It's been a while, the E-II is dead! :(

Hi folks, just checking back in after a break from the internet (was spending way too much time online to get anything done over summer!)

Anyway I hope this post finds everybody well & plenty of new members enjoying the fantastic hospitality & fount of knowledge that is the XJBikes forum. I've had a bit of trouble myself in that I got knocked off the E-II towards the end of summer, tearing my right anterior cruciate ligament & bruising certain parts best left unmentioned here! 8O

But that's the least of my worries, bodies heal bikes do not & sadly the damage to the XJ includes a twisted frame with kinks in the tubes & gussets under the oil cooler so that's the 69'th E-II identity a write off for a start :cry:

But life goes on & now I'm mended & back on the road albeit on the nasty CB500, and the search begins for the parts to rebuild the bike. The main issue will be finding a frame which as most of you know will be erm... impossible as far as 750E-II items are concerned, so I'm in the market for an XJ900 frame, ideally an '83 model but I can probably use any '83-'94 if I make a few cosmetic sacrifices.
Also I'll be needing either an E-II left silencer or a pair of 31A ones & will rejet to suit, front wheel, a left sidepanel, left passenger footrest/silencer mounting, can probably fix the fairing or I'll try to get a frame mounted one & bellypan seeing as originality is now out the window... then a few sundry other bits, indicators, mirrors, front brake lever etc but fortunately the crash bars did their job & the engine was unmarked. Small blessings huh?

Anyhoo, that's what I've been doing haha, hope you all had a better time of it than myself, I'll post a wanted ad in the appropriate area once I'm sure of what's what & what money I'll have. Peace...

 

Good to hear you're healing well.
I know where there is a somewhat complete '83 Seca (31A bike) slowly sinking into the sand in Floral City, FL - but due to costs, you would need to find one more locally.

What if you had a welder graft the front of a frame to your frame??
That would certainly cut down on shipping costs.

Have a welder at a "chopper shop" put your bike on the frame table and re-build the frame "square" ?? Just some ideas for you.

 

Thanks for the ideas, I did think about having the frame repaired but I think due to the positioning & severity of the damage it wouldn't be worth it since I'd be losing the head tube/frame number anyway. (forgot to mention the bottom head bearing hole is oval now!)

If the search for a 900 frame turns up fruitless then I may just consider a repair but I don't know just yet... Maybe I should move to the US, might stand a better chance then haha

 

Good to see you back

 

There's a 31A fairing on eBay at the moment; in Italy tho. Gotta keep her original as pos, not many of them left. Glad to here you are ok.

 

nice to see you back, was quite a few folks wondering what/if anything happened to you, just glad you were just in hiatus and not roadkill.

speedy recovery, and good luck on the bike part search

 

Thanks all, yeah I had planned to take a break from the net & let people know I was taking some time out but the computer kinda took it out of my hands & put me on leave early haha

z32800, I know & its a crying shame after all the research, finding how rare they are & what have you, but seeing as the frame's ruined it's never going to be a "real" 29R again so considered making a few concessions to ease of finding parts. That said, the fairing looks to be repairable as it's only got one crack & a good scuff on the lower right so maybe I'll fix that.

Got to get a frame first though, there is one 900RK frame on ebay at the minute for £140 delivered but I haven't got the money until next Tuesday let's hope it's still there as I've not seen another one :?

 

sorry to hear man.... glad you came out OK.

 

Too bad that you went down with your XJ bike, I hope you will recover completely.

 

(forgive the silly ideas - )

Get to an auto restorer or machine shop with number stamps and re-stamp the neck -
or
Get a welder with "mad skills" to graft your VIN into the other frame.
Grind the welds flush and powder-coat. Blame any variance on the coating.
This keeps your bike "all original" and keeps you from having to re-register another bike.
You should contact the seller before the auction ends - tell him you're interested. Put some money on that frame and call it SOLD!

 

Agree with TIMEtoRide; keep it alive if possible. Legal tho?? Nah who cares!

 

Yeah I think I may do as suggested in another thread & tell no-one (erm... I mean, get a wizard to magic the frame back to straight! haha)

Like I said in that thread, I then have a legitimate excuse to never part with the bike all good. I'd put a deposit on that frame if I could, sad state of affairs is though I currently don't have money to buy milk for my tea so will have to either wait & hope or I may accidentally hit buy it now & then plead with them to wait a week... Dunno if I could do that though really, you're talking to the guy who didn't buy spare silencers for the sake of leaving them for someone who needed them!

EDIT-: so much for waiting, just checked & they accepted my offer of £88 which I didn't expect at all & has kinda forced my hand a bit! (you know I hoped they would really...) So now I have (electronically at least) my frame, and good old paypal has done me a favour allowing me to pay by E-cheque

Here we go, with a little bit of luck & God willing we have ourselves a winter rebuild project. 8)

 

Keep it alive.... even if it is a replacement frame....

 

You are going to have one rare bike on a rare frame...

 

Well that's the truth! 8O Not sure I wanted it to be quite so "unique" though haha... Just been reading z32800's rebuild page again & that reminded me about the tank, when I got the bike home I took the tank off, drained it & left it behind the shed then promptly forgot about it until just then! :? So just taken a trip to the garden in the peeing rain & it was still there 8) phew!

So now I'm admiring my ball-print in the back of the tank & wondering how my voice is still so deep! I don't know if you've ever been knocked off your bike (and pray not) but if your testicles make contact with metal I can vouch for the fact that the plums give way before the steel... On the plus side, the dent looks like it'll be largely hidden by the front of the seat so the tank should be re-usable with a bit of luck...

 

Sorry to hear this, glad you have healed. Good luck with putting it back together, just build a frame around the neck if you can.

 

Plum dents in a steel tank...........now THAT is imagery. I hope I can sleep tonight and not have nightmares. lol

 

Not a pretty image I'll grant you, but it's not this that worries us E-II owners when we come a cropper, it's the combination of stress of finding parts & guilt at having to commandeer a 31A frame in lieu of purest unobtanium :?

Sweet dreams :lol:

 

Ohh I'm getting excited now, my frame should be here today (with any luck, in a few minutes!), got a wheel on it's way too & now I've gone & found a mis-listed proper 29R nosecone, albeit in the wrong colourscheme, complete with spare headlight & clocks so here goes nothing bidding on that too

She's gonna come together quicker than I thought... Fantasizing about pre-Christmas rides now haha, stranger things have happened I guess.