Money well spent?

I am a newbie and I am considering taking my "new" bike (1981 Maxim 650) to the shop to have it looked over, basically just for piece of mind. I have put about 200 miles on it and the only problem I have seen is a brake squeak that developed in the last 25 miles or so. I would appreciate any opinions on whether or not this would be money well spent. The shop charges $60/hour and was recommended by a friend.

A coworker has told me several times that used bikes of this vintage tend to have wheel bearing issues. Anyone know if that is a problem for the 1981 XJ650 Maxim?

 

Any older machine "could" have bearing issues - they do wear out. You can find all the information you need to go through your bike yourself and save major cash.

I spent the last 2 months going through mine a bit at a time as I had time. I put 1200 miles on it during this time.

Check your bearings - take the wheels off and inspect for wear or rough turning. If you are really concerned just replace them. Easy and relatively inexpensive.

Problems you have will vary based on past maintenance. My take was to go through everything myself so I had a baseline.

 

I took mine to a shop that was willing to look at 26 year old bikes when I bought it in April. I did it for the same reason, peace of mind. I hadn't been on a bike in almost 20 years so I wanted to be sure that, if I killed myself, it wouldn't be due to equipment failure. It cost me about $45.

As far as the bearings go, after 27 years, it's enitrely possible they need replacing.

mikeg

 

You wil be challenged to find a shop that wants to work on bikes of this vintage, and even then to do the job right. And remember that the shops will always try to sell you something at a high markup. My advice - take the money that you would have spend on a shop visit and go buy the factory owners manual. Study it carefully and then go do some inspections yourself. Its easy to get the wheels off and do a simple inspection of the bearings.

Do a search here on the board to find a list of recommended things to check when first purchasing bkes of this age and type. they are really easy to work on once you beocme familiar with where everything is and what it does. With these bikes being 25 years old or so, storage conditions become much more of a prevailing factor than is mileage. Especially if the bike was stored ourstide for any period of time, even covered, vs. being stored inside. You can judge this by the level of corrosion present on various points of the bike. And remember that all rubber items will be pretty iffy at this age - shrinkage and hardening will lead to problematic leaks.

 

The bike was pretty well maintained. I bought it from the original owner and it was kept inside a garage for all but the last few months when he had to move out of his house. All maintenance was done by a pro, including a tuneup just before I bought it. At the mechanics suggestion, he had the hoses "reglazed". I don't know what that means, but they look brand new. The bike looks and acts like it was well maintained.

That is a good point about shops not wanting to work on this bike. The dealerships won't even touch it. I have the Haynes manual, so is the factory shop manual still needed? I used to do all of my own car maintenance, but I haven't done any (not even my own oil 8O ) in 13 years. I have never worked on a bike, but I guess it can't be that much different. :?

 

It's not hard. The service manual has better breakdowns and all the specs but the Haynes is pretty good. Beware the Haynes has errors. When doing any maintenance check this site and you will get the right information.

I'm no mechanic but I have no problem doing any of the work myself and I now know very detailed information about my bike (thanks to this site).

You have some good advice here - Safety is key - check your fork bearings, wheel bearings and do a good frame inspection looking for cracks near the joints. You can tell a lot by how it rides. Pulling or vibrations should be checked. If it feels unstable in any way at higher speeds start looking for issues. Check your tires carefully for dry rot or other issues..

Once you have the safety is handled, start the preventive stuff:

Fuse block - replace it
Add a fuel filter
Check your plugs to see how your bike is running (search plug chop and plug read)
Check your starter brushes and clean it while you have it out
Check you alternator brushes and replace if needed
Personally I would clean the carbs so I know their condition then re-tune and sync

There is probably a lot more but that should be the most important stuff.

Lastly there is a TON of information on this site and folks that are very willing to help. If you get stuck just post. Unlike other sites this one treats everyone with respect and gives great advice!

 

Forgot one important thing. Chacal on this site has all the parts and is fairly priced.Just PM him. He is very responsive and gives honest advice and service.

 

I agree,
I'm no bike mechanic but after finding this forum and looking thru all the information here. I would just rather do the work myself.
Having said that.
I have a friend that is the service manager at a well known Yamaha dealer here and I still would rather do my own work.
Best advice is do what you are comfortable with but don't shy from challenging yourself. Once you get to know more about your bike you will
feel a lot better about doing the work yourself. But thats just me.

Rick

 

If you need an idea on what to inspect on a new-to-you motorcycle, use this T-CLOCKS inspection sheet (.pfd) from our friends over at the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. Very usefull!

 

xjasfirst, I would highly recommend you try to do this yourself. It isn't super hard and the parts are easily come by. You will find that the wheel bearings ($30 range including seals) are not easily removed and require the purchase of some realtively inexpensive tools ($40 range). I can recommend Chacal for parts. If you go the shop route, take the wheels off yourself and take them in. Saves you a few dollars on labor. If you care to post your general location, you might find a fellow member lives close by who has experience with such things. I just visited a fellow member this past week to appraise his bike and help him learn what to look for and how to fix it. Help is available.

 

Thanks for the encouragement! I will shelve the plans to take the bike to the shop and take look around this weekend. I will post if/when I run into problems. As a matter of fact, I am going to post a question about the brakes right now

 

ill tell you. im in the same boat. never worked on an engine let alone rode a motorcycle. then i bought this xj Frankenstein bike and although its been a hassle and a mess. I love it. i take pride in the fact that i have torn my bike to pieces when i see punks on 30 grand harleys that can barely pump their own gas, let alone tell you anything about how their engine works.

i like my bike because i get to know it better then any of those guys. so what if it stinks and is unreliable. i saw it here somewhere once:

id rather push a Yamaha then ride a harley anyday.

 

Haynes book is better than the Clymer, both have errors/omissions but are better than nothing. I highly recommend a factory service manual as well. I would also recommend CHECKING your wheel bearings but not rush to replace if they are fine. I would also have the following general recommendation: You are taking on a modern classic, a legend in its own time, a 27-year old marvel of the engineering that was current at that time. Modern shops have very little patience for working on these old bikes, and you can and will spend WAY TOO MUCH money paying someone to do all the work. granted, there are some things like mounting and balancing tires, for instance, that are better left to a pro with the right special tools. But most of the routine maintenance, and even most seemingly daunting repairs are within your grasp with a few of the right tools and the knowledge available here and in the service manuals. Don't be afraid to dive in! Ask a lot of questions first, do your research, then GO FOR IT! You will amaze yourself as you develop a skillset you didn't know was possible...

 

^^^^ Here here!^^^^

 

Very well said bigfitz52