YamaGPZ 650 Project

Hey,

Thought I would share my progress on modifying a 1983 Maxim XJ!

Started out in pretty good shape mechanically but pretty bad shape cosmetically. I lost all my original pictures but if someone is really interested I have one I could scan to show. Don't worry though, I didn't tear into anything exquisite!

The odd looking tank is from a Kawasaki GPZ1100. Frame has been blasted and powder coated, forks completely redone, new bearings everywhere, cleaned up the airbox, and other things here and there!

Give me your input - what do you think so far?

Side View:


Back View:


Closeup Tank:

 

How much did you chop off of the rear end? it looks awesome so far, its got a 50's cafe style going.

 

looks like an awesome bike to be

 

Its a work of art! looks amazing. Cant wait to see it together.

 

1. The Bike looks like it will be be quite nice.

2. I really like the Bike Lift. I wish I had one of those.

3. I think putting it on display in the Showroom is a bit premature.

 

Hey, it's been a while, thought I would post another update. Slow progress but progress none-the-less!

Krayzee: The rear end was chopped in line with the rear fender as you can sorta see in the pictures.

Rick: The bike stand is great - fantastic tool for moving the bike around and working under it.

Put on an airtech rear end (after a few cuts) with a Diversion 900 wheel which mated up perfectly. Going to have to make sure alignment is right once I get the front end complete.



Headlight bucket was repainted, forks attached. I was actually thinking of finding some yzr600r 41mm forks to put on the front for the fully adjustable shocks and the ability to use r6 brakes (if anyone has a front end lying around tell me!). An FZR600 front end is also an option. Either way I might have some beautifully polished and rebuilt maxim shocks up for grabs :roll:

 

I wish my workshop had a view like that, nice looking bike.

 

With the look you have going right now I'd look at some nice clipons to replace the bar you have now. Then use the clamps on the top triple to mount either some cool after market speedo and tach assemblies or if you can get some decent older large round face tach and speedo to pick up the look of the large round headlight.
Just my 2 cents.
Looks great with the setup you have going so far.

 

Hey that's not a bad idea! I did pick up a nice pair of round FZ600 gauges which seem to have the same internals as the XJ ones. Using some sort of dash plate attached to the clamps might be in order.

 

So curiosity got the best of me and I ended up picking up a YZF600R stem to see if there was any chance of a swap. It already has the same ID bearing size, so I just needed to check the stem length:

XJ650 Tree:


YZF600R Tree:


Annnd they are pretty much the same! Looks like it will be a direct swap for some fully adjustable 41mm forks! Upper bearing is in exactly the same spot at around 7" and the tree even uses the same hardware! Yamaha parts bin for the win. The only difference is the top clamp doesn't have bar mounts, so I will either need to get clip-ons or attach some bar-mounts myself.

Now the only problem is getting the tapered bearings off the trees! Anyone have a good way? It's not as easy as the ball bearing cups because I can't seem to get any leverage under the bearing... :?

 

Could try putting them in the freezer overnight and then heat up the bearings, heard or read it somewhere for putting tight fitting stuff together, might work in reverse. Just sayin'.

 

What kind of work did you need to do to fit the GPz tank?

 

Hrm, sounds like a plan, I'll give this a shot - thanks!

For the GPZ tank I welded up a mounting plate in the back that goes on the stock mounting 'slot' for the XJ tank. For the front I shaved a bit of rubber off the mounting posts. Any tank should be ok to work with as long as the tunnel clears (given that it's not a peanut tank or something!). I can take a couple pictures of it if that would help.

 

Well the build is crawling but I am getting somewhere. I managed to get a hold of some YZF600R 96 fully adjustable forks which I'm going to couple with a pair R6 front calipers. For the rear brake I sourced a FZ-1 caliper and mounting bracket which looks like it will bolt up nicely - just need to get a bushing machined so it fits on the XJ axle.

 

Awesome start!!

Did you 83 maxi come with rear disc or is that going to be home grown?

 

Thanks!

Nope the maxim was a drum brake! The rear wheel is from a Yamaha Diversion that they sold in Europe - comes with the disc included .

 

Any up to date photos of the bike?

