what do you think?

so i ordered a new chain and float bowl gaskets for my bike, got them yesterday and took the opportunity of the girlfriend being out of town to clean down and change some parts on the bike without getting nagged. the guy i bought the bike from said he hardly ever rode it since he moved to vegas from utah, and the bike really shows it. its absolutely filthy. as ive been slowly digging into things im just now finding the full extent of how dirty the bike is. i haven't registered the bike yet since i wanted to have it in top condition before doing that since i had a bad experience with the last one registering it then wasting money on insurance while i had it down repairing it. i wish i had the camera to show some pictures of how incredibly dirty the bike really is. i pulled dead bird parts out of the front sprocket cover yesterday and getting the shifter off was a nightmare which wound up with my hand cut pretty badly and blood all over my garage floor.

anyway ive been inspired to clean the entire bike and im considering waiting to register the bike and leaving it down for the winter while i do that and be ready for the spring. but this being las vegas we pretty much have good riding weather year round with a few exceptions. im just wondering what everybody else thinks i should do. i dont really have that much free time since im a senior college and dont exactly have alot of free time. also i live in a ball busting condo complex who threatens me with fines if i leave the garage door open for more than 5 minutes so i have to do most of the work either by lamp light in the dark garage or take parts off and clean them in my patio. any ideas?

 

Lopezfr,
did Yu get to start it ? I guess carb clean in on way. I did same thing..2 months ago i secured a 1985 Maxim X which sat for 2 years in outside weather under a roof, but wasnt as bad as u described. Now its running like a charm after carb clean n new plugs. Ofcourse changed Engine oil, Diff oil, Coolant. Good luck.

 

Make a punch list of everything you need to do to her.

Then, pick one thing a weekend, a month, or whenever you have time to do something to her.

If you do it one little project at a time, it won't be overwhelming, or costly.

Everything you do, will make her run better.

I agree with Little Giant, get her running and then you can see, or hear what needs to be taken care of.

Tires, brakes, cables, brake fluid are essential maintenance things that can be easily done on a Saturday afternoon.

Take pics, to chronical your progress.

 

Invest in some cheap portable lighting so you can work in the garage.

Use the "maintenance" section in the factory service manual as your roadmap: Go through it item by item leaving nothing out. Clean as you go. Replace anything that's worn out, cracked or crumbling, including pretty much any gasket you disturb for the first time in 28 years.

When you're finished you'll have an operational and reliable XJ.

 

the bike runs just fine by cleaning i mean the bike itself is covered in gunk. i spent the afternoon locked in the garage even though it was a beautiful autumn afternoon thanks to my hoa, but thats a different story. the entire fram is covered in a dirty sticky film of god knows what thats what i want to clean. i managed to clean pretty much the entire rear end, put a new chain on, cleaned out the front sprocket area, shifter, brake pedal, chain guard, rear wheel and frame, and some of the engine. its coming around. i had to use 4 cans of carb cleaner just on the shifter, brake pedal, front sprocket cover and chain guard just to give an idea of how dirty it is.

i need to flush the brakes and the forks, and lube the cables maybe i can do that next weekend. so a question i have is the bike is really hard to get on the center stand. i wasnt able to do it with the bike just on the ground i had to push one of my car ramps up to the back wheel, roll it back on to it, hit the brakes to hold it there then push the stand down to get it the rest of the way. am i just doing something wrong or is there something else going on?

 

You are doing something wrong. Face the bike on the kickstand side and stand the bike up level while you put your left foot on the rear stand so both feet of the center stand are on the floor.

Make sure you position yourself far enough back on the side of the bike, where you can grab the back of the passenger rail, and the side of passenger rail just aft of the shock.

While keeping your foot on the stand, and kind of stepping down on it, pull up and back by the mentioned hand positions. It will pop right up with a minimal amount of effort.

 

When i first started riding my 550 i could not for the life of me figure out the center stand. The method described above is how to do it. Also, there is basically no (easy) way to get it on the center stand while on the bike. You will get used to it fast though.

 

LOL. When I first got my bike, I would stand behind it with my left leg forward and pushing down on the center stand while I pulled the bike up as hard as I could with both hands on the back of the passenger grab rail.

Finally, one of my neighbors that used to have one back in the '80s showed me the "easy" way to do it.

 

haha thats a funny visual. i guess no more ridiculous than me stradling the bike throwing as much force into pushing the bike back while using one foot to hold the center stand down over and over

 

What helped me figure out my center stand was realizing the fact that it's actually built as a leverage system. Before, I was just putting my foot on it and trying to pull the bike back and up as I did with my old, light 250.

The key was figuring out that you need to really step ONTO the center stand. You put all of your weight on it and then pulling up on the bike is much easier. It's a lever, really. You have to "step onto" the arm of the stand to get the bike to do anything. All your weight.

 

yeah i went out to the garage to give it a try and it worked perfectly on the 2nd try. i say 2nd because on the first try i backed ou half way through and had to tell myself, its not going to tip over thats just how it feels. yeah the only experience ive had with center stands has been with mopeds where you just kind of rock back and bam youre up, thanks guys