Losing Your XJ, For Better Or For Worse?

Damn harley anyway!

 

I have my maxim x want a variety i think my next project i would like to do would be a gs 1100l 4 valve chain drive suzuki. I had a gs850l really enjoyed it. Just have to get rid of those buck horn bars and do some minor customizing. You can make them 1400 cc pretty cheap They are tough bikes stators are a bit weak but thats it. Its gonna be a year or so. I also have a big garage but its full race car the gto xj rd and 400 honda an 11 foot work bench a bike lift. and a 4 ft long roll around bench which houses my welder buffer grinder belt sander and drill press. Just spent the money i had saved for the bike garage on a 2k mower ugh

 

Tank isn't plastic, its metal, at least on this one. Its been run on premium its whole life, sometimes with or without 10% ethanol. (The history I have on the bike was very thorough, right down to gas receipts)

 

I really don't like sports bikes either actually, this bike and only a handful of other I would even look at (Yamaha R7 from the late 90's is the only one off the top of my head). Plus it is a Sport "Touring" bike :wink: Insurance is lower because its not classed as a true sport bike, but performs like one! Haha! Out of all the crotch rocket types bikes I would even consider, I liked the looks on this one the best, but also its a Triumph, build quality is fabulous on it. In my mind, this is the gentleman's sport bike. But I totally get that many people don't like the crotch rockets. I prefer Cafe bikes myself out of anything. And you would have to be from the mid 60's to be twice my age, not as young as I look! *sigh* Wish I was as young as I look...

Someone suggested a dual sport. I would definitely look into them before buying anything, I have heard nothing but good things for having a dual sport as a second bike.

 

Must see photo of gto !!

 

Seriously. My 550 is my first bike so it's difficult to part with. I am, however, facing a series of unexpected repairs that may cost me. Even in running condition it's not going fetch very high dollar. I have to price the parts, add it up, and decide if it's time to part it out.

 

I have considered adding a dual sport to my garage, since it's rather wild up in No. Minnesota. The XJ isn't really an Adventure Bike. ^_^

 

Exactly. One bike I have never understood are the SuperMotos. I mean, a dirt bike with street tires? The Adventure bikes look like a ton of fun though!

 

Don't even get me started on ethanol. This year alone i have had to replace transfer tube orings on my Honda the petcock started leaking same on my rd petcock and the fuel pump diaphragm on my mower even my portable tank i hang on the bars shut off valve started leaking. I saw some additive for briggs and stratton mowers that is supposto stop this from happening might use some when the bikes are gonna sit for a month or so. It shrinks orings and makes them hard as a rock.

 

I think the only way i would sell my XJ would be if i bought another cruiser, probably a Yamaha warrior. But i really wanna get a cbr or gsxr, if i do that im for sure keeping the XJ

 

The XJ was my first bike. I always hear about people lamenting the loss of their first bike. So I have no intention of selling. If I had two and could trade them for a dream bike, I might consider it. But my XJ isn't worth much at all, cash wise. Just isn't worth the reward.

But I never buy a vehicle with the intention of ever selling it, yet I've freed myself of many vehicles over the years. One chapter ends, another begins.

If you miss the XJ that much, I'm sure you could find another for $500 and start over.

 

Interesting question. There's some logic-defying sentimentality, but I swear it's rational. From what I've read, here, it's all been said before about every possible way, too--the features, I mean. I'm with all that. They're just what motorcycles are supposed to be to me (well save for some stuff I'll NEVER get to touch like 192X Indians).

Comparatively, I'm young. I took my test on a buddy's Brand New '81 Seca (his dad was a bank prez) and it changed my life forever. I'll never forget that (despite mine being a complete POS compared to that memory). Everything I rode after that back then (except for maybe the GS1100 which scared me) left me wanting something. Plus, the Atari seemed cool, then

Got me a daytime job and decent credit these years, but nothing does it for me. Too-complicated, too-fussy, too-cushy, too-shiny, too-risky, too-electronic, too-...everything else. Yeah, injection isn't all bad and well some self-adjusting stuff here or there...but the emissions limitations impose...sacrilege

Sometimes I hear Vmaxes at the gas station and it evokes the primal-thing, sure, but really--all that--I gotta live with all that to get that? Areyakiddinme? I mean, why not quadruple-redundant fly-by-wire everything? Holy crap, what if the humidity changes or something, you know? Nah--I ride the XJ in Whatever, Whereever, Whenever--it's a Real Motorcycle to me. I admit it sucks on ice (& you eat a top or bottom speedo Every winter) and I hate the tank/seat interface that makes the heavy rain pool in your crotch and find its way in, and it really is a b*tch to start in the 20's or below, but it's just...it just does exactly what I need exactly how I need it to. I commute 20-some from the city to a 'burb and well everybody knows sometimes rides catch an extra 80 or 100 country miles here or there on the way.

If I could buy a spanking new 2014 (198X XJ), I'd dig deep. I can't explain it but I swear it's rational. It's the feature-set--the whole deal. The bit that, well, everyone has already said everything about.

In my words, I'll say that my RH is the right mix of pleasure and pain. It's honest. Authentic. Maybe not dial-yer-spark-advance & tank-shift-authentic, but well lemme stick with Honest, then.

I don't know--I admit to being ignorant and maybe it's time to survey the 'scape again. Meanwhile, I'll keep waiting for the world to wise-up and make something more XJ-ish


PS Thanks to His Benevolence aka World's Greatest