My $600 Bike, 6 years Later

I have been reading a bunch of threads such as "how did you get here" and "why you bought an xj", as well as some very well documented builds. My xj story is not nearly as interesting as some, and my bike is not in the same league as some of the builds here, but I thought I would share it anyway, in case I can offer any ideas or inspiration to any other xj owners out there.

I have always been interested in motorcycles, and started looking to buy one about 6 years ago. I knew very little about motorcycles and my only real concern was that it was inexpensive to buy, maintain, and insure. I stumbled upon an 83 xj650 Maxim on a local classified site. I did a little research on the xj650, and everything I read sounded like it was a great bike. It was located a couple minutes from where I was working, was listed at $1200, all original parts were there, had about 20,000kms (12,400 miles), and besides needing a good cleaning (and a small hole in the exhaust...), it looked to be in great shape. The owner even had it stored in his living room.... I took a look, and thought it would make a perfect 1st bike. The PO told me it would "pass a safety no problem", and even offered to bring it to the local bike shop and get it done. I told him if it passed the safety, I would give him asking price. He called a couple days later and said the shop told him it needed new tires, brakes and a battery to pass a safety, which was going to cost about $600. Obviously I wasn't going to give him full asking price for the bike anymore, so we settled on $600 as is. After the shop was done with it, I had a beautifully running bike, saftied and ready to go for $1200. I was very happy. My wife was not......I "forgot" to tell her I bought the bike until after the papers were signed and I was on my way to pick it up. Better to ask forgiveness than permission, right? She got over it and she even has her own helmet now.

Here's what she looked like when I got her home (the bike, not my wife....)

I think it was about a year before I got the itch to start making modifications. It has always ran great, and I am far from a mechanic, so have never wanted to screw with anything engine related (if it ain't broke....). But being 6'-5" tall, I did want to make a few changes to make it more comfortable. I have also had to do a few things out of necessity (exhaust rusted out, speedometer broke). I usually do a couple things every year, just for something to do. I have been very careful to keep all the original parts and not cut or paint anything original. I don't know that I will ever go back to stock, but I want to keep that as an option. Modifications include:

- Custom Footpegs
- Seat - 1st used a stock seat from Vulcan 800, with some modified hardware, than switched back to the original seat with foam shaved and re-covered (twice).
- Mac 4-2 megaphone exhaust (original rusted out at the center stand)
- Dime City Cycles - 2.5" Black Mini KPH Speedometer w/ Black Face, Indicator Lights & Tripometer
- Dime City Cycles - 2.5" Black Mini Electronic Tachometer - (Black Face)
- Inline Diode Kit for speedometer
- Mini Round Aluminum Turn Signals - (Black & Smoke) - with Flasher Relay
- Biltwell Torker Grips
- Bikemaster Brake Pads
- Motion Pro Speedometer Cable
- Motion Pro Clutch Lever Black
- Motion Pro Brake Lever Black
- BikeMaster Old School Tube Mirror Black
- EMGO Travel Trunk
- Black 7/8” TC Bros Lanesplitter Handlebars
- Fork Gators
- Modified front fender (from parts bike) - chopped and painted

Pictures coming........

 

Nice! I had my eye on the lanesplitter bars but ended up making some out of some stock cb750 bars and they turned out pretty good.

 

I am really happy with the lanesplitter bars. Very comfortable for a taller guy like me. Not obnoxiously high, and work with stock length cables.

 

Really like the new pipes. Glad to see you kept the 4 into two configuration.

 

I also recently picked up this wreck for $100. I really only wanted the front fender and headlight mounts so I could cut and paint them (as I didnt want to cut any of the stock parts). But it was all or nothing. He said the engine ran great until the accident and it appears to have avoided any damage so I will probably keep it for parts. He had stripped off most of the valuable parts, but it did come with a brand new starter and set of carbs. If nothing else I figure I can tinker with it before I have to fix anything on mine.

 

I like them. They cost as much as the bike did, but I didnt have many options. As you probably know, there aren't too many options for aftermarket pipes for these bikes. And I liked the vintage megaphone look

 

I tried the brown seat for a bit, but my friends convinced me to go back to black. I also wrapped the fork uppers. Front end is almost all blacked out. Just waiting for the mailman to send me my new headlight....

 

Here's a picture with the Vulcan seat installed. Fits pretty well with slight modification and custom mounting brackets. I found it more comfortable than the stock seat, but I went back to stock as I could cut it and give myself a bit more leg room.

Also shown is the vintage Shoei FM2 fairing I had on for a while. I made my own quick connect hardware so I can put it on and off fairly quickly.

 

Wish someone made double walled header pipes. See how these blue so quickly. Still looks great tho

 

Picking up the wreck for $100 is a very smart move! I've done the same several times. Last year I picked up two (1-Xs1100, 1-Xj650 Maxim) both for $100 each. Neither had any chance of EVER seeing the roads again but there was a treasure of valuable parts remaining.

Although you mention the guy took some of the valuable parts, there appears to be tons of great items remaining (even if you do have to remove the "Black Spray Bomb" from a few of them). As these bikes get older, keeping some spare parts on hand including that motor which is very likely in running condition is a no-brainer.

Your bike looks great.

Sincerely,
Kurt

 

I find properly blued pipes to be attractive.

 

A natural patina that proves it's been used and enjoyed.

 

Playing around with vinyl. Covered the gas cap and gold tank badges and added a couple racing stripes. What do you think?

 

New headlight is on. The mounting brackets I ordered werent long enough so I made some extensions out of some flat stock aluminum I had laying around. Probably going to look for some longer ones but they will do for now. A bit tedious disconnecting and reconnecting all the wires. I should have taken more pictures before I started taking everything apart. Blew a couple fuses, but I finally got everything working, other than the backlight for the speedometer. Doesnt seem to be a loose wire... I'll have to do some trouble shooting tomorrow. Overall I'm pretty happy with how it looks. Seems to be brighter than the old one.

 

Nice headlight. Is that incandescent, LED, something exotic (looks incandescent to me in one of the photos)? Where'd you get it? I have a non-XJ bike that might look good with something like that.

 

It is a regular 12v, 55w, halogen bulb, with standard H4 plug. I got it from Speedmoto. They have a bunch of different sizes and styles. Speedmotoco.com

Just be aware that the brackets they sell are not big enough for this headlight (at least not on this bike). They need to be at least 2" longer. I have yet to find any that will work with such a deep light.

 

Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. It looks like there are enough wire mesh headlight options at Speed Moto to find something that'll work for me, if I decide to go that route. It's a nice change from the usual, which is sellers without any mesh or grille headlights at all. I guess I just hadn't found the right sites yet.