Renovation time for the XJ750RL

As its going to be a daily rider it won't get the full resto hence the renovation idea.
I like pics cause they tell a story and I'll fill in the gaps with a word or few.
Let the fun begin......

I've been fiddling with a GTR (Concours C10 to you blokes) and think I've finally sorted it out so I can put it to one side as a going concern again.



The XJ750


let the dismembering begin


When I recovered it from Launceston, Tasmania, I needed to ride it to the Spirit of Tasmania. The rear brake was pathetic to say the least.
I opened it up for a look....





Love the sludge...


I'll be doing the rebuild over the next couple of months. Still unsure whether to strip it right back to the frame or not so I'll do bits n pieces while I think about it.
Remember that it is winter over here, bloody cold and pissing rain so getting into the shed isn't always that inviting.... just a heads up.
Stay tuned for more fun and mayhem from Oz.

 

Looks like Ikon shockers to me, at least they're not originals, that's a good sign. Renovation to original ?

 

predecessors to Ikons ... same thing though, Koni 7610 dial a rides. they work well. I'll be ordering seal kits from Ikon.

 

'Renovation to original ? ' ..i meant th bike in general.. i have th Ikon version and like them. Th seal on one leaked way too early, i paid postage one way to get it fixed, but that's ok by me.

 

sorry Bushy, got muddled up.
As close to original as possible within a dollar frame.
Exhausts will be the big thing..... not sure if I'll go for a cheaper 4-1 or whether to get a full original look JAMA system and feel pain in the short term.
But in short, original as practical.

As an aside, whats your approximate location here in Oz ? just for curiosities sake.

 

looks like a fun project! cant wait to see more!

 

About 70ks, as th crow flies, south of Melbourne.

 

cheers Bushy ... sounds like we're not that far apart. I'm outer eastern 'burbs of mudbourne

 

After much deliberation I eventually decided to take the bike right back to the frame.

I got busy ... the frame is off to the sandblasters in the next few days



The motor will be delivered to the hydroblasters tomorrow


I've got bits everywhere...
big bits


bagged bits


and just generally one big mess

It'll be a couple of weeks before everything comes back so a tidy up in the shed and a couple of other jobs to do before reassembly

 

Just picked up the motor, diff and exhaust collars from the Hydroblasters. I'm impressed.
Should have the frame back next week from the sandblasters.

 

Looking good. Have a pair of XJ750RL's myself. One has 70,000kms on it,the other has over 100,000 but is in need of full restoration. These rare bikes are very nice to ride. Love em. Keep the pics coming. Keep up the great work. 8)

 

Thanks Jeff ... plenty to come.

Decided to take the rocker cover off this morning and have a cursory look around.
I also discovered that a new set of feeler gauges need to grace my shed....

I had at my disposal a .1mm and a .2mm. Checked the exhaust valves .... nothing wringing tight nor is anything overly loose. .1 went through everyone and .2 didn't . All good
Checked the inlet. #2,3 and 4 passed the .1mm and not the .2 all good...
Cyl. #1 would not pass the .1mm feeler ... this will be the problem child me thinks.

Waiting on a bucket tool and a new set of feelers then I'll find out exactly where each of the valves is at, pop all the shims and find out what is currently fitted. MUCH easier job to do with the motor sitting on the ground in front of me....

 

The frame made it home from the sandblasters ( garnet blasters actually) nicely primed in an expoy etch primer.
The blaster did have an issue with the cocky crap attaching the side stand. He suggested I give it some attention.
Half an hour with a grinder, mig welder and a bit more epoxy primer and the problem was sorted. I forgot to get a photo of the poor excuse for arc welding on the side stand but I'm sure you've seen it all before.

cleaned up the problem



rewelded



repainted



I then made a sort of rotisserie for the frame so I could rotate it around as I painted it inside my makeshift spray booth



Then began the emblackening. I used PROTEC jet black gloss enamel paint with a hardener added.

 

While waiting for bits to dry, like triple trees, I took a look at valve clearances. A couple were ok, most were close and 2 were out quite a bit.
I wrote down measurements for the lot, pulled all the shims out and recorded values before shuffling them around to get correct clearances.
I need to get 1 shim from my local mechanic then the engine is right to button up.
I've also identified what will potentially be the problem valves. Not surprisingly the problem valves are associated with the cylinder that was running lean...

On another note, I've been having a play with metal polishing tonight. Some pleasing results sofar...

 

All hell has broken loose over here with work so absolutely bugger all going on with the bike at the moment... kinda annoying.
On the upside, I did receive a parcel from the US of A....... full of lots of nice bits from Chacal.

I can now rebuild the carbies, front forks and lots of other bits.... when I manage to free up a bit of time :-/

We have also just started spring and signs abound that it'll be a warm summer which is great as we missed out last year.

 

geat to see progress!!

Just curious, what did it cost to have the engine hydroblasted?

 

all up about $200. That included the diff and few other small bits.
I'll be getting the same fellow to hydroblast the carbs when I pull them apart.

 

I was about to ask the same question. I was quoted close to $500 in Sydney to have a750 engine and $250 just for the casing on my RD350LC.

 

crikey... its been a while since I updated this thread. I've really only gotten back to the bike over the last week or so. Anyway this is whats happening now....

pulled the starter, overhauled, polished end cap and refitted. Did the same with the alternator.



I took delivery of a nice set of marving mufflers from wemoto. They look great.



Today a friend came over and gave me a hand to fit the frame to the engine. We also had a quick look at one of the new mufflers....



Then started to disassemble the forks. 30 year old fork oil stinks.....



