What did you do to your Yamaha today?

Or.. get rid of the excess material, buy locktite and screw it on?

 

What I did with my xj today rant

Let me start by saying this could have been avoided if I has listened intently to “hogfiddles”
But I shouldn’t have had this disaster happen.

Being a proud and enthusiastic new xj 750 owner I have been patiently waiting to remove motor from frame to do a thorough cleaning and little paint work......

So here I go doing my due diligence reading watching videos going through manual to do this in the best possible way....clean and simple RIGHT!!!!!!

well f me

Get to what I knew would be a awkward section... the linkage between trans and swing arm ......4 grade 6 bolts from hell connected to what now feels like a Japanese finger puzzle. Yes is it easy to just brace the tire and stop linkage from moving to try and loosen these utterly ridiculous and poorly placed bolts.....

but but but but what happens if you don’t use your brain and get a 6point combination wrench because Yamaha didn’t leave room for a socket........let me tell you......you loose your mind

first I tried doing this with center stand up duh!!!!!......okay I got two loose somehow standing on my head

then the ever so slight stripping started with the 12 point slipping and then slipping again........okay stop stop this will be bad......

At this point I’m three hours in

next fn day go out in search of the wrench of wrenches to save me.......

does anyone know what’s one of the most common sizes for automotive 12 fn mm

now I live in Calgary and you Yanks might think pift Canada doesn’t have anything.....oh you would be wrong I could make a space shuttle just by going to three suppliers yes supplier not Home Depot these are pro grade shops......and yet could I find a 6point to save me NO!!!!!!

so settled for high end wrench with three point not sure what they’re called......

needless to say I went home and got one more loose........and this is after taking it off lift and planting tire on ground now on my knees working on the bike like a jackass.......

And sure enough the last bolt strips and is beyond help........

And now it’s Saturday and the struggle continues now it’s finding a extraction method that will work.......

basically f you Yamaha for not making as all things that turn a slotted area for a second pry area like routers and the like have......that’s my rant don’t forget to tip your waiters and always listen to hogfiddles!!!!

 

All in all I think Yamaha did a good job of putting these bikes together - just see how many 30 yr plus bikes are still around..
Sure, sometimes they take some injenuity and experience to maintain, but it's good learning whatever.

 

Nnnot quite, there is the trail (if indeed this is what its called) setting as well (ie how much in front of the spindle they sit at - seca and maxim are different here). Then you have different makers - width and trail, the stanchion diameters are quite common.

 

Achievement unlocked had to leave the knuckle on

 

These are useful if you want to take the damaged bolts out and replace them.

 

Geez all I did was get the ancient Dunlop off the front wheel. Girlfriend then washed the wheel (after I taped up the bearings to keep water out) as I went to the garage and pulled the rear wheel. Now as I have a beer, catch up and see others have been more productive so I'll attempt to get the old tire off the wheel too and see if she's up for cleaning another LOL

 

Well, I may be wrong, but..................if you leave the upper and lower steering brackets in place, and just slide in a different set of fork tubes, then the rake/trail will remains the same, that's really due to the angle of the steering headpipe. For those stock handlebars to "fit", you'd almost have to be using the stock upper steering bracket ("crown bracket") for the 1982 XJ750 Maxim; it's kind of a unique piece that allows for those adjustable handlebar stubs to be attached to it. Those are definitely "650 Seca" style calipers, and they won't bolt on to the stock XJ750 Maxim lower tubes; the bolt spacing is different. So my bet is that someone swapped the entire fork tubes assy., calipers, and wheel from some donor bike. Note that the 750 Maxim and the 650 Seca use the same front wheel, but they use different speedo drive gear units (which is why his stock speedo cable won't fit, as explained previously). I think (but am not sure) that the drive hub units can be swapped, so he could just acquire a 750 Maxim speedo drive hub and attach it to that wheel (but, the speedo cable swap suggested earlier is probably an easier "fix").

XJ750 Maxim and XJ650 Seca use the same length inner (chrome tubes), but the 750 Maxim has a leading front axle (axle mounts in front of the centerline of the upper/lower fork rubes), while the XJ650RJ Seca has the axle mounted directly below the lower fork tube (as seen in the pictures, which is why I suppose the front fork assy. is from that model bike). I can't recall whether that change will make the bike more sluggish when turning, or more "twitchy", but it will definitely change the handling characteristics.

