BaldWonder's 1982 XJ650J Maxim Bobber

But see, I drilled a stop-crack hole. It'll stop the cracks. jk

 

and you've added the best go-fast thing: lightness, and to unsprung, rotating mass to boot!
Yay speed holes!

 

It's been a while, so I'm updating my to-do list. Thanks to @XXWoodmanXX, I've got at least one more item on the list.

1. Get SS brake lines and level master cylinder Done
   • Rebuild/clean caliper Done
   • Strip and repaint caliper Done
2. Replace rear brake pads Done
3. New alternator brushes Didn't need replacing. Cleaned rotor with pencil eraser instead.
4. Perform valve clearance check Done, passed!
5. Perform compression check Done, also passed!
6. Bar-end mirrors Done
7. Rear fender patching Done
   • Repaint Done
   • Clear coat Waiting to clear the tank at the same time
8. Hide wiring and electronics Done
9. New crankcase filter Done
10. Battery strap/cover Done
11. Inline fuel filter Done
12. Replace fraying clutch cable Done
13. Rebuild the clutch Done
14. Get 750 tank Done
    • Strip Done
    • Pull out dents, braze/patch the one rust hole Starting
    • Tumble gravel inside the tank to de-rust it
    • Seal inside of tank
    • Bondo, sand, prime
    • Paint
    • Rebuild petcock
    • Rebuild gascap
    • Fuel level connection to speedo
15. Leather cowl Bought fiberglass cowl instead, need to figure out how to mount it.
16. Need new headlight to work with fiberglass cowl. Want to switch to LED in the process.
17. Replace brake rotor with one from a 1994 Yamaha FZR 600R
    
18. Chop front fender, reattach
19. Front bumper/guard
20. Saddle Boxes
    • Brackets
    • Rear turn signals
    • Lid pistons
    • Liner and compartments
    • Painting
21. Paint engine, someday

 

If you want a brake disc from a 94 fzr, i have one i can sell and ship to ya

 

Delaware, Ohio. Hour and a half away. Hmm...

...

Alright. PM me a price and we'll see. I saw what they go for on ebay and I'm afraid to spend that much just now, but maybe you're not charging an ebay price. Also, I saw Chacal's price on aftermarket floating hub rotors made just for the 650. We'll see if I can't rationalize a trip to Iron Pony and save you the trip to the post office. No guarantees., though; I just bought another XJ that needs a LOT of work.

 

Sounds good. LMK. I can send you my cell #

 

Good evening, I find your project awesome, with a lot of new ideas. I'm making a Cafe Racer from one XJ 750 Seca and I wondering if you can help me.
I bought a new Taco (similar to yours) and need to rewire it. Do you have any wiring diagram to share? Thanks

 

I stared at that for a good minute, totally confused, until I realized you meant tachometer!

Yeah, I think I can help. Did your tach come with this diagram?


I think I have a copy of a 750 wiring diagram, too. I should be able to figure out how to replicate my wiring for your model. Which model is yours, specifically? I'm assuming you've got the Euro version.

 

Hi, b thanks for your time. I buy a Tachometer from <China, so has nothing to do with this ones... After a hard week I finally figured out how to wire it!!! I just need to know how to give him memory ( yours clock power) Tomorrow I'll try with the brown one!!!

Now I'm just having problems with the side stand switch... lets see how it works...
¨
Thanks a lot my friend.

 

Can you tell more about the air filter set up you have there? I really like the look I've seen this before and at some point want do the same to my 650 but have no clue on how to do so I heard the carbs were like vacuumed ?

 

Looks very good. Clean.

Im doing something similar to my XJ (same year and make) not chopping it just wanna make some modds

I have a couple questions id like to ask.

1. I want a chopper seat for my xj, springs and hing in all. There for could i just use the tank bolt for the fixed end of the seat hing? Would just like some details on how you mounted your seat. Thing is im a taller person seat make my ass hurt after awhile and id like to sit lower into the bike

2. For the wiring harness. The stock seat covers the harness and when i install my new seat there will be nothing protecting it from the elements. What can i do to weather proof it or hide it when its exposed

3. Last but not least. Im also wanting to put in a passanger pad with out having to cut out my rear fender/sissy bar think it can be done?

Id like to see what you think i could do and there for anybody else that would have some advice, dont hesitate. Again just wanna replace the seats to sit lower into the bike and also have a pad avaliable for my passanger with out cutting up the ass end

Spike.

 

Sorry I'm only just now responding. For whatever reason, I never got a notice that there had been another post.

I'm running generic pods with a 53mm opening if I remember right... it's whatever the size of the carb inlets are. Calipers or Google will help you find out. Also, my mufflers are now just baffled straight pipes. Both of these changes require re-jetting the carbs, which is garage speak for changing the size of the nozzle in the carburetors that sprays gasoline. The pods and pipes made it so that air flows more freely through my engine, but it's getting the same amount of gas. That makes for a "lean" mixture means there's too much air and the engine will just get hot, not unlike blowing on a campfire to get the coals going, and you might melt your engine. That's not me being silly. A lean mix can literally melt your engine; aluminum melts at 1221'F. So to counter that, we re-jet to allow more gas. For that, I went with a company on eBay, Sigma6, who makes custom kits for rejetting. They have you do more than just swap jets, and include very detailed instructions that won't make sense if you don't understand how carbs work. I didn't at the time, so I had my father-in-law help me figure it out.

