Proud new XJ750 Maxim Owner, a few noobie questions

Let me preface by saying that I searched beforehand before making a post!

First off, I got a great deal on a 1983 XJ750 Maxim with 28,000 miles off Craigslist. It works great and I got it for a measly $350! I doubt the owner knew what he really could have made with the bike...

Anywho, question number one. The bike takes about 5 minutes to really warm up with the choke. It won't need full choke for more than 30 seconds, but it needs half choke for a good 3-5 minutes. This normal?

Number two. My VIN indicates the Maxim is a Midnight, but it doesn't say Midnight anywhere. It's simply a black 750 with a round headlight. Chrome mufflers and silver wheels. What is a "Midnight" Maxim and how do I know if I have one?

Three. I get some wobbles taking turns at high speeds while scraping the pegs. Should I just accept this as part of the whole riding an 80's bike thing, or should I look at my tire pressure, or what?

 

If your bike is a Midnight, the engine should be all black and the wheels and grab bar under the seat should be gold anodized. Maybe the exhaust should be black chrome also. But not sure on the 83's

MN

 

Yeah the engine is definitely not black, so I guess it's not a Midnight. Still curious why the VIN shows it as such.

 

did you check the engine serial number and the frame number maybe someone changed engines or painted the engine?
Have you checked the psi at the top of your forks it should be equal. The air cavity is vary small so don't just grab the air chuck off your compressor and think your going to pop a pound or two in there. I made an adapter with a regulator and a 0-25 psi guage to check mine. I think on your bike 15psi is the max but don't quote me on that. I just set the regulator to the psi I want to run and fill it up. I'm not even sure if that would cause your problem, though it never hurts to know your running the correct presure.

 

If you post the VIN or do a search for the VIN thread we/you could tell you exactly what your bike is.
Half choke for 3-5 minutes is totaly acceptable.
Scraping the pegs and wobbles hmmmm........
Check the sterring head bearings and wheel bearings.
More than likely the steering head bearings are shot.

 

Not from a 'riding an 80's bike thing', so troubleshooting is in order. Check the sidewalls of the tires for a date stamp. The tires may look good, but they could be old. There are no wobbles in my '85.

Other things you need to check immediately are the brakes. Don't trust that the PO did everything. Pull your back tire and look at the shoes and verify you have pad and they are not de-laminating. Pop off your master cylinder cover and protect the bike. Give the handle a squeeze and see if fluid shoots up when you squeeze the lever. You are checking to make sure the hole that allows the fluid to move is clear. The next step is the ultimate in anal-retentive behavior. Pull the calipers and break them down to make sure the seals are good and the pistons aren't gunked up. It's your life, so the time spent making sure the brakes are perfect is well spent. These bikes are old, and we can only guess at the history in most cases.

 

I'm going to try getting a new rear tire because the same thing happened to me on my Honda CM250C. I bought it used, it had a bad wobble when turning at high speeds. After replacing both tires the problem dissappeared.

My front tire looks good and is about a year old so I'll keep that on.

 

Just a quick update. Turns out both my tires were about 20 psi low, yikes! I aired them up and now the bike handles beautifully - almost turns in as quick as my 250 now, and no more wobbles.

 

the warm up time is normal my 650 is that way it is because it is carbuerated it is like an old car.

the scarping pegs could be somewhat normal once when i leaned very low on my bike the kickstand scraped the ground the older are not really made for very low leaning turns.

you got a hell of a deal i paid $1200 for my 82 650.