Getting closer to being what is in my head.

First off all I want to thank you all for the time and help you have provided to my project. Most of your help came through searching the posts as many of you had the same issues.

This is where I am so far, still a way to go. I have been able to ride the bike between the modifications & changes.

I know this group has its purists, but from my research there are a lot of these bikes, that’s why I wasn’t too worried about making this bike my own.



Forward controls are next...I’m not going anywhere, just wanted to say thanks.

 

You chose the best XJ for modifying. There are a ton of base-model 650 Maxims out there.

 

tcbros,com sells forward controls for xj 650 and 750 also a base kit for the custom job

 

Ordered, will be delivered Tuesday.

 

just remember this little tidbit for your 650 It does not look like it will be an issue for you

from TCBROS
You can do the same thing with the stock brake lever (see photos). If you have a stock exhaust system on a XJ650, you can use a 1975-83 XS650 stock brake pedal and it requires no bending to clear the stock muffler.

 

Hey XJ550, have you ever seen a setup where someone uses the tcbros controls and still keeps the stock controls so they can use either?

Thanks for the tidbit!

 

no because you use the shaft of the shifter and brake pedal to operate the forward control.
you could make a set up by adding the lever needed to existing levers but welding is not my strong skill set. you would just have to make the added lever low enough so it is not hit by existing pedals. the brake pedal has a lot of travel but you could adjust it with the adjusters so it sits higher than spec
keeping the foot pegs is easy enough

it would suck to have brake weld fail when you really need your brake

 

I just got the majority of the forward controls done one my 650 Maxim. The write up on the TC Bro website is pretty good. I did use my original shifter mechanism that is normally in the roughly 9 o’clock position. I will take some photos. I did have to heavily modify the shifter lever, both welding and grinding were involved. It doesn’t look beyond incredible. But I also did not have to buy anything other than the kit... oh and loc tite. The major modifications came in on the shifter. Because I chopped off the end component that has the rubber that usually gets the beating; then I drilled a hole through this. Then I cut with a grinder the shifter mechanism. I cleaned them welded the two halves together. Cleaned with my bench grinder. Then put on bike and realized I still didn’t have the clearance without majorly gouging an already really ugly exhaust pipe. ( meaning old and tired and scratched and beaten up) then I got a little smarter I put shifter mechanism into bench vise; then I used cutting tool again and made 3/4 cut further up the linkage . Then I brought back out to bike places onto bike and slowly and carefully bent to adjustment that is shown in picture. Then I welded the back side where I made the final cut. And then cooled it off; ground down the slag and excess weld. Then cleaned entire mechanism up. As far as the brake lever I am going to cut this tomorrow a little after the location that I drilled for the ball joint and armature assembly. But because I am often a bit absent minded about cutting my bike apart I measured 3 to 4 times then cut for this project. As per the photos is clearly not quite done as of yet. As far as not having enough pressure on the rear brakes. The rear brake spring and rod assembly does allow for some decent adjustment. Also on the ends of the joints it would be my recommendation to try to thread them on as far as possible; that way perhaps if there are any concerns about needing to adjust for more brake pressure there is more threaded rod, also this rod can easily be found just about anywhere just need to find the size that is stated on the website for the forward controls. There is an excerpt from someone else who has done this modification prior that wrote it for them I think. At any rate; for me this mod was necessary; I love my 650 but I have very long stalky legs and can’t ride remotely comfortably with mid controls. Down to the point where I was considering selling the bike because I couldn’t find forward controls for the XJ until I asked on this site.

 

I'll have to drop by and check this out once it is safe to do so.

 

this is how I ended up doing it. I wanted to keep the linkage close to the bike.

 

That looks really good; how did you go about bending the shifter ? Those are some fairly tight bends. I kept mine out simply because I didn’t think about having them go any farther in. Also where did you get the exhaust? Or did you fabricate it?

 

I had a spare shifter so I put it in a vise and beat on it with a hammer .

the mufflers were just bolted on.

Emgo Turn-out Style Universal Muffler 80-62620 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000GVGJA8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_1GIk8Zvj9DavG

 

Well done RJ C ! That's one BA Yami !

 

Thanks S10gto!

 

How does the bike sound from stock? The mufflers look good.

 

Thanks, I went cheap but I do like the sound better than the stock. Basically straight pipes.

360 videos so you can move the view. The camera picks up the wind quite a bit.

Before (stock)

https://youtu.be/rPNWEEPDogE

After (Emgo aftermarket)

 

I got a set off eBay and I've made up my own linkages..Gonna convert the brake side to a cable just waiting on the parts to arrive

 

Got an old worker/ buddy of mine from New Ross.

 

I ended up repainting the bike, I am no professional painter but I think it turned out great. I have painted the bike 3 times, first time Dupli Color clear failed when a drop of gas hit the tank, second time Dupli Color sent me two free cans of their engine enamel paint saying it is fuel resistant...they lied about that. The Spray Max 2K is a winner! Gas hit it the day after I cleared the tank and the gas ran right off! This is impressive clear! The pictures were taken before I have even sanded, polished or waxed!