Maxim in the Making

Gentlemen!

And, perhaps, Ladies?... I haven't been around here long. Actually I've been trepidantly waiting on the fringes of this site, doing research and absorbing as much knowledge as I was able to while I awaited the delivery of my brand spanking old 82 xj 650 Maxim, and now, I am stoked to say I am mow one of you.

Well.. sort of.

The bike doesn't run yet, and I knew that full well when I was looking over it at the seller's house, which I had to take a train, two busses and a cab to get to. But I was not daunted. I have always been inclined mechanically, and have done plenty of work on my own and my friends cars, so I gladly forked over the $900 he wanted for the bike that looked fantastic, but wasn't quite finished.

It was asthetically dialed-in. The look was great so far. He had chopped off the mufflers, so that was deceptively part of the (temporary) look, however what the PO had done with it so far, I loved; custom seat, great paint job, little rear fender, and new, edgy bars.
The 'however':
It hadn't started since last summer. Cranked, but nothing. He suspected a failed ignition coil. The plugs showed one cylinder that was running really rich. Tires were old, and the front brake was seized. I could handle all that, was excited by it, even. What put my tail a little bit between my legs was the electrics. A bona fide rats nest. He had started to do some work on a new circuit, but had apparently stopped. And now I have shambles on my hands. But now I'm here, and I am trucking away.

I'm posting because I want to make the refurbishment of this beauty a story for all to be a part of, since this site's community is so inclusive and welcoming that it's shocking. I've already gained so much knowledge, and am heeding every warning posted in the Church of Clean. I am currently working two jobs and need to get this bike on the road before I start my third job on the 21st, so that I can use this bike to commute. I'm currently riding a PEDAL bike to each of my jobs, and, while doing so, I thought to myself, one momentous day, "I should start riding motorcycles". And Craigslist dropped this wonderful XJ on my lap and said "Well, my son. Go forth, if you wish."

I'm already a few days in to re-wiring the entire bike. There was no use in riding in fear of something electrical going wrong, so I decided I'd re-do everything, and enjoy peace of mind. I've got it planned out so that I can bang out a metal basket under the seat. I've seen some people do a minimalist look with metal boxes for the battery and the circuit, and I have an old street sign which I'm going to cut and bang into shape, then rivet into a box to house the battery and starter solenoid, since those two seem to have a close relationship, and the circuit I'm mapping out carefully as I go, soldering my own joints, it's invigorating! Especially since, when I saw the wiring diagram, I wanted to promptly turn around and say "f*** that". It's a whole new world for me, and I love it.

 

Welcome.
do you have any pics?
it always amazes me how people can work different jobs. And you have three? I barely have time for one job, kids and my bikes.
I hope you get the bike up and running soon.
good luck.

 

Welcome!
Pics would be a great help as saftie said, electrical is not as complicated as it seems, just like everything else with an old bike it takes patience and willingness.
Good luck!
-EM

 

Thanks, EM,

I'm holding down three jobs SOON, but right now I wait tables and am helping out construction of a new location of a restaurant. Also, I don't have kids, saftie. And, Among studying over the summer, I'm preparing the bike to be my big-time commuter. I don't know how I'll hold up in the rain just yet, as most of my spare money is going towards parts, and gear of course. I'll post pics ASAP, Going back tomorrow to spend the final day with the electrics. I had to bang out an old street sign, and I'm SO fortunate,that everything is going to JUST, without much space to spare at all- going to fit under the seat. I'm hoping to get an old military surplus box to house the battery, but it seems like I don't have to worry too much about the battery getting wet, since I've seen so many exposed ones on other bikes. It's going great, in any case! I'm creating a very tight and organized wiring harness, I'm replacing and cleaning all the plugs, getting super zen while I scrub every little connector on the ignitor, knowing that I'm getting closer and closer to my first ride. Driving in my car has a different flavor to it lately, as I'm constantly visualizing and physicalizing the ride rather than the drive. I am beyond stoked to crack open my carbs and spend a full day and a half on those, oiling and scrubbing. The internals of the engine are fine, PO says... but my dreams are trying to coax me to open it up fully...

 

looks nice.
i would be worried about an exposed battery, especially since you are planning on using the bike a lot. you never know how other bikes are ridden - maybe only when dry etc.

if you can, would you mind posting a close up of your side covers? i still need to build something for mine and yours kinda looks like what i am trying to do

 

Looking good so far mate. Welcome to the club.

I can tell you have the right attitude to make this happen. You can do anything you want, it's just costs time. Time working to earn money to buy parts and time working on it. The way I look at it the time you have when you're riding, is you paying yourself back.

Take advantage of not having kids - you really don't know how much time you have for yourself even with 3 jobs. Take long trips, get out there and go camping, get in some adventures.

Two thing:
1) Electrics and water don't mix - exposed battery is a bad idea. You can buy little battery boots they cover the terminals at least or even spray them with rubber spray.
2) Not sure how much experience you have riding. If you've read any of my posts you'll know I'm not one for being overtly cautious but remember you're invisible out there man.

 

If you're planing on riding in the rain you had better get over the idea that you don't need a front fender.
That is one of the most annoying things about the current bobber craze. Real bobbers (late 30's - mid '50's) kept the fenders on, but cut them down a little to reduce weight. Those riders recognized the impracticality of running without fenders.

