1981 XJ650 Midnight Maxim Restore - (Picture Heavy)

Just over a year ago (less than two weeks over a year ago, to be specific) I purchased a used 650 Midnight Maxim, in less than ideal shape. (No mirrors, nonfunctional left signals, no battery, valves all out of spec, exhaust falling apart, shot suspension, dry rotted tires, clogged carburetors.. the list goes on.) At the time, I was using it simply to get back and forth to work, and repaired most of the mechanical issues with the bike.

Now, a year later I own a car with four wheels and HEAT, and will be using this non-riding season in New Jersey to do a complete restore of the motorcycle back to (near) perfect condition. There are some OEM parts I cannot find anywhere (exhaust for example), so it will not be a complete restore, but I hope to have a new-looking bike I can proudly take to shows.

I hope that the community here can help me in ideas and tips along the way, and I will be sharing pictures of the progress as it is completed.

Now before I begin with the pictures and repairs to be done, I do have to thank Chacal and my local Yamaha dealership (Deptford Honda Yamaha of Deptford NJ) for being extremely helpful and knowledgeable about the parts I needed and information as well. I HIGHLY recommend both to anyone looking for good resources, as combined they have been the most valuable resource I could have possibly needed. I also must thank the community here who helped me with advice and tips on making sure my XJ was safe when I purchased it.


On to the work at hand!

So first a picture of the bike taken November 2010. Everything is original from the day I purchased it except for the mirrors and battery. Yes, I accidentally purchased too big a battery, but didn't care because I needed all the juice I could get when starting it. The trash bag and red duct tape were to keep water out of the seat.


And the odometer reading at time of purchase: 16563.2. Thirty years.. that's 552 years on average. The title was dated 1994, with ~14k miles on it, which means in the past 15 years it has moved less than 140 miles a year on average. Talk about neglect..




Now some pictures of the dis-assembly process from this past weekend! Repairs to be done include a complete sand-down of old paint and rust, repainting the frame, replacing steering column and swing arm bearings, rebuilding the engine (probably only the major gaskets.. it does need a new head gasket and the valve cover gasket was done recently).

Initial disassembly. The swing arm/rear wheel are still together because I don't know if the brake pads are asbestos or not, and I'm not doing that job until I have an appropriate breathing mask and clean chamber. Also not ready to disassemble the final drive. The plastic bin contains most of the small parts, and there is a toolbox behind the engine/transmission with the rear suspension and all of the hardware inside it. Best to keep it all organized to prevent losing parts or forgetting where they go when it gets put back together in four months!


So I clearly need a new head gasket at a minimum. You can see the dark ring of oil between the head and block in this shot. Sorry about the crappy image quality, my digital camera is shot and I only had my cell phone for ALL of these photos. Also wrapped the forks in trash bags and tape to prevent scratching or damage while they are not in the bike, as you can see.


And a close-up of the head gasket, clearly falling apart. The paint on the engine is in horrible shape, which is clear here. If you have a really good eye, you noticed the original exhaust mounts on the front of the engine.. scroll down to see why. (If anyone knows a good technique to cheaply and effectively strip the old paint off of the engine, PLEASE, PLEASE let me know how. I don't know if a chemical stripper or sand blasting with glass blast media would be better, or if there is some alternate technique I am unaware of)


And the intakes from the carburetors! Since the engine will be sitting for an extended period, I picked up some 1.5" PVC plugs and sanded them down to the appropriate size for the intakes to use as dust covers. I then stuck them in the carburetor mounts and tightened the clamps to make sure they don't fall off.



Here's the exhaust and front of the engine. VERY dirty and also in need of new paint, and the PVC exhaust plugs. Sanded them down to the right diameter to be a tight fit, then clamped them on with the original exhaust clamps.


Here's the paint on the engine at its worst. This ALL has to come off, and I need to figure out what paint and what technique I can use to repaint the engine black. Yes, it WILL be returned to an all-black engine, so any input here would be greatly appreciated.


