I just bought an 82 XJ750J Maxim. It had not been street ridden this year. I really love riding this bike. It has various issues that I have been working on (broken wires, turn signal, etc).
What I am really stuck on is the Tach. The needle is broken off of the Tachometer and as far as I can see, it is gone. I can't see how to get the computer/gauges open to see if the Tach works or how to put on another needle? Any ideas? Thanks
Everything can be taken apart. I have a gauge cluster in peices right now (a spare) I am not sure how the needle is attached. Your needle must be in the cluster somewhere, if not I have a spare one.
I will try to get it apart and see. I did not see how to get the glass off of the top where the tach and soeedometer are.
You have to take it apart from behind. Remove it from the bike first then the screws will be visible form behind and the cluster will seperate.
You have to start by opening the headlight, and disconnecting all of the cables that go from the headlight housing to the gauge cluster. Then unscrew the speedometer cable, and remove the two 10mm nuts that hold the cluster on. You can then pull the cluster up to remove it. Be very careful that you don't lose the metal sleeves that are inside the rubber vibration insulators. Then pull all the wires out from the headlight housing and the cluster is free.
Now flip the cluster over (do this on a workbench or something), remove the 4 philips screws, and take off the back cover. Remove the (3?) screws that hold the mounting bracket on (make sure you look at how the wires go around it). You should now be able to see the (6?) screws that hold the front bezel on. Once you take them out, the front of the cluster will come off. Find the piece of the needle, and if you are careful, you should be able to glue the needle back together.
While you are in there, it is wise to replace ALL of the light bulbs. Since it it such a pain in the ass to get to them, might as well change them now because you know one will burn out in about a week. LEDs are a great way to go, because they never burn out, don't get hot, and they significantly reduce the current load on your electrical system. The ones you need are #194 replacements. Use the 6 LED whites for the speedo/tach (FYI, there is a yellow filter already in the gauge faces, so no other color will work, and amber LEDs aren't really bright enough), and the single 'inverted tip' LED appropriate colors for the turn, neutral, warning, and high beam. I got mine from www.superbrightleds.com. One more small thing. LEDs need to be installed the correct way in the socket (polarity) or they dont work. So before you reassemble the cluster, you need to reconnect the wiring, and check to make sure all the bulbs work.
Matt
PM me if you need parts for the speedo assy. I have a used unit opened up that I can rob parts off of.