Aussie XJers

Hi all, just bought a 81 XJ750. Looks like a great forum.

 

Hi
I recently bought an XJ900 wreck for my brother to do a custom job on. He is based in Sutherland too. I have another XJ900 in my garage for a future resto but I'm located in Brisbane. It keeps company with an XJ750 and an XJ650LJ (which I have just got running).

 

Guys, you might want to try the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club for local rides and parts. www.vjmc.org.au

 

Get him to give me a yell for a ride some day.

Tested my coils, secondary resistance is waaay too high 21Kohm as apposed to the recommended 13.2Kohm (according to the Haynes manual).
The coils I removed have "XJ 750H 1981" written on them. Part # CM12-09

I cant seem to find the part number for an 84 XJ900 coil, I'm just going to replace them both as soon as I can find it

 

I have just started a rebuild on the same model having trouble finding some parts but will be worth it in the end let me know what you need i have found a few places with some parts cheers Joel

 

Cheers Joel. I recently got some parts from Chacal at XJ4Ever. They weren't cheap, but definitely great quality and service. And to me, I'm happy to pay a little more for that value add. That said, I would prefer to support a local supplier where the parts are available, so will drop you a line when I next need parts.

 

Nice day yesterday for a ride.

 

Any recommendations for a Sydney based workshop to reco an XJ750 motor. I imagine that many could do so but just after one that has a history of working on XJ's so there aren't surprises.

Cheers guys.

 

XJ900 in Newcastle

 

Frapfrap, see Trev at Surfside Motorcycle Garage in Brookvale. 9905 4755. He did his apprenticeship on XJs and has a great business specialising on older bikes.

http://www.surfside.net.au

 

G'day all,

I came across this site awhile ago and found it really good to see local rides as updated by members. basically, if you have a favourite road you like to go scratching on, you list it here so others can see the rating and info. I reckon it's a great sight.
http://www.bestbikingroads.com/

I already added some rides for Western Victoria... not much to choose from out here.

cheers, Gareth

 

Hi all, just thought I would give a thumbs up for Len. I ordered front suspension bushes for my xj900 when I received them one bush did not look right, so I sent a photo of the bush to Len and within the blink of an eye he emailed me back and informed me a replacement was in the mail, and at no additional cost to me.
Great service. Goods travelled from America to me in Australia in a bit over a week, well done.

Gary

 

Geez that's great service and fast delivery.

Were the shipping costs reasonable?

 

G'day all,

Well after procrastinating for years, I finally got my old XJ back on the road, albeit on club plates, but finances don't allow too many bikes on the road. I spent a few hours servicing her, glueing the diaphragms to their respective slides after they moved abit, checked the valve clearances, and gave her a big clean and polish. Gotta say I picked up some Kero and a air sprayer from supercheap auto, and it worked great in removing built up grease and crud. I get to have her on the road for 90 days, which will give me plenty of time to refurbish my FJ.

next time I will be taking the exhaust system off and treating the rust that is taking a hold of the headers, and maybe paint the engine black "in frame".

cheers, Gareth

 

Hmm. I don't think that paint color and stripe pattern were available in North America. Looks nice

 

Nice work Gareth. I bet you're happy to have it back on the road with minimal work?

Stripped the head, cylinders and pistons off mine today in prep for an overhaul. The OP had let fuel drop through the cylinders and then left it in the shed for a while. Rings were stuck fast in 3 of 4 pistons. On the positive side my valve clearances were within spec and the head looks good.

 

Thanks for the comments, if I was to ever re-paint her, I reckon I would stick to the same colour. Almost every XJ650 Seca I have seen on the road has the same colour paint and pin stripping. Must have sold in big numbers here. Never seen a red one either...

Tough work removing the head and barrels, I hope she goes back together in decent order, not too many big delays. I bought a spare recon head and barrels years ago in preparation of "the big job", but she never missed a beat.

cheers, Gareth

 

Best place for parts in Australia? I suspect it might be easier to buy a complete headlight with wiring etc than try to fix mine.
Or anyone got a spare?

