33 years old but new

Just got it today under 3000 miles like new.

 

Nice. Go ahead and make sure all the maintainance has been done. There are several pars that do not age well.

 

W

What parts are those.

 

brake lines and shoes

 

caliper seals, master cylinder seals, tires..

 

Not a part, but certainly on the list: valve clearances.

Read the link in K-moe's signature "The Information Overload Hour".

Ask questions.

 

Valves are worth checking, but they are likely in spec. Clearance checks are at every 5,000 miles, but it is possible that the initial check after break-in was not done.

Also, you might consider tucking that away and saving it for the occasional Sunday ride and show.

 

It's nice but it's begging to be ridden.

 

Wow. 33 years old, less than 3000 miles, that's like 90 miles a year, or 2 miles a week! Who does that?! Nice score!

 

Nice bike! Certainly inspect everything people have suggested. Date codes on the tires, valve lash, etc. If the P.O. handed you receipts of what has been done and when, then it may save you some work and time. For me, if its not broken, then I don't bother fixing it. The main things are the safety components. Tires and brakes. If the front brakes stop well and the fluid looks clear then I move on. The rear brake shoe should be replaced unless it has been recently done. They have a tendency to delaminate and could end up locking your rear wheel if they come apart. I had on start coming off. Fortunately the very loud squeal / hum when applying the rear brake alerted me to what was starting to happen. I also like to double check the torque on some main safety components when purchasing a bike. For example, front wheel mounting bolts, triple tree bolts, caliper bolts, rear shock bolts, rear axle (make sure the hitch pin or cotter pin is present; mine was missing). Also, check the drive chain and sprocket. Although the Maxim's came with shaft, right? Make sure to get your torque specs from a factory service manual and not a Clymers or other source. I have found too many mistakes in the non-factory service manuals and you may strip bolt holes by over torquing. I'm sure you are going to find everything correct on your bike given the condition it is in, but I still would go through the process. You never know what a P.O. has been up to.

 

All XJ550s are chain driven; all XJ650s and up are shaft driven in this era.

The torque values in the Haynes are correct (The Haynes staff are the people who wrote the Yamaha FSM, so they have the same errors in them, but not the same pictures and not all of the same information).

 

Thanks kmoe, I was unsure of which model had which. To be honest, since the OP hasn't stated what model bike he has, and not being familiar enough to know if he has a 550 or a larger 650 from the picture, I still don't know we are whether we are talking about a shaft machine or chain, LOL.

Don't know about Yamaha's and Haynes, but from bad personal experience due to bad values from my Clymer, I almost striped my cam chain adjuster mounting bolts on my KZ. At least that is not as bad as the stripped cam cap bolts that many fall for on the KZ's due to bad Clymer information. Glad to hear that is not an issue with the Yamaha's.

 

Reminds me of mine 3400 miles new tires ss hoses master rear brakes all the common stuff glad i am not the only one with a low mile bike. Mine is finished just put on the road this am