My new baby, an '85 XJ900N

Hi Everyone, here's my new baby, an '85 XJ900N I picked up for $500 out of the local trader mag. It's not in bad condition really, just been left in the weather. Has 36k miles on the clock so it's getting up there. Yet to test the compression but it cranks with the starter so is not seized. The air box and headlight are missing but it's otherwise complete and the electrics mostly work (hasn't run for fifteen years!). It's even got a really nice set of Koni shocks on the rear.

I already have an '84 XJ750R which is a low miler (18k miles) and now has a fully rebuilt set of 33mm Hitachi carbs. But it is cosmetically rough and the frame is dodgy per earlier post. As the 750R is a 750 engine in a 900 frame my plan is to put the low miler 750 engine in the good 900 frame and build one good bike from the two that I can get going fairly quickly without an engine build in between.

Later if the 891cc engine is re-buildable I'll eventually re-unite the original refurbished engine into its original frame and end up with a fully restored 900. I'm already salivating over those big 36mm Mikunis, golly they look wonderful, even dirty !! First thing I did when I got it home was to take the bonnets off one of the carbs, the diaphram looks brand new, probably been replaced. Hopefully the rest will be the same

 

Wow ... you guys tie good knots! Oh yeah, and nice bike too!

 

We have rough roads out here, I took those pics in the carpark where we stopped to re-tie, for the second time, on the way home. That's a lot of weight to have rolling around in the back of the ute !!