Little sister makeover.....for the girlfriend.

So my girlfriend took an interest in learning to ride and I told her I'd build her a bike if she was serious about riding. Well she went and took a class so I guess I had to fulfill my end.

Here is what I started with. Just a plain jane 1982 XJ 750 maxim. Gauges didn't work so who knows how many miles but it ran well and didn't smoke or leak so I picked it up for a grand. Not the greatest deal but not terrible either. Girlfriend loved it....I hated it, but I figured I could make it look interesting so I loaded it up and brought her home. She rode it around the area a couple of times before I tore it down. Much to her dislike! hahahaha


Cut the back end off and fabbed a seat and tail out of aluminum....

Lowered it a couple of inches for stability and looks.....
Painted it and cleaned up the harness and pulled the gauges and put on a Trailtech Vapor gauge....





Made up some side panels out of aluminum to replace the stockers and made a new license plate mount. Pics to come.

List of mods thus far.....
New 3 way adjustable clipons
Bar end turn signals
Old school foam grips
Trailtech vapor gauge
Painted wheels, forks, frame, engine, tank, and seat
Sportster 2 inch lowering shocks
Steel braided lines
Kawasaki Ninja 500 brake and clutch perch
Adjustable shorty levers
Bobbed frame
Keyless ignition
New headlight mounts
New brake pads
Axle mount license plate bracket
Simplified wiring harness
Shorty mufflers
On/off (vacuum eliminator) petcock....on the way.

 

You really think she is going to ride it now.?. That seat/cowl looks hideously uncomfortable.

 

That there be forethought, junkmn! Someone's gonna need a rump massage after a long days ride! -and who better to do it, than the one who caused it! :wink:

 

The pan/tail is at the upholstery shop getting some foam and a cover in black ostrich.

 

Niiiiiiccceeee..... Max approves!

 

Dude can I be your g/f? That seat looks pretty rad and I like the little touches on the bike. Like the horn moved up and flat and the cut away out of the tail section to allow the wheel to move up due to the lowered suspension! Man do I have questions. I'll try and be brief...what paint did you use for the engine and the frame, wheels etc?

 

LoL max... And, um... I thought hotshot was a dude... (so damn confused now...)

 

hey teenycar, can you give me some details about the Trailtech vapor gauge? I checked out their site, didn't find anything bout the XJ. I've been wanting to upgrade and I really like the looks of their products.

Can you tell me what it takes to install the unit on the XJ. Any mods or what not? Also what model unit are you using and do I have to use that specific one? Do all the functions listed on the site work with our bikes? Lastly, if I pick up a used one, is there an option to clear all data and start new on my bike?

 

Nice work... and it seems you have some questions to answer ;-) So here's mine...

I'm also bobbin' my '82 Maxim. I would like to add clip-ons but I'm anticipating a problem with the fork. Is yours air assisted? Well, I guess it is since we seem to have exactly the same bike... I'd like to know how you managed the "air assisted" package on the fork. The way I looked at mine, it seems that if I raised the fork posts 1" or 1½" on the top triple tree to install clip-ons the air hose between the two posts would be exactly where the triple tree would clip... I'm not sure if my concern is well explained with my poor english but I'll appreciate if you (or anybody else) can give me a hint...

 

Clean and good lines. I like it. I like the seat and cowl too good work man.

 

Hope she likes it (I DO)!!!

skillet

 

Looks great! I like the additions like the bar end signals, I've never seen those before. Are you sure that's an '82 XJ750 Maxim? I thought all '82 750 Maxims had the Atari gauges and rectangular headlight. That much less work removing that old stuff.

How did you modify your airbox and what sort of filter are you using?

 

I used PPG Semi flat black for the frame, wheels, forks and swingarm. The engine is just rustoleum high temp engine paint black. The vapor gauge is the universal air cooled unit. Vapor Kit 75-704 Seems to work just fine. You can recalibrate them so if you pick up a used unit just call trail tech and they will tell you how to reset the odometer. MPH you can recalibrate yourself. I like them they seem to have a lot of adjustment in them. Tach works well. I suggest you tap into the plug coming from the coil for the best connection and I unscrewed one of the head bolt nuts and put the air cooled engine temp sensor there and screwed and torqued the nut back down. For the speedometer just unscrew one of the rotor bolts and substitute the supplied magnet bolt and then mount the sensor toward the inside of the front of the fork. Use a zip tie to hold it in place and adjust it until it picks up then remove the sticky backing and put it permanently in place. I used the original bar mounts for plate that holds the Vapor so it is clean and low profile.
As far as air assist, I do not have a tube connecting the two forks. Each fork has an air valve on top so I can raise and lower the forks as much as needed and it keeps it clean. I raised the forks up in the trees 2 inches. The Tarozzi clip-ons are fully adjustable which I like because I don't like the downward angle of most clip-ons.
Bar end signals are found on ebay and are super cheap so I thought I would give them a go. My bike came with a round headlight but maybe that was put on by one of it's previous owners. I'm not up on what they came with stock.
If anyone wants a stock seat in really good condition, let me know. It is the only thing I saved from the build.

