'Nother "Parts/Repair Shop" Story

A motorcycle repair shop just moved to a nearby town, so I stopped in yesterday on the way home to take a look. He's got a lot of stuff, and a whole line-up of bikes that need work. He asked what I ride, so I said a few different XJ's. He said, "Bill here loves the old Yamaha stuff, he's got a78 sx1100". So we chatted a bit, and showed Bill some of the pics. Liked all of them. When I got to the one of the 700 that I 'pseudo-bobbed' (and he didn't catch that it was the same thing as the regular xj700 that I had just shown him) he says, "See that? The was the downfall of Yamaha's engines.....they put that generator right up on the top there, and that caused all the problems: The heat from the engine would get trapped there and they had such a colling issue with those engines and people would burn them right up. That's why those engines were so bad, and they quit making them so quickly." So, I just replied, "Really! I never heard that before........well, gotta go". I don't think I'll be back there much.

Amazing what some people "know".

Dave

 

Well, I could have forgiven the "sx" 1100 due to him having a faulty memory but the rest would reinforce that you made the right move without alienating anyone, to leave. There may come a day where you need them or a part they have but at least you're smart enough not to hand them any of your machines.
Think about the poor guy that isn't!

Jeff

 

Yeah the cooling system on our bikes is pretty primitive...
I recently stopped into a very large Yamaha dealership hoping they would have brake pads. I tell the guy I need front pads for an 82 XJ750 Seca, he looks at me and goes "Is that a street bike?" Fail.

 

I can relate to Durk, and this whole thread in general. About three years back (before I discovered this forum :cry: ) I replaced my carb holders on my Seca and and doing so revealed that my throttle shaft seals were shot. Going to the local Yamaha dealer I was told that those are a non-serviceable part and my carb bodies were no good. The parts counter guy pulled up the exploded view of the carbs (the same one on Bike Bandit) and said "See, no seals". Also about a month before that I knew my valves were long overdue for adjustment so when I stopped out there and told them what I wanted the guy asked my what year and model the bike was. I told him and he walked outside to it, started it up and said "those sound good". Tool. :x

The search for carbs sent me to the local salvage yard where I picked up an entire rack from a 750 which I had to clean (obviously) and swap all the jets. Those seals leaked too, but not nearly as bad.

Anyway, long story short, I'm back to my original rack of carbs with new seals (thanks Len!) , valves adjusted and a long list of stuff that needed to be done to a 30 year old bike. If I hadn't found you guys I think my XJ would still be sitting in the corner of my garage, just a conversation piece. :cry: Now I ride it almost more than my ZX. (The tires on the XJ seem to last longer too).

 

New shaft seals? They can be purchased? Where and how much?

 

HCP38B Aftermarket Hitachi throttle shaft V-SEAL, single:
$ 4.00

HCP38BSET2 Aftermarket Hitachi throttle shaft V-SEALS, pair:
$ 7.75

HCP38BSET8 Aftermarket Hitachi throttle shaft V-SEALS, set of 8:
$ 28.95

http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=14561.html

Click the Banner on the upper right of every page. Len's awesome!

 

I guess I should also tell you what his comment was on the pic of the 85 VMax........ he saw that pic and said, " Oh, yeah! The VMax!". I said, "That's an 85". He said, "Oh, one of the bad ones......too bad they were junk. They made those engines with inferior material, that's why everyone kept blowing them up til they changed how they made them. Yamaha wouldn't even warranty them because they knew there was problem with them." That's about the time I started letting it all go in one ear and out the other, retaining it just long enough to be able to tell you all about the conversations.

Good thing we ride such bad bikes......LOL

Dave F

 

Right after I bought my XJ, I took the front wheel off and took it to a local shop to get the original equipment tire replaced. He's not a dealer, just a repair shop. I carried the wheel in to the old shop and the owner looked over and said "That's a Yamaha wheel!, early 80's Maxim?" I told him he was right, that it was a 1981 Maxim.

When I brought it back to him for my state safety inspection, he told me how he used to work in a Yamaha shop in the 80's and about how Yamaha filed warehouses with these bikes and that he could do any work I needed on the bike.

I plan to do all the work my XJ requires myself (except tires I guess), but its good to know that there are some good, knowledgable guys out there.

 

Yeah I like the way my XJ blows up every time I hit 8 grand on the tach. He probably thinks they were only designed for a 2500 redline :lol:

Translated: "Holy S41T, I don't know the first thing about those, so I better make him think they aren't worth fixing :? All I can do is replace plastic and plug it in to the computer so it can tell me what's wrong"

That must also be why Honda never sold many of those crappy CB750s

 

Sgio, still gotta be careful.......The guy that I was talking with was able to instantly id any of the yamaha by model, and also said that he knew all the stuff he told me because he used to work for yamaha back then.

I won't let him get anything other than eyeballs near my bikes.

Dave F

 

Reminds me of a gun store I bought a Makarov pistol from.
I ask to buy the Mak and he pulls it out of the counter, can't figure out how to pull the slide back, then say how it's unreliable pile of junk.
I told him he obviously knew nothing about Maks- If it's good enough for standard issue to the Russian army, it's good enough for me. Just put it back in the box and ring it up.
I am lucky enough to have a Yamaha dealer near me with service guys who love the XJ series and actually know the bike well.
They stock parts for my bike but XJ4ever beats the hell out of their prices and even gets me the parts faster.
I wouldn't buy even a kickstand puck from the place you went to.

Maz

 

There is a Yamaha dealer about two miles down the road from me. He has been very good to me, and supplies me with at-cost supplies for the carb clinics. If there is something I can't do, HE will do it, not his mechanics. HE grew up on the XJ's ,knows my bikes, and the care that has gone into them. He is willing to do work for me if needed, but we also have the understanding that he is the ONLY one there that I authorize to do the work.

As far as the other shop up the road........well, he hasn't gotten any of my money, and probably won't. Oh, yeah.......it was kind of funny ( I didn't say anything-- I was a good little boy) to watch him trying to remove the Harley rear rim with w big screwdriver so that he could change the belt on the bike that he had on the lift.

Dave F