Me and my New XJ750 Maxim and I mean NEW!!!

My Name is Chris. For years I wanted a XJ. I didn't want to buy an old bike with lots of miles on it. I wanted a new bike.

I spent years wishing Yamaha would put out a new, 'retro' XJ so I could get a new XJ.

I searched and search for a good bike. I found a now 68 year old man who bought a new XJ750 Maxim. He found it was to big, so he put it in the garage. His son told him if he just let it sit, it would wreck the bike.

The dad started the bike once a month, drove it around the blocks and put it away. He did this for decades.
The bike has only 6,100 miles on it.

When we came to look at it, we could hardly believe it!! It looked like it came off the showroom floor!!!!

I bought it for half of what he was asking.
I am now, the proud owner of a new, just broken in Yamaha XJ750 Maxim.

Here is what a new XJ looks like.

 

Omg that is clean, have you eaten off it yet

 

Haven't eaten off of it yet, but I did drink a Root-bear while driving down the road from Walmart after getting a new battery.
One slight thing that kind of makes me sad is he lost the manual.
I think it has the original tires (still has the nubs on it). They have slight checking so I need to get new ones. Any suggestions online where to get good, cheap tires?

P.S. When you say, "Clean" you forgot to add "and shinny." The chrome shines.

Chris.

 

Shinko tires from bikebandit.com.

 

Gawd damn she's pretty. Mind me askin what you paid?

Welcome to the site, I also have an 83 750 and my name's Chris too, lol

 

He was asking for $1,600. We offered $800 and we settled on $1000.
This bike is fast. I like the sound when you accelerate.
Chris.

 

Does anyone know why Yamaha only made these bikes a few years? I think the XJ1100 was only two. Why didn't then make them longer?
Chris.

 

That price is a steal.

 

Very nice mate, you did good!

 

I hope mine will look that good after I'm done with the restoration.

 

Very nice, i'm pretty sure those aren't original rear shocks tho. Hopefully there's nothing else that they forgot to mention.

Looks NICE! grats!

 

Nice score was that the one on Craig's list? That someone posted the end of last week.

 

Now CATCH UP ON ALL THE NEGLECTED MAINTENANCE. IT'S NOT brand new!!!

Check the valve clearances; they should have been checked at 3000 miles and I highly suspect they weren't.

You don't replace 30-year old tires because of weather-checking; you replace them because tubeless tires that old are DANGEROUS.

Despite how well it was stored, you NEED to check the rear brake shoes for delamination before you ride the bike anymore: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=15874.html

The front brakes will need to be rebuilt. Brake hoses had a four-year lifespan; caliper and master cylinder seals TWO years. Just because there're no miles, doesn't mean everything is "good to go." IT'S NOT! And if you just start riding the bike because it looks so new, you're going to have problems and could get hurt. I got my '83 Seca with 7100 miles on it; and it took 11 months to go through it and make it reliable and safe to ride. SITTING for 30 years takes its toll on a bike even more than had it been used during that time.

DO NOT ride it on the original tires or with the original front brakes; and until you've inspected the rear shoes. You don't want to wreck it.

 

What a deal - - welcome to the site !!

Those look like original rear shocks.

+1 on Fitz - pull every bit of normal maintenance.
Use only motorcycle oil. Even your final drive needs a change.

 

Those are indeed the stock shocks fyi.

the only thing i see that looks like an add on is the extra splash flap on the front fender as well as the upgraded king/queen seat.

 

Aside from the windshield obviously, lol

 

Chris,

You did luck out! It often takes so much time to restore an old bike to look this good. YOu dodged that bullet. Hopefully you can still maintain the tradition this bike has and you will keep it garaged. If not, it'll show its age all too soon. Still, you have a museum quality bike to thoroughly enjoy.

Welcome to the group!

 

Awesome find! And please listen to what Fitz says about the maintenance items. You (and your bike) will be glad you did.

 

Welcome to the forum and very nice bike indeed.

