Where do I start?

I want to work on my own bike but do not have a ton of mechanical experience. Some electrical work... but not much besides changing the oil on my car. Where would you guys recommend that I start on learning how to work on my 1985 xj700 maxim x?

Any good books?

Links?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Again hopefully I'm in the right place.. New here and still trying to figure it out.

Thanks Guys

-Ryan

 

Welcome...you've come to the right place...lot's of great info and knowledgeable people.
1. Get a manual for your specific bike....read it, and perform all routine maintenance on your bike as per the manual instructions.
2. Take some time and read through the FAQ section...learn from the mistakes of others.
3. Ask questions in the forum....remember "There are no stupid questions...only stupid people who ask questions"...just kidding...chances are if somethings got you stumped, chances are it's stumped somebody else as well, they'll more than likely help you through it.
4. Jump right in...your average mechanic at the "stealership" is not nearly as bright as you are...he just knows where to go to get answers, now so do you.

Welcome

 

Thank you I appreciate it. Seems like an awesome group of people that love their bikes as much as I love mine!

I did manage to find an old manual that was scanned online. And also was able to snag an original yamaha repair manual. For under $10.00. Thanks for the advice!

If you wouldn't mind I posted somethings about a couple of my 85's "quirks" maybe you could take a look and help me out!

Hopefully I'll have some pictures of her up within the next few days.

 

1(a) Get the Yamaha service manual. Their manuals are very good and it's worth the extra money over the Clymer or Haynes. Better yet, get all three.

5 Put all your hammers well away from where you're working on the bike. You're almost certain to regret ever using one and having to walk for it will give you time to think about what you're likely to break.

 

Post away! What's the worst that will happen? Somebody might call you a noob....I say wear it like a badge...we've all been there (I'm only one step from a noob...perhaps a Noob First Class)

 

I really appreciate how helpful you guys all are. And the willingness to teach!

I bought my bike last Saturday and he did say that it will need an oil change. within 1k

However he also gave me receipts for $1400.00 this time last year. For having the carb rebuilt and done at a dealer. As well as a battery and valves.

Is there anything major I should be looking out for? This is my first bike so its a whole new world for me.

Also my bike sometimes dies when at light or just left to idle. The idle seems to be at about 500 rpm or less. Is there a way to fix that?

 

Turn the idle up a tad?

There's a big (ok relatively) "faucet handle-esque" knob located under the bank of carbs, facing rearward and right in the middle. Turning it "in" (tightening) raises the idle, turning it out (loosening) lowers it.

You won't need to turn it very far; if you turn it enough to know you turned it then you may have even gone too far.

 

SUPER NOOB question here... That i've been digging through my manuals and can't figure out. :/

"The bank of carbs" is that the set of what looks like 4 sections under the edge closest to me on the gas tank? Right by where the 5valve writing is? Do I need to take off the seat to get to it?

 

Here's a couple of pics of what you're looking for. No need to remove the seat. Viewed and reachable from the left side (shifter side), the knob is up under the back side of the carbs. Reach through the gap between the starter and the airbox and you can turn the idle adjustment knob clockwise to raise the idle a bit. Hope the pics help.

 

Thank you so SO SO much. That is exactly what I needed. I'm new to this so I couldn't tell you where the starter and air box are or which is which... Yet with your picture I should be able to find that knob!

Is this it?



Is there somewhere like an anatomy of an xj for dummies picture? I'm talking like simple. Air box, starter, ignition, intake, heads. All the basic terms you guys throw around

 

That's it. Now squeeze your hand up there after the engine is warmed up and turn it clockwise to raise the idle up a bit. Shouldn't take much, just a 1/4 to a half a turn to help keep it from stalling. Make sure your choke is off as it will skew the adjustment of the idle when the engine is warmed up.

 

1st rule, until you get to ride your bike and it isn't broke right now......
go for some rides!!
After you tear into it, and if indeed yoiu don't know what youre doing... it might be a long while before you ride again!

After you ride it a while you will see that is indeed worth all the work you will be putting into learning the terms and how to's of this bike.

These bikes are fun and if you learn to work on them, you will be one of the very few with this talent!

 

That's easily done. The book you have should walk you through it.

As a fellow owner of an X, I'd like to suggest these walkthroughs:

Flushing the coolant on the X
Cleaning your Mikuni carbs
Installing an oil filter spinon kit

These and more can be found at XJ4Ever.

As mentioned earlier, open up the idle adjust screw a hair. I had the same problem, and thought the carbs needed going through again. It was when I put them back together that I *really* had issues with setting the fuel levels. Turned out to be a float problem that was easily adjusted.

Oh, and if you do flush your coolant, one change I'd make to the writeup: I said to add coolant through the filler neck. I completely forgot to mention that one should fill the reservoir tank as well. (I should edit that file one of these days...)

 

Thank you guys so much. I'll see if I can get to it today its raining here today...

I've been riding it like mad hahah. Every chance I get. I've had to put gas in it twice already. I just don't like the stress of worrying that the bike is gonna die on me every time I stop but that idle adjust should do it. I'll keep you guys posted.

By the way schmukaholic I am going to check the coolant when I get home as well. It normal for these bikes to run kind of hot? I find that if I run through a gear pretty quick up to like 8k and shift but just cruise on the next gear that you can see the heat temp raise up not to red but pretty close. Is that normal? After I chill out and ride around for a minute or two it goes down. But I want to make sure that its normal. It seems like the PO took great care of it. But I want to make sure I can keep this thing for YEARS.

 

Hi ryan'.. you gotta get a manual if ya can't tell th airbox from th starter good luck with th bike.

 

Hahahah Thanks Bushy. I just got one recently and need to spend sometime looking at it more apparently lol. I'll have to sit down looking at my bike and read through it.

 

Good news guys! Got the bike nice and hot. Got my hand in there and was able to adjust the idle speed. Raised it to 1050. as opposed to the 500 it was on.
Hasn't died since. Starts with less work. And the idle actually sounds good!

 

http://cycles.evanfell.com/category/yam ... e-manuals/
I just found a really good comprehensive manual for my 85 maxim 700 .
I am just learning as well and trying to soak up as much as I can.
This manual gives you detailed kms/ and time lines for tune ups and what to look for .

good luck
linnea

 

Having the valves already done on the X is a big plus! I did my own and ther are a lot of parts in there for the 20 valve setup. I kinda miss that bike but I see it from time to time around town as I sold it locally and it's good to see it's still being ridden. If you haven't read the stickies up top take a min and read they them.