1982 XJ750

Got this bike in January. Got a reckless the day after! Loving it so far, just want to make it a little less square.

 

you really ought to read up on some of the posts that stress Inspecting ALL the major components of the bike before doing anything with it... it could save your life

 

Do you mean you got reckless the day after buying it

or

do you mean you got into a wreck less than a day after buying it

There are several issues you NEED to address before riding, as Krafty said.

(Brakes, tires, etc.....)

Dave F

 

I suspect he got a ticket for reckless driving or loss of licence for same.

 

Reckless driving, not wrecked that would have sucked.. Only major issue I have seen so far was a leaky valve gasket which I changed last night. previous owner put new spark plugs, bled front brake, tires are good. I know it needs oil changed.. open to suggestions on other things that I should look into though.

 

As most on here will tell you, check the brakes. Bleeding the system is usually not enough. On the brake lines themselves will be a Date stamp of when the lines where manufactured/dot certified. Should look something like DOT 10/80 where 10/80 is the month and year they were made. The front lines were only designed to last 4 years. After that, your on borrowed time. If they are as old as the bike they should be replaced for your own safety. Check the seals on the master cyl. and calipers as well. You may not be able to see all the damage to them. So most on here as well as myself would recommend just get the rebuild kit and rebuild them. It is not that hard to do.

Check your Rear Brake. The original rear brake has a tendancy to delaminate over time and you may have a brake back there that could fail at any time. Better to just replace them, not sure how many miles are on the bike but the rear brake might be due for replacement anyway.
See this:
http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=1 ... art=0.html

Also Check your tires for date codes on them.

Besides that just catching up on maintenance with the carbs and checking your valve clearances and you should have yourself a good bike.

 

Did you also change out the rubber "donuts" on the valve cover bolts? They compress over time and don't hold the cover to the gasket tight enough, so even a new gasket might leak.

I just did a set on my 550 and they were like 1/3 the thickness of the new ones.

 

I just did a set on my 550 and they were like 1/3 the thickness of the new ones.[/quote]

Where did you order those from? I think that may be the problem, gasket still seems to be leaking a little bit.

 

Len, AKA Chacal.

This thread is his catalog, but it hasn't been updated in ages. PM him and he will quote you a current price.

Very likely. It's a very common cause of leaks.

 

There's something that you should be proud of....

Slow down maybe?...