Here's the swing-arm showcasing the beautiful rust spots.. once again these will be cleaned up before primer, paint, and enamel.


So that's it for now.. looking into ways/places that will clean up the frame components and engine for paint. When it comes to paint, I have an air gun and compressor and will be building a paint booth in the garage. I do have the appropriate ventilation, filtration, and respiratory/eye/body protection for the job, just got to figure out the most cost effective (and time effective) ways of getting to the paint step.

Please feel free to leave any feedback, input, or resources that you think may be useful for this project! I will be updating this on an approximately weekly basis as I complete different parts of the project. It won't be fast, I'm working with around a $300-400/month budget for this project, and will be doing almost all the work myself.

 

That's gonna be nice when you're done ... I always liked the midnite special models. Back in the 80's a buddy at work offered to sell me his near perfect 1100 MS, but I turned it down. Regret that one.

 

I have been looking for an 83 750 midnight and Its been tough to find one worth restoring. Alot of beat up junk out there. At least yours is mostly there.

Good Luck
MN

 

Thanks for the input! I managed to get mine for a steal.. traded an HPI nitro-fuel RC car for it. There are a few parts missing that I will have to suck up paying for - the right side panel and the right side badge, to be specific.

The hardest part of the project is really going to be the painting. I am trying to avoid having to hand-sand the frame and body parts, but can't find anywhere that will sandblast for less than $75/hr and 'hope it's only a one day job'.

I've already had the carburetors apart once, and know I need to replace the brass fittings and drill out the brass caps on the adjustment screws. I also know that there is a huge dent in the right side of the fuel tank that I need to figure out how to pull. (Funny coincidence here with most of the damage being on the right.. starting to get the feeling someone dropped it on this side..)

Does anyone have some good tips for stripping the paint off of these bikes? I'm considering purchasing a sandblaster from Harbor Freight this weekend for the smaller parts, but the frame and engine I have no idea about. I'm going to try soaking the parts in a molasses/water mixture to neutralize the rust spots, what I've seen through research looks like it is pretty effective and cheap with almost no damage to the parts that sanding can cause. Anyone have input on this?

 

I would check to see what Wizard does. I think he soda blasts his engines but not sure what he does to the frames

 

Don't jump to conclusions on the head gasket; that oil may have come from somewhere else (valve cover, in the frontside of the inner spark plug galleries or the cam chain tensioner, although that usually looks like a base gasket leak) and just migrated there.

My input would be don't hastily jump into stripping. The paint that Yamaha used on some components is really QUITE tough and in some cases, even with the frame, repair is better than completely repainting. Explore cleaning and repairing before you invoke the nuclear option.

If you're going to strip, you'll need to use "Aircraft Paint Remover" available at the auto parts or Home Depot/Lowes/Whatever. It's also ideal for removing the original clear coat on the non-Midnight bikes.

 

ace hardware stripper makes short work of the frame paint but the engine paint is tough stuff. i used all kinds of stripper and a gas pressure washer, the strippers didn't do much alone, the pressure washer got most of it but some places laughed at a wire brush and just got painted over.

 

I've done a bit more research, and I doubt I will be sandblasting. After consulting some local seasoned home-experts, I am going to try Naval Gel to clean up the rust, leave the frame/body paint as a primer and just sand it down some.

Bigfitz I will take a second look at the head gasket. Come to think of it I did have to replace the valve cover gasket and rubber crescent seals because they were leaking between cylinders 3 and 4.

I was told that the best thing to use for repainting the engine is grill paint because it is designed to handle up to 1200 degrees Fahrenheit. I'm wondering if I can just CAREFULLY pressure wash the dirt and grease buildup off of the engine.. if so I think that will save me a LOT of time and money. Thoughts?

Finally, I have to figure out what I am doing about gold accent paint. This includes both wheels, the sissy bar, and the YAMAHA logo on the sides of the transmission. I want everything to look good and as close to stock as possible, but I don't have a ton of money to do this, and I want it done by the start of next riding season.

