs less than 400 lbs and I'd never consider riding wothouht a working front brake.

You got a sweet looking ride, make sure you can stick around and enjoy it.

 

i kind of like the no brake in front, kind of balances the no license plate in the back.
i bet the lack of padding in the seat goes with the lack of insurance too.
nothing wrong with the tires though, i kind of like them.

 

Now Po and all-he did just get the bike, and he did say it needed work. I'm sure he plans on getting it licensed. a padded seat, and insurance. Plus after the response I'm sure the whole both wheels braking thing is clear, after all most of us have yanked the e-brake on a car and slid for days, right? half, especially on the back side just doesn't do the trick.

The bike does have a nice style to it and I do like the tires-don't think they are 'knobbies.' After looking again I think they are dual sport tires like they use on those hulking on/off road bikes. Not suited for corning at 90mph but safe on the street otherwise.

Ejpt you can put a muffler on the pipes you have on there-with or without a baffle it would sound and run much better. Don't be discouraged by the response (it's all meant in the best way) take your time and make the bike safe and ride it.

 

Ejpt. Welcome, and nice find. This looks like a good start from a po on a bobber build. I too agree that you need to get the front brakes on and working. Perhaps if the fellow you acquired it from was the one that did the build, then he might have the front brake calipers and rotors and master cylinder. Everything else should be replaced new. The mounting tabs are still on the forks, so it would just be a matter of bolting on parts that are in good working order.

Oh, and if it were me, I would think about changing the cone head tail light. Looks really out of place where it is mounted, and the shape doesn't go with the blocky lines of the 700. I kinda like the on/off road tires, and the color. Good luck with it, and glad to see you joined. There is a wealth of knowledge and experienced XJr's here that can help you fix and maintain your bike, and some really good reads too.

 

Cosmetically, that is a bangin' bike... I like the headlight, actually... But seriously, why did the genius remove the rotor? Did he manage to wear it past its limits, or was he planning an upgrade?

 

x999 with EVERYONE, get a fuggin front brake on that thing!! jeepers!

And i would try to find a rear brake/tail light that would tuck under the rear fender, that would look cleaner imo.

but damn. if you're going to be that arrogant about other motorcyclists genuinely looking out for your own safety and life, you're not going to make it long before you're skidding down the road at 50mph.

Dont be an idiot.

 

Howdy EJPT! I'd like to warn you too, but why? It was nice knowin' ya! Oh, BTW, you don't need a bike to join our group.

 

Well at this rate he'll be looking for a new one in short order. That is if he's still alive to look...

 

The guy I got it from had stripped it down. Luckily he included a BIG box of parts (pretty much everything that he took off).

Luckily, the front brake assembly was included in the swap. I'm going to rebuild the calipers and install new brake line; but first I need to get the carbs re-jetted.

The seat foam was also included as well as tan seat cover material...Hell, he even included little screws to fasten it to the seat pan.

The tires aren't knobbies...Dual sport.

I wouldn't dare ride that thing without a front brake! Even if I was a seasoned rider, I still wouldn't!

I'm wondering if anyone has experience with those dual banjo bolt style of brake lines for this model instead of that "two-to-one" connector thing if that makes sense. Like the look of steel braided lines.

 

The bike runs (barely at that), way too rich...Actually, it's too rich to keep running. This is an unfinished project bike that I acquired. So the "front brake thing" is a simple fact that I haven't put it on yet because I'm doing other things to it first. The bike isn't ready to ride nor will I until the brakes are up to snuff.

I appreciate everyone looking out for me. I do. Calling me "stupid" or "crazy" is a bit krass when it's not apparent if I'm even riding it yet. I did mention that I was doing some work to it. Anyhow, I do appreciate everyone's concern.

 

Thank you Ejpt for clearing up your intentions, we here are a caring bunch and want all our biker friends to be safe. We have it bad enough with accidents caused by other drivers. As for the banjo bolts, yes you can double them up as long as your bolt is long enough and you place crush washers on all the sealing surfaces. Good luck dude! and Merry Xmas too.

 

Re: I loved this forum so much, I got an XJ700 so I could jo

Ejpt,

Glad the "light" (in your head) is on. Some new to bikes members come on here, like I did, and start riding these bikes prematurely not really understanding the "risk" they are taking in doing so. It appears you understand the comments made in regards to you not being around if you were to ride that bike as is were to defer you from riding it until it is actually "rode" worthy. I was "lucky" and what I've learned and done since blowing a hole in a piston that prevented me from riding is immeasurable. It, without a doubt, "saved my life". My bike was a literal death trap. So, cudos to you, it is a good lookin' bike. Once you correct those things that will make it safe to ride you will have a "fo-sho" (for sure) bike.

Gary

 

The headlamp is what used to be the stock one...The previous owner filled the hole that the "atari console" (as I've heard it called, hehe) jutted down into and painted it.

The fork gaiters are 12.5" (is it bad form to give imperial measurements on a metric bike, lol?) Daystar brand with the bottoms modified to make room for the cross member.

The rear shocks are 14" long as they sit. I didn't realize that the rear shocks aren't stock. :?:

The rear fender is just the stock one that has been cut and shaped. The tube-frame nubs being filled with expansion foam (I think I'll dig out the foam and fill it with muffler repair putty or some other epoxy this summer (when the heat drives away any moisture that may be lurking behind the foam).

 

Thanks for the welcoming. Ya, the cone tail light is a bit outta' place...Already have looked into changing it out for something a little more "bobberesque".

 

He wanted to bob the thing to the max. The brakes work fine apparently (with just the minimal testing I've done on them). The rotors are in good shape too although I'm drooling over some floating wave rotors for it...For now though, I can't justify the expenditure...Sigh.

 

Merry Xmas to you too!

I'll have to hit up chacal about a set of braids for her; but first on the list are a set of jets which he's already quoted me on (and reasonably priced too I might add).

 

I'd recommend you do whatever you're going to do with the exhaust BEFORE you go through a bunch of re-jetting; the addition of mufflers may change the jetting requirements. However, if that's the stock collector box I see under there, it may not make too big of a difference.

 

Yes, it's the stock collector box. Thank you for clarifying the name of that thing for me (I had no idea what it was called). Here are mufflers that I'll be putting on:

 

Interesting muffler. Looks like a standard glass pack. I have never saw one chromed, and I have put a LOT of glass packs (Cheery Bombs) on muscle cars. I am curious as to what it would sound like on a XJ, To me, they didn't make much of a difference in db levels, but they change the tone to a tiny bit deeper, and more raspy. I am guessing it will have sort of a sport 4-wheeler sound to it. When you get them on and the bike running, take a vid of it so we can hear it.

 

I will put up a vid when I get it on . Thing is though, I'm no welder (only have done brazing and soldering). So I'm not quite sure how I'll mount it. I was thinking of some kind of insert that I could clamp down or something...