 

Totally awesome dude and thanks for the info. One more question...how did you prep the motor? What did you clean it all up with and what kind of primer did you go with or did you go with it at all? Thanks again teenycar!

 

Just used a degreaser and soap and water after. The engine paint did not require a primer so I just sprayed it on. We'll see if it holds up but I saw other people using it so it must be ok.

 

Just used a degreaser and soap and water after. The engine paint did not require a primer so I just sprayed it on. We'll see if it holds up but I saw other people using it so it must be ok.

 

Righteous. Awesome bike again keep it up!

 

Nice job overall!

 

What did you do with the mufflers? Are they for sale?

 

Nice work amigo. I saw the beginnings of this bike over on the cf forum. Not sure if you posted the finish there but it turned out great!

 

do the clip ons hit the tank? looks a bit close

 

They are close but still clear.

 

So does she like it? Or did you build a bike for yourself?

 

Where did ya get the headlight mounts?

 

lol.... love the build, but i think the question everyones got and wants to know.... DID SHE LIKE IT? if not ill come up with my truck later

 

She loves it but I still am not done with it. Have to figure out why it isn't charging and when the upholster finished with the seat it looked like crap so I have to figure out something else. Also waiting on exhaust reducers to fit the new shorty mufflers.

 

Awwwhh.. You took something she liked and made it into something YOU liked. Youll be sad when she lays it down for the first time.. and she'll be devastaed.
I let my GF wreck her 500 Ninja twice before we started custom work. Now she rides smart and safe and has fun.
In my experience those classes dont teach you jack, cept for the basics. Only time and experience can teach you the things you need to know when riding.
She shoulda ran that baby into the ground, THEN custom her a bike
Honestly I kiinda like it tho. I'D ride it. With a comfy seat of course

 

id like to know what the clutch and brake levers are from. Are they just universal fitted levers or are they off a rocket?

 

Yeah man i dig like the pipes that came on the bike, look nice with it lowered like that.

 

Ummm....ok. She liked the bike because it was a bike, not because she liked the way it looked! Her first time out really riding was going up the west coast from so. cal to Oregon on my R1! and she did fine. Experience? No, more like thought and having balance. I'm not worried about her wrecking the bike because she is aware of her skill level and I don't push her beyond that. And she is less likely to drop the bike now as it is lowered and she is able to easily flat foot the bike. I work in a Level 1 trauma center and it doesn't matter how much time and experience you think you have. Whether you are a lifelong veteran rider or it is your first time out crappy things happen.

 

clutch and master are from a CBR600 and the levers are adjustable pazzo knock offs from china.

 

Just when you think that you've seen all types of builds, a guy comes out of the weeds with new, fresh, out of the "box of norms" thinking that puts most others to shame. Very, very nice work but I congratulate you more on the innovative application of parts that most here, by evidence of the above posts, have never seen before!

I tend to be mostly a purist...."make it stock, make it correct" and make an any mods unseen to the eye.....but I do like a well built, thought through machine.....GF should be very happy!!

jeff

 

You got that right!! I've been riding for 10 years and a deer almost killed me Saturday night. Sounds like she's got a good teacher. As lng as sheknows her surroundings shell be fine. Problems gonna be when she wants it painted hot pink and you won't be able to ride it anymore

 

Appreciate the comments. Always nice to have your work appreciated by others. She actually chose the color and I agreed to to it. hahahaha. Seat guy did an awful job and contrary to my wishes he glued the foam to the pan so I am now having to rip it all off and try to get the glue off without killing the paint work. Covered the entire seat in ostrich, cover all the paint work and I don't know if my desires were lost in translation but I'm going a different route now. Ordered some peel and stick foam that many cafe racers use and give it a go with a layer of gel over the top and hope that is enough to keep her rump comfortable since she doesn't have much cushion. I've decided if you want it done right you gotta do it yourself! Hopefully more pics to come soon.

On a mechanical note the mufflers showed up and they quiet the exhaust more than I thought on first glance so I am happy with that.

Also tested the battery voltage with the bike running at idle and the voltage slowly drops and then when I rev. it up the volts comes back to 14.34 to charge the battery back up. Any ideas on why it won't charge or hold voltage at idle?
Waiting for the LED taillight/brake light/turn signal strip to show up but when the bike is running and I turn on the signal the front bar end LED lights up but doesn't flash. I'm guess it is a draw thing. I have a resistor I can put in so I guess I'll try that and see if I can get the signal flasher to work.

