XJ Maintenance

Need some advice.

My '82 XJ650RJ has just gone over 3500 miles. I know that that's not much for a 24 year old bike, but that's where it is.

I'm pretty new to this world and I really want to take care of this bike. So far, I have only replace the air filter, oil and plugs. I have no clue what maintenance was done prior to my ownership.

I'm trying to determine what else I should do to keep this thing running as well as it is now. I was thinking that I should change the shaft oil. Other than that, I'm kind of at a loss. Should I look at the forks? They seem to be working fine, but I was wondering if maybe I should be concerned about the fork oil.

Maybe I'm looking for trouble where there isn't any. I just don't want to risk any sort of neglect on this bike.

Thanks,

Greg

 

i would worry mostly about there being varnish formed in the carbs on a bike that has sat that long, also maybe some sludge in the crank case.

If you really want to get everything running smoothly, pull the carbs and clean them with some carb cleaner, and an air compressor.

If you would rather leave the carbs on the bike, something i found to work WONDERS is go to your yamaha dealer and buy some "Ring Free Fuel Additive" and give her a shock treatment (2oz/gallon for 12 gallons) also i would put some seafoam in the oil while doing this. Once youve ran the 12 gallons, change the oil, and continue to use ring free at a 1oz/10gallons ratio. I know its expensive, but at the maintenance rate you will have one bottle for quite a while.

also during the shock treatment it is normal for your exhaust to smell quite bad, and for there to be some smoke emitted from your exhaust, this is normal and is jsut your engine burning out the crap as it gets loose.

other then that, i would change the brake fluid and bleed the brake system, as brake fluid is only usually good for 3-5 years before it absorbs 3% moisture and can no longer withstand the heat from braking without boiling.

Maybe change out your shaft gear oil.

happy trails!

 

Actually, it runs like a top. I couldn't ask it to run any smoother. I'm more concerned about normal maintenance kinds of things. I hadn't thought about the brakes. I will take care of that. I may also try some of the carb cleaner. I have no issues with the carbs at all, but I'd think it couldn't hurt anything.

Thanks,

Greg

 

This thread has me thinking a bit about maintenance. I'm new to bikes, so be patient.

How do you check the oil? Any tips on replacing oil? What kind should I use?

How do I replace plug wires?

What plugs do you guys recommend?

This will be on a 1982 XJ1100 by the way....

Thanks!