On a quick side note, I was thinking about painting the exhaust black to look more like the OEM pipes, any thoughts on what temperatures the exhaust reaches and painting over chrome?

 

Do not waste your time or money on the naval gel. I personally have never had it actually remove any rust.

The fastest way that I have found to strip paint, and rust is with a wire wheel chucked into a drill. About 2 hrs of work should have that frame ready for paint.

DO NOT use the wire wheel on your engine parts. It will eat right through the soft aluminum

Any paint not removed will not be a problem under the fresh coat of paint, and there will be no question about any rust holes that may need to be fixed.

VHT High temp paint, or brake caliper paint is generally prefered for repainting of the engine. Check with Chacal on the gold paint for the accents.

Ghost

 

MiGhost, I consulted with an expert and the naval gel is not designed to remove the rust but instead to harden it into a paint-ready surface that will prevent future corrosion. Rust is, after all, a protective layer in most cases. Sanding it off removes that protection and strips down some strength of the metal underneath as you sand away more than just the rust to get to true bare metal. I will likely use it on the less visible areas like the underside of the frame, center stand, and swing arm but will still sand down visible parts like the handlebars and grab bars.

Adding to the project, I finally constructed a proper temporary paint booth!



It measures 8x6 footprint and 6 feet tall which is plenty of space to paint the parts I need. I can't use it until I get the proper protective gear and finish prepping the parts, but that will all happen tomorrow!

 

Good idea.

 

Hey bluebass,

I got the same bike and will be undertaking that same project eventually. I was just wondering how you were planning on stripping all the paint off the carbs to be repainted. I could take them to a bead blaseter but i wasn't sure if that was such a good idea with the carbs.

 

I was debating that myself, actually. Right now my plan with the carbs is to take them apart (which I need to do anyway for a more thorough cleaning and fitting replacements) and clean them with degreaser. After that I will hand sand the outer surfaces and maybe use a wire brush in a drill.

As BigFitz stated, the paint Yamaha puts on these bikes is pretty durable, so I will hope the carburetor paint is equally as durable and roughen it up to use it as a primer.

 

Whoa!!!

Hold the phone.

I must be miss understanding something.

Rust is bad-period. Whatever you learned in high school
chem.

It needs to come off, not just covered in navel gel in hidden places.
I've never-not once heard a body man, painter etc state h that's ok,
We'll just slap something on that keep the rust from spreading.

At leased not from a pro.

Please accept my apologies if I'm wrong or miss read.

 

Just wanted to let you know that there are still parts for your bike out there.
Sometimes it can take months to find one but eventually one will pop up.
I just recently got both NOS mufflers for my bike. It cost out the butt but hey my bike is almost all new again.
I always check with Len first for parts but if he doesn't have them you can check at the Speed and Sports part store and similar places. Just got to go looking for them.

 

Rust has a purpose, but can absolutely be bad. Rust that is flaky and falling off is a sign of a deeper problem, however a light, even coat of rust acts as an oxygen-blocking protective layer. In theory, the Naval Gel reinforces that rust coating and seals it in from my understanding.

My source for this information is a Navy Nuclear Submarine mechanic vet with 12 years experience. He informed me they would leave a protective rust coating on machinery that did not have to be a completely smooth surface because it was just as effective as painting. For parts that needed regular sanding and repainting, the Naval Gel allowed a long-term protective coat to be sealed in and painted over top of.

Now this was a technique used over a decade ago and there may be more effective treatments, and if so please correct me and fill me in!

 

Sure, I would say if you have surface rust (not scale) in a hidden place you don't particularly care about, a rust converter would be OK. But scale is too deep to fully convert, and I personally wouldn't use it in that case. Get as close to bare metal first, as practical.