 

1. I think it was the one on Craigslist.

2. I'll try and get the tires changed and maintenance done asap. Had it up to 91mph so far (35mph zone). We found a 1982 date on the tires. We put Armeral on them to help soften them up. They seem rock hard. My friend says the bike will feel a lot better with new tires. When I fly around a corner it seems as if it's going to wash out with the hard tires.

3. I see an old pamphlet by Yamaha with a seat that looks just like the one I have.

4. "and you will keep it garaged. If not, it'll show its age all too soon." Wow, this hit me like a ton of bricks. After I read this, I looked out and see it sitting in the parking lot on a 100* day. I don't have a garage. This is really a bummer for me. I wanted to keep this in good shape for a long time.

5. Yours will look nice after restoration but not this nice. Sorry.

6. The shocks are stock

7. I thought XJ's came with square gauges, square handle bars and square headlight. I got round everything. How come?

8. Why use only motorcycle oil, it's way more expensive.

9. After I hit 91mph, I took my hands off the bars. When I started slowing down, the front wiggled back and forth. What causes this?

10. I kind of wish I didn't get it now (Should of looked at the Seca in Seattle for $1,000 obo). Seems like I have to do to much work on it. I didn't want to get one like that.

Chris.

 

Good lord. If you keep riding like that, especially on a 30 year-old bike, you won't be around for long.

 

Welcome to XJBikes.

Nothing will help old tires other than retirement-they are chemically broken down and are VERY dangerous to ride on. The front end 'wiggle' is a direct result of those tires. Can also be brakes, or bearings causing it but start with your tires. Get new tires mounted and balanced and it will handle totally different and so much better.

You would be shocked at the appearance of many 'restored' XJ's that owners on here ride. Some are better than new.

You can buy a breathable cover to protect it from the sun, or just ride it into your bedroom

Motorcycle oil is designed to work with your wet clutch and is also designed for air cooled engine temperatures. Conventional motorcycle oil (not synthetic) is same price as automotive.

I'll let someone else explain the stylistic differences as I'm not sure which years/models had what but I know there were differences.

The seca or any other old bike will always need work to make them safe. And really any bike requires work, but the new ones are MUCH more expensive to have it done-and you can't do a lot of it yourself or you will void your warranty. The work needed isn't as hard as you might think and it will keep you riding and alive.

 

My biggest problem right now is I don't have the owners manual. Probably has some useful information I'd like to know, especially fluids.

Chris.

 

A Haynes manual will have all the info you need for most maintenance.

 

COOL! I was hoping someone would pick this up

 

Hi Happydog, the reason for the round gauges is that you are the happy owner of a 1983 model Maxim. 1982 was the only year the Maxim 750 got the "hi-tech" instrument cluster.

 

I wasn't kidding; and if you keep it up you will get hurt. It's NOT NEW just because it's "pristine." Those are two different things. You can GET IT to where it's safe to be blasting around on; but it's NOT in its current condition and you're courting disaster ignoring this advice.

 

A. 91 in a 35 is illegal, so I wouldn't be bragging that up in a public forum.

B. If you wanted a used bike you didn't have to do any work on, you should have bought a 2010.

C. Take a look at Fitz's gallery, my build thread, or any of a number of other build threads on here, especially Wizard's. We can prove to you that if you take your time and do the work, our rebuilt bikes can look better than yours, and be a hell of a lot safer.

 

And how do you know you were going 91 if the gauge only goes to 85?

Stupid move on old tires and brakes.

 

91 MPH and let go of the handle bars? With 30 year old tires and brakes.

I'm sorry but that is about the most stupid thing I have ever heard anyone do on this forum. Get some common sense or you'll get hurt in short order, if not dead.

It's bad enough when one of our members gets hurt or killed when they are out in traffic. I would not like to see your name added to that list.

MN

 

Thank you for the reply's. I only did it once, or maybe 3 times.
It was a typo, I was only going 19mph. I got caught up in the moment.

I have a service manual that says 20-40 SE Motor Oil. I looked at every store and can only find 20-50. I don't want to wait until Tuesday and get the $9 a quart YamahaLube. Anybody know if it's OK to use the 20-50?

