What did you do to your Yamaha today?

Thankfully, Calgary is very dry as well. There's snow, but it evaporates as fast as it melts and is rarely more than an inch or so at most, so roads tend to stay mostly dry - the air is extremely dry pretty much all the time.

As far as I'm concerned, so long as there's bare dry road, I'll ride

I tend to stick to major routes though so theres no danger of surprise icy patches - my own street has some, as it's never plowed so when it does snow it gets compacted into ice that sticks around a long time - but that's a non-issue on bigger streets.

Do have to be careful though if it warms up a lot then freezes, though, as if stuff melts enough to overcome evaporation you can end up with frozen runoff. In sketchier conditions, I limit my riding to the roads I drive daily so I know what to expect.

 

Another consideration is the salt and/or sand they spread on the road. Around here, they don't really plow the first few centimeters. They just salt like madness. The powder residue is as bad as ice for traction, and it gets in the nooks and crannies causing terrible corrosion. Unless you wash the bike, which is colder than riding in this weather!

 

They use pea gravel here, which is scary slippery, and salt, so there's that too. But the sun is so intense here even when cold it melts any leftover ice/snow on the roads fast and the gravel breaks it up.

It's not bad, but you definitely need to pay attention.

 

This morning as usual they said rain and no rain. I took this opportunity to give the women of the house some room and me some sanity I RIDE!!
For some unknown reason since I always have my bike on the center stand I have been warming up the bike in first gear.
What I have noticed is that the warm up time is less and when the bike stops being so choppy and goes into smooth idle mode I know it is good to go.
Just thought I would mention it to see what kind of responses I would get pros and cons?
After about 20 minutes I stopped to check my phone as my youngest daughter went to the hospital to have my newest addition to the clan Maddison, before I could even respond my phone is blowing up with Maddison is here!!!!!!!!!
I am like damn she has only been there for 40 minutes
reminded me of stewie griffin LOL
What a wonderful day oh and now it is raining. Yet I home and dry.
Have a great day my friends

 

I'm not seeing a problem, but I'll give that a go and compare as I only really use the center stand too. Mine idles pretty smooth even when cold though, but I have my idle set higher than most (1300ish). Can't see any harm, other than a really embarassing stall if you dropped off the stand without clutch.

Congratulations about the new family member!

 

The embarrassing stall part I have already done when I was leaving work one night lol.
Thank you for your kind words.

 

Today is nice and sunny-roads are wet but will soon be dry.
Luckily my wife volunteered me to go get our grandson from Grants Pass, Oregon. Her reasoning was that will give the roads time to dry out-How thoughtful of her.

 

That would a nice long ride----

 

I put some miles on her for the first time since mid-August.
If you ever have the opportunity to attend grad school while working two jobs, don't.

 

After almost two years of putting it off... I finally got started on this:




Had to call a stop because nobody around me has an M16 x 1.5 bolt to pull the stator out. Still, not bad for a day's work.

 

Yeah.... and after you're done you have to have at least two jobs to pay for it.

 

With the weather reaching almost 60° today, some claim even above, took the opportunity to get the maxims back out of the garage and put almost 75 miles on. Can't ask for much better for the back half of November, except maybe a little less wind. Here's a pic from when we stopped at the house we are working on(and hopefully moving into before h*'ll freezes over)

 

Identified some bad o-rings in the float bowls that were causing my bowls to runnith over. An easy fix but had to step away to visit life away from the bike for a while. Dont think I won't be back at it tonight. I'm so close to putting it all back together I can feel the wind on my face already.
1981 Yamaha XJ550 Maxim

 

Commuted 40+miles to work in 44degree F weather, made some carb idle mix adjustments and an oil change...then commuted home after work

 

Gonna set the fuel levels and work on syncing her up! It's so exciting to be so close to riding this bike I've been working on whenever I can chisel out time for three weeks now...

 

I think the district I work for is going to help me out a bit with that part.

 

Finaly got the valves to spec on the X. Now onto the carbs.
Thanks again everyone that helped. Still learning. And sorry if i was a nusance. But now i got one part down doing part of the top end

 

This evening I was able to hit the 70,000-mile mark on my XJ700-X
Thought I would share a couple of pics for ya'll to enjoy.

 

Sounds like a pretty laid back place to work. My boss caught me "polishing the helmet" a few weeks ago, and I haven't heard the end of it!

 

It was on my lunch break

 

I suppose i made all the right adjustments because this morning, at 42F degrees, was the first time she lit up within 1 second of pushing start.

 

Well if it means the same thing as here....