In the metal machining trades, the process known as "black oxide" is a process that pre-oxidizes (rusts) the surface in a controlled way as a means of protection. Similar to what you're alluding to.

 

Thank you, I knew the principle was correct but I just couldn't recall the details and source.

The only part that I was planning on neutralizing was the swing arm rust since that will be almost completely hidden, but since I am going to be using a wire wheel on the drill on other components, I will probably just tackle that in the fashion you suggest.

 

Well I know from experience that the paint is not "Carb-R-Clean" tough. In the process of cleaning my carbs, the carb cleaner i was using did some damage on the paint. It made if very flaky and difficult to do any cleaning with it falling off everywhere..... Now that I say that, I think I had my paint stripper all along - carb cleaner and a wire brush.

 

Now I've contacted Chacal and looked into this independently and with the carbs constantly in contact with fuel I am planning on repainting them with a paint rated to be (damn near) fuel proof. I know I can get fuel resistant paint for the fuel tank, and I plan on using that for the carbs. I'll likely get high temp, fuel resistant paint to do all the accents on the bike and the carb tops, but that is at least two weeks away at the rate I am going considering my full time job, limited garage availability, and the ever-colder weather making painting conditions harder and harder to achieve.

 

Throw some shipping blankets over your paint booth, and use one of these

http://www.harborfreight.com/portable-h ... 67121.html

I have used one to keep the cab, and sleeper of my truck (approx same size)comfortably (t-shirt) warm in below freezing temps. The shipping blankets will act as an insulator to contain the heat.

Ghost

 

THANK YOU! I didn't even think about a heater, I was using a 500W halogen work lamp as a space heater since it is what I had, lol. Leave it to me to not take the practical approach.

I did cover the booth in blankets and comforters. It helps that it IS in an attached two car garage. During priming today the booth got quite toasty in my protective/respiratory gear, which I consider a success.

Also, my local Advance Auto Parts turned me on to an aircraft paint stripper.. I seriously don't know why I didn't just do that in the first place - it was SO much easier to do that and a rust neutralizer as prep work. Back again to me having to do things the hard way - I really need to work on my 'taking good advice' skills.

So on the bright side the frame IS primed and painted, and most body panels and front end parts are primed. Tomorrow I'll handle the color coat for the body panels and front end and the clear coat on the frame. I'm leaving the engine for next week, partially because I don't have enough time this weekend AND because I need to make sure I don't have any leaky gaskets and do a carb rebuild.

Now my biggest problem is the swing arm. I have the rear wheel out, but I really hate having to disassemble the final drive. Do I have to disassemble the final drive to get the drive shaft out (and eventually separate the halves of the swing arm)?

 

To remove the final drive from the swingarm. Just remove the 4 nuts that attach the parts, and slide the final drive out with the driveshaft. Other than checking for leaking seals. do not go any further into the final drive unit.

If you are missing the battery side cover. You can use the standard 650 Maxim side covers until you can locate OEM pieces. The Midnight Maxim emblems are the same on both right, and left side covers for the 650.

Ghost

 

Thanks! I double checked the PDF version of my service manual and confirmed the proper technique to remove the final drive, and it came out easier than I expected.

I BARELY finished applying the paint stripper before it was ready to be power washed off of the swing arm, and then the rust neutralizer was applied.

Also got a coat of Urethane black paint on the body panels of the bike, and I do have to say I am EXTREMELY pleased with the paint job thus far. Still needs a day and a half in the heated booth to cure, but if all goes well I should be able to start reassembly in the next week or so - schedule permitting.

 

Here's some info on how to get nice looking carb bodies ... au naturale ...

http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic ... art=0.html

Once blasted wet them down with WD40 to stop finger marking and they will look great for ages.

If you want to paint them black you'd be hard pressed to find a better product than Brownells Gun Kote, I've just started experimenting with the locally available equivalent Cerakote and it is amazing stuff, expensive, nasty and fiddly to apply but what a coating !!

