is this true. very bad review of xj750? or the truth?

Heavy, awkward four that was a bit off the pace but lasted for reasonable mileages. Camchain and tensioner usually went first, followed by the valves and pistons. Mileages varied greatly, although few managed more than 75 thou and most were in trouble by 40k.

off of totalmotorcycle.com

 

I think that review may have been written by my Previous Owner :lol: Didn't know what he was missing out on!

 

Here's what I hear: "I usually prefer V-twins and superbikes, but this one hasn't fallen apart like I'm used to.

The most durable parts of any engine are the first to go, meaning that the engine is overall extremely well built.

You can mess it up good if you don't do maintenance, but if you treat it like you should you can get 4x as many miles out of it than most people put on their bikes in 5 years of ownership."

I would say that is true.

 

My XJ750 is rolling up on 53K miles, and nothing has "went" yet. The cam chain is still pretty tight, although I'm planning on replacing it soon just in case. The bike has never left me stranded.

I was planning on replacing the engine with a low-mileage unit, but hell, this one just keeps going!

 

Pushing 56K on mine.

 

pushing 40-60k and she is ran HARD!

 

thanks guys thats what I wanted to here. I am planning to put a ton of millege on my engine. I love that I dont have to lube my chain, it gets decent mpg, and it has almost 90hp!! how can you go wrong. I paid $350 for mine.

 

I think it's all in the maintenance. My 550s are both quite young by comparison, but the 25000 mile bike runs just as good as the 9K miles bike. Once you get ahead on the maintenance, they seem to be quite solid.

 

how long will the stator last with 3k conventional oil changes?

 

I think that article was written in 1984.

Before any of the bikes affected could have gone the distances quoted unless ridden non-stop for two years.

 

That website is dreadful.

 

I bought my Seca in October last year with 8k on the clock. My commute is real short and I haven't had it on any trips yet so I'm guessing it has 12k on it now. Rode it hard all fall and winter. Still haven't changed the oil. Who knows when it was done last. I really need to do that...

It runs GREAT now that the carbs are rebuilt though!

 

Sounds like they're describing the first Honda VF750......

 

I bought my bike with 9k miles on it and have about a 45 mile round trip commute. The bike had been sitting in a field when the guy I purchased it from got it and went through it to get it running again. Since then we have rebuilt the top end of the engine, new rings, valve guide seals, gaskets, clutch frictions and steels, re-sealed some front forks and replaced them, a new fuse box, new tires and brakes, and I just rebuilt/cleaned the carbs. I have also had to replace the pickup coils on the bike and the speedometer. Running at about 12K miles or so now.

 

Seriously, those comments are crap. Out of all the Jap fours of the early 80's, the XJ's are the only ones that you will still find running strong with the original rings and top ends.

Try finding a KZ or a GS four that still runs with the original top end.......

 

How about a cb? Not saying CB > XJ, but those CB750s and CB900s were pretty tough right?

 

I probably should have added CB's to my list too.

I'm not saying XJ's are better bikes than any of those, just that as far as "longevity" is concerned, the XJ's seem to be able to run for longer with the original internals than any of the other makes.

I worked in a mechanic shop for a few years and we had a steady stream of GS, KZ and CB's come over the workbenches for full engine re-builds, but very few XJ's.

 

Cool good to know, I kind of passed up a deal on a CB750 last fall for my XJ650 and now I know I won't regret it.

 

plus the cb's mpg is in the 30s. it is the #3 best motorcycle off all time. I like the xj more thow. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeMgEuf30G4

 

The only thing I've ever heard about the XJ's is that some have tranny issues. In fact, I have a blow apart one out in the shed now. One of the gears (not sure which -- I didn't spend that much time on it) has a chunk taken out of it. But this was a beater bike, clearly, from it's condition.

That said, on the flip side it is clearly in how one treats the thing. Doing burn-outs or power-shifting is gonna stress the drivetrain significantly.

There's 15K+ on this XJ900. It runs perfectly and sometimes shifts a bit clunky but that's what I remember from way back in '84 when I owned one brand new.

 

Transmission blues is a common song I've heard on this site. Especially second gear. I was a professional auto mechanic with several types of licenses and certificates for 16 years and noticed that high performance vehicles nearly always had second gear issues. Probably from abuse. Let's face it, we didn't buy an XJ's to go to church and funerals on. I think that they had a marginal shifting ability to begin with. Mine had only 7800 miles showing when I bought it and second gear was stiff and clunky already. It shifts great if I just back off from full throttle momentarily and bang second without the clutch, but an old fashioned full throttle power shift with the clutch that sends the rpm's singing will almost grantee a missed shift, munched gear or both. Its too old and the parts are too hard to come by to treat like that so I've amended my riding style to compensate since I'm not really racing anybody. Nobody makes a cruiser (or a naked bike for people with long legs and round eyes) that performs like the XJ's do under $10,000 except Harley 883 sportsters', if you can stand the thought, thump and shake.(which my bobbed 750rh will flat blow away,) I wish Yamaha would realize that and build 4cyl cruisers that run like a 750/900 & 1100 Maxim's and Secas did, and still do.
Suzuki's were my second choice for this class of bike. The Honda's just weren't as devoted to high performance like the Yamaha's, and Honda parts supplies were horrific. It seemed Kawasaki compromised reliability for speed.
I love my XJ, crunchy second gear, square headlight and all.

 

The CB900F that I recently helped my friend buy needs a timing chain and adjuster/guide at 24,000 and has totally blown forks.
It weighs around 600 LB and makes 84 HP. 4 valves per CYL.
My 900 weighs 518 ? and makes 97 HP. Revs up quicker too.

 

how can you fix the chunky 2nd gear?

 

Replace it.