 

Yeah, I was actually just polishing the helmet, cleaning bugs off the visor, etc. but when she razzes me about it, you know she's saying "polishing the helmet".

 

Uh-huh-- yeah.... SHEERRRR ya were. You got BUSTED.....

 

Got the 81 550 maxim running like a wet cat. Beautiful ride. Now I need to find something new to work on lol

 

Time to find another xj! Start planning now how to tell the wife........

 

Let me know what tactics you use cause I am also in need of another ride? lol

 

You just get it... let her get mad, then you apologize. Then you get another, let her get mad, then you apologize. Then you get another, let her get mad, then you apologize.... after you have around 20 or so, she'll give up.... then around 40, she'll lose track--- then you're golden.

If she ever start to balk, you tell her you just made a really good sale and you can take her out for a real fancy dinner. Repeat as necessary.

BTW... I'm at 56 at the moment

 

Does she know you call her that?

 

Rode to work this morning at 35°. Wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be. Neighbors probably thought I was crazy seeing as there's frost on the roof tops but I couldn't resist the opportunity to ride after work when it's supposed to be 50°. With it getting dark so dang early I wouldn't have too much time to run home and get it out for a ride so I just sucked it up and rode it this morning too.

 

I can foresee that my future once I finish my Bachelors/Masters degree yet as of now I have one hopefully two my March of 18 both being xj700x'S
Although our current arrangement is what eve I spend she gets the same in cash. I really don't think Tina is going to lose count LOL.

 

This morning is crunch time for finals, so of course to clear my head before I start the study Jam I went for a brisk ride. Only 3 miles so far LOL but better then nothing. I am sure that I will need a break around noon for lunch and that will also require a ride. Cheers Oh and it is 34 degrees outside with an expected high of 40 degrees around 2pm with no rain for today and tomorrow.

 

Don't ever feel that you are a nuisance . It is what we do and that is to help other xjers to get their ride in tip top shape to ride!!!!!!!!!!
Beside I tore my down last winter and I asked a lot of questions and posted lots of pictures to get a better understanding of what I was attempting to do. I also received lots of good advice!

 

Nice! Hello fellow Bostonian

 

Hi Guys, This is a great topic. I never think of writing what I did to my 82 650 Maxim when I do something to it. It's sitting in a heated garage awaiting my return. The carbs are off and have been cleaned and re-assembled. I snapped of one of the dreaded carburetor intake mounting bolts and haven't rectified the problem. So after I get off here I'm going to go out to the shed/garage and spray some more P.B. Blaster on the last 2 stubborn bolts, tug on them some more..a little and then mount the seat, sit on it and grab the bars and make motorcycle sounds. Vroom Vroom! Wheelie WAAAAAAAAH!

 

Drove my box to school this morning and was contemplating riding and then I saw this man riding his yamaha and I felt weak-So off to the house and going to go riding! Damn the cold and onward I go--to get a hair cut LOL

 

Curious why you needed to take'm off? Were the boots cracked ?

 

Xj750 tank arrived yesterday. It has emblems too which is sweet. Installed it on xj650 (#2). Pretty tight fit compared to old one but lo and behold it did fit nicely just like you guys here said. Nice and clean inside. Anyone want an xj650 maxim tank real cheap ?

 

The pictures are being uploaded when? No pictures = didn't happen!

 

Of course it did! The 750 maxim tank is a drop-on/bolt-on-and-go upgrade.

 

That's not for me is it?

 

Yea, Trying to goad you into showing us how it looks.

 

Yeah I remember u mentioning that. I was just surprised at how much forceful persuasion it took to push it onto the rubber stops!

 

The old one isn't that bad. I did put some work into it. Still very rusty inside

 

Freakin hilarious! Thanks for the laugh

 

nope it is for cactusjack

 

Otay, pictures of that would be pretty cool too, but video=priceless!

 

Yes the boots are seriously cracked. I was going to replace them. Now I have to replace a bolt..if I can get it out of there. It's going to be a pain.

 

Started prepping stuff for assembling the Seca. I

Hah yeah, my Maxim's tank is on and off all the time, and even so every single time requires a really substantial amount of force and wiggling to get it back onto those rubber mounts, and even then I have to lean heavily on the tank to get the seat end bolted down.

I find greasing the rubber stops at the neck helps a lot, but it's still really snug.

 

Went out to wash the Maxim, realized it was -5 outside, decided she can stay filthy a bit longer =) All the slushy, dirty post-snow roads make a mess of the poor girl. So, spent today in the basement getting started organizing stuff for assembling the Seca, making sure I have everything I need in place before I start. I'd like to get Bike #2 built and on the road before tucking into the whole starter clutch issue on the Maxim.