Whatever you use should be highly fuel resistant and should cover completely with a nice thin coat. Mask everything well or you will get goop inside the carbs that will give you grief.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4GWk9Vlnps

I would suggest just blasting them and leaving them bare till you get everything else running ... the carbs will be off as a regular thing anyway and you can come back and black them out later. My understanding is the factory painted the racks as an assembly with one coat and no primer but someone here will have more accurate information for sure.

 

Thank you on both recommendations! I will certainly be looking into the gun paint, and I am hoping I can borrow, rent, or pay someone to blast the carbs for me.

Out of curiosity, if I decide to soda blast the engine and carbs (or 50/50 blast the carbs) what do I need to know for safety and environmental friendliness for an outdoor blasting? I don't see the point building/buying a blast chamber for just the engine and carbs, and I am wary about applying paint stripper to either considering I don't want/can't afford to do a full rebuild of both with all new gaskets and fittings. Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated.

On a final note, the various body panels are looking beautiful with a fresh coat of urethane paint drying over the next few days. I was hoping to keep the frame a satin finish, but I fear the clear coat will add a gloss finish. Either way I have a few days to think about that step since rain is expected in South Jersey over the next few days and I am not stupid enough to attempt spraying paint in high humidity. Pictures to come when the parts are safe to the touch!

 

I've seen satin finish clear coat a couple of times, but not sure if anyone makes one that is fuel safe.

Best place to ask paint questions is at Sherwin-Williams if you have one near you.

 

I don't have a Shearing Williams nearby, but the automotive paint I have is Clear Coat in Automotive Grade with an activator. Not entirely sure that is going to matter, but hopefully once I am done the rebuild there will be no fuel leaks or oil leaks to damage the paint. I'll consult Till Paints, my local paint specialist store. I have to buy a fuel resistant paint for the tank still as well as a fuel/heat resistant gold. I might just find a fuel resistant clear coat and make do with that. I want the paint to last as a primary concern and exact color/finish matching is secondary. This is a big project for me, so I don't want to redo it in a year because I chose cheap paints.

 

So the rain has YET to let up in the northeast.. meaning yet ANOTHER day the bike sits in pieces in the paint booth, many MOSTLY painted with a few spots that still radiate the lovely gray of the primer.

So with that in mind, I've decided to start looking at the mechanics of the bike and reliability. At this point, carburetors are easy enough to deal with, and therefore engine functionality is likewise easy.

The main concern I have now is that I have a fractured part that I believe to be the stock grab bar on the XJ650 Maxims. It is the gold (in the case of the Midnights) or silver (in the case of the regular Maxims) decorative component that runs underneath the back half of the seat, wrapping around the back of the seat with the YAMAHA logo on the back. Apparently somewhere in the life of my XJ someone managed to fracture this piece at the suspension mount, leaving it in two pieces.

So first off, does anyone know if I am correct in calling this the grab bar, or am I pulling that out of my ass and really have no idea what I am talking about?

Secondly, any recommendations on where I can acquire one for the 650 Maxims for a decent price? Color does not matter on it as I will be stripping the color off of it and repainting it to match the rest of the gold paint I will be doing on the bike.

 

Yes, you are correct in calling that piece the grab bar.

ebay

craigslist

some members on here are parting out some 650 maxims, that would be the first place I would check is the buy/sell/swap section of the forums.

 

Check with motorheaddad. He's building a cafe and he has one for sale.

Dealt with him before, very nice guy.

 

Thanks for the input! Sent motorheaddad a reply and am awaiting his response. Back to cleaning the carbs and preparing them for paint (or not)!

 

BlueBass...I'm in the Atlantic County area if you ever need a hand. That paint booth is nice, my buddy just got a powder coating kit so I plan on doing all of my little pieces small enough to fit in a toaster oven to bake. There's a place in Franklinville called Pioneer Metal Finishing, they'll do my frame for pretty cheap any color. Anyway can't wait to see the bike back to it's former glory. Gonna start my tear down soon.