 

There are limited parts in Australia but it's well worth looking out for a donor bike or wreckers. What's wrong with yours?

 

Dnardy, I have a spare headlight but they have no attached wiring. From memory, the wiring is in the harness and it just plugs into the back of the headlight. The hassle is all of the rest of the wiring in there. The headlight is a big box used to hide all the connectors for ignition, lights, horn, etc.

 

Cheers mate got it sorted now I think. Housing and dress ring had some issues too but nothing i couldn't fix with spare screws and nuts I found of the right size. Soldered up a broken wire, pretty sure the battery is just buggered and nothing in the bike is drawing power too badly. Not pretty but regoed and enjoying riding it.

 

Hi Guys
This is my XJ900
It's an '85 model and Iv'e had it since '89
The poor old thing has been sitting in a shed for the last 10 years, so I guess it's turned into a bit of a project.
Fuel system first then we'll see how we go from there.

 

Gumtree has some stuff

 

Anybody have a spare brake caliper sliding pin dust boot. Took my calipers apart today, and one had turned to goo. Needless to say, there was not sliding going on. I'll replace it once my order comes in. The urgency is that I want to finish the brakes this Easter long weekend.

 

Sorry can't help with the caliper, if it was just the rubber boot, is it needed for the brakes to work? Of all the things I have fiddled with on my 650, I never needed to touch the brakes. Hell, I am having a hard enough time balancing her carbs, with the YICS tool and without. Bloody nightmare....

 

I finally got around to insuring the bike today, did it through RACV, full comp, agreed value of $3500, excess of $300, all for $72 per year. That's pretty damn cheap, 90 day registration. What are the costs of other members on normal plates? My FJ1100 normal registration costs around $150 per year.

 

I'm just 3rd party, club rego. My bikes just a $1200 shitter.

Speaking of which, I broke a rear blinker off, & would like to change them to smaller or bullet type ones. Anybody have a link to some that fit easily?

 

Gday,
hell, my xj650 was a $300 non runner, the fj was $1000 and well worn, I don't restore 'em, just ride 'em!
I like having the insurance, old bikes are hard to get fixed, and parts are getting rare.

Cheers, Gareth

 

I have a spare one. Let me know if you solved your issue.

 

Hey Gang

I'm cleaning up the garage ready for a move in a few months and have a heap of spares lying around that have to go. Basically a whole bike plus a bit more - less the frame. A stack of XJ900 F and N bits including a solid motor. Before I start taking photos and putting it on eBay etc I thought I'd raise with you all in case you need anything. Let me know.

Cheers
oby

 

That's nice of you oby. Just XJ900 parts or other bikes too?

I will need some shims for my XJ650 shortly and I'm a little worried about sourcing them here in Perth... or Australia for that matter.

 

Rebem ... here's 1 supplier in Aus I'll bet there are others, as they say googlit http://www.precisionshims.com.au/products/flat

 

Sorry, XJ900 parts only Im afraid. I've bought parts from XJ4Eva (Chacal I think is his moniker) on this forum. He's in the US and was always reliable and timely. I also bought parts from a place in the Netherlands. It was cheap - about 1/3 the cost of buying them locally. You could google them I'm sure. Good luck.

 

wemoto NSW is another source of parts.

 

My XJ doesn't get ridden all that often and i've been thinking of adding a fuel additive to clean the fuel system every now and again. Yankees swear by Seafoam or berrymans b12, is there an equivalent here in Aus?

 

Has anyone got a link to some aftermarket rear blinkers, available in Australia, that are easy to fit to a '81 XJ750? Also in the market for tyres, what's everyone's recommendations?

 

Just got a set of Pirelli Sport Demons put on mine. Not cheap but they felt good on the ride home. Good reviews from what I can see.

 

Yeah they're what I'm leaning towards. What did you pay?

 

480 fitted but I didn't shop around. Was getting the bike over the pits through the same guy so I just paid up.

