XJ650RJ Project

Why yes, it is, it's cracked on the outside and the inside.

 

My frame has been welded in that area. Have not seen one needing a repair on clutch side of the frame yet.

 

Got everything sanded with 220 and one more round of primer.

 

The frame has been repaired and is now black again!

 

Last step in the interior tank cleanup: the Caswell liner

 

Do you like Caswell better than POR 15?

 

I’ve never tried the POR15.

 

Soak the inside of the tank with vinegar for a week, shaking occasionally, then dump it out and rinse. Dry it with a shop vac for 30 minutes and then dump in the POR 15 and manipulate the tank for about 10 minutes to make sure you coat everything. I've done 2 this way and I've been satisfied with the results.

 

I assume you did not use the POR15 tank clean prep. I have seen a few people doing that but I don't know if the sealer failed or not? How long ago did you do your tanks?

 

Nothing wrong here

 

What the ungodly . . .

 

I did them in May 2022 and it's still going strong. I only use non-oxy gas in it (not sure if ethanol will do anything to the liner, I just want to avoid crud buildup in the carbs).

 

Great l am going to try it. I have three tanks for my 900f but one is very rusty. I have seen people on YouTube using POR15 but not using the recommended tank clean products sold by the same company.

 

Their metal prep seems a lot like a generic phosphoric acid metal prep - will remove rust, etch, and phosphorize the surface.

I would (at the very least) clean the bulk of the rust out using electrolysis or an acid method, and then use phosphoric acid or their metal prep.

 

Yes it's all about the preparation getting the sealer to bond property. I will get the acid for it.

 

Was a grease gun used to bleed the brakes?

 

Sprayed lots of parts today

 

Looks very nice Dan, but don't you think you will wear the paint off the levers rather quickly?

 

That's a good question. They came painted from the factory. I hope my paint job lasts at least as well as the OEM paint job.

The OEM didn't do a very good job of prepping the substrate originally, that's for sure. The aluminum was still pretty shiny when I stripped the paint.

The original paint must have been some sort of lacquer crap. It peeled off pretty easy after a couple minutes of soaking in lacquer thinner. Hopefully modern urethanes will perform better.

 

Got some paint from @chacal and got the final drive bits painted. Also got the fork lowers cleared.

 

Forks done!

 

Anybody know how to get these gauge faces off without destroying them? I was hoping to get inside and clean/lube the mechanisms, but it seems like it may not be worth the risk. @hogfiddles ??

 

Dan, I haven't attempted it on these specific gages, but the construction of most is crimped together at assembly like a can of beans. Very careful deconstruction by a tiny screwdriver or prying device, lifting the crimp little by little. I've only done it on gages where they are junk if not opened and repaired, and it was ugly.

But I've seen videos of it being done in a near restoration manner by folks with more patience than me, so it's possible.

 

that’s what I’m afraid of - might do more harm than good. Maybe I’ll just try to get a little lubricant in where I can.

 

Dan, i did a write- up on just how to get into the 700 maxim/X/virago gauges and this would take the same approach.

Here is a link, for your reading pleasure—-

http://www.xj4ever.com/repairing%20your%20700%20gauges.pdf

 

Got the fuse box crossed off the list

 

Did you get the gauges done?

 

I decided not to tear into the gauges to try to clean and lube them. The whole “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” thing. I will get new speedo and tach cables and hope for the best.

 

Question on your fuse box, have you put the seat back on yet? I found that the fuse box I used was too tall. I did 2 things. I 3D printed a lower profile cover, then I mounted the fuse box further back on the top of the air filter cover. Mine is actually at an angle as my wires would not reach that far.

 

@Melnic - I did test fit the seat to check to see if I needed to modify anything - didn't see any problems. I don't think it is nearly as tight under the XJ650RJ seat as it is under the Maxim seat. I *do* need to replace the fuse box on my Maxim one of these days - I'm sure that will be more interesting.

 

The beauty of the XJ700 series, no glass fuses and none under seat.

 

Well, almost none..................

XJ700 models used two separate fuse panels: one that contained the four secondary circuits, including two 10A fuses, and two 15A fuses, which is located within the instrument warning lights panel; and a separate 30A main circuit in-line fuse holder was located under the seat. These bikes used the later push-in style ATC fuses in the dash fuse panel from the factory; the 30A main circuit fuses were still the older "glass tube" AGC style fuse, and that is certainly a candidate for updating with the 30A ATC style in-line fuse holder HCP6833 or HCP16777 listed below.

 

But there IS

 

Oops…. Looks like Len beat me to it

 

Except that an inline fuse holder is not as prone to failure as the clip style. Thanks for the correction though guys.

 

Finally back on this project.

She is going to be sassy!!

 

Nice paint finish.

 

It may or may not have taken me a couple of attempts to achieve the level of finish I wanted...

Next step decals - need to let this cure a few days and then get the decals applied.

 

Really, you should let it cure for about a month, or do the sniff-test: if you stick your nose right up to the paint, and sniff hard, if you still smell "paint", then it's not dried/cured (it's still off-gassing the solvent....which is what you're actually smelling....and depending on the product used, the solvent can take quite a while to fully evaporate). Stripes shouldn't be applied until the solvent is completely evaporated or you risk poor adhesion or even bubbles.

 

Yes, I try to wait as long as possible. Supposed to be 80+ and sunny here this weekend. I will put it outside and get some infrared curing going on and hopefully get it fully baked a little more rapidly.

 

The good news is that the other pieces that *didn't* need to be re-shot have been curing for a quite a while!!

 

Just for anyone playing along at home - here is the rest of the plan for this tank and the rest of the parts:

- Wet sand to 2000 (already done on the other parts)
- Apply decals
- Clear
- Wet sand to 2000
- Flow coat
- cut and buff

 

Other information for posterity: The base coat I used for this project is the House of Kolor S2-BC02 (Orion Silver).

This is more flaky and sparkly than OEM.

My goal on this project is to do "OEM but better". By that I mean OEM frame was flat black. I prefer gloss. I don't have the production constraints that the factory has, so if I want gloss, I'm going to do gloss. Similarly, OEM color on the body panels is kind of a dull-ish silver. I like a zazzier silver, so that's what I'm going to do since I don't have to paint hundreds per day and I am not bound by the same paint technology and mass production limitations of 1982.

Anyhew, that's just my guiding principle on this project. You can agree or disagree, but that's what I'm doing.

 

100% agree with this approach, same thing I did with my Maxim years ago. Gloss frame, better paints, improved components where you can but end up with a stock bike. Can't wait to see the final product!!