 

It sounds like this spring we need to get together for some riding then!

I appreciate the input on places that do painting, and I might inquire later on about powder coating some of the smaller parts of my XJ. I am trying to do the larger parts myself for the experience since I am starting school this coming fall for Auto Repair (and eventually Auto Engineering), so the paint experience on a 'learn by mistakes' is something I consider a great gain, even if it turns out horribly. (Just to throw this in there, the parts that are painted currently are looking amazing, the true test of the job will be their long-term durability).

 

hey Blues, I sent you a pm about a grab bar.

 

Thanks! I will be contacting you by phone tomorrow!

 

ill be watching your build as im doing a build soon too!

 

No I totally agree with you Blue on experience gained. This will be my test as well to see if I can even do a good job on powder coating the small parts. Unfortunately I don't think I'll be able to make a curing oven big enough for my frame, but the internet is a wonderful thing ha. You mentioned you were going to an auto tech school. Are you enrolled with Penn Co Tech up in Blackwood? I've had a few buddies that went there for various different vocations and have heard nothing, but good things come out of it. Anyway good luck on the build and the schooling.

 

I was looking around and schools and will not be going to Pennco Tech. A buddy of mine got screwed over big time there. They charge something like $30k for the 16 month program and don't guarantee you job placement or certifications and treat you like a middle school student. I went to an interview with them and they kept stressing how much fighting was not permitted, which was a huge flag for me.

Gloucester County College is partnered with Ford Motor Company with a program called Ford ASSET which is about a third the cost of Pennco and they place me with a shop or dealership DURING schooling for an internship on a rotating schedule (10 weeks class, 10 weeks full time shop work kind of deal). They also have the same equipment and brand new lender vehicles from Ford Lincoln and Mercury dealerships for students to work on. Best of all, classroom time there and the Ford partnership opens more doors going into Automotive Engineering which is my ultimate goal. I eventually want to help design or I element some of the new Flex Fuel or alternate fuel systems.

 

Sounds like you have a lot on your plate. Gloucester Co. VoTec had a welding program I wanted to get into, but now I just go to welding school through the union. Guess my friends were just lucky, but I'm talking a few years back. Anyway that's cool man so what did you end up doing with the carbs paint wise? I want to get them either painted or electro plated (nickel or copper would be cool), but I'm not sure what's best or if electro plating is even a good idea considering I don't think I can control what actually gets plated or not being that the tolerances are tight on the carb body to begin with. Probably just a bad idea, but fodder for the masses I'd like input and sorry for high jacking this thread.

 

Taking a step back to the rust issue:
Naval Jelly has phosphoric acid suspended in the media. That is what deals with the rust. You can get a higher concentration of the acid for less money by purchasing a concrete etcher that uses phosphoric acid. In the same way, if you want a strong version of hydrochloric acid, look for "muriatic" acid at your do-it-yourself store or swimming pool supply.

There are some products out there where you want to brush off anything loose but leave firmly attached rust in place. You then paint it with a paint which forms a chemical bond with the rust, converting it into something which will not further corrode and sealing of the metal underneath. Similarly there are products which will form such a bond with bare metal if you clean down that far. But think about just how much metal you are going to have to take off to get "all" of the rust off, when so much of the rust will be below the surface of the surrounding metal. Unless you are working with brand new metal, you are far better off using a paint which will react with the rust, neutralizing it and sealing the surface for "all time".

For paint, I recommend taking a look at Por15. They have some extremely durable paints as well as paints designed for high temperatures and adverse conditions.
Rust converter:http://www.por15.com/POR-15-Rust-Preventive-Paint/products/1/

High Temperature: http://www.por15.com/High-Temperature-P ... roducts/8/

You might also want to take a look at Por20 for a high temp shiny aluminum look ... According to the guy at Por, he thought I would be satisfied using that on exhaust pipes that had lost their chrome ... I haven't ordered any yet, that will wait for spring.

