New Bike Owner XJ700NC questions

I just purchased my first motorcycle, a 1985 xj700nc about 6 months ago and have been overwhelmingly happy with it. It is in great condition and all stock. I immediately attended to the lubrication system and changed the oil, filter and gave it a tune up. Anything else I need to check asap...I was thinking the brakes?

I have an issue with the wiring system as a few switches have failed. The ignition switch (on the right bar) contacts are worn out but I found out that I had to replace the entire control assembly and can't just replace the switch.

Next the main switch (with the key) was badly cracked (mostly age) and I removed it and ordered the part too. The downfall is that I will have to cary multiple keys but I guess that's not the end of the world.

I took apart the headlight to get to the main switch and as I did a wire clip came out and I don't know where it goes. Anyone have any hints?

 

WELCOME from TN!!! Checking rear brake for delamination and maybe changing out fuse box might be the next things on your list...

skillet

 

Welcome from NW Mississippi, on the clip issue, it could have hooked up anywhere. Can you take a pic and post it? Get yourself a good manuel or two, original would be nice and a Haynes maybe.

 

Something often overlooked is the brake lines. They are supposed to be changed every 6 years. When they are old they make disc brakes feel mushy. When you pull the lever fluid goes into the now expandable line instead of into the caliper. Your master cylinder and calipers may need to be rebuilt. This will greatly improve your brakes.

 

If you can take a picture of the clip your talking about

 

You can have the lock rekeyed when you get it I hate having multiple keys as far as the controls on the bars check out the sell swap trade forum and post in the wanted check ebay or bike recyclers

 

There is a pair of handlebar controls on ebay that look to be in really good shape:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/YAMAHA-8 ... _500wt_956

I would guess the clip you are talking about is a retainer clip on one of the connector plugs that broke off. It shouldn't be an issue since those wires are so jammed in the headlight bucket that it won't wiggle loose.

and OH> Welcome to XJBikes!

 

Thanks for all your comments. I appreciate the input because it's hard to find any xj owners in south Florida, especially for the 85' 700 series (n,nc, x). Everyone here seems to be into shiny bikes. It's my first but I seem to be drawn to the vintage bikes. Somehow I just feel like they are built more simply with less to go wrong on them.

I found that the headlight is held together with springs...2 coil springs and one that looks like a clip. I figured out where it goes and I'm just waiting for the switches (main and starter) to come from cheapcycleparts.com. They seem to be the lowest cost for OEM parts but they take for ever to ship. They cost $365 at the local Yamaha dealership and would be available 3 to 5 days...at ccp they are only $250 but take 10 painful days.

I wished I would have been able to find the controls on ebay before I ordered the parts, that might have saved some $. Any other places I should check next time?

 

Having had the issues with the electrical system it gave me an opportunity to understand generally how it works and how to fix most of the electrical components so I feel somewhat comfortable with that component on of my bike. I went through the fuses and replaced all of them and carry spares also and I will inspect the left side controls to see if the contacts are good on that side too.

As advised I will inspect the brakes to make sure they are in good shape. The front brakes appear to be fairly sharp but the lever is a little sticky so I will take a look at that. The lines don't seem that old so they may have been changed already by the previous owner. The rear drums are where I'll focus on the most since I have read some of the past forums about the delamination issue. From what I understand the cause of it is probably from storage and expansion in cold weather which we don't have a lot of here but I suppose I shouldn't assume that the bike has been in Florida throughout it's life since it is a California model and it only had 29k when I got it (not sure if those are original miles).

Anyway thanks again all!

 

XJ4ever at the top of the page is a great place for parts, quick shipping as well.

 

The parts finally came and I install the main switch (now I have separate keys for the ignition) and the start switch control assembly (right side). Unfortunately I was still unable to get the signal system to work.

I was first convinced that it had to do with me fiddling with all the wires. I tried everything to see if I left something disconnected and then finally decided to do a full diagnostic of the signal system using my multimeter.

After some time I found that the signal switch on the left control was not functioning. I took it apart and discovered that the solder connection on the actual switch came off and I didn't want to spend an additional $170 for the left side controls so I just simply re-soldered the connections on the switch.

My suggestion for anyone having a similar problem is to access the main wire connections by taking off the headlight and test continuity in switches, wires and connections (using a wiring diagram to see what should be connected when a switch is activated - I used the one below). In these older bikes many of the electrical components need close attention.




Thanks again for all your help.