Buyers remorse? Can it be fixed? Should it?

Hey, it great to find you! I have a long story, but i can use some help.
I have an 82 xj650 maxim that I bought in ? 1987 ?
When I first got it she was my only transportation. Previous bike was a 72 Honda cl360...
Loved the maxim. But it always, always was hard to start in cold weather. Once it warmed up it ran great. I always do my own upkeep, but I had it serviced at two different shops, who said " no problems". one guy said "its just yamahas, they are cold blooded" At some point it sat in the garage awhile. I cleaned the tank, carbs ( I had put in a stage 1jet kit), rebuilt the petcock, etc. and it ran great for a while, but I just couldnt count on it to start to go to work. Ran great once i got going though.
About 3-5 years ago the garage was demo'd. And it was kept outside but under the porch. After a fork seal started leaking it just sat. For a few years it's been sitting outside, Not even under a cover past few years. My brother calls it the worst case of neglect/ abuse ...but It just never made top5 on the project list. Meanwhile I have missed riding. Mostly I commute to work.

2 weeks ago I took the plunge to buy another bike. Didnt think i wanted a sport bike. Made a mistake and bought a VTwin. 2005 Honda shadow 750. Wish id have bought a bigger engine. It's a putter, and i remember maxim as a zoom zoom. (small, but nimble and relatively quick). The honda is comfortable, but more vibration than I expected. And nowhere as agile.
Am I remembering my maxim too fondly? The engine was sound, but what would-it take to restore? Cosmetically it's in surprisingly good shape.
The Honda is beautiful, Engine runs smooth. Not into the money for a Harley ...

What are your thoughts? Thanks if you have stayed with me this long!

 

The Maxim isn't costing you anything at this rate. I vote you keep it for now, ride the Shadow, but pick away at the Maxim when you can. Once you get it running right and road-worthy (lots of help on this forum) then you can decide what you want to do.

Welcome to the forum!

 

Maxim was a really quick bike, in its day. Still quick now, for a heavy old bike. No reason at all why it would be "cold blooded". These bikes like choke and no throttle when cold, in my experience. And you can't beat a four cylinder for smoothness.

 

Thanks, that's what I wanted to hear--it ISas good as I remember, so worth working on. The more I ride the shadow, the more I think of the maxim.
Thanks for the welcome!

 

STAY with the XJ. You'll get her back up and better than before if you stay with it, stay at it, and stay with us. THAT is what we are here for.

You WILL have years of neglect to correct......for many of us it was neglect by a previous, and unknown, owner so it's always a guess as to what actually had a)been done b)been neglected c)etc........

In your case, you know what the bike had been, where the bike has been, what needs to be done.

Again, we're here to help you through. There are things you MUST do, for safety sake. There are things that you need to do to put it in top shape. If you follow through with everything, you'll have a bike that starts at the touch of a button, runs flawlessly, and looks beautiful.

Case in point, my 650maxim full-dress bike in my gallery-- went from a mudcovered rusty non-running bike that had sat for a couple of years before I got it, to a Second Place trophy winner. I rode her for 10 years til I sold her, and she only died once. That was the time I ran out of gas because of my own stupidity.

You can do the same.

Welcome to the forums,

Dave

 

My 650 with my limitied mechanical knowledge could keep up or eat a shadow 1100 when it was tuned properly, and depending on how I was feeling at the time...

I'd love to have a bike to tinker with and one to ride... Touching the redline with those inline 4s turns heads still, unlike with a generic cruiser putt-putt (no offense). Does that shadow have 4 plugs as well, like the 1100 shadow? (two plugs/cylinder I mean)?

PS: Welcome!

 

I use my Honda 750 Shadow for trips and comfort--and reliability. I use my XJ700 for fun around town and very short trips. Sort of like owing a big comfortable family sedan and a sports car for the weekend.

 

only one to tinker with, and only one to ride?!?!?! What is WRONG with you people!?!?!?!?! LOL

Dave F

 

Keep and fix the xj, i just have a 550 and it was my first bike, and after 2 different bikes and this bike just sitting I came back to it. fun bike that runs hard. As for the "cold blooded" comment, non sense. I thought the same thing at first but got the carbs dialed in and now i can go start it at 40 degrees no problems and it runs great.

 

Apparently, you have a bigger garage than we do, and a more understanding wife!! :lol:

 

No, just a really tightly packed workshop, a few friends that have extra space in their outbuildings, and a wife who's lost track of what comes and goes.........and as long as the mess stays out of the house, doesn't hassle me too much about it. Besides, when I (IF......) sell a bike or a good batch of parts, I take her out for a dinner.....or a cheeseburger...........so hey, she sees a bike as a potential dinner date. LOL

Ya, gotta play the game. Sometimes ya gotta make up new rules for the game.........

Dave

Dave F

 

WOW hogfiddles! That was a really inspiring post! I swear I heard the opening song to "Saving Private Ryan" when I read it!