 

So a quick update on the project:

After a week of rain and colder weather, I was FINALLY able to finish painting most of the parts of the frame and body Saturday and Sunday. I got a clear coat on the parts that are completed, and DAMN are they looking good! They dried overnight in the heated paint booth in the garage and now are downstairs in the temperature and humidity controlled basement for a couple weeks of curing while I tackle the rest of the bike. I will try to post some pictures later this evening if I remember.

I still have some work to do on parts that require a little extra TLC (such as the swing arm), and I started soaking the gold plated parts in a rust neutralizing/dissolving solution.

Also thanks to prince_albert3 I now have a good (not broken) grab bar for my 650. Props to him for a great deal on the part and amazing ship speeds! It was truly a pleasure to do business with him.

So next issue at hand is my fuel tank. There is a dent (approximately 3.5" around) on the right side directly below the YAMAHA decal bracket. Any advice/opinions on the best way to restore that dent? I've considered trying to pull it with either a suction cup or using a welded grab point and slide hammer, but I'm wary about how the end result will look. Thinking Bondo is the way to go once I strip the paint off...

Getting ready to tackle the carbs next - still debating if I should have them soda blasted and leave them unpainted, swap carb bowls 1 + 2 and 3 + 4 depending on the paint condition on each bowl's 'outside' side or just leave them as-is. I'll try to post a picture of the carbs later for input. I KNOW I need to repaint the caps for them, all four are half gold half used-to-be-gold color. Am I making a mistake if I swap the 1 + 2 or 3 + 4 carb bowls for cosmetic reasons / to save myself some work, or am I just going to cause myself a headache?

 

As long as you are only changing bowls on one side (like swapping 1 with 2, not 1 with 4) you will have no problems. The float heights need to be checked anyways.

Where you would run in to a problem is if you did swap, say 1 with 4, then the next time you go to pull the carbs you can't get to the drain screws.

 

I am very well aware of that. I would only swap 1 and 2 or 3 and 4. I have to double check how the paint looks on 2 and 3 before I make any decisions.

I know the float heights are good - I pulled the carbs apart in January or February and did a general overhaul. I definitely could have cleaned them up a bit better, so they will all be apart anyway. I suspect I will be replacing a lot of the rubber inside the carbs - we will see how it looks and how my budget looks considering I need to start saving some funds up for school...

 

So time for some pictures! First off let me apologize for the poor image quality. I do not have a working dedicated digital camera right now so I have to use my HTC phone's camera. Even the slightest waver in my hand results in blurriness.


The carbs from above. The discoloration on #2 and apparent 'dirt' on the throttle cable holder are not dirt, but the result of years of neglect and poor storage conditions resulting in an apparent layer of corrosion. Carb #4 has far less paint on its top than 1-3 but that appears to be a blessing in comparison.


Carb #1, not looking entirely bad paintwise but after inspection of the outward facing side of carb bowl #2 I will absolutely be swapping the bowls. #2 looks like it will polish up nicely and not show barren corners!


Carb #4. Similar condition to Carb #1, and likewise the Carb #3 bowl looks much nicer, so 3 and 4 will also be swapped!


The dent in the tank to be removed/filled. Anyone have any better suggestions than just Bondo-ing this hole after stripping/rust removal?


My old grab bar showcasing the flaw from stress or neglect. Or maybe just old age.. either way it definitely needed replacement.


And the new one! Thank you very much prince_albert3, it arrived when promised and as promised! It shall get some paint stripping and then a new black stripe and be good as new!


Finally the frame, post-paint. It looks good but needs some polishing in some spots. I was going to take out more pieces to proudly show off my work, but I decided minimal handling over the next few weeks is probably best.
Just a footnote on the painting - this is my first attempt at using a paint gun. My first attempt at stripping a vehicle and repainting. I know it is nowhere near the quality of a professional job, but I've learned a lot and know what mistakes I made, and had a hell of a good time doing it! I can also proudly say that my XJ will look far better once reassembled than she did before I started.

