Small mods to an 85 XJ700N Maxim

I just had the fuel tank expanded on my Maxim and am looking to do some more mods over the next couple of months / years. The first thing I am looking at is replacing the stock tail lights with something smaller and more streamlined. I will also be moving them back further on the rear fender. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

The second thing I am looking at is either chopping the stock pipes and making them more parallel to the ground, or replacing them all together. Again any help is greatly appreciated.

The third thing I may look at is getting rid of the air box and replacing it with air filters attached to the carbs directly. That one might be a bit much for at this time though.

Thanks much

 

if you throw on pod filters and chop the stock pipes get ready to re-jet your carbs.

 

k&n makes filters that fit on each carb. i have on my 85 xj700x. i am also looking at some type of drag slip on exhaust as well..

have you look at oldbikebarn.com

 

You'll be sorry....
Search the forums and hopefully you'll change your mind and leave it stock. At a minimum keep the stock parts so you can go back.

At least I can tell you "we told you so"

http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=18207.html

http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=17461.html

http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=17264.html

 

Desinger_Mike,

If I read the posts you listed. changing the pipes out shouldn't fundamentally change any of the fuel / air mixture, and therfore I wouldn't have to mess with the carbs at all. I am mainly thinking of adjusting the pipes, so I can have something more parallel with the ground, allowing me to have full sized saddle bags on the bike.

 

I don't believe the air-cooled XJ700 is quite as sensitive as the watercooled X.

If you just change the exhaust, it's apparently not as damaging as pods.
But changing the mufflers will change the backpressure which will change the balance and the rate the engine moves air (and require a carb mixture change) but probably minimal.

From my understanding (no personal experience), if you keep the collector (the 4 x 1 x 2 box under the engine) you can change the mufflers with limited changes. The collector allows the exhaust pulses to intermingle and equalize.
Changing the discharge angle shouldn't have any affect, just make sure they aren't the first things to drag when you are banking through the twists and turns. The footpegs are spring loaded for a reason!

The 4x2 are apparently more problematic than the 4x1 systems.

Pods just completely change the way the carbs function.

 

theoretically, as long as you dont mess with the headers/collector, the exhaust changes will not affect the way the motor runs. pod filters on the other hand, will require a rejet to run correctly. in my experience, drag pipes (full exhaust system including header), pod filters, or both, cause a rich condition which will foul spark plugs. best bet would be to find the setup you want, and search some forums to try and find someone who has already dealt with the hassle of rejetting so that you know what jet sizes you need going into the swap.

 

I just posted an album with some pics from the tank expansion and subsequent bike repaint. Let me know if you can view them through my profile

 

I think you mean a LEAN condition?

 

Chacal,

you might have a biased opinion on this as you sell replacement ignition coils, but do you think that it is worth it to spend the $150 and get the replacement Dyna Coil parts?

 

Well, it just depends...........if your stock coils are operating properly, then there is no advantage to upgrading to Dyna coils. But if your stock coils are dead or dying a slow, miserable electrical death, then compared to the cost of new original style coils, or rolling the dice on another set of used coils, the Dyna coils become a viable choice.

Let me point out that they will not "improve performance" over a properly operating set of original coils...........

 

Sounds good. Thanks for the advice

 

eeRRR HOLD UP HIT THE BRAKES!!!!!

I need to know more about this tank expansion. Details man, details.

How much more fuel can you fit in there, where did you spilt and holw did you go about gettin the bottom still go on the frame properly? I really need to do this as my bike is my only mode of transportation. So come on and spill it hehe.. Is the tank in blue expanded in your gallery? if so it looks really nice.

 

As far as how I did the tank expansion, I took it to a guy who custom built bikes and he split it down the middle, expanded it our by 2 inches at the back, and welded in sheet metal to fill in the gap. The pics I posted are after the tank expansion. As far as ensuring fit on the frame, the mounting brackets are pretty close to the front of the tank, so there position remained virtually unchanged.

I get somewhere between 20 and 40 more miles out of the tank at minimum, however, I really enjoy the wider look of the new tank, making it worth the $350 I spent on the tank expansion and the $450 I spent to get the bike repainted.

Looking back after everything, if you really want to add a lot of miles to the tank, don't split the stock tank, get a new one completely built from scratch.

One other note. If you split the stock tank or get a new one built. don't depend on the gaskets built into the petcock and the fuel level sensor. Spend the 5 bucks at the auto store and pick up a tube of gasket material. That way you don't have fuel spilling out onto the engine when you start to fill up the tank for the first time after paint work. One lesson learned the hard way.

I drive an air-cooled XJ700 and I don't know if there is a difference in the size of the stock tank between the air and water cooled models.

Whatever you decide to do, make sure to look at pricing before you start. The only reason I was able to escape for so cheap on the painting was because I know a guy who knows a guy who does auto painting.

Hope this helps

 

More new pics are up. Removed the stock rear turn signals, replaced them with a license plate frame that has LED turn signals built in. Also put on my saddle bags, finally, after 4 years of them sitting on the garage floor.