 

Just finishing up school so I haven't had much time to work on it :? . I'll post some updates as soon as I get a chance!

 

Made some progress today! Here are the results:

 

Very nice, how did the wheels fit up?
Al

 

Front wheel was good since I'm using the matching YZF forks and steering stem. Rear divvy wheel looks like it's tracking straight but I'll have to check soon. If not I'll have to trim the cush drive side a bit.

I noticed you have a couple of nice exhausts, which do you like better, the Vance and Hines or Marshall?

 

How much was your tail section if you don't mind me asking and where did you purchase it form?

Thanks

 

It's the 'HAMMER2' seat from airtech. They have a list of updated prices on their website at the very bottom: http://www.airtech-streamlining.com/vin ... ts_box.htm

Pretty good quality stuff, I was able to cut my down with ease. They were also super helpful on the phone with any questions. I do remember them having to make the section before they sent it though! And shipping was a bit of $$$!

 

Cool, thank

 

Looks great, look forward to updates with pics and descriptions.

 

Nice work... Shaping up nicely

 

Had the Marshall just over a year and to be honest its crap. First thing was the chrome started to chip of before it even went on the bike, got even worst when fitted.
Had to be painted black because of the flaky chrome it’s a very cheap system, the baffle is non removable but started coming loose and is slowly blowing its way out of the muffler.
The Vance and Hines is pretty good so far came on the bike when I got it but in next to new shape. Removable baffle with one 10mm bolt the whole muffler is removable, you will have to remove the muffler to take the back wheel out but that’s just held on with the rear foot peg. Sounds good nice and deep and has a good quality of chrome (very hard), also is a full performance system.
So I would say Vance and Hines I have yet to use it on the road but good so far. When the Marshall finally gives in I will be looking at replacing it with one of these. http://www.wemoto.com/bikes/Yamaha/XJ_7 ... _-_Chrome/

Can get you some pictures of both pipes is you want, hope this helps.
Al

 

Thanks for the info! I'll def stay away from the Marshall then.

That marving exhaust looks great! I'll have to figure out how much it will cost for me to get one into Canada and see if it's worth it. There doesn't seem to be much info on them the web; but, the info that exists makes them sound reputable.

 

Contact Marvin through their website, you never know they may have Canadian or U.S distributors. Worth an email!

 

I think they may do as they are quit new in the UK, only been on the scene a few months. looks to be a nice pipe sounds good to, keep it up.
Al

 

Ok started to tear into the top end of the engine. I'm not going to split the cases but since I was having lots of trouble with dirt and debris near the bores I figured it was worth cleaning out the 20+ years of crap and seeing if everything checked out.

Cylinder head with valve buckets removed. Next step is to take all the carbon off the valves and clean everything up. Might grind the valves in but I have no idea if it's necessary right now.



Here's the cylinder block removed as well as the pistons. You can see a lot of the grime I'm talking about.



Follow the advice of the Haynes Manual and do not take off the cylinder block straight up. You will get so much crap into your cases that you might have to tear that down too. You can see the accumulation of debris here on the rod, and this is just 20% of the dirt that was there. I think it's an accumulation of dirt and the plastic tubing they put around the studs that have since worn down.



Started to clean up the pistons. I'm using simple green and here are the results. One thing I've noticed is how pitted the tops of the pistons appear to be. This was a bit of a shock considered I'm used to seeing machined or completely smooth piston crowns.





Note that even the Haynes manual says to use a metal polish but I can't begin to imagine how I would smooth that kind of pitting out without doing serious damage.



But it looks like the picture has the pitting too so no harm done? Is the rough surface standard for XJ motors? :?:



Checking the rings for clearance: I seem to be ok with the top ring giving me an average gap of 0.60mm which is not within new spec but definitely not at 1.00 mm yet. The second ring gives me an average of 0.30mm which is definitely fine. The bores look alright too so I'll probably just drop the old rings back into their respective bores.



If you ever remove rings don't do it like the manual says, get a piston ring remover/installer for $5 and never look back!!

 

Yea I'll give them a shout, def worth a shot! Was hoping to find more info on them but looks like I'll have to be the guinea pig if I get them.