 

Looking good - please keep putting up the pics as you go along...

 

Okay so I had some extra time today to do some more work on the bike! I've been antsy not working on her so the few hours I got to spend with her was so enjoyable it flew by.

I've had some parts soaking in a rust-neutralizing solution and I am proud to say that those parts are now rust-free and will receive a coat of primer tomorrow morning to prevent future rusting and to give me plenty of time to prepare for painting them and matching them to the rest of the body. Unfortunately I was unable to get any pictures of them (due to the reasonable hesitance to lend me a camera near my work area containing various chemical solutions), but I do have a few carb-related pictures and a video of my work area, small as it may be.

So what exactly did I do today? In summary, I finally had a chance to go over the carbs with carb cleaner, a toothbrush, and tooth picks to THOROUGHLY clean the insides of the carbs. I am still hesitant to completely disassemble the carbs from their assembly, so I focused on everything I could get to with their tops and bottoms exposed. Here are a few pictures for your viewing pleasure, as well as a link to the Google+ account I've uploaded them all to.
XJ650 Midnight Maxim Photo Archive

Sorry these pictures are smaller than the previous ones. Apparently Google changed something between Google+ and Chrome which prevents me from seeing the full-size image URLs. If you feel inclined to the full size images, please follow the link above to view the album of work so far.

My freshly-cleaned carbs from above. If you have a close eye, you can probably see I managed to really screw up the brass fittings here.. I shall be contacting Chacal as soon as I have enough money to purchase ALL my brass fitting replacements, braided steel brake lines, and probably starter motor brushes for starters.
By the way, I am EXTREMELY proud of my work. This time last year I had NO IDEA what I was doing with this bike. I just couldn't understand why I had to crank the starter until the battery was too weak to turn the bike over, then jump it off the battery charger or a car battery.. I am proud to say that I have advanced my knowledge by MILES, though I still have a lot to learn. Regardless, I am still VERY proud of my work including my mistakes (and there are plenty already). Learning is fun!


And here are the carbs from the bottom, with bowls removed. I am proud to say that when I started, these were about the same color as the various gold accents on the bike and now they are clearly aluminum in color!


Finally, the carbs lined up with all the bags of parts for each carb, cleaned and dried, sorted to prevent mix-ups upon reassembly. Counterclockwise starting in the top left the bag order is 1-2-4-3. I really can't wait to get these back together and on the engine so I can start tuning the engine.


So I typed up a nice introductory few lines to the video of my work space, but with it taking FOREVER to upload to YouTube from my phone I will post it when it is available to view.

Please give me any input or criticism, questions or concerns you have! I have only been working on this bike for about a year and it is my FIRST motorcycle so I know I have a lot to learn!

 

keep it up man, looking good!

Which 4-1 exhaust did you get? I'm about to go look at this thread from the beginning, lol

 

I decided against a 4-1 and chose the Mac 4-2 with tapered ends. I wanted to keep as close to the stock look and did not want to have to tune the engine and carbs to a new exhaust when it was hesitant to run and start reliably (part of the rebuild for this winter).

 

So last night my work area video was taking WAY too long to upload from my phone and took numerous retries but alas it is done!

Here it is.

Enjoy!


EDIT:
So this came to mind after I posted this video.. I have a carb-related question about what the Haynes Manual identifies as the 'starter jet' and its small chamber in the bottom of the front of the carb bowl. On all four carbs, I was unable at any point to get carb cleaner to flow freely from the main chamber to the smaller section for the starter jet. I assume this must not be normal as the starter jet needs fuel to function properly, and wonder if this may be in part (or largely) responsible for my bike's reluctance to regularly start.

Does anyone have any tips to cleaning the passages between the main carb bowl and the starter jet? I really do not want to have to replace the carb bowls, and hope you guys are able to get me past this roadblock.