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Project: XJ

Discussion in 'Hangout Lounge' started by midnightmoose, May 28, 2014.

  1. midnightmoose

    midnightmoose Member

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    Background

    Back in March I joined the ranks of the unemployed, not by choice. This prompted me to make a important life choice. Tired of working in manufacturing/distribution plants (especially the food industry), I decided I'm going to do something that I have a passion for...and what better passion than MOTORCYCLES!!Seeing my wife successfully and happily live her dream as a Professional Cosmetologist has certainly helped influence my decision. As did the need (or want) to tear into the Midnight's engine for starter clutch replacement and making it a long term, frame up resto-bagger project (more on that later).
    So earlier this month I started the Motorsports Technology progam at YTI's (local technical/trade school) Motorcycle Technology Center. So far this is Awesome! And none of it would have been possible without all of you people here on this excellent resource called XJbikes.com. I can't even imagine if I would've gottIen something other than my Midnight Maxim four years ago. I certainly wouldn't have found this site, and probably still wouldn't know jack about motorcycles (not that I'm claiming to know anything). So thank you everyone for being so helpful, you just never know when it might help to spark someone's passion.

    Now that that's out of the way...onto the real purpose of this thread!
    I have a project for this term that includes an essay and an oral presentation. My selected topic is Yamaha XJ motorcycles! With that being said, I am in need of any REPUTABLE sources of information like books/magazines, websites, tech bulletins, or factory publications that have general & technical specs, reviews, road tests, years of production, differences between models/years, etc. Pretty much anything about XJ's. Even the Euro spec, overseas bikes, police models, XJR's, XJ900's, etc.
    I'm trying to gather as many resources as possible to collaborate and compare information.

    The second part of the project is the oral presentation. This is where you guys can really be of assistance (and show off your bike as well). I'm doing a powerpoint presentation and would like to use pics of your bikes in my slideshow to show the all the different models; this includes modified bikes such as bobbers and cafe racers as well. I will credit the owners if you'd prefer, and will add a disclaimer that all photos were provided by members of XJbikes.com. My class is well aware of my love for XJ's and this forum. I always have it up on my laptop at school and wear my XJbikes.com hat with pride. They always ask "what kind of bike is that" when they see some of the great pics posted on the forum.

    So throw some of your best pics up on this thread along with any links to any useful information you might have about our amazing bikes. I'd like to get pics from each of the different models if possible, or anything you think might be of use. And thanks for sticking it out through this long post!
     
  2. tcoop

    tcoop Active Member

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    I have a before and after of my 82 XJ750 maxim that you can use
    before:
    [​IMG]

    after:
    [​IMG]

    Edit: I no longer have this bike.
     
  3. Hamster

    Hamster Member

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    Do you have the XJCD? Reams of obscure XJ arcana. There is a guy in VT or NH who distributes them quite cheaply. Brad Bowen maybe? Not sure. Should be a quick search. Good luck with your career reboot. After 36 years in one line of work, three years ago I started a different path. Took 3 years of wanting it to get off my ass. One of the smartest things I ever did. Although that's a low bar.
     
  4. midnightmoose

    midnightmoose Member

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    Thanks for the pics tcoop. Nice job on the recommissioning.
    Hamster, I don't have the XJCD (yet), but don't know if I could get it soon enough at this point. It's nice to finally be doing something because I want to do it, as opposed to doing it out of necessity! Only took me 37 years to figure out what that something was...
     
  5. tskaz

    tskaz Active Member

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    pm sent
     
  6. midnightmoose

    midnightmoose Member

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  7. BaldWonder

    BaldWonder Innocent Bystander

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    First, congratulations on your pathfinding. I'm hopefully not too far behind you as I'm trying to make sense of what I want to be doing, so I can appreciate the bravery and soul searching it takes.

    Second, by all means feel free to use any of the photos I've posted in my thread. I have a decent before picture, and several progress photos. I only care about attribution if someone ends up having specific questions about my project - if that happens, just PM me and I'll give you my email.
     
  8. bmarzka

    bmarzka Active Member

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    Best of luck to you, Moose. I'm 57 and still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. Maybe a Chippendale dancer. It could happen.
     
  9. Polock

    Polock Well-Known Member

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    you can use pictures in my gallery if you want, for the before, just find a picture of a few cardboard boxes full of parts
     
  10. MiGhost

    MiGhost Well-Known Member

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    You know where to find pics of the tour deluxe package, and X1 fairing

    Ghost
     
  11. midnightmoose

    midnightmoose Member

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    Thanks everyone so far for all the pics and words of encouragement.
    I have some questions about the anti-dive feature on some of the models' forks: (1)Which models featured it? and (2) how exactly does it work?
    If I'm not mistaken, it's something in the forks linked to the front brake system somehow, but I'm not sure how it works.
    Anyone with a brief explanation?

    Thanks
     
  12. bigfitz52

    bigfitz52 Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    1: In the States, it was only the 750 Seca and 900 Secas. In the rest of the world, it showed up on XJ750s (Seca-styled) and XJ900s sporadically. (They got those bikes for a lot more years than we did.)

    2: How does it work? NOT VERY WELL. Oh, did you mean how is it supposed to work? It has a feed from the front brake calipers to a "damping valve" in the fork's oil escape passage. Under braking, the valve (theoretically) responds to braking input and closes off the damping relief port(s) thus (theoretically again) making the fork effectively stiffer.

    Back in the day, blocking it off was a popular mod. All of the "Big 4" cycle magazines at the time universally agreed that while it didn't hurt braking performance, it didn't really DO anything either.
     
  13. k-moe

    k-moe Pie, Bacon, Bourbon. Moderator Premium Member

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    I'll disagree with Fitz on how well the anti-dive works. The system works very well, it does not live up to the nomenclature though. Properly set up for the weight of the rider and cargo, the fork dive is remarkably reduced from what it would be without the anti-dive system, but is not entirely eliminated.
    Of the anti-dive systems available at the time, Yamaha's was soundly regarded as being the only one that consistently did anything useful (based on the articles that I have on hand).
    It is a fairly simple, brake activated, compression dampening adjuster. It wasn't meant to improve braking, it was there to allow the use of a more comfortable spring rate for touring, while maintaining the reduction of front end dive under braking that comes with stiffer (less comfortable) springs. Modern forks put the whole system to shame though.

    Have a read of page 15 and 16:
    http://davestestsandarticles.weebly.com/uploads/4/8/4/5/4845046/cycle_magazine_yamaha_xj750_seca.pdf
     
  14. midnightmoose

    midnightmoose Member

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    Thanks for the explanations and the link. That's how I was thinking that it works.
    And of course, not long after posting the question, I found a link on one of Len's pages, it's full of Yamaha's technologies. Whaddaya know...there's an explanation of Anti-nosedive front fork!!
    http://transgarp.dyndns.org/motorcycle/ ... Yamaha.pdf
    page 93
     

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