Chris.

 

20-50 motorcycle oil, yes.

 

My book shows a 'Engine drain plug" and a "Middle gear drain plug." We can't find the middle one. Where is it at? Do I need to drain both? It shows in the book I do, why two?
The engine drain plug on mine has a bolt with a screw in it. The book shows a normal drain plug. What's going on?

Thank you,
Chris.

 

Don't loosen the middle gear drain plug. The oil drain plug faces forward just under the oil filter housing. It's the hex-head bolt that also has a phillips head in it.

 

Also don't over tighten the oil filter bolt. The torque spec is cast into it. I don't recall off hand the value but it's not much.

And to reiterate, use motorcycle oil, non synthetic. Valvoline 20W 50 is a good choice. Regular automotive oil has friction modifiers the your clutch won't like. And your starter clutch might not like the synthetic.

Sabre, yours has a Phillips head also? (Not trying to steer the thread)

 

You should have a place in the shop where you can look to see where you have written ... 31 / 11

I wrote it it right on the wall.
You won't regret having the figures right where you can see them.

31 - Drain Plug
11 - Oil Dome Bolt

The next time I do Oil and Filter, ... I'm going to use my new Engraver and etch it right on the Fasteners.

 

OK, fine with me but just wondering why it says so in the book if I don't have to?
Question would be, not if I have to or not, but why does it say so in the book when I don't have to.

Is the fluid the same place just two places to drain?

Chris.

 

Because there is only a very small amount of oil (like less than an ounce) you will get out of the middle gear when you try to remove the plug (if successful), and there is a huge chance of messing up the threads and creating a leak. And yes, it is the same oil that flows thru the whole engine.

 

mook1al,

Like your project. I read though the build thread.

What's the deal with the Phillips head in the plug? What's it for? If I understand, I take the plug out and pretend the screw is not there?

Has anyone used the Shinko 712 Motorcycle Tire on a XJ? Seems to have good reviews but before I order, since I've gotten such good advice here, just wondering any input for an XJ.

Chris.

 

It is used for a temperature probe at the factory. No need for it to be removed for oil changes, or anything for that matter unless you have one of the factory temp probes and are just curious.

Thanks for the comment on my build. I finally got an exhaust on the way, and hope it turns out good.

I have no opinion on the Shinko tires, never used them. I can say that I very much like the Spitfires, and the Dunlop 404.

 

I'm having a heck of a time with this. My manual lists the rear as a, "130/90 - 16 67H". This is the way they are listed at the site. The problem is the rear. The book lists, "3.25 H19-4PR" None of the tires are listed with numbers like this.
I almost looked at a 650 completed like yours in the Tri-Cites Washington. I asked him three times who did the work and he wouldn't answer, so I didn't buy it.
Black motor with a silver frame, looked very nice.

Chris.

 

The size is 130 90 16. It depends on the site. I ordered mine from Motosport. I have always thought the frame should stand out more on the naked bikes, which is why I went with the silver powder coat instead or black. I still haven't painted the tank and side covers, but they will be a light grey metallic. There will not be much visible black left on the bike.

 

OH Man, the one I want doesn't come in that size. Had it already to order.
Chris.

 

No, the rear is a 16. The front is a 19. Different manufacturers use different designators. The front is 100 90 19. What brand were you looking at?

 

I have a Shinko tour master rear tire. I have no complaints

 

Yeah, as mook told ya the tire sizes you want are as follows:

Front: 100/90-19
Rear: 130/90-16

I got these from motosport, and LOVE them:

http://www.motosport.com/cruiser/CONTIN ... TIRE-COMBO

(Plus free shipping!)

 

Shinko 712. They seem to have lots of good reviews.

 

heres the best pic i have of them on the bike:

 

Yours looks in better shape then mine does. How many miles on it? Why are you parked in a place that's clearly marked, "No Parking?"

 

Running a Shinko front tire, no complaints. The tire is plenty sticky and the tread seems to be holding up. Continental and Dunlop are probably marginally better but all tires have to meet certain standards.

That sign is for cagers!