 

Where were you and your advice 6 years ago?

Lefty, any chance you can post a pic or two of your side covers?

 

hmmm...I believe this day six years ago I was drinking Mai-tai's in a Foreign Correspondents Club in Phnom Penh trying rather foolishly to convince an alcoholic pilot to fly me to Bangkok in exchange for a crate of "occasional" hand grenades in what turned out to be a very loose interpretation of the word "airplane".

 

Mai tai's sound great right about now... If only to get some "alternative perspective" on the situation that's developed. I really appreciate the input, guys. Where I live it rains often, and I will gladly mount that front fender back on. As for the battery, it'll get covered.
All of the aesthetic kit on the bike, all those mods have been done by the previous owner. Bike came with a box o' stuff, but not a working wiring harness...The side panels are a metal grate cut to fit. I didn't do any of that, nor any of the paint work. I can't take credit. The panels he mounted are all holes, which will make it easy to mount... things if I so desire.

So that's what I've been up to.

I haven't had time to post because I've been working like an old steam engine, as well as running around getting connectors, electrical kit, breaking apart the carbs and religiously obeying the church of clean, and finishing up the electrical harness. I ended up finally getting a replacement ignition coil because I couldn't get a reading off one of them when I got the bike, and the PO suspected the same issue. I've also been working and building up the wiring harness from battery up. (Not the actual sequence of events, but that's how the saying goes.) I mention it again because, well...

From the start the harness was a mess. I love the guy, but he must have given up on the harness half way, and there were wires everywhere. Add to that, most of the original connectors he had kept, so I thought, well, I might as well re-do it and not worry about problems. Well now I have a problem. I have a very attractive loom, a fresh ignition coil, and the engine won't respond to the starter button. Using the "shorting with a screwdriver" method, got the engine to crank over, but it wasn't firing. I've cleaned all the old connectors which I've kept and otherwise replaced them, dielectric grease, meticulously labelled everything... but after I used the screwdriver, the ignition fuse blew.
The coils give me 12.33 ohms on the high-tension leads, and 2.9 on the others. It was a hot day, and I think I did well in buying the coil. I couldn't test if I actually had spark, because at that point i glumly had to go to work, another day of a stationary bike in my life. But I'm hopeful! I will do more tests, and if I have to I will buy a new whatever to get the bike going. Thing is... with all my meticulous labelling, I may have mixed up the three white wires that run to the rectifier. If anybody knows which ones I'm talking about, I took them out of their plastic case, and put bullet connectors on each end, but all the while making sure I labelled them and kept them running to the same place. I don't have any clue how to test those to see if they may be crossed. I do hope I didn't fry my rectifier or ignitor... Seeing as the rectifier is the one with those three interchangeable wires and the ignitor uses all that electrical juice.

Sorry, gents, I'm having troubles uploading photos, actually. In the meantime, I'll upload them to my instagram, and you can view them there. ...It's not just a ploy to get followers. Here I am: https://instagram.com/cosmic_zephyr/

 

Used wiring harnesses in working condition are cheap. Get one. Your labor is worth more than the $40 it might cost you to get one.


The three white wires that run from the stator to the rectifier don't have an order, so as long as they are hooked to any of the corrsponding rectifier inputs you are golden.

 

That is so good to hear. I almost want to keep trying to figure out the problem, because I've invested so much time and effort already, but you have a very good point.

 

Hey guys,
It's been a while, but I've been wrenching hard (and smart) to get things going. And as of right now, she runs! Wonderfully, I may add. The ignition fuse blowing I think was due to a loose connection, but in any case it hasn't happened since. I've gotten the lights to work, I had to bypass the headlight relay, will buy a new one soon. I bypass it by simply connecting the blue/blk red/white cables together.
Now, because I have led flashers, I need to get a new relay. Then, the battery wouldnt charge, so i to discovered THERE WERE NO BRUSHES in the alternator. Joys of craigslist. So instead of gettting new ones, i found some old ford festiva brushes kicking around the garage, sanded them gingerly, fitted insulation and fabricated a little holster for the system to hold the pen-springs to the rotor, which all fit snugly into the case.
BUT. Now I've got a problem with compression. A mad problem. I get 60, 80, 60, 90 psi. So my heart sank. And i put oil in and retested, getting 150 across the board, so it's piston rings or some scoring. PLUS I got the encouraging smell of fuel in the oil, and I may have dumped too much oil in off the bat, so some came out of the breather valve for a bit (I've got pods) which scared me on the highway because it got over the rear tire.
Disclaimer: I put in engine restore to try to seal up the scoring a bit.

Disclaimer: don't use engine restore in motorcycle engines. It messes with your clutch's contact.

I didn't think of that. But it's alright, it only slips with sudden Rev changes into the plus-5000's. So, y'know, when it can offer me torque. Either that or I simply have a shit type clutch. I'll wait till the restore wears off to think about replacing that one.

SO: Now I want the engine to run smooth, and once I patch up the missing exhaust / holes in the cross pipe problems, all I need to do is get new jugs.
I'll be buying new cylinder jugs off ebay, they've been lightly honed ad the walls look okay, the guy has good rings on the Pistons (which it comes with) and only a few fins have a couple cracks, but at 120 bones after shipping, I think I'm getting lucky.

So, that's my update. Keep the good vibes cruising.
Love you guys.