Longevity

I am wondering how many miles can one of these XJ's go with proper maintenance from day 1? Could you get 100,000 miles on one? With original piston and rings and so on.

 

We've seen some UK models with over 100,000 kilometers, not sure if they are 100% original, but with proper maintenance they are pretty much like the energizer bunny.

 

I understand that isnt unheard of. Im right under 40K and still cicking along strong.

 

You could I'm sure.

On the shaft driven bikes, the primary chain tensioner will eventually disintegrate, requiring splitting the cases. At what mileage is a complete crapshoot.

On ANY of them, the camchain should really get replaced at around 60K along with its guides. And I'm thinking that if the bike's made it to 60K and still has good compression, I'd pull the head and do a valve job if it hasn't had a valve stem seal fail yet.

The only other possible "weak point" I can think of is the camshafts running directly in the aluminum head; but then again so do Honda cars and they regularly go past 100K. That one's more a function of regular oil changes than anything else.

I've got 27K on one bike, and 15K on the other; both still going strong. I guess we'll see. My Norton's past 45K and still fine; but it's an iron-barreled pushrod motor with a redline half of the XJs.

 

40k here but the bike is in rehab right know

 

A good air cleaner (plus sealing of all joints to ensure it does it job) will ensure the fine dust stays out of the oil, preventing premature wear.

Regular tune-ups will help keep the engine from overheating due to lean running.

Regular oil changes will ensure the acids that form from the union of products of combustion and condensation in the crankcase don't eat away the vital organs of your engine.

Short thermal cycles are the enemy of any engine, the best example is an inner city taxi where the engines regularly clock over 500,000 miles simply because they are kept warm 24/7. Most of the wear in an engine occurs in the first ten seconds after start-up.

 

Iandmac nailed it. The thing or time that wear occurs at the highest rate(it's all about rate) is on initial startup. One misnomer is that long rides are better then short....well, they are to a point but I always like to use the following example when explaining this;
Imagine hopping on your bike and riding 350 miles to have dinner with a friend. It's a very hot afternoon and your friend lives in the city. You ride 290 miles of highway then 10 of city before arriving at her home. As soon as you shut off the engine, a good portion of the oil in the top end drains, then the oil on the cylinder walls evaporates from the high heat, the very thin coat of oil at the cam beariing surfaces also burns away. Now at 11pm and you hop back on to ride home....guess what....yup....it's going to have a high wear rate until the oil is refreshed into the top end.

Using that example, or variations of it, we can see that after long trips, restarting after an hour or so to refresh the oil to the top end isn't really a bad idea.

I realized this years ago when I opened up a '78 GS750 at a friends request for a slug and re-ring....never noted to be a longtime running machine. Suzuki's silicone content caused many pistons to begin simply crumble at around the 40k mark. Said engine had well over 70K and MEASURED, not looked in the same shape as an engine with a fifth of the mileage. I was stunned to say the least....so I called Ron and asked him what he had done, what kind of oil he used, any additives, etc....you know, the deal. The only thing I had known perviously was that he had bought it new.

When we talked he told me about always...the word he used was "religiously" restarted his engine a hour or so after a ride over 25 miles. The GS's, especially 1st year bike had wear issues at the cams, ring lands and center big ends. Most of these were overshadowed by the infamous electrical problems but Rons' bike proved that if the right precautions were followed, even most of those issues could be belayed. It was a pretty amazing experience.

We did replace the pistons/rings but the bores only needed a hone (the original cross-hatching was still visible) and we also replaced the entire cam chain assembly. That was probably 15 or so years ago and a couple years later, Ron moved and we lost touch.....I wonder if I can dig up a number or address and see how that bike is doing today.

So to answer your question.....yeah, metallurgy aside, these bikes are capable of lasting many, many miles but only if properly taken care of, and then some.

jeff

 

. . . And that's why Lucas Oil products can claim a reduction in wear - - it leaves a film behind when oil drains off parts preventing these dry starts.

 

...And Lucas Oil products work. At east they do in my truck. Ive been using it for years and I believe in the stuff

 

I've got 86,000+ miles on my '82 XJ550. Other than the starter and ignition pickups it's all original. I put about 500 miles a week on it so I see no reason it won't go over 100,000 some time this year. The key is regular oil changes and tune ups.

 

Wow that's great mileage on your 550 sanoke! That makes me feel good about my 550 right at 30k. Looks like w/proper care I've got a few miles ahead of me.

+1 to the Lucas stabilizer plug. I have a Nissan that was driven by a clueless person w/o any coolant and it partially cooked the rings. It wouldn't run right at all and I tried Lucas stabilizer with oil at 1/4 ratio and it fixed the problem. Runs just fine now. Old Mr. Lucas co-opted a secret ingredient from a chemist he met (who has since passed away) and nobody can figure out what it is. The competition has used sophisticated chemical analysis and still can't determine what he's using. But it works whatever it is.