New blood! Ignition relocation help?

Hello everybody first time forum and first bike (1980 xj650 maxim/my new baby) it's parked in my living room and waiting. So I'm gonna replace the brake lines and chop off the tail section. One day soon I'll post my progress and join you guys in the club. But as for now, due to lack of saw and grinder for a couple days, I'm going to be doing some light mods hopefully and go through some safety precautions. Any advice from you guys for doing a general walk through to make sure the bike is road worthy is greatly appreciated! Anyways I'm wanting to move the ignition behind the side cover? Or maybe another spot I'm open to any suggestions! As far as doing this what do I need to do? Any extra wiring I need or anything ? I'm new to this so sorry if it's a noob question I just want to do this first project right. And 2nd is covering up the gas tank where the badges were to give it a shaved plain look, any advice on covering that up? Any help is appreciated thanks!!

P.s. I have some original parts around I can part with if anyone's interested!

 

Why do you want to move the ignition?
you'll be more than busy with maintenance to worry about the custom stuff just yet.

things you need to check and\or replace
front brake pads, all Caliper seals and dustcovers, front fork seals/ dustcovers, brake lines like you said, ensure your ignition fork lock is functional, new 20-50 motorcycle oil and filter, re gap your plugs, check for valve shim clearances, Check the dates on your tires, if there are any exterior signs of rubber deterioration then they have to be replaced,
I dont know if the 650 maxim is chain or shaft.
chain- check for excessive wear on the sprockets, check for excessive wear on chain, check chain tension,
shaft- drain final drive oil and check for metal deposits in the oil, then refill with proper gear oil.
check rear drum brake shoes for wear and de-laminating of braking material.
once you get it that far then you will want to get the carbs vacuum synced either by a shop or you can buy or make the sync tool your self.

Once you get through all that then you can modify to your hearts content.

 

I have to agree. Get it running right first; carbs (cleaned, float levels set, etc.,) valves in spec, vacuum sync, rebuild the brakes, THEN start "modding."

Whether it currently runs or not, have you done a compression test yet? It's generally a good idea early on in a project, so you can be sure you have a truly viable mill to begin with.

 

Hoolio - search the threads by "Crath" and "Kevineleven". A wealth of info there.

 

Thanks fellas. Krafty Thanks for the advice, like I said I'm new to motorcycles so I'll have to buy a manual or find a site with a guide to do those checks. It is running and it runs very well but after a very close call in my car when the brake lines busted going around 80, that made me have a lot of respect for making sure the safety of the vehicle is up to date. The PO had new tires on it and had just cleaned the carbs, don't know how thorough but it seems to run up to par. I drove it about 45 miles and parked it until I can do a complete check up on it.
And fitz, I have not done that but would love to find out how, is there a link with some info ? I'm going to learn how and then go through and keep you guys updated maybe post a couple questions if I get stuck. TimetoRide thanks I'm gonna go check them out now

 

The only reason that I'm a little worried about the custom stuff is the PO started bobbing it and the tail section is as ugly as a mud fence. Seriously it's a mess and I got to chop that off in my opinion lol but since I'm still snowed in for a while I figured I'd do that quickly and make sure nothing's worn and needs replacing. When I get on a computer I'll post a pic. Unless anybody knows how to post pics via iPhone ?

 

If the engine runs, doing a compression test is easy. If it doesn't, not sure how you would (told it should be done on warm engine). Basically you just take out the spark plugs, screw a tube connected to a gauge into the spark plug hole, and turn it over. Gauge records the pressure the cylider reaches. Usually you want over 120psi or so, and all 4 cylinders should be withing 15 or so PSI.

Auto parts stores will often loan you these gauges, or you can buy one for under $40 most places (even less at Harbor Frieght).

Not sure if the test is worth doing on mill that you can't run for long enough to warm it up. Would be nice if you can; my mill runs, but my bike is stripped, so I'd have to put the thing in a stand, wire it up, hook up gas, etc. Much easier if all I need to do is just shoot some 12v to the starter.

I agree on moving the ignition being best left 'till later. You pretty much would have to strip the entire front end of the bike, unwrap the wire harness, figure out some new place to secure the ignition (meaning some drilling, maybe welding), and then put it all back together. You'd also loose your steering lock, afaik.
I'm gonna do it, but I already completely stripped my bike, and am doing a pretty much total rebuild, so CAN'T put it in the conventional location (because the conventional location is GONE - doing a full custom front end). Even so, its gonna be some substantial extra work to find a good place to put the key slot and mount it there.

Chopping up the back end with a normal hacksaw is totally do-able, though a grinder does make de-tabbing much easier. I got a pretty noce grinder for like $25 and Harbor Frieght, plus anothe $10 for various discs.

Gas tank badges come in a few different styles, not sure what your bike has. Generally they either hold on with adhesive (so you can just peal off & clean up, maybe some buffing, maybe new clear coat), or there's some sort of screw holding them into a recess. In the later case, 'shaving' the badge off the tank involves taking off the badge, filling in the recess with body filler, sanding it all nice and smooth, then repainting the whole tank.