New to XJs

Hey guys, I'm new to the xj scene. I'm on a work computer and don't have one at home. No way to add pics from my phone I'm aware of... But anyway I have a 1982 XJ650 Maxim that i bought for $300. I went through and had the valves done and carbs cleaned and gone through the brakes and all. it's a ball to ride and sounds decent with no baffles in it. My only complaint is I'm over 6 ft. tall and it's kind of cramped. i have a line on a sportster seat I'm gonna try to mount and if that doesn't work I'm going to pick up an old seat and trim it down and recover it. a set of tc bros forward controls are definitely in the near future. I will post pics as soon as i figure out a way to

 

Trying to add pictures from my phone

 

Looks to be in decent condition, good find. Not sure if taking anything out of the saddle is going to help with the mismatched ergonomics, you may be better served trying different bars and maybe moving the pegs around. I shaved the foam out of the saddle of a sportbike so my wife could get her feet on the ground more comfortably, all it did was make the bike uncomfortable to ride after a short time, like riding on a plank.
In terms of maintenance, did you find a shop to do the valves and carbs? Is it a shop you can absolutely trust to have done a thorough enough job? Either process is very easy to handle, a few simple tools and some small parts and you will gain a tremendous amount of knowledge about your machine. Trust me, a vintage bike will either make a mechanic out of you, or will frustrate you endlessly, so it's better to start becoming a mechanic now rather than on the side of the road.

Btw get a better helmet.

 

yeah the guy runs a shop that specializes in metric bikes. And he loves working on these old bikes. The only reason I took it to him was because I work far too much to do the work myself and don't have a proper work area. I know enough to work on it myself, I do have the original service manual the PO included with the bike. I love doing the work myself just don't have the means to at the moment. and a new helmet is on the list

 

I personnalized the seat iof my '95 Honda Magna for the same reason (I'm 6'2") with good results. I removed 3-4 inches of foam so I can sit further back when needed, but I didn't removed any thickness, the seat is still at the same height from the ground.

I'd suggest not removing too much at first, maybe 2 inches in the front-rear direction and check if it helps enough. You wouldn't want to shorten the passenger seat so much that it is totally useless, I guess. But if you buy a spare seat, it doesn't matter, you will have your sort-of solo seat and the original seat.

 

yeah I'm not too worried about the passenger section, my wife refuses to ride with me lol. she doesn't like how cramped it is on there. I've been looking at threads of other guys who have done this and my main goal is to move back 1-2 inches so I can fit comfortably. How did you trim yours? just height out of the rear so you can sit further back into the cushion? pics?