Prized XJ650 Bobber 82'

Start by taking pics of the whole disassembly process, make sure every jet is removed, even the ones you don't think matter up by the diaphragm. also remove every piece of rubber. Now go to the parts store and get a can of carb dip, it looks like a gallon of paint and costs about $25 and you CAN NOT REBUILD THEM CORRECTLY WITHOUT IT!!, now take every single metal piece and clean it with carb dip and a nylon brush (or tooth brush) let everything soak at least 10 minutes, use compressed air to blow everything off afterwards (This is a must! borrow or rent a small compressor if needed) without blowing them out crap can be stuck in small passages and if you dry stuff with rags you get lint contamination. I personally left the carbs on the brackets that keep them together and cleaned the body of all of them by soaking one half at a time in the dip. I used #41 PILOT JETS AND #118 MAIN JETS, also BUY REPAIR KITS FOR THE CARBS you need new gaskets and needles/ seats. This was the proven formula for pods and open pipes and it WORKS! here are the new looking post rebuild photos

 

Also before install there is an article and I believe it is here on xjbikes.com about bench syncing the carbs, I followed this method exactly and have had no reason to "fine tune" anything because it runs so sweet. so to whoever posted that thank you. the only difference in how i synced them and how he did it was I used a flashlight on the other side of the carb to look at exactly how far each throttle plate was open and made them all match, i think he used paper clips or something. Also I run non oxy premium gas only in my bike, a few rare gas stations still have this stuff and it's worth every penny.

 

Use urethane fuel hose and no substitute, rubber hose breaks down over short periods of time and sends gummy residue to the carbs, it's available at the hardware store or any small engine shop will have it, also get a small clear in line filter to protect the investment a bit more.

 

Ok so I bought this sweet little speedometer that has mini led indicators for neutral, high beam, turn and oil. pretty sweet huh? well i guess that a full rewire of the bike is in order anyways so here we go rip it all apart and only keep what I need toss the useless and add the new stuff

 

Got all the body parts back and decided the ignition lock needed to be a little more bad a to match the bike. So I went easy rider style and put it on th right upper frame rail.
And as the only part of the bike I consider to be not done I am currently fabricating a mini knife handle to put on the key as kind of the final detail ( and mostly because the key is so frickin small)

 

There you have it, here is a pic of the first time she was ran after the build. If you want to hear it running there is a link to a youtube vid in the first couple of posts that has sound and was taken on this very same night this pic was taken. I hope to soon post another vid of it really getting revved up so everyone can hear that too. it sounds sooo amazing.

 

The whole project start to finish took about 6 1/2 Months and a couple bucks less than $2000 that includes buying the motorcycle, paint, parts... everything. through that 6 1/2 months countless hours were invested, it is truly amazing how much time each detail can consume especially when you don't have access to some of the nicer fabricating equipment. But I suppose an auto shop has more fab equipment than an average garage too

Thanks for checking out the bike and thanks for this site and it's excellent community of bikers who inspired me to keep going and finish this bike.

 

Your bike is sweet Tech50! You did a very fine job!

 

Nice job man!

 

Nicely done, looks good.

 

Nice scoot!

 

Thank you for the comments all

 

hey bud!
im inspired with your bike build!
its unreal

 

Nice nice... Nicely done. Love that front end

 

This bike rides awesome, but due to the hard tail it was tough to go on road trips with it because the seat suspension was not functioning right. light springs worked ok but over a few rides would bend badly, heavy springs had no give unless over large bumps and then the bike would try to buck me off!

So I wanted to put chopper shox on the seat but the 3" height was not going to look decent on this bike, After a ton of research I opted to build an air suspension for the seat that would give it a soft tail quality ride.

I have done just that, the bike rides just like a soft tail and is very comfortable even on the worst minnesota highways around.

 

The air ride seat is fully adjustable by way of an on board compressor, gauge and pressure relief valve.
One awesome feature is when deflated it looks like a hard tail with a fixed seat, Then when you want to get on and go, just air it up and off you go with the smoothest ride possible.

Here are some pics, the whole project took an entire day of cutting, welding, fabricating, wiring and mounting.

I am so happy! I can go on road trips now!