As for the vaccuum part; yes, kinda. All engines can be viewed as air pumps that also turn wheels. For every bit of air that goes out the exhaust, so too does it go in the air intake. The faster it goes, the stronger the vacuum effect. More technically it's just an area of low pressure. The diaphragms in the carbs react to those pressures, which sorta self-regulates some needle valves, giving it more or less gasoline as designed.

All that to say that your carbs don't get "vacuumed" by you as part of some maintenance procedure. Rather, it's just a layman's way of describing the principle on which they work.

Now, after all that, I would urge you to not go to pods or do any rejetting. Keep these bikes stock. They work best the way Yamaha originally designed them. There are other bikes out there that respond better to rejetting. XJs are the picky eaters of the bike world. Yes, it looks cool. No, it won't make this particular bike work better or be easier to work on in the future.

 

Thanks!

The short answer is yes, you probably could use the tank bolt to mount another seat. I don't think it would get you sitting any lower though, especially if you're not planning on cutting the frame at all. The seat I have is actually the original seat, but cut up and highly modified in the rear. The front still hooks in just under the tank bolt, hence why I'm thinking that mounting anything on top of the tank bolt would automatically be higher. There are some aftermarket seats that might sit lower even when mounted on the tank bolt, but they'll be lower because there's less padding, which will hurt your ass quicker.

Something I've come to understand about our stock seats is that the back half serves as a bit of a quasi backrest, and helps to cup your cheeks, spreading your weight over a greater area. Think of the difference between a flat wooden bench and a wooden bench with a butt imprint carved into. They're both hard, but which one is more comfortable? Consider why that is.

So, don't do what I did and modify the stock seat. Without the back half, the rear just squashes flat under my butt, and I can't go more than about 100 miles before my ass is numb. I would say go to a professional custom seat maker and have one made just for you. It'll probably cost several hundred dollars, but the alternative is growing to hate riding your bike and not being able to suffer long trips.

I found an aluminum grease catcher at Walmart, two actually, and modified them to fit together, and then shoved all the wiring into there. That's the silver circle thing you see under my seat with the brass wingnut holding it shut. But you're not considering going with air pods, which ideally you shouldn't anyway. Looks great, but not worth the trouble in the end. I would say just get creative. Maybe cut out some sheet steel or aluminum plate and bolt it on?

Without modding the frame, it'll be tricky. Again, I'd say go to a professional seat maker/upholstery shop. They'll have the experience and know-how to work out something into the seat itself. They may even be able to keep the original seat lock/hook in place.

Yeah, without cutting the frame or without sacrificing long-ride comfort, this might not be feasible. Something to consider though: currently you're able to straddle the bike and have both feet flat on the ground, right? You probably won't want it lower than that.

 

I appreciate your time. Ive learned alot form this sight. Thanks again. Seemed easy to do but after doing some reading it gets even more in depth then i thought.

 

Thank you. You thought things through, and asked for advice, before diving in and making irreversable/ regrettable changes. Very few first-timers do that.

 

<----- And some do the research and plow ahead regardless!

 

And sometimes that leads to innovation.

 

Wow. That's a beautiful build. What did you use for the rear fender and how did you mount it?

 

Thanks!

The rear fender is one I picked up from Tractor Supply Company. I ground down the inside of the frame until I could wedge it in there, then I welded it in place. Later on, after the powdercoat was on, I grabbed the fender and applied too much force and snapped the welds and made myself nearly cry and nearly give up on the bike in a fit of frustration. Then I grew up a day or two later, drilled straight through on both sides, and bolted it together.

 

First update in a long long time:

1. Last year I had a little accident and dropped the bike. I was going slow, about 10-15mph, when I went down. It's mostly big scrapes and some dents. Half the damage to the bike was to things I was planning on swapping out later. I rode the bike home, parked it, then spent half an hour slowly dragging myself into the house. See, it was slow enough that I instinctively put my foot down to catch the bike and try to stand it back up. Instead, my leg buckled and I when down on my hands and knees. No broken bones, but I had to use a cane for a week and continued limping for a couple weeks after that. I got to take muscle relaxers for the first time in my life. They work! I skinned my knee, but my hands were fine. I had gloves on. I haven't touched the bike since, but not out of fear of riding. Read on.
2. My buddy that got me into autocross was also the program chair. A month after my accident, he moved out of the state and asked me if I'd take over the program for him. I said no. He said come on. I said ok. I've since gone on to also become a trustee on the club's board. I'm finding it to be quite a passion for me. Now if only it paid a salary!
3. The week before the accident, my wife and I got some ultrasounds to confirm what we were already suspecting: we were about to become parents. Those of you who have come to know me know I'm a researcher and a planner and a builder, so you can imagine getting news like that drastically shifted my project priorities to prepping a nursery, prepping the house for a baby, and going to a number of "daddy bootcamp" classes. Fast forward to today, and I'm no longer the only bald wonder in the house. She's 8.5 months old now, and is just the best thing in the world.
   

So, that's where I've been spending my time: autocross and baby!

That said, I want to let you know that the itch to build is returning. I know, because I've started researching things. Today's research topic: the basics of seat design.




Oh, and no: I'm not going to fix the broken image links. F*** photobucket. Let their "photo not found" kitten image stand as a reminder of their poor judgement. Never forget. I'll be using my (paid) OneDrive account moving forward. For the record, I tried several times to download all of my pictures and re-host elsewhere, but was unable to get my pictures at all. I then rage-deleted my account, so there's no going back. That's why you see "photo not found" and not "update your account" for my images. Yes, a few images are showing on the first page. Those weren't hosted with PB.