FINALLY!!!!

it's running. i finally got it running. after trouble shooting all the electric just to find out that i wasn't getting spark because the kill switch contacts weren't making contact. cleaning the carbs and putting the floats upside down. getting my hopes up just to have them smashed. i finally got it running. not perfect but it's still a milestone for me. some fine tuning to do and soon i will be on the road. that rush of air. the noise all around but loving the ride so much it's silent. the smell of fresh air and trees. i'm almost there. soon, very soon.

 

The persistent XJ owner is the one with a rush of air and smell of trees blowing past. That my friend is you! Let us know if there's anyway we can help you get there sooner.

 

Great to hear! I am going out and dedicating this ride tonight to you, my friend! You will be there soon.

 

Oh, and BTW- are you just S of GR? I head up 31 to visit friends in Zeeland fairly often, and I can stop by to give you a hand sometime.

 

i am just south (15 min)of GR. who do you know from zeeland. my wife is from there and her parents still live out there. maybe we have a mutual friend.

anyway i hooked a car battery up to the bike with jumper cables and strapped it to my luggage rack (obviously i need a new battery). she started right up again and i took her for a spin around little moline. it was awesome. need to do fluid changes and an all over check but it was still the smoothest ride ever. the biggest bike i've ever ridden is an '81 kawasaki LTD 550 (my fathers in-law's) but this 650 is fast! holy cow! i loved it and think i'm an XJer for life.

 

My friends Craig and Kara Emenaker, but I made a mistake- they live in Allendale now, IIRC.

I love my 650, as well.

 

Awesome! my XJ750 was also lifeless when I got her. She was sitting in a barn for several years, I had to evict a dozen spiders before I started wrenching.

Cleaned/rebuild the carbs, changed plugs, rebuild the front brake piston seals, that's all history and now she's more reliable than a new car!

This is only the start of your XJ life.

 

so far i'm loving it, just need to make it legal then ride to my hearts content!!

 

No, you need to make it legal, then SAFE and then ride to your heart's content. Tires, brakes, you know, all that mundane stuff that can save your life.

 

true, i meant to say that too

 

I had about that many spiders to ... dispose of... plus a family of mice had made their home in my airbox. Complete with a ladder to get back out the top hole, haha. Found 5 of the little dudes in there when I pulled the lid off.