Does anyone know if the guages from an XJ700 would work on a XJ650? I've just recently taken note of how they look and I like them a good bit better than my stock XJ650 guages. I just don't know if all the connections would be the same because I barely know anything about my 650 so far.

If your '82 Maxim is like mine, it has an electrical tachometer. Easy way to tell is to look at the backside of the guage, and see if there's a cable coming off going to the valvecover, if so, it's mechanical. If it's nothing but wires, it's electronic. Now this is where someone with a newer Max will have to chime in, because I have no idea if the newer bikes are mechanical or electronic tach, but that would be the main sticking point. I'm 99.9% sure that the newer bikes are still mechanical speedos, so that shouldn't be a problem. Good luck!!

Joel07 wrote:

If your '82 Maxim is like mine, it has an electrical tachometer. Easy way to tell is to look at the backside of the guage, and see if there's a cable coming off going to the valvecover, if so, it's mechanical. If it's nothing but wires, it's electronic. Now this is where someone with a newer Max will have to chime in, because I have no idea if the newer bikes are mechanical or electronic tach, but that would be the main sticking point. I'm 99.9% sure that the newer bikes are still mechanical speedos, so that shouldn't be a problem. Good luck!!

My '82 Seca XJ650R has mechanical tach and speedo on it but I've managed to install the '83 gauge pack without issue so switching gauges is easily possible but it highly depends on what you have versus what you get.

For instance I had to actually swap bulb wiring and disconnect the fuel and voltage gauges to get the '83 pack to work. I also had to splice a ground wire and a second bulb connector into the turn signal indicator wires so that I had two R & L indicators rather than just a single one.

Like I said it's not that hard if you've got compatible stuff and some basic wiring knowledge. Let people here know what exactly you're looking at - better yet take pictures - and I'm sure people can give you the right info. I for one would be happy to help!

One thing I will say is that if you've got the whole thing apart anyway then replace all the bulbs while you're in there. I replaced my turn signal indicators with LED "bulbs" so I won't have to do that again for 10 years. (This only works if you have an electronic flasher which I think most XJ bikes have.)