Yea I looked at their site looks like they do a lot of ATV work so maybe I can find more info there. Found a picture of one of their pipes that sure makes them look nice! Mind you I don't think they have this 'blackened' version for us.

 

I am afraid a cannot help you with your pistons as I have only ever pulled 2stroke pistons, but it all depends on your budget and weather you what to tune the motor or not. As for the pipe they offer it in chrome and black steel so you could always paint the black steel version, I am not sure weather they can make you one in stainless heard they can but no idea if it’s true.
Al

 

So decided while I had the engine apart I would put new rings in for the experience.

New rings ready for freshly honed cylinders; I had three sets of rings on hand and got one shipped from Chacal, great service as usual!



Just getting ready to install... We did end up switching the 2,3 to TDC as it was much easier to manage.



Had a custom bushing made up for the rear caliper mount. It's press fit into the bracket and glides perfectly over the stock rear axle. Just have to work out the details now - probably going to have to shave some metal off the cush drive in the new rear wheel for proper alignment.



On that note does anyone know the best way to measure and centre the rear wheel? Does the XJ normally have any offset like Harleys or is it centered between the frame rails?

 

Quick little update where I'll let a grainy spy shot do the talking. Hopefully you guys like it!

 

Shes coming on nice!
Al

 

Any chance of shooting a photo of the rear set mounts? Mounting a R1 rear set on my build, figure I'll be welding some plate and bungs on, curious how yours mounted up.

Cheers

 

I'll grab a picture for you. I used mounting plates attached to the frame mounts and right now they are just fabricated out of some thinner aluminum to see how they sit. The problem is that I've found that they are too far back and the foot position is uncomfortable.

I was looking at the site "Cycle Ergo" which shows the position of rear sets - looking at the xjr1300 gives a pretty good comparison of placement.

Anyway, hopefully it can help you position yours b/c I've found it's no easy matter!

 

Here is a picture of the rear-set mockup. As I said before it is quite far back and is uncomfortable for me to use due to the angle.

 

Yup pretty much what I had pictured. Thank for the pict.

 

Gauges all set up and working! Slowly getting there, just need to figure out a paint scheme now.

 

Looking great I can't wait to see the end result!

 

Any updates?!
Its a very inspiring thread.
Did the virago rear wheel fit with the xj drive or did you have to do anythinf to it?

 

Nice

 

Wish my wife would let me bring my bike in the house

 

Thanks for the kind words guys! I will try and get some updates asap. Got a new job so that has been taking up a lot of my time. :?

Never used a Virago Rear wheel, the wheel I'm using is a Divvy wheel! It mated up fine except will require you to fabricate a spacer to work with the old axle.

Haha, it didn't last long, I'll tell you that!

 

I love this rear setup! I'm going to locate the wheel. Looks like they are all in the UK. FZ1 brackets are plentiful here in the states. I wonder how the 150/70-17 wheel will fit in the maxim swingarm? Do you guys think it will have to be notched? I looked up a few tires that size, avg tread width is 6.38" under load vs 5.59" on 130/90-16 under load. I know some mod might have to be done? I was going with the '83 wheel, but this looks way hotter! I'm going to do some homework. Any word on the specs for that bearing that was made for the FZ1 bracket?

 

I just received the FZ1 bracket w/ caliper today. It was only $40 on Ebay. The XJ900S Wheel was another story. I had to search overseas and the cheapest I could find over the last two weeks was one in Germany for 159 Euros + shipping. This was a little steep, but to have a 150/70-17 rear wheel on a Maxim will be very unique. It did not come with a disc brake. I'm searching online and I found that the Diversion rear disc is 245mm diameter, while the FZ1 is 267mm. My question is, do they have the same bolt spacing? I feel that I should have the FZ1 caliper to match up with the caliper? The wheel was shipped today. Any thoughts out there?

 

So any Ideas?? uhoh, What disc did you use??

 

I'll have to double check my disc size (It came with the diversion rear wheel, and I'm pretty sure its 245). The problem I ran into is that the bracket collides with the disc bolts on the rear diversion wheel. I have notched the bracket a bit but am not satisfied with the result so far. As I don't have a FZ disc, I wouldn't be able to help you out with the bolt spacing.