I need some ideas on what to do with my maxim 550

Every winter i usually have a project car of some type, this year I don't and instead i have decided to get my old yamaha back on the rode. Over the course of the last week i have gotten it running good and reliably and I am pretty happy about that. The only things I have left to do are fork seals and rebuild the front brakes as they dont work as well as i would like. Neither of those will take me that long and i will still have about 4 months of down time til next riding season. What should I do? I have found a couple pics of bikes that i really like, i want to clean up the rear end (less clutter, and solo seat) also looking for diferent handle bars, some forward controls and mirrors. So anyone have pics and info of what they have don't to their 550 that does NOT include cutting of frame or welding (as i don't posses the equipement or skills for either one).

Also paint is on the list for spring as well, not sure on color yet.

Here is what it looks like currently.

 

The only forward controls you'll find that don't need some mod work will be TCBrothers. Solo seat and rear fender will require some work. You can get several different handlebars (7/8ths) from JCWhitney,TCBrothers or J&PCycles. Some bars will require longer brake lines, cables and maybe wiring extensions. The above places will also have many different headlights,taillights and turn signals to choose from.
On a bike this old, you may have to choose universal or Harley style parts and make them fit. Most will fit with little mods.

 

HOpe you still have the side covers and the grab rail.

I also just noticed that your clutch cable is routed incorrectly....you should have a bracket at the front of the engine that will curve the cable around the to the front of the engine and out between the pipes, not wrapped around the to right side of the 4th pipe......

Good looking bike you got there, keep up the good work.

Dave

 

Thanks for the info, found some bars I like on TCbrothers, still looking at some other parts to see where exactly I want to take this.

I have all those in a box on my work bench, battery side i just never put back on after replacing the battery last week, other one was in a box when i got the bike.
Thank you for pointing that out, my clutch cable snapped a year ago, took it off to measure and then by the time i got the new one i forgot how it was routed, i will take a look at that tomorrow.

 

I did some checking, found the bars i want. I emailed TCbrothers and they do not have a forward control kit for the maxim 550. Today i went ahead and installed my side covers and corrected (i think) the clutch cable route.




As for the rear bar, i have that sitting on my work bench, but i like the bike better without it.

 

The 650 controls should work, should be the same bolt pattern for the mount. If not, you'll probably just need to slot the mounting holes.

 

Has anyone on here done this and had it work? Would suck to spend almost 200 bucks and have it not work, I have no welding skills and dont have anything but sockets and wreches so i cant really do anything custom aside from bolt ons.

 

If it doesn't fit, all you would need is a drill, the right size bit and a rat tail file to make it fit.
You have a 30 year old bike, bolt on accessories are mostly non-existent.
If you choose not to go this route, you could try and locate some crash/highway bars that were made for your bike. Put foot pegs on them so you can stretch out while riding and keep the mid-controls.

 

the clutch cable is really ran between the exhaust headers? weird.

 

It is; but he still doesn't have it routed correctly. There is a little wire clip on the frame it's supposed to go thru that keeps it a safe distance from the exhaust.

Helltime, PM me with your email address and I'll send you the factory cable routing diagrams for your bike.

 

Odd, there is something there and I did run it through...hmm.

 

It's supposed to run straight down the frame rail from above, through the little loop, and then "swoop" around to the lever.

In this pic, you can see the cable tie on the frame, but the little wire loop is hidden behind the head pipe. The cable route is readily visible though.



I can't tell from your pics if you've fitted lower handlebars; if that's the case you'll now have too much cable to route it correctly.

If that IS the case, there's an easy solution. You can use a 750 Seca clutch cable on a 550 with lower bars; it's about 3" shorter but still has the same inner cable/outer sheath ratio (the 650 Seca's doesn't.)

When it comes to the 550s, believe it or not, the Seca and Max came with the same handlebar. Both of my Secas now have low bars, with 750 Seca clutch cables.

(I just emailed you the diagrams.)

 

hey, it's coming along!

I'd recommend a few things:

1. remove the emblems from the side covers and re-align them so that the lettering is parallel to the road (horizontal) rather than parallel to the angled bottom of the seat.

2. follow up on the forums on the new YICS inserts that Len Chacal now has available. Those would dress that engine up nicely.

3. try to get rid of all the red messy stuff around the edge of the valve cover gasket

4. get the grab rail on, and that will give a nice finished side to the seat.

Now a question for you........in one of your pics you have a set of engine guards on the bike and on other pics, they are not there. I'd be interested in them if you are not going to put them back on.

You're doing nicely! Keep up the good work, keep up the questions, and keep up with following through with the answers! You're going to have a show piece when you're done there

DaveF