Decision Time - Repair or Part out?

Looking for some input from anyone who has replaced an engine with another. Posted elsewhere, my Maxim tossed a rod out the front of the block. At the time I was so tired of working on it I decided to part out and buy something newer and larger. But I miss my Max, so the question is - should I find an engine or part the bike away?

What I am looking for is advice from someone that has experience shipping or receiving engines over distance. Is it even partly cost and time effective or should I throw in the towel? How reliable is the Maxim motor in general and are rod-tossings common?

Sounds like I'm getting a bit crazy - true. All this great weather and me without a ride!

 

find another mill, for sure, but try to find something fairly local, it would be good to be able to check it out, unless you can find one with a warranty (unlikely)

 

+1 with wizard, find a local engine you can check running before you buy or you can get burnt buying from across the country or wherever.
bloke that sells the engine from across the country can sell you a dudd and you wont really know untill it comes time to fire it up.????????
local guy you can more than likely hear engine running and find him if he tries to pull a shifty on you.
so, 1, find local engine
2, hear running
3, buy if happy
4, fit your new/replacement engine, as these things are usualy bullet proof and can go forever. so far i have clocked over 100k and have only had to replace the primary chain and guides. other than that it is change the oil and filter at regular intervals keep your fuel filter system up to par and enjoy the rides.
basic and commonsense maintenance helps keeps these old girls running better than a swiss watch.

 

I agree. Find one locally if at all possible; if not able to hear it run you can at least get a compression test.

Or look for a donor parts bike, same conditions.

 

I agree with the comments....
Keep an eye on Kijiji, there have been a lot of "no papers" bikes going up lately....
(I've been tempted my the 400 Seca, I could make a hybrid... MECA or SEXIM hehe)

Check Toad's and RPM Cycle, there is a bike recycle place in Sackville that posts there sometimes, I'll snag a number for you...

I thought there was a notaround New Glasgow somewhere...

There is a large one in Moncton, but I hear they can be pricey...

 

Here an example of of why the above advice is solid.

Theres a guy a few miles away with a xj750 motor thats
been sitting in an open shed for years. He would take $150.00
for it but has no idea what the condition the internals are in.

To ship it to you would easly be dbl the price.Yet I'm sure
he would happly take your money and ship the thing to you.
Then you put her in and well.......................who knows???

I whould love to take her for that price because even with a new
bore and rings, it would be worth it. But not for the price of
shipping on top of the $150.00.

 

as much as i hate to start an arguement. LOL. i'd just take the money and buy something else. hopefully newer.

a 30 year old bike is a 30 year old bike. i won't dump money into something that's not worth it. if it can be fixed cheap that's one thing. but it's more sense to just upgrade if it gets too expensive.

myself personally. i have a hard time in a group ride where everyone has a new ride and i'm riding some old hunk of junk. the only bright side is at the end of year. i can sell and paid absolutely nothing to have some fun riding for the year while winter is here and everyone else is making payments.

 

No shame in riding a 30 year old bike. Take a look at some of the photos in the galleries. Be very careful if you happen across a picture of one of Wiz's bikes. If the picture was taken outside on a sunny day you may go blind!

The Maxim's are no slouch. The in-line 4 is a great looking engine, they run strong and long so what's not to like? I have a large touring bike that tames the 500 to 700 mile days a lot better than the Maxim but the Yammy is a great bike for around town and for short jaunts down the road with the wind in your hair.

Loren

 

EXCUSE ME? Some old hunk of junk???



I'm certainly not embarassed to be seen on an old bike...



If I were to blow up the motor in either of these bikes, I would rebuild if practical or find another motor. If the rest of the bike has been a labor of love, and is now solid and reliable, an engine swap most certainly makes sense.

You're definitely going to need to swap rather than bother to try to rebuild a fragged bottom end.

 

Forgot my other old hunk of junk.

Boy, this thing is nothing but a constant embarassment...

 

hey fitz at least you could have polished those rusty old buckets before putting up pic's. (sorry mate just had to have a dig) :lol: :lol: :lol:
those are some very nice bikes and the attention to detail is way out there, good job.

as for the comments of riding a 30 year old bike, i will take my thirty year bike over any modern crap they are putting out today.
with these old girls it doesn't take a brain surgen/computer geek to maintain or repair these babies and we don't get stitch up at the bike shop for $65/hour just to have some snot nosed apprentice drop the oil and change the filter give it quick wipe with a rag and then tell you its been through a thourough workshop service that took three hours, charge you $195.00 plus parts and oil.
on top of all of that we don't need to hook these older bikes up to a lap top to tell us that everything is ok or reset the mapping for the injection.

i ride with a lot of people who have a lot of newer bikes and they are always having a cheap shot about my older bike.
my standard reply is always (who does your tune ups and services ?)
the usual response is the local dealership.
then they get the response (you're not a biker but a handlebar attendant)

plus my older bike can still put a lot of them to shame in both MPG and in the twisty bits.


XJ'S RULE,

 

The "Big Snag" in getting another Engine shipped-in from a long distance is getting the engine from the SELLERS place to the Shipping Terminal ---> In a manner that will satisfy the SHIPPER.

The Engine won't get shipped unless:
All the Oil is out and it DON'T Leak.
Is securely CRATED ... or, STRAPPED to a Pallet that can be lifted by a Fork Lift.
Properly Labeled for Transit with labels and numbering that can't become separated from the goods.

Standard Truck Freight.
Terminal -to- Terminal is the way to go if you can swing it.

Pick-up >> to Terminal >> to Terminal >> w/ Local Delivery on your end adds-up quick.

 

And to tack on to what Rick was saying, add in our lovely folks at customs .... tack on more for $ conversion at the time (for better or worse, usually worse), duty and taxes.......

Local is the way to go, unlees you can snag a dirt cheap "no papers"parts bike from long distance

 

99 percent of old bikes ARE a hunk of junk. that's all there is too it. not very many are well taken care of to look as good as they did when they were born after 30 years.

those are some nice bikes. and for as nice as though are. that's a rarety.

 

Snowwy, post a current picture of your bike, maybe we can suggest a few improvements to make you feel better about your ride.