Little update on my XJ650

First, I would like to thank Chacal for the awesome service, I placed my order Friday evening after work, and I came home today to find a box at my doorstep! I might also add that this was with the budget shipping! Props to you sir, I foresee myself ordering a lot more stuff for my bike :wink:

Well, I didn't show any pics of my new ride in my first post, so I thought I'd share a few today.

These first two are how it looked when I first brought it home. The pictures don't really show how bad it really was, covered in spiderwebs, bird droppings and grass clippings.






After a bit of cleaning and dusting, things look a lot better, but not as good as I would like. A lot of the chrome trim has rust spots, and the aluminum parts have a lot of oxidation. The paint also needs attention as there are a lot of gouges and nicks on the tank, and rusty spots on the frame. Here's a quick peek of how it looks right now.




While going through the bike, I've found a few things that don't look quite right, like these intake manifold plugs. I guess I'll be getting another box of goodies from Chacal to replace these questionable ones. What you can't really see in the picture are the hairline cracks in the rubber.




Next is the wiring harness for the rear lights. I haven't been able to locate an image of this location, so maybe someone can help me out here. Look right above the shock mount to see what I am talking about. All the wires come together with bullet connectors in a rubber boot. Also in this image is the sorry looking fuse box with a couple of inline fuses to replace broken mounts inside the box. Again, more stuff to order from our parts guru!




My last question involves the right side engine cover, if you look really closely, there is a small crack at the lower right screw. I was told the bike was dropped in a parkinglot by one of the POs, causing this, a little nick on the brake lever, and some scratches on the exhaust. The cover doesn't seem to be leaking, so should I leave it, or attempt to fix/replace the cover?




Not pictured is the new gas cap gasket, new ignition coils/wires/plugs, and partially disassembled carbs. I hope I can get all these little pieces back together! I've played with Nitro R/C cars/planes, weed-wackers, and other small engines when I was younger, but this has a lot more parts.

If you guys don't mind the pictures, I'll try to keep podating periodically, probably with more questions along the way. Wish me luck!

 

That cover is purely cosmetic...I have a spare if you want it. I would ask for you to pay shipping costs,but it is Christmas,so I'll send it to you gratis. PM me your contact info,and I'll send it to you.
Happy holidays,and welcome to the site;

Dan

 

Danno, very nice spirit.
XJer's rock.

 

We love pictures. Keep them coming. It's amazing the transformation some bikes make from neglected to prized rides.

 

Are you talking about in the "interesting" homemade port caps or the manifolds themselves? Cracks in the manifolds themselves aren't necessarily problematic, they crack a LOT on the outside before any cracks go through to the inside. Those port caps gotta go anyway.

 

Danno, I will definitely be contacting you

My intentions for the bike are to get it running like a top and then going over the cosmetics later, but it's hard to leave things alone as I pull the parts off the bike.

bigfitz52, I'm mainly concerned with the port caps, but I figure that while I have things out, I should replace them and possibly save some tuning headaches in the future. On the other hand, I know I should do things right the first time, but I am unsure if I feel comfortable pulling the motor out to check the starter clutch, etc. I guess I will have to wait and see how things go after the carb cleaning :wink:

 

I wouldn't pull the motor unless you identify a problem that requires it or for merely cosmetic reasons (at least not yet.) Those vacuum port caps are the most interesting improvisation I've seen yet for that.