 

I paid $400 fitted for sport demons about 3 weeks ago. It was the same price as 5 years ago.

 

I hear great things about the Pirelli's, although I reckon the Bridgestone BT45's have suited me well, and they're cheaper. I recently bought some 2nd hand Koni shocks off pakenham wreckers for $200, and I have to say the difference in the ride is huge! No more "chatter" over the bumps, and the rear feels well "planted". Just have to refresh the front forks, remove the 20 cent coin spacers and get some feel back into the forks....

A bit chilly coming into work this morning!

 

Great read everyone.. been a guest for so long now that I've built up the guts to gossip ..... Retired this week, long time since something added. I've owned several bikes (Home made mini and midget bikes, Honda's, Suzuki's,Trupy, then the '02 Silver XJ900sp - brand new back in December 2002, (last shipment of XJ,s to Australia, so I was told.) with a full set of Givi panniers installed here.(top and sides) .
Best bike I've ever owned, not that its had much riding, just finished the big checks and service today (07/17) in readiness for the Australian summer and filled in the book 40,000klm. Yep!. thats right a genuine 40,000klm.(no wonder its been faultless.)Full oils changed front and back. New Brake pads front and back. Went to Pablo's Glen Waverley for the second set of pirelli GTS's. (dam good tyre and fitting service) and the '09 battery checked and tested. Home again for a slight clutch cable adjustment and a tweak on the "Throttlemeister"speed control, done. Fitted the new "Eagle" extended touring tinted screen for a bit more wind break, a little test ride between showers, its good and no extra noise. Not much to tighten, but checked anyway. All done.
Now that I've just retired I'm hoping to get some touring done. The further-est its done in one heap is with the misses on the back around, up and down Tasmania. Memories....that when we appreciated the seat cover. Plan is to Uluru and back, which I have every bit of confidence the Xj900 can do with ease and comfort on the lambwool. (now to trip planner)
Until next post ... Gordan.

 

gday,
Welcome to the forum, sounds like you intend on doing some serious miles... Check out this site, has heaps of rides, ratings, and write ups by people who have ridden the roads.

http://www.bestbikingroads.com/motorcycle-roads/motorbike-rides-in-oceania

Enjoy what there is left of spring....

 

Hey!

What is this talk of removing the 20 cent coin spacers? Are they the spacers beneath the oil seals???

I am having a dick of a time trying to get my hands on some in Australia - do we not need them?

 

G'day,

The spacers I inserted a few years ago. Placing them just under the fork screw cap adds a little pre-load to the springs. A poor man's attempt to increase firmness without adding more oil. The best solution is to buy some new springs for around $180 from Ikon Australia. Made a massive difference in my FJ.

people used to put all sorts of things under the fork cap to increase pre-load. many would argue against using them. Try instead to get your oil levels right, and the right viscosity.

cheers, Gareth

 

Something I can't pass up has come along so I have to sell my 1981 XJ750:
Good, complete bike, rides well. Tidy up or ride as is. Sounds awesome. Bit of work done by previous owner and myself (receipt available). Has new battery. Currently on club rego so non-transferable. (but very cheap rego). Luggage rack included.
Bad points:
Clutch starting to slip on gear changes.
Has oil leaks.
Keen to sell, price negotiable. $1500 ono. Near Albury Wodonga NSW

 

G'day,
I came across this for sale on ebay, the seller says "good for parts only". After having a real close look, I sent him a message asking which parts exactly were good for anything... I'll see what happens, but I reckon $250 is a bit steep. Everything looks shagged out!
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/172972393225?ul_noapp=true

 

Hi oby,

I know it's been a few months but is the motor still available?

Cheers,
Pat

 

Hi all. Getting stuck into my 1983 xj900 project here in Melbourne, if anyone out there needs any items from this bike let me know. I'll be selling everything except the frame, forks, wheels, swingarm/final drive and engine.

 

Hi All,

I am in Townsville, and need to check my valve clearances and then sync the engine. Anyone in the near vicinity who has done this and can give me a hand?