BaldWonder's 1982 XJ650J Maxim Bobber

Re: BaldWonder's 1982 XJ650 Maxim J - Bobber/Chop

Baldi

What is the blue hose for ?



and why did you cap off the spiggets on the intake boots ?

 

Re: BaldWonder's 1982 XJ650 Maxim J - Bobber/Chop

The line pictured with the carbs is the gas line. The line pictured with the boots is the vacuum line. Both go to the petcock. The original lines were opaque black. I replaced them with the blue hose because 1. it's what was already available in my father-in-law's garage and 2. now when I run some pilot gas, I can see the flow. Plus it worked well with the hidden blue accent theme I went for.

The caps on the boots were already there. I think they're all manufactured identically (i.e. 1 & 2 are a left-handed set while 3 & 4 are a right-handed set) so that way Yamaha didn't have to make more than two molds. I imagine you could pull vacuum for the petcock from any of the boots, but I opted to stick with how it was until I learn more.

Also, the vacuum line is smaller than the gas line. I think the gas line is 1/4".

 

Re: BaldWonder's 1982 XJ650 Maxim J - Bobber/Chop

First this bike is awesome. Second on the carb boots u covered them with a bicycle inner tube??? I'm curious bc I have dry rotted boots, they're not completely cracked all the way through but don't look to good and I was trying to look into new pairs but they will be like $300 I just want them to look nicer as they function fine.

 

Re: BaldWonder's 1982 XJ650 Maxim J - Bobber/Chop

Thanks!

Yep, it's just a regular old bicycle inner tube from Walmart. I got the biggest one I could (though diameter of the wheel doesn't seem to change the cross-section diameter of the tube itself). I also bought Silicone caulk/glue/sealant to put in between the tube and the boot, but it's so tight on there that it would have been a sticky mess. Glue would have been everywhere. I opted to leave it at just the tube + boot until it becomes a problem again.

I would suggest starting with the tube right-side out, and inverting it as you roll it on. The outside is essentially tacky, and the inside is treated with a powder to keep it from sticking to itself. Dragging it on without flipping it inside out is really tough, but inverting it lets you take advantage of the powder.

Also, you'll have to get clever when it comes to making a hole for the stems. Poking a hole, then stretching, tends to lead to tearing the hole bigger if not clean through. I waited until I had pulled up enough slack that I could poke a hole and place it with the least tugging.

 

Re: BaldWonder's 1982 XJ650 Maxim J - Bobber/Chop

Oh, and take the caps off the stems as you do this!

 

Re: BaldWonder's 1982 XJ650 Maxim J - Bobber/Chop

Use a hole punch to make a perfect hole that won't tear.

 

Re: BaldWonder's 1982 XJ650 Maxim J - Bobber/Chop

Update:
Not sure if I mentioned it before, but I got the bike out for a ride a few weeks ago. My buddy was riding behind me and informed me that while my taillight was visible, the difference between running light and full brake was negligible. I grounded myself until I could address this saddening issue (I really liked my corvette taillight layout).

I hunted around for a while, and came across this taillight setup and these turn signals. Eventually I decided to actually order them, and they arrived this past Thursday and Friday.

This past weekend, I took off the old setup, and made some modifications. I drilled out the holes in the fender bigger to fit the turn signals which became the new bracket bolts. I drilled out the bracket to fit the brakelight/plateholder. I drilled out new hole for the plateholder (apparently the existing holes are meant for Canadian plates). Then I taped off parts of the brakelights and painted it all satin black.

After the paint dried, I assembled everything and went to town soldering, heatshrink wrapping, and tidying up the wires into the plastic conduit stuff I had leftover. Also, I sanded down the grill of the turn signals, so as to echo the brake caliper and valve head cover.




Incidentally, this work also included patching the previous holes in the fender, resanding, and repainting. So that's off the list now!

 

Re: BaldWonder's 1982 XJ650 Maxim J - Bobber/Chop

Nice job!

 

Re: BaldWonder's 1982 XJ650 Maxim J - Bobber/Chop

Despite my recent completion of the new brake lights and turn signals, the weather has decided that rain and cold temperatures are more important. So, I'm spending this weekend clicking my odometer to the correct mileage finally.



As you can see in the picture, I've taken the magnetic sensor and screwed it to the table. Then I taped the extra magnet that came with the speedometer to a drill bit. The drill is clamped in place with a small bench vise. So now the speedo thinks the bike is going 186.4 mph, though that's just the display's limit. It's actually registering about 460mph, as the odometer is ticking off a mile about every seven seconds. It's been a few hours now, and I've got about 5000 out of 27000 miles logged! Now if only the bike really could go that fast!

 

Re: BaldWonder's 1982 XJ650 Maxim J - Bobber/Chop

NICE!!! That's pretty cool...

 

Re: BaldWonder's 1982 XJ650 Maxim J - Bobber/Chop

Don't fall asleep on the job BaldWonder, or the mileage will look like it's been to the moon and back.

 

Re: BaldWonder's 1982 XJ650 Maxim J - Bobber/Chop

Sound advice, which is why I decided to only let it run while I'm awake and in the house.

 

Re: BaldWonder's 1982 XJ650 Maxim J - Bobber/Chop

I am curious to hear her run she's a beautiful beast..... Giving me ideas lol

 

Re: BaldWonder's 1982 XJ650 Maxim J - Bobber/Chop

I'd have made a video for you today, but you'll see in the next post why I didn't. I promise you one this week.

 

Re: BaldWonder's 1982 XJ650 Maxim J - Bobber/Chop

Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I'll just let my camera do the typing. The following is a series of shots showing how I hid the rest of my wiring today.




















Now I can finally give her a bath without being too afraid of where I splash.

 

Re: BaldWonder's 1982 XJ650 Maxim J - Bobber/Chop

Keeping up with the list: here's where I stand now.

1. Get SS brake lines and level master cylinder Done
   • Rebuild/clean caliper Done
   • Strip and repaint caliper Done
2. Replace rear brake pads Done
3. New alternator brushes Didn't need replacing. Cleaned rotor with pencil eraser instead.
4. Perform valve clearance check Done, passed!
5. Perform compression check Done, also passed!
6. Bar-end mirrors Done
7. Rear fender patching Done
   • Repaint Done
   • Clear coat
8. Hide wiring and electronics Done
9. New crankcase filter Done
10. Battery strap/cover
11. Leather cowl
12. Inline fuel filter Ordered
13. Chop front fender, reattach
14. Get 750 tank Done
    • Strip Started
    • Pull out dents
    • Paint
    • Fuel level connection to speedo
15. Saddle Boxes
    • Brackets
    • Rear turn signals
    • Lid pistons
    • Liner and compartments
    • Painting
16. Front bumper/guard
17. Paint engine, someday

 

Re: BaldWonder's 1982 XJ650 Maxim J - Bobber/Chop

Forgot to add that added a ring of LEDs to the headlight. I have it on the running light circuit, so now I can go to Swenson's and get the server's attention via the "headlight" without having to turn the engine on.



And if you don't know what Swenson's is, it's only the best drive in burger joint ever, located in Northeast Ohio.

 

Re: BaldWonder's 1982 XJ650 Maxim J - Bobber/Chop

Great looking build man. I'll keep checking in for updates.

 

Re: BaldWonder's 1982 XJ650 Maxim J - Bobber/Chop

Great looking build man. I'll keep checking in for updates.

 

Re: BaldWonder's 1982 XJ650 Maxim J - Bobber/Chop

Looks nice man check out my thread on the mods here I put 12000k hid kit into my xj it looks awesome anytime I switch them on lol