 

Tried but they come 12.7mm=1/2” didn’t take still it’s crazy

 

Hello. Thanks for all the help I have been getting through this forum. I'm from Portugal and I bought a xj650 seca from 1980.
Today I installed a new fuse box, because I have been having some problems with the bike, however the problems still remain. Tomorrow is a new day.

 

Sometimes hammering one of the extractors on the head of the damaged nut gives a better grip if you haven't done that?

 

Now that I have it out sure I can get to it but I tell ya I saw first hand the 6pt vs 12pt grip

 

We have all been there damaged bolts heads are annoying.

 

Well I did question my own terminology..
Of course you're right about the rake and trail staying the same - but the offset from the steering head will change. And you can swap the seca and maxim trees, but maybe not without the fork tubes hitting the tank. I would expect going to further forward tube mounts would make the handling more sluggish, as would having the axle ahead of the tubes as in the maxim.

 

Yesterday took a ride to test the petcock. No leaks. For the Western NYers here, rode up to SeaBreeze at Lake Ontario, Irondequoit Bay was like glass and full of swans, ran over to Webster Park along the lake, also flat, and home. Temperature around 45 F.

 

Moved this forward a bit today - the 650 seca tank I eventually bought sits nearly perfectly, the 900f seat has been trimmed back to meet it, and at the bottom to line up with the tank bottom. I plan on making a 650 Seca style set of sidecovers to suit. I must say I'm liking it - photos to follow.
Had some thoughts on getting the fat rear (900s) wheel into the swingarm - it looks like the frame is wider, and could allow widening of the swingarm if required. The front wheel is still an issue and doesn't fit the front axle - the discs I bought arrived yesterday, good buy. Maybe need to rethink this

 

Managed to get the 900 diversion wheel and tyre into the 900F swingarm, realised it needs a new disc, which looks identical to the one I removed and binned 2 years ago....
Needs a little work, it sits 10mm off centre!

 

Be good seeing your photographs.

 

The fj1200 wheel sits ok height wise in the xj600 diversion forks, but they are too narrow, and the idiot (me) that bought them didn't realise that there was only one calliper mount...
So unless I find some fj1200 forks and trees I may end up just buying some trees and lower tubes - I plan on fitting some emulators anyway.

 

I took apart my ignition switch & tank cap, used a good half-tube of metal polish to bring my exhaust back to near-factory shiny, and prepped my key shroud for painting.

Does it count if it was yesterday?

 

Only if you provide pics, which I'm not very good at doing.

 

As requested:

*The key shroud was just sanded and cleaned with windex, it looks the same

 

Replaced speedometer drive and a new cable. Went really well. Only took about 30 minutes. Test drive to confirm it fixed the problem. All is well. Realize that I use the gauge more for telling me when I need to get gas than the actual speed I'm travelling.

 

while waiting on yet more parts, started stripping the handlebar switches for cleaning contacts and repaint. I carefully removed all the on/off stickers, not sure if they will go back on, (pretty faded)

 

Almost finished these:-

 

Nice job!

 

when people clean plastic gas tanks they wet sand them then apply a little heat from heat gun to make the plastic shine.
if you can find a 700 ignition key some of them have a metal lock shroud those may clean and paint easier

 

Got a little more done on the Johnny Cash bike , got auxiliary light to work , fixed left tail light bulb , put new screws in the carb hats . Almost ready to ride , still need to plate and insure.

 

I showed the SecaRat the oilconversionkit that just came in with the mail and saw she was happy..lol
There is no locknut with the kit so will have to buy or make one myself.
It's not necessary because locktight can do the trick too but I prefer a nut (aswell).

 

The fj1200 forks, callipers, and axle came today. The xj900 diversion inners I was going to fit don't... bugger. And on top of that the 1200 ones are 40mm, not 41....bugger.
Should have gone xj900s front end - but I don't like the wheel design.

 

I synced my XJ650 carbies. I made a video of my set up as it might help others....

 

If the forks you bought are not 41mm then they are not FJ1200 forks. What are the actual model number of the forks?
FJ1100 are 36Y and early FJ1200 are 1TX and both those models have an anti dive unit. Then the 3CV model had the 3 position adjustment same as the first models but no anti dive and then the final 3XW came but strangely no fork adjustment or anti dive. 15mm diameter axle on all models, early models had 16" front wheel and later 17".
These are UK models by the way.

 

do you have a video covering the choke lever setup you have on the bike in the video?

 

Hi Mate, Sure, check out my video below. Was a very easy job and has worked perfectly so far.

 

Hey everyone almost 24hrs into motorcycle ownership and one of the first things is im looking to do a sparkplug, wires and oil change on my 1982 xj650 seca. What are your guys feelings on brands? Sorry for the noob question but would rather speak advice then waste money on the wrong stuff or junk and hurt my bike in the process

 

I have been watching your videos ,
very good please keep it up !!!

 

I brought it four new project bikes to keep it happy.

 

I had a busy weekend assembling my long-term Seca 650 project. Assembled the forks including tubes which have been freshly hard-chromed. Handlebars & associated parts should be installed next weekend provided I get the handlebar clamps back (which were left behind with the painters). Rear brakes, seat and tail assembly installed. Radiator has been tidied up and repainted, it looks like new. Installed new radiator hoses & a few other bits & pieces. Shocks and seat cover are from XJ4Ever. Photos of the tank and side panels coming soon - they're like a work of art.

 

A few more photos...

 

I was looking for an inside job today as it's very hot outside, so assembled the carbs for my 650 Seca. The first photo shows what I started with about 8 hours ago, it's now in one piece. Note the computer in the background - I took a heap of photos otherwise I would never have remembered how to put them back together again. Everything seems to work as it should, suppose I'll soon find out!

 

Nice job @Brent NZ . Looking forward to seeing it finished.
I took my 650 maxim conversion for a quick spin, smiles all the way.

 

Hey I just saw this post - thanks for replying. They are 3xw forks. I may have confused myself on the diameters. In fact I'm sure you're right - the xj600 diversion ones (early) are smaller 39?, as are the early Vmax (40mm?). Looks like I still need a set of 3xw stanchions...

 

Thanks, I'm installing a new 4 into 1 exhaust today so it's getting close. Will take the ZR750 for a ride this afternoon, we've got some really nice roads out this way.

 

I checked on the state of charge on the battery (snowy and cold, so no riding). The garage that I currently own is not fully wired, so I've been using a surplus Volkswagen solar charger, and it's perfect. She has a full charge after almost 2 months of sitting, and the panel is just stuck to the Eastern window of the garage. $38 well spent.

An example of the charger.284146316832
I bought mine several years ago, and it seems that the asking price has come down by quite a bit.

 

Well that is a very neat device.............does it have some type of internal regulator to prevent overcharging? Although 3.2W / 170mA isn't a whole lot of charging......

 

Working on the starter issues with one of my Yamaha project bikes. First time ever that I had a broken/open wire from the starter button to the solenoid. I looked very hard to see if the wiring harness had any damage to it, could not see anything. Ran a wire along the path of the harness, spliced the wire in and starting ckt now works great. Blow ignition fuse (10amp) was reason for no spark. Little steps.

 

I haven't opened it up, but per the spec the only regulation device is a diode to prevent the panels from drawing the battery down at night.
My understanding is that VW hade these made to put in every vehicle prior to shipping and until delivery to a dealership, so they could be in use for a month or more without the car being started but a few times.

 

I like it that the charger - that was supplied as a temporary accessory - could end up being used after the car it was supplied with is melted down for scrap.
Modern VW's are not made to last. I bought a second-hand beetle for my daughter a few years ago, crikey that thing cost me some money! I may as well have bought a new car by the time I was finished with it.

 

Finally got around to breaking down the front end after my crash a few months back. I thought the forks were bent but it looks like just the handlebars.
Anyone have a true set of Seca750 bars? These are proving hard to bend back "Just right" but will try a little more.

Also figured since I was taking the forks apart to give the stanchions the roll test for straightness, I might as well clean up the guts, change seals, and replace oil. (If it's that old, 1982 fork oil smells like crap )

Then I hurried a bit and put the upper tube bushing in before the stanchion . After researching it here I see everyone but me knows the lower bushing doesn't fit past the upper bushing. That's what I get for hurrying. Totally boogered it getting it out.

$50 for a new pair of bushings.

 

Did the floorpan rust through like the old ones did?