 

The pictures do it no justice

 

holy gadgets batman! thats awesome. looks great

 

Thank you, Thank you! I just got a second xj650! planning a second build... Going to step it up some. The second xj won't start so hope it's something minor

 

that air ride is sick!!! another vid of it in action? the original seems to have been taken down?

 

Dude your ride looks awesome, a friend gave me his 82' 650 seca so I am in the process of restoring it.

If you have spare parts from the 650 that you no longer need please let me know. The small little details are the hrdest to find (ignition switch cover, side panels, etc)

I cant wait to see what you do with the second bike

 

bump to ask where you got the headlight from. it looks to be pretty much what i want for my bike.

 

Seeing builds like this make me wanna sell my Pile and get another and do it right next time.

 

wow, great job. I just watched the video on you tube. Cant wait to start my xj bobber project.

 

im thinking I will be seeing this bike around town this year, the vids you posted seem to be right by my house

 

Yeah, I am in Eagan but the bike stays at my shop (Eagle Auto Service) in Apple Valley. If you ever want to have a closer look, stop by my shop sometime. www.eagleautomn.com is my website

 

Aewsome bobber man. Good lookin out on the jet sizing too. What gas mileage are you getting with pods and straight pipes? Im trying to build my first bike, and I'm going soft tail bobber.

 

Thanks . Sorry I never fill it all the way or let it get too far down so I have never calculated the mileage... I feel the mileage is a lot better than when I got the bike and it ran like crap / was ugly (my opinion). Besides it runs so awesome with the new jets, pods and exhaust there really is no reason not to.

 

That's exactly what I'm planning to do with my XJ. I love every part of your modifications. Mine's an XJ1100, but I'm fairly sure it would be very similar. I hope you don't mind if I pick your brain while I'm tearing mine down?

Where did you get the first spring seat for $60?

Can you get some pictures of the mini gauges you replaced?

How hard was the electrical to go through and thin out?

Where did you get the new handlebars?

I'd love to see your parts list and where you got your stuff. I'm looking for the same things! Also, I'm up in Duluth. I'd love to see your bike up close the next time I'm in the cities.

REALLY nice work man!

 

Nice!
-Handlebars are straight DOM steel tubing from Discount Steel in Minneapolis.
-Seat from demonscycle at the time.
-mini guage was from mikes..somthing or another... sorry it's been awhile.
-Electrical was mostly a matter of taking all the wires out of the harness and moving the main mess into the neck of the frame instead of the headlight, also moved anything I could to the back section. So basically unwrap.. reorganize and the re-wrap with tape. Had to wire the guage but it has instructions etc...

-This would be sweet on an 1100!

 

Thanks for the reply Tech. I plan to start the tear down within the next week or so. But, I hope you don't mind that I steal all of your ideas. You bike is exactly how I pictured mine when it's done.

I also hope you don't mind if I bug you now and then with some questions. Your bike looks awesome! Nicely done!

 

Yes, go ahead. I hope it helps you build a nice ride
I will check here from time to time and help you out.

 

Great! Could you take a few pictures of the handle bars and gauges? Are they completely straight? I'm assuming they're 7/8"?

 

Thanks for posting this. Well done!

 

Extremely impressive! I've been combing through this site myself after just buying my first decent bike... also an 82 xj650. I'm planning to tear it down this winter and customize it. I can't thank you enough for this thread with all the pics and details. It's been a tremendous help. Oh yeah... Your bike is sick!!

 

Great job on the bike! Looks stellar.

Would you mind advising on what size EMT conduit you used for the pipes?

Thanks.

 

Thank you! the EMT I used measures 1 1/2"OD. Using one of those cheap plastic calipers I went to the home improvement store and measured the OD (Outside Diameter) of the EMT they had, mine measures 1 1/2 but the shelf claimed it was smaller than that.

I have now put EMT on another bike I own and it worked out sweet on that one too

 

Awesome job on the bike!!! I wish I had a garage to work in myself. would love to custom my bike....

 

That's a great looking bike! I have an 82 xj650, would love to do same however access to tools and mechanical know how limited. I'm glad guys like you post the whole build on here its a great site. I've redone tank, changed bars and put on solo seat, now I'm tempted to strip it down again......ironic but I wish winter was just starting I would do it!

 

Thanks!! Hope you get the time to do some building

 

great work...I especially love the pipes

 

Tech50 hasn't been around for 3 yrs

 

I'm back, can check in from time to time.