New Maxim owner

I just joined today. I bought my first bike about two months ago. Its a 1985 xj700 s. I really love it and have packed on the miles in the past 2 months. Trying to get all I can out of it before the snow flies. I've been searching the net for some info on these bikes and happened to stumble across this site. Seems like you guys know what you're talking about and could answer any questions that my arrise.
No problems with my bike so far other than an obnoxious front brake squeal. I've tried everything. I replaced the pads with oem Yamaha pads, chamfered the pads edges, applied stop squeal, and even tried some course sand paper on the front rotors. Noise is still there. I've even tried some very hard stops but that noise is persistent. Is the oem brake pads too hard? Too much metallic compound? Is there an aftermarket pads that will correct this condition?
This is more of an annoyance than a problem but I would like to resolve it. I also have one other question. I know in '85 Yamaha built xj700s and xj700x but I have also heard of the xj700n. What is the difference between the N and the S?

 

theres a few different models xj700n which is a 1985.......xj700nc 1985 california model....xj700xn 1985 liquid cooled...xj700xnc 1985 california model liquid cooled......xj700s 1986 sport model.....xj700sc california model.....xj700xsc 1986 california liquid cooled model........xj700xs 1986 liquid cooled sport model.

your bike is a 1986 not 85

1986 XJ700S sport maxim.

as for the diff between S sport and N am not sure probbaly not much. yamaha didnt build a xj700s in 1985 only in 1986.is it oil cooled???

 

I have the same annoying squeal, and it's a bit embarrassing when I pull up to a stop light and someone in a car looks over and says something like, "Sounds like you need new brakes." Well, the pads are new, so that's not it. A lot of people have this problem, it seems, so its nice ot know I'm not alone.

I recently had my brake pads cleaned, sanded and reinstalled in hopes of getting rid of that noise. No luck. :?

I'm not sure what the answer is, but if I find out, I'll post it.

Good luck!

http://madmaxim.blogspot.com

A ling to my web blog about my bike.

 

Squeals from the front brakes are caused by dirty, dusty, rusty scored and grooved discs or missing the anti-squeal shims. If the discs are scored, grooved, dirty, corroded and rusty they need to be turned smooth. I took mine off and sanded them smooth with a sanding disc in my electric drill to get them smooth and shiny and it worked well enough.
If you have the older sytle rectangular pads where both pads are the same with a small screw hole in the top they are supposed to have an anti-squeal shim behind each pad and a new flat tension spring that sits on top of them. The anti-squeal shims are stainless steel plates that fit behind the pads covering half of the rear so that when the hydraulic piston presses on the back of the pad it pushes the front of the pad in more than the back. The tapered pads don't use shims.

 

I'm thinking about buying an 85 xj700 from a friend, but not sure if parts are hard to find. It does need carb work and a key replacement. My question is, are these good bikes to restore and are parts easy to find?
I live in the Houston area and would like to find someone that can rebuild carbs. any info. please

 

Jesse, sounds like you need to catch up with Beardking, Dallas can't be that far away. As far as your question about if the 700 is a good bike to restore it would depend upon the person looking at it as a potential project or future transportation. Subjective really. I'm sure that most people look at half the things I value and say "junk" but it still looks like rough diamonds to me. Parts, well you got me there. I'm not familiar with much past 84 so you'll have to troll for bigger fish than myself on that one. If you realy want to get your questions answered, you may wish to post your question on your own thread, most folks won't find you here at the bottom of someone elses. On another note, welcome to you, I hope you find the answers you seek here.

 

Thanx for the tips. ArizonaSteve may be on to something. My rotors are grooved up like a record but I didn't want to turn them and make em too thin. I'll take em off and sand them down like you suggested. Also I seem to be missing the shims between the pads and caliper pistons. Guess I'm making another trip to the parts counter.