40K miles: what to look forward to?

Ok, so the 750 rolled over 40K miles yesterday, which got me thinking:

What's coming up maintenance-wise? When is a good time to start worrying about cam chain? Primary chain? bearings?

I know the valve shims have been done by the PO not too long ago.

What about drive shaft bearings/seals/gears?

Thanks!

 

Look for a bit more sartup noise, make sure oil; is changed on a regular basis, keep everything lubed properly and there should be no problems. I bought my XJ650R with 39k and it had been lacking a lot of preventive maintainence. A new front tire, Progressive fork s[rings with new seals and brake pads, along with an oil change and cam chain adjustment and my bike is fine. I may need to cahnge the base gaskets as i have a bit of an oil leak, and at that time I will probably need to overhaul the head and such, but it is not a neccesity at this point. cruzerjd

 

Really not much is looming at this point. Valves would be #1. It is good that the po did some valve work but since you don't know what the valves measured I would avail myself of that info first hand at some point in the near future. An intake valve may measure .12mm and .11mm is minimum spec. So that valve would not be reshimmed. But that valve should be watched since it is next in line. Nice to know these things.
A check of wheel bearings is a good idea too. Drive shaft is no where near needing any real concern other than changing the gear oil every spring. Petcock and carbs are most likely canidates for maintenance. But taken care of, these bikes are good to go for a good time longer.

 

thanks for the info! kinda makes me feel relieved.

Is it normal for these bikes to "whine" a little? I remember reading something about middle gear whine.

The petcock appears to work great -- I've had the tank off a few times and it did not leak a drop. The carbs are spotless (on the inside, anyway) cause I just went through them :-D

Now that you mention it, the starter is kinda loud.. Not like Virago loud, but definitely louder than the 550 (14K miles).

I'm doing wheel bearings this winter, and steering head bearings (converting to tapered)... Probably gonna repack the swing arm bearings while I'm at it.

 

Middle gear whine is what you hear. More specifically constant mesh gear whine and the middle gear is the main gear that is constantly meshed. Front wheel bearings are easy and the bearings are available online and from bearing shops for about $3 a piece. The rear wheel bearings can only be removed with a blind hole bearing puller. Harbor Freight has one on their web site for $29.95 or you can remove the rear wheel and have a shop pull them for you. Haven't done the steering bearings yet but I have them on my desk making me feel guilty for not having done them yet. Some have pressed the lower bearing on but a good cheat is to freeze the lower triple tree and heat the bearing in an oven. Then the bearing slips right on.

 

I love the mechanical whine these engines make !!!
If the bearings go inside the triple tree housing then you would heat the housing and chill the bearing for fitting with zero clearance.
I'd like to know if the rear end has different gears for different models.
Maxim 750
Seca 750 weeks later~~turns out they don't, or so I'm told~~
Turbo 650
Seca 900--wanted to buy in the worst way !!!

 

Depends: on what the ACTUAL mileage is.
Most ..every.. one of these bikes is in and around 30, /40,000 miles when bought.
That despite them being 20+ years old and them having had an average of 8! owners.
Tough to tell.. what and when it will seize and die..
although a leakdown test gives good window view of the life left in the engine.
Dismantle and look, or cross yr fingers, or trust to a Oujia board

 

Well the good news is I'm sitting around 69,500 now on mine, so far dispite a few leaks here and there, carbs needing a good synch, and prob valve shims, she's running fine. My only real problem is I think I cracked, broke or put a hole in the exhaust manifold the other day.

 

Andrew:

Whit that mileage on your bike you should be considering replacing the Timing Chain. The "Book" says 58-60 Thousand miles.

 

Rick,

would that be the Cam Chain / Primary Chain, if not where and how hard is it to change. I'll have to check with my uncle, he might have changed it, I got it with around 60-62K on her.

 

The "Timing Chain" ... Cams.

It takes some skill to Park the Engine at Top Dead Center ... then, split the Old Chain ... attach the NEW Chain and "Walk" it around a couple of revolutions until all the New Chain is in place and gets joined, riveted and has the Tension applied to replace the old one.

Since there is not a more critical exercise in maintenence ... I recommend you get the job done by a Pro and see if they'll let you watch.

Then, ... next time ... attempt it yourself.

 

Ill have it looked at, the last time I was on here, I was told not to worry about it unless there was a problem with the chain aka loose. I want to get my valves adjusted so it won't be a problem or much extra time to take a look at it.