Suspension Upgrades!!!

Now that I have my 11 going I have some time to finally tinker with the maxim. I still have it torn down undergoing tons of mods (turbo, larger pistons, etc) and I got some crazy ideas in my head. Since it is a maxim it originally had single disc brakes on the front. I swapped a seca turbo front end on the bike which gave me dual discs but I still didnt like the bias ply tires.

So I called up my bud who has a honda vfr 750 that he's pulling the engine out of to make a fast 4 wheeler. We worked out a deal on the suspension that I couldnt refuse and I was on my way. I tore the front end on my bike and test fitted the vfr front end. It has huge floating discs, 2 piston calipers, and best of all a radial tire. The neck on the maxim frame is slightly longer than the vfr's so the stem bolts do not grab as many threads as I'd like but that is no problem. I will cut and extend it 1/4 inch and everything will be good. The top bearing is the same as the maxims and the bottom is slightly larger. I will just have to use the race from a maxim so that will be no prob.

Now for the fun part. As everyone knows you cannot mix radials and bias tires I ran into a little dilemma. I cannot seem to find a bike with a shaft drive that uses radials and has a swingarm design even remotely close to ours. So I came up with a solution, no more shaft drive. To those who say the xj650 engine cannot be converted to shaft drive and it will never work...etc. Save your breath. I have in my possession a yamaha fj600 engine. It is basically the same design as an xj550 but has more power than a stock xj750. 72hp to be exact. It will nearly bolt in to the frame and best of all it is chain drive. I am going to tear it apart, put larger low compression pistons in it, and turbocharge the hell out of it.

The rear swingarm I am using comes from the same vfr 750 I got the front end from. It is the honda pro-link single sided swingarm. Which means: radial rear tire (stock size is a 160 but I can go as wide as a 200 :twisted: ), the swingarm is 4 inches longer than a stock xj650 arm, it has disc brakes, the rear wheel unbolts with 4 nuts just like a car, and a monoshock. The 4 inch extension it will give will help keep the front end down as I have a feeling it will be a wheelie monster. I have to come up with a mounting point on the frame for the monoshock but I have the vfr frame so I will have no problems keeping the stock suspension geometry. I need to make up some spacers as the swingarm is a couple inches narrower in the front but that will be nothing.

It was dark so I wasnt able to get any good pictures but I will post one so everyone can get the general idea of what the setup looks like. I stuck the honda clipons on just for mock up but they are going to hit the tank big time so they will require some adjusting.

I am using a factory 750 maxim tank, modified stock seat, and most other factory cosmetic pieces. My goal is for a tastefully modified muscle cruiser. When I am finished I can guarantee that I will have the fastest and most modified 650 maxim on the planet. I will post pics as I get farther into the completion of the bike. I am sure it will take some time but I have all the time in the world as far as I am concerned.

Let me know what you guys think about my ideas and if you have any suggestions let me know.

 

Sweet project! Keep the updates coming.

 

Wow...some major work there...will be interesting to see the final result. I am not trying to be a wise guy, just truly have a question for you. If you are saying you'll have the most modified XJ650 on the planet, is it still an XJ650 if the frame is the only thing left of the original bike? The engine, front end and rear are no longer original...is it just the frame that denotes the model? Please don't be insulted with my question, I truly don't know and know that someone must know the answer.

 

I get a kick out of your theory on tires. You know, you can put whatever you want on the wheels right. I am sure there are tons of radial tires available in 19" and 16" sizes. Oh well, cool project!

 

johno8- There will be many xj650 parts on the bike, seat, fenders, grab bar, side covers, handlebar controls, headlight, etc. I wanted to keep an xj650 engine but it is not possible with chain drive so I found the next best solution. The fj600 engine is also known as the xj600 overseas. I plan on boring it out to about a 650cc so essentially it will be an xj650.

dwcopple--If you can find a 120/90 18 radial rear tire then my hat is off to you. As far as I know there is not one. Anyways there are more than one reason for the swingarm swap. The ability to put a wider rim on there is one main benefit. I will be pushing over 100hp to the wheel and I do not believe the stock tires are up to the task.

Today I placed the tank and seat on the bike and I must say I really like the way it looks on the bike. The clip on bars barely hit the tank when the steering is up against the lock so that wont be a big deal at all. I need to make some spacers for the swingarm, weld a mount for the shock, and then everything will be in place.

 

I believe bikes are titled to the frame, so technically, yes, a frame makes it a 650... (REally just the neck tube where the VIN number is...)

 

I kinda figured that, but it's nice to get confirmation from others as well. Good luck with the build, kep posting updates too, would like to follow this.

 

Thats a cool project man..cant wait to see more pics of the build.

 

Yeah buy a better camera looks like an interesting project

There aren't, you used to be able to get some good 18 inch 100/90R18 and 120/90R18, but I think they have ceased production, they were the best tyres I have ever used

 

That's going to be a wild ride when you're done ! Someone with a 650 Maxim put struts on to make a quick hard-tail, rode around for a while, and noticed stress cracks in the frame. Not trying to sound negative, just that the mounting points for a monoshock might also over-stress the frame, and for you to add whatever gusseting you may need to be safe.

And I still have some Turbo parts if you need, PM me.

 

cool

 

Holy crap thats a lot of work! Maybe with many more years of exp i can dream up something that neat.. and know what the heck I'm doing!
Keep us updated!