82' Maxim Chop

Hey guys just wanted to show everyone my bike finally got some pics of it in my gallery (in progress still) and welcome to any comments good or bad (Not to bad though). Lil info on it bought it not running, pretty rough and started cuttin into it. No turning back after that, I went with the struts in back to lower the back, put on 12" apehanger bars, chopped up the fenders (Kinda experimental, planning on buying some different fenders), did a lot of soldering on the wire harness, threw together some forward controls which I might make a better set this winter, made my own license plate bracket, exhaust, pod filters with 41 pilots and 118 main jets in the carbs, little bit of diamond plate work for side covers, and a lot of other work I put into it but I won't get into that to much.
I know lots of guys here don't like the chopper, bobber, and say if I wanted a harley I would buy a harley, I think their to loud, uncomfortable, etc. But I love loud (louder the better), love the low chopper feel with forward controls, love yamaha (4th one), and actually this bike doesn't ride to bad. Soon to come hopefully be a seat, bigger pipes, and some other goodies. Let me know what ya guys think

 

Well I dig it, for sure.

 

Yeah thats sweet. I may be bias though cuz my bike is looking a lot like yours.

 

It looks pretty bad ass, but that diamondplate seat would make your butt numb, it looks like.

I wonder how many "Michiganders" are floating around on here...

 

have you actually ridden it with the diamond plate seat???!!!

OUCH!!!

but I am diggin the ride.

good work.

 

Thanks guys. Yeah like it and ride it now as is, but I have a seat setting in my barn right now ready to be mounted. The only thing is I love the way I sit right now and don't like the height of the seat so I took the padding off and I think I am just going to mount the seat pan (which is quite comfortable actuallyI and I may use 3" seat springs which would help cushion it alot. I don't do a lot of long distance riding, especially now cuz i am trying to get everything running to a T. Had a lot of electrical problems, and don't know if it may be because of it being hardtail and vibrating grounds loose,connectors, etc. But today I ordered a manual so I can figure the electrical part out, and a fork bag so I can carry a few tools. More to come .....

Posted: Mon Apr 23, 2007 3:43 pm Post subject: Re: 82' Maxim Chop

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yeah thats sweet. I may be bias though cuz my bike is looking a lot like yours.
_________________
82 XJ650 bobber in progress

Yeah when I was building my bike I saw yous and it was like deja vu, lotta same ideas and outcome, love your bike also.

 

Not bad Dodge!!
You have the same idea I had when you decided to chop yours. I know what you mean with the seat issue. I ended up making my own. I used a piece of aluminum for a seat pan. I had to do a lttle cutting and bending to make it look and fit right. Then I just cut down a piece of foam from the original seat to fit what I needed (about 2" thick) and riveted some seat material (man made leather) to the pan. It looks alright and is quite comfortable. Of course, I kept my shocks instead of going to hard tail struts, so it rides smoooooooooooth. >PD<

 

Nice! I like it..Keep up the good work..mo pics when seat comes in...good job..I really like it...Ridz safe..Ridz 8)

 

What did you make those rear struts out of?

 

They are actually the original shocks. I just cut the springs off and welded the shock all the way compressed

 

I tried using struts on my yammy, but the back end keeps trying to pass me up when I hit bumps. Way too hard to ride. I decided to move the bottom of the shock back to lower the rear, by making shock extenders. I like the looks and it rides great. >PD<

 

Nice here`s mine 81 650.

 

I like the flat bars, gives your bike the street fighter look.

DodgeitRamit, what are you using for cables on your '81? I like the ape hangers but I am partial to the flat bars.

 

How did you get those new mufflers on there? what was the process you used? Is that the stock tank or something else? Looks good

 

Fattgebast
I have the same question about your exhaust. What does it sound like?


DodgeitRamit
Great looking maxim. I really like those bars. Very sharp.

 

i like those bikes!

when i had my seat (stock 550 maxim) recovered i rode it by just sitting on the frame and LOVED the lower height...

unfortunately ive never built a 'custom' model car and i dont know if i could start cutting on my bike...

by the way im in the thumb (of michigan)...

david

 

Them shorty mufflers rock!! They give it a nice low growl without being real noisy at higher rpm's. The stockers were too quiet, Vance & Hines are loud the higher the rpm's go and the Harley Screamin' Eagles are just plain loud no matter what your doing. It's hard to believe those shorties do such a good job, and look good doing it on a bobber. >PD<

 

Thanks PainterD. I am definitely going to put them on. Any idea if I need to buy baffle plates along with the shorties? I seem to remember reading that the shorties are just a strait shot through and that they need baffle plates so the noise is not out of control.

 

I have *zero* baffles in mine and it's not really that loud. A helluva lot quiter than some of the v-twins rolling around town

 

Irish,
I found that some of the shorty mufflers have baffles in them and some, not. It all depends on where you buy them. I think the ones from JC Whitney do not have baffles in them (don't know for sure) I bought mine off Ebay, so I am not sure where they came from.
You can make them quieter by placing a 1/2" washer inside each muffler (smaller hole for the exhaust = more back pressure, less noise) to make them quiet down a bit. I did it on mine and it worked great.
So your homework and make sure they come with baffles. You can always remove the baffles if they're not loud enough for ya. >PD<

 

Thanks PainterD. The shorties I am looking at are from Dennis Kirk.

http://www.denniskirk.com/jsp/product_c ... Id=p431287


I will have to call and see what the specs are because the web page only has real generic info. Im pretty sure these will bolt right up though.

 

They will fit right onto your header pipes (collector) as they can be mounted either way. The ends are two different sizes just for that purpose. I used the bigger end slipped right onto the collector and made short brackets up to the foot pegs to hold them solid. >PD<

 

I had straight pipes and all the talk around this place about ruining your seals because of no back pressure made me nervous so I welded in some washers with 5/8" holes. Actually made a big difference in quieting the noise level.

 

What do you guys mean about putting a washer in the exhaust. You mean like a flange or something?

 

Sharp lookin ride.

 

I took washers with an O.D. of 1.5" and 5/8" I.D. and welded them flat across the ends of my pipes, then slid some tail pipe covers over just to hide my ugly welds. Just a ghetto way to make a little back pressure by forcing the exhaust thru a smaller opening. I toyed with the idea of making the washers very adjustable to be able to fine tune the amount of back pressure but it just seemed like too much work in the long run.

 

Irish,
The way I put the washers inside my mufflers, was to just place the washer just against the baffle inside and slide the mufflers onto the header pipes. That way, the header pipe is against the washer holding it tight to the baffle so I can't move.
You could however, tack weld smaller washers just inside the header pipe if you want. Or, you could weld a small tab at 90 degrees onto the washer and use a small bolt and nut to hold it just insde the end of the mufflers.
I am thinking of mounting mine on a pivot-bolt. That way I could open or close them for more or less noise. Worth a try! >PD<

 

Thanks for the help PainterD adn Siinky. I will give it a try as soon as I get some scratch together.

Sorry to get so far off topic DodgeitRamit. You really do have a nice looking bike. I look forward to seeing more pics as you add them.
Cheers

 

darn these bikes are good lookers already and i know they are always in progress aren't they? lol no serious nice bikes guys be safe out there fish

 

Thats a good idea with the pivoting washer. post back if you get that done and let us know how it worked out.