The original header pipes were so rusty and in such poor condition I almost threw them out. I stumbled across a business that does a ceramic coating for lots of things including exhausts.
I figured the pipes were in such poor condition... what the hell. I dropped them off to JET HOT coatings in Castlemaine. Now they can't coat in chrome but they go damn close with Sterling Silver.
The results were mighty impressive....



they cant do much about the bits that were rusted away causing an orange peel effect but I knew that. I don't think its that big a deal as the pock marks are facing into the engine anyway...




more to come soon....

 

How many $ to have the headers coated.

 

about the 250 mark Bushy....

 

presumably you would need to go easy on the metal polish with a silver plating or....?

 

That's a colored ceramic coating, not metal. You clean them just like any other painted surface (except no waxing).

 

I'll dig the sheet out that came back with the pipes.
It does go through cleaning, polishing etc etc as well as a general warning about getting them too hot.... that is over 700deg celsius.
It is suggested running 1 or 2 big fans while you tune the engine....

k-moe is on the money... it is a ceramic coating with silver mixed in.

 

Thi sis looking quite good.
Did you have a reason not to powdercoat the frame?
Also are you leaving the engine as is from the Hydro blast or did you coat it with a clear lacquer.
I have an engine that I have had Vapour blasted and looks quite good....but I am undecided on whether to clear cot it or not.

My logic...wright or wrong is that the aluninium will not stay so clean and shiny on the longer term....but as I said ...totally undecided.

 

powdercoat or paint ? that caused many fights and much beer to be drunk...
Here is my reasoning albeit potentially flawed.
Powdercoating is rock hard and uber shiny. Looks great. If I was building a show pony( not a riders bike), this is the way I'd go.
Painting.... I used enamel with a hardener additive to give a hard coating. Still uber shiny but not as tough as powdercoating. Better for a workhorse.

The biggest difference is not in the application but the repairs down the track. Enamel paint can be touched up quite quickly and successfully.
Powdercoating on the other hand cannot. When powdercoating chips it can (and potentially will) let water work its way in and sit between the coating and the frame causing rust. Quite often you'll find out about this when you flake off a large section of powdercoat. The only fix is a full stripdown and recoat.
Another thing to consider is that frames flex and powdercoating generally doesn't leading to more cracks/flaws in the paint. Bear in mind that we're talking about years of flexing though....

The engine..... is being left as it is, no coating. The hydroblasting peens the surface and seals it so no marking... I love it.

This bike is being build as a daily rider/long distance bike so I'm happy to test the theories.

 

hydro blasting cases etc is the best way to go IMHO, i had my upper RD engine case and carbies done, after your've worked on it , all you need to do is wipe it with shellite and its as good as new, i looked at some older jobs that had been handled for years and still looks great. not cheap up here though

 

Having had two frames powder coated.... i am leaning more towards te enamel.

I have a 750 with assorted bits already powdercoate and ready to go....whenever finish my 350lc, so no point lookin back now.....but I do think that in the future it will be paint.

will be following your progress....so keep the posts and pictures happening

cheers
Phil

 

got a little more done tonight.

forks rebuilt and reinstated.... damn easy when all the parts are to hand... thanks Chacal

 

looking good.

I have a set of the same forks that I am putting back on my son's 83 XV750 ( the fist of what became the Virago...but with the mono shock rear end, and having no end of trouble getting the spring back in. We replaced the inner tube and the spring sits out one coil out of the inner tube....but realistically speaking, that should not be giving me the problem that it is. I need to find someone with a press to help out as trying to push it in by hand is just too hard.

BTW, I thought those lower legs were from a 650? Are they the same on the 83 750?

 

the fork lowers are stock XJ750RL. No idea what else they may fit. I have a sneaking suspicion that they are the same as the later model XJ900 ...
Generally the 750RL is an XJ900 with a 750 seca motor.....

 

The '84 XJ750RL is the same thing as the 83 xj900. The frame is the same frame, the other parts are the same thing, the difference is the size of the engine. It's a 750 rather than a 900, and the only other difference that I know of is that the color scheme is different. So, as Oz said, (edited...FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES) the 750rl is a 900r with a 750 ....."

Regarding the XV750......the " '83 XV750 that became the Virago" isn't exactly accurate. The 83 XV750 already was the Virago.....it came out in 1981 as the XV750 Virago. there were also the smaller Viragos, as well as the XV920 versions of the Virago. In 1984 it was redesigned and subsequent years and sizes came to include the 700, 1000, and the 1100. THOSE viragos share some similarities and especially a lot of front end parts with the 85/86 Maxims and Maxim X's.

Ok.....all THAT gobbledygook stated, and now I can get to my orginal intent for posting here:

Hey, your 900 build is looking AWESOME!!!!!!! I have my unrestored condition trophy-winning 900rk shown in my gallery, but seeing what you're doing here is making me think about doing another one of mine like you're doing yours. Keep up the great work--I'm looking forward to seeing how it all turns out!

Dave F

 

You are more likely right. However in so far as the Australian market was concerned, the mono shock rear end bike was not sold as a Virago, but as a straight out 750 Special. To my understanding, all Aust Virago are dual shock rear end. We just replaced the starter motor on the XV. The Virago 750 starter that was available in Sydney did not fit, so had to get one from the UK.

 

I didn't realize there was a difference between here and there! Cool.

Here, the 81-83 XV'750 and 920 Virago's were mono-shock, and then in 84 they went to the dual shocks when they re-designed the bike.

The Specials here were dual shock right along. I've never seen any Special with anything but duals.

Almost makes me wonder what the Japan-only versions might have been.

dave f

 

Yeah, I think it was the residue of the second world war. having lost that, the Japs were hell bent on confusing the west at every opportunity with their variations. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

One explanation that was given....and I have no means of proving or disproving, was that the went with the dual shocks as they were really trying hard to compete in the American market with the "Harley Looks"...God forbid!!!!


Cheers
Phil