 

Adds the resistor. Thatswhat I had to do to get my leds to work

 

These bikes only charge when above 2000 rpms. So it sounds like its working like it should.

 

Some updated pics with the side plates and license plate mount. New padding. Waiting on the tail light still.

 

Put Led lights in back. Changed out relay to auto-style capable of running LED lights. just simple rewire and works like a champ. Only thing lost is auto cancel feature. Didn't hurt me none.

 

So I went out to start it and after removing the side stand switch and hooking them together and in neutral it starts up and runs just fine, but the moment I put it in first or second it dies. Ugg.

 

Mechanics before cosmetics

 

So I pulled the side stand relay from the plug and it now will shift into gear but will still only start when in neutral, which is pathetic. So anyone know how to bypass the whole mess so it starts whenever? And please don't go on about how yamaha did this crap for a safety reason because I don't care. I've been riding my motard for years that starts in any gear, anytime, and doesn't care if the kickstand is down or not, and I've never had a problem. Use your brain and put the kickstand up and pull in the clutch before you hit the start button. No a difficult thing to learn.

 

I love this... looks great.

 

So I got the rear tail light in and all wired up. For those converting all the blinkers over to LED here is what I did.....
Bought a Tridon Flasher Part # EL13 from Pep Boys
Clipped the wires off the stock flasher which is located under the tank up near the front, just under the two coil packs. I put new spade connectors on since I was unable to get the original spades out of the original plastic piece to switch them around. Hook up the all brown wire to the pole on the new flasher that has an X next to it. Then hook up the yellow with green strip wire to the pole that has a P next to it. Finally hook up the brown wire with a white stripe to the pole that has an I next to it. I know a lot of people were able to get the original spades out of the plastic piece and switch two of the wires around and then it literally plugs into the flasher but for the life of me I couldn't after fiddling with it for an hour. Now mind you my little LED turn signals still do not pull enough resistance to make this flasher work. If you are running larger LED turn signals then maybe this mod is enough so test it before you go any further. For the rest of us you'll need to add a resistor in. I bought these off ebay for $5. They are 50 watt 6 ohm resistors. One of the wires will go to the positive side of your turn signal and the other wire will go to the turn signal ground wire. You only need to order two of them, one for each side and it doesn't matter if you hook them to the front turn signals or the back turn signals. Very simple really and while I am running a simplified wiring harness and no longer have the self canceling feature it never worked on the bike when it was stock and it really doesn't bother me. Hope this helps solve any confusion and if anyone needs further explanation let me know.

 

Forgot the pics!

Running Light/Brake light


Right turn signal.


Left turn signal.


Also added a left hand bar end mirror for legality sakes.
Still need to round off the edges of the foam on the seat and fix the shift linkage and find where ever that dumb neutral safety switch is and dispense with it.

 

Finally found the sneaky little neutral safety wire hiding under the frame rail and a loom so now the bike starts in any gear rather than just neutral. Also got the foam shaved and headed down to the fabric store and picked out some black ostrich to make a cover from. Still need to tidy up some wiring on the bars and rebleed the brakes for a firmer feel as right now they are pretty spongy.

 

Dope-ski's! Hey could you include some pix of the work you've done for the LED conversion and the discovery of the "neutral safety wire"? I plan on simplifying my wire harness as well with a whole new custom loom, but for now I'd like to take out the crap that never worked.

 

I tried taking a picture of the neutral safety wire but you can't see anything unfortunately. That being said.....if you look just under the shift lever you should see a wire loom that goes to both to the oil sending unit and a blue wire with a black stripe that has a c clip on the end of it and a tiny screw holding it to the neutral safety switch that is just inside the frame rail and just outside the oil pan. You may have to push the wire loom aside to outside the frame rail to see it but it is there. You can just barely fit a philips screw driver in there to pull the wire. I grounded it to the one of the side cover case bolts but if you are redoing your harness you could follow it up and ground it or eliminate it all together. If I had it to do all over again I would have totally removed the harness and made a simplified wiring harness of which there are several diagrams on this board.

 

You wrote in your post after fixing the seat with some foam that you were going to apply a layer of gel over the seat. What kind of gel are you talking about?

I was going to buy some of that rubber spray in the can stuff for dipping your tools in to cover my seat. Is that what your refering to?

More info please, thanks.

Btw you clear up a lot of stuff for me with the LED thing and over nice build!

 

I ordered a 1/4 inch thick piece of gell to go over the top of the foam as it is a little softer for the longer rides. Though as is the foam and general seat shape is more comfortable than on my CBR, R1, or GSXR. I got it off ebay for $30.

 

Ok cool, can you post the link? I might be interested in something like that.

Thanks