New member shout out. Also need some help. (Pics)

HELLO!

I live in Washington, USA. Just bought a 1982 Yamaha XJ750. It runs and drives and well most everything works. I am a computer guy by trade and i started getting interested in learning how to turn a wrench. I wanted to ask your guy's opinion on weither i should put money in the the bike. I had hoped to get the bike in good condition with a couple hundered dollars.





Bike has 26k miles on it, the engine sounds pretty good to me. Smoke comes out of the right muffler when i start the bike up. So their is a small oil leak somewhere.



I have been reading your guys forum posts about checking the rear axel before i go anywhere. So i stopped using the bike right away.



There is also quite a bit of rust in certain places, and the bike took a spill somewhere and ground off some of the engine flanges(thingies).









The bike also has two different grips. No idea which one is OEM.

 

i was hoping to get the bike into a solid runner for about 600. Would this bike be too much for a newbie to work on? Or would you guys sell it and go for something different?

 

The first thing you need to do, regardless of the fact that it runs, is do a compression test.

If it's got a good solid motor (and it could have, my 650 looks a whole lot worse and it has a tight mill) then getting it into solid shape can be accomplished for around $600-$800, by all means. (Assuming you're going to do all the work.)

It's a matter of how much mechanical experience you have (or don't) access to basic metric tools, plus the willingness to learn. You can certainly do it; but it will take a lot of time and effort.

But first off, check the compression. That will tell you whether or not you've got bigger issues than the obvious.

Oh, and neither of those grips is OEM.

 

WELCOME from TN!!! I think you're talking about checking rear brake not rear axle...

skillet

 

Welcome from NC! Coming from another computer guy, I'm here to tell you, YOU CAN DO IT! lol! If I can, anyone can. Looks like some Mother's Aluminum polish is in your future bro! Great find, I'm sure you'll enjoy it immensely once you get it right!

 

Ran the compression test

I didn't have any oil on hand so it was just the dry test.

1 2 3 4
110 110 110 75

Looks like im going to have to put the bike up for sale. I don't think a noob like me can fix bad compression.

 

Hold the sale Darth

The compression does not look that bad. You may only need to get the rings reseated from sitting.

Change the oil and filter with quality oil (Valvoline 10W40 Cycle oil). Add about 2 oz of Seafom or Marvels to the crankcase with the oil (helps start beaking down Sludge and deposits).

Replace the air filter and fill the tank with Premium and let it run for 30-45 minutes at around 1500-1800. Make sure the motor gets good and warmed up.

Make sure you check the brakes F&R. check all rubber lines and hoses for cracking and dry rot. Any cracks or checking on the tire sidewalls = replace ASAP.

Otherwise $600-$800 should be easily within getting it into shape.
Tires - $300 approx
Brakes $50-$75 Parts only

If the smoke doesn't clear by the end of the season then worry about getting rid of it!

BTW. Looks far better than my CB650 when I got it.

Good Luck
Ghost

 

Sorry GearN00B

Brain fart here!

 

That pony looks like it was ridden hard and put away wet! But that doesn't mean it's not a diamond in the rough (sorry, I like cliches'). Good advice so far with the compression testing. Once you know it's going to run good, then make sure it will stop good too.
Actually look at the brakes, don't go by feel. A short run around the block and they may "feel" great, but grabbing for them on the Interstate while going 80 Mph and getting nothing won't "feel" great.
The search option on here is your 1st best friend and for anything you can't find, then we'll be your second best friend.
Take your time and do it one bit at a time and you'll do fine. Problems seem to come up when novices tear the whole bike apart and then try and figure what goes back on what.
Good luck and keep the pictures and updates coming.

 

I am willing to give the 'ol dirty girl a make over. I was just worried that it would be beyond my ability to save.

 

Ha, I like it. Your bike now has a handle, "Dirty Girl"! :roll: :wink: :wink:

 

Welcome to the site! Where about in Washington are you? I'm coming from the Seattle area. Here's a little motivation for you - I have a 1982 xs400 Maxim that I bought for $200 back in October. Ran on one cylinder, one or more previous owners laid down on both sides, rear brake was shot, bad rear tire (good front), poor compression (L=90, R=80), and Kreem coated tank that was flaking (just read on the web about this stuff flaking = nightmare).

BUT, since then I've invested another $300 and she's almost golden. Granted it's taken MONTHS, but that's only working on it an hour or two a week. If I dedicated whole weekends to it, I would probably be riding around at this moment. Anyway, little monies invested, good amount of time, patience and a thirst for knowledge really paid off.

Work I've done so far:
-Cleaned, rebuilt, synced, and jetted carbs (multiple times)
-Replaced F/R brake pads
-Bled front brake, replaced fluid
-Painted frame (decent rattle can job, nothing fancy)
-Removed Kreem coating and rust from fuel tank (serious pain)
-Lined fuel tank with Red-cote tank liner
-Rebuilt top end (new piston rings, cylinder gasket, head gasket, valve cover gasket)
-And too many other things to list. Right now I'm about to re-shim the valves because they were too tight. My point being, it's not as scary or difficult as one would think.

All in all, it won't take much to get her back to a solid state, just gotta have fun with it. Plus, there's nothing like wrenching on your own project. Building computers (this is a hobby of mine) and programming are fun (been toying with the idea), but bikes are a whole other world. If you have any questions, this site and all it's members are extremely helpful and full of information. Ask away with whatever you need and we will all try to help.

Cheers

PS-Sorry for the long winded post.

 

I really appreciate the support. I took the ad off craigslist. Someone emailed me with an offer to trade for a turn table and some records. I thanked him politely, but declined.

I get today and tomorrow off, i think I'll take the bike up to my friends. He has some garage space, and tools. I'll start by taking some detailed photo's of the bike, doing more research. (I used to have a habit of tearing something apart and having pieces left over when i rebuilt it.)

I'll start a new thread soon to blog the process.

 

A couple of things: First off, DO NOT put SeaFoam or any other "magic elixir" in the motor. Just motor oil. It's going to take two or three nearly immediate subsequent oil changes; but that is the BEST way to clean out the innards. No sense causing new problems (like the clutch.)

The low numbers on only one cylinder like that could simply be a tight or stuck valve; quite often whatever valve was open while the bike sat won't want to move right away.

***NO hillbilly tuneup!***

You don't want to run the motor until you figure out what's up with the low compression, if a valve is stuck open, running it could cause damage.

-Pull the carbs (you have to anyway.)
-Remove the #4 pipe.
-Slowly turn the motor over; you can see the valves through the intake and exhaust ports. They should both move in turn as you roll it over.
-With the "4 spark plug out, you should be able to look in the hole and see the piston when it comes up; look for a pile of rust or crud or is it relatively clean?
-If both valves at least move, pop the valve cover off and check the clearances on #4; if one is dead tight then there's the problem.

Get a book, and have at it. Go slow and take a logical, methodical approach. Diagnose the motor first; then proceed based on that. The numbers on the other three cylinders matching that closely is cause for great hope. You CAN do this if you want to, and you're going to learn a lot in the process.

Now you see why the compression test was the first thing to do.