What did you do to your Yamaha today?

Re-bench synced my carbs and than have stared at them on the workbench all week...just need more hours in the week.

 

I 3D printed a few blanking things, and my Carbtune Pro kit arrived today.

 

Today I went to start my 82 Maxim 750 and found out my carb floats are probably stuck, so I pulled the carbs off, and ordered some new oil and filters. Never a dull moment!

 

That is some beautiful work sir!

 

@Huntchuks , my bet would be the steering head bearings 1st, a wheel bearing 2nd, forks knocked a bit out of line 3rd.

 

Yep, I thought about all three.
The steering head bearing seems smooth, unworn, not loose, with no bad spots in movement.
I swapped front wheels between the X and non-X with no difference.
The front forks were aligned but I loosened everything and realigned when I swapped wheels, no difference.
I am stumped.

 

Do you have any other shock absorbers you can try ?

 

Hey Franz, unfortunately no. For the X, probably hard to come by around here too. Not sure if the non-X shocks are compatible for testing.

 

@Huntchuks - I think I have a pair of X shocks sitting in the garage. I can't tell you if they are any good or not, but I have some.

 

You are the one person I thought might have a set. Let me know. I'll check if non-X shocks are compatible and if so do a swap to see it that is the issue. If my left shock is leaking I would need to do something about it anyway, unfortunately.

 

I believe the X and airhead shocks are interchangeable. I was going to the opposite swap at one point.

 

Hopefully replacements will cure the problem.

 

Entered my 83 XJ750 "Luna Cattis Tik" Maxim in her first bike show today

 

Yesterday I transferred the shocks from the airhead to the X and there was no affect on the wobble during a test drive.

 

If all your bearings are in good condition could it be tyre wear unlikely of course as it happened quickly.

 

You have checked all the obvious things.

 

Except the minor possibility of swingarm bearings and also the steering head , which seems ok. Why did they decide on using a special tool for the steering head???

 

Do you mean the tool for removing the bottom race? I got mine out with a masonary drill because the shank that fits into the drill chuck is reduced so it could catch the lip of the race on my XJ 900f. At few hits on the drill with the hammer and the race was out. I used the old race to get the new one in when it was flush with the lower end of the frame headstock. Could you try slackening off the swing arm bearings slightly and re torque them just to see what happens when you ride the machine and then do the same adjust the steering head bearings. Mine were not badly worn but there was some visible damage so I replaced them.

 

I am talking about the tool to tighten the head with a torque wrench.

 

I made it up out of a steel tube.

 

If you have a section of tubing and a welder you can weld a cheap socket onto the tube and cut the sections out for the nut with a hacksaw. I didn't have a welder. So I put a long spark plug socket into the tube with a bolt. Very easy to make out of scrap.

 

What did I do to my bike today?
I replaced my gas cap - still leaks like hell after fill-up.
I am starting to become a bit frustrated with this bike.
I bought it (1980 xj650G) to drive around town when my s83 is being cranky.
I always loved the way they looked since I was a kid. Never could afford one then. Can now
I think I might have paid too much, ($1800 USD) but it looked so good, and only has 7600 miles.
Still needs a seat, and tires soon, tach is inaccurate etc...
But all I have done so far, is change the oil, the final drive, and ride.

 

Yesterday I wrestled the rear tires of the rims of the XJ700 and XJ700X and swapped them. What a workout. Today I am hoping to bring them somewhere to get balanced. Now the rear tires will match the front where I had just swapped the whole wheels between the bikes.

 

I wonder if that will fix the wobble?

 

Not sure, I have them balanced now and am going outside to check swing arm tightness/bearings, remount the rear wheel and put the shocks back on. Unfortunately, on the way to get the balancing done, I blew out the right rear brake line on my Jeep. Had to go the rest of the way and then return home with no real brakes. Luckily it was 99% expressway so there was no need to stop.

 

This a.m. I blanked off the tank with @Dan Gardner 's 3D parts and treated the tank with some EvapoRust. Also got some aircraft remove to de-lacquer the valve cover (that stuff is NASTY and I still missed a few small spots), and got a fresh can of spray paint for the calipers. I hate/suck at painting. Got a little drip on one, but otherwise I think I'm happy with them. We'll see how they hold up. Carbs should be home tomorrow or Thursday, not that I'm really ready for them yet. Should clean more of the actual bike before I slap them on.

 

So...yesterday I checked the swing arm on the X and there was side to side movement, not good. Took the pins out, greased, replaced and snugged up to remove the play. Remounted the shocks, mounted the wheel/tire. Bike rides much better now, so far. Further testing coming up.

 

Good for you. Inexpensive, just a fiddly, fix.

 

At some point my clutch safety switch stopped working. I discovered it last week when I tried starting in gear by accident and got the lurch. Yesterday I removed it and discovered the wires were broken from the crimp connections on the switch, not making contact. I very PAINSTAKINGLY was able to solder the NOT EXPOSED wires to the switch. Did a test with a meter and discovered the switch is also not working. Grrr. Pulled the switch from the airhead as a replacement. Soldered a jumper across the broken switch connectors so it can be carefully used temporarily on the non-X. Now, writing this, it occurred to me it would have been easier to jumper the connector in the headlight bucket! Broken switch and wire are not installed yet so I think I will take that option until I run across a good replacement.

 

Strange, broken wires or open switch the starter should not engage in gear, maybe something else wrong

 

The non-X switch is working perfectly on the X.

 

All I did today with mine today was ride it. Took my stepdaughter for a ride this afternoon, along with a couple of Bros.

 

Spent half an hour on a bike that has been sitting for years before I got it in January. A bunch of work and a bunch of parts from xj4ever and some paint and finally some decals from bddesigns, and I think we have something!

 

Nice, better fix that peeling stripe.

 

Yep, and the missing bolt right above it. Bad mechanic, slap, slap.

 

Finally got in a good ride , rode to Illinois where i rode was not much to see exept corn fields and soybeans, but good roads dotted with woods , i was totally lost but that us the fun of owning a bike , headed back to Indiana found a great freshly paved strectch of road 8 miles all wooded . Weather was great in upper 80's and no wind only went 130 miles but had a big smile on my face . The bike performed flawlessly, when i stopped to fill up bike started right up ...starter clutch works the way it is supposed to

 

Nice. I don't ride towards Indiana much if ever, but it's good to know you're semi local. Maybe one day we'll ride out to AMA's Vintage Motorcycle Days.

I wrenched all day, kind of ignored the brakes, gave them a couple squeezes, and they felt even worse than yesterday, so I gave myself a break. No pun intended. Instead I worked on getting the mufflers off to shake out the crud. Did a good bit of cleanup, will have to do some more before the new gaskets will fit on the collector stubs. And I will shine them up really pretty before I put them back on. One step forward one step back.

 

I live very close to Chicago the AMA vintage days is awesome!!!

 

I'm about 45 miles NW of the city proper. Crystal Lake area.

 

Nice area had a late buddy that lived in woodstock the motorcycle show that was at the fairgrounds was awesome but that was a few years ago .

 

Well, I was gonna take out the spark plugs and found that they were all already loose, not a big deal but, it sat outside before I bought it and I’m thinking some rain water got down into the cylinders and maybe rusted….‍♂️ because with the plugs out I cant bump it over or turn the rear wheel with it in gear, it did crank over about a month ago so if it is rusted it shouldn’t be too bad. I need a new battery anyway. ….

 

It happened, finally decided to ride today started off good ....and smack i had a wreck woman was turning and did nor see it tried to stop but hit passenger fender and deck lid , destroyed my factory Yamaha fairing dented the pristeen fuel tank bent my right side case gaurd , broke off both turn signals , I rode home looks like i bent the handle bars and the ignition switch broke off the screws sheared , and front fender is creased . I have some bruises and some scrapes but nothing compared to my pride . I have another set of handle bars , and might have turn signals I will need to check

 

Oh no! Glad you are okay. Mostly. Any citations?

 

Happened to me too. Glad you are okay.

 

No just mostly hurt my pride unfortunately front is tweaked I have spare parts , but not sure if forks are bent , i tried the spare handle bars but that is not it still off . Now sitting in ER my wife is freaking out i have a bruise on my belly and she insisted i go get it checked out if i get out of here till midnight i will lucky.

 

Yikes! Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

 

Yikes indeed!! Glad you are OK @Jetfixer !

 

Im pretty sore but went to thegarage to see how bad it is , the speedometer broke had a spare do that is fixed. The ignition switch broke , had a spare . The front fender is tweaked , have another fender that needs refinished so far only thing I do not have are front turn signals left and right . The front forks had to be realigned but does not appear to be bent . Really is a downer the fairing is destroyed it was nice riding with the wind protection.

 

Didn’t get much work done today, but did pick up a new project. 1982 XJ550H Maxim with 15k miles. Hardly any rust on the bike. Needs the basic work any 40yr old bike would.



She’s obviously been repainted. Small tear in the seat as well.

 

Worked on repairing the damage from my accident. Got my front turn signals, and I found another front fairing on eBay . Got it today will need to repaint it and will need to reinstall the mount as I had removed this set up . I also need to refinish the front fender . I'm still pretty banged up with lots of bruises, my left ankle is really bruised and hurts the most so only work for short periods.