Ride my XJ650 Maxim 1982 from Canada to Argentina.... Recomendation ???

Definetly on my list to do, I changed my brake pads and bleed my brake, last August, but plan to change breack shoes and also breack pads ( keep on spare in case).

I agreed, no electronics on a my bike , in case.

 

Good to know , I keep your page on favourite.

Yes , start to read a bit and very interesing information on it. Its perfect to start to plan for cross country

 

It would be worthwhile to either carry, or have available for overnight shipping, a spare TCI. That's the one thing you won't be fixing easily should it fail.

 

Take a camera and send us a lot of pictures.

 

Better yet, take a camera phone, one less thing to carry !

 

Ride my XJ650 Maxim 1982 from Canada to Argentina.... Recomendation ???
Toyota

 

Thanks for this ecommendation, also small and not heavy to carry.

During my trip Canada / USA, I'm more often use my phone as my carema, only things , like my camera for a zoom, it's quiet good on it.

 

Julien,

I don't know if you've already left for your trip, but here are my two cents. In my life, I've owned 4 xj650's and 1 xj750. I still have three of the xj650's to this day. They are great bikes and I wouldn't hesitate to take any one of them to South America. I have made modifications to them, though, which I will now impart unto you:

1. Absolutely replace the fusebox on the bike with inline ATC type fuses . The XJ650's come stock with glass fuses and what happens is that the metal clips where the fuses attach break off after so many miles of bumpy roads and bike vibrations. After you put in the ATC fuses, the bike will run much stronger, the headlight will be brighter and you will notice a totally different bike. bring a handful of extra fuses, their super cheap.

2. Bring a spare side stand kill switch. This kill switch is designed to kill the engine (or prevent it from starting ) while the sidestand is down. The problem is that these go bad, and you won't be able to start the bike. Bring an extra one. I have totally disabled mine.

3, Definitely bring extra clutch and brake levers and cables. When the bike falls over, the weak point for the clutch and break lever is at the pivot point and the lever is now rendered useless. What I did was, right after the ball at the end of the clutch and brake levers, I sawed through the lever about half-way. This creates a weak point of the lever right at the end of the lever, instead of near the pivot point. if the bike does fall over, the lever will break at the end, near the ball, leaving you most of the clutch/brake lever intact and usable.

4. Round trip, you are looking at 25,000 miles. Bring enough oil filters for your trip, this will save you time when you need to get your oil changed so that you won't have to wait for your oil filter to arrive in the mail while you are in some backwoods town. It also gives you the ability to do your own oil changes.

5. AS other people have mentioned, your shaft is the strongest part of your bike. put fresh shaft fluid in before your trip and you will not need to bother with it until you come back. On my bikes, I change the shaft fluid every 30,000 miles.

6. If you can, upgrade your suspension (both front and rear) with progressive fork springs. The stock ones suck and chances are, you'll be carrying a lot of crap with you on your trip and will need the additional support.

7. Bring extra light bulbs for your taillight and headlight. no explanation needed there.

8. Before you go on your trip, make sure you do an engine tune up and valve check.

9. you may want to think about getting some saddlebag guards and luggage racks installed. it will give you extra things to lock your items to your bike with. Bring a motorcycle cable lock. You can lock your helmet and jacket to your bike if you need to.

10. Swap out your paper air filter for a KNN air filter. You will be able to wash your filter while you are on your trip and then put it back in. The roads down there are very dusty.

11. Replace your fork seals and get some rubber boots to protect your seals. What happens is that dust collects on the forks and unless you're good about wiping them down every day, the dust mixes with moisture and cakes on the tubes and slowly, over time, the caked on dirt chips away at your fork seals.

12. The gas down there is very bad! Make sure you have extra gas filters with you and be careful of sketchy gas!

13. If you don't have a tire repair kit, get one! It will help you repair those tubeless tires should something happen.

14. If you put in brand new spark plugs before your trip, you won't need to worry about them during your entire trip.

15. (optional) I carry a small bottle of water and dawn dish detergent with me. if you get a flat, you can put the soapy water on your tire to find the puncture. The soapy water is also good for washing your hands after you work on your bike. It goes without saying, but you should bring a motorcycle toolkit with you on this trip.

I'm sure there are more, but that's all my feeble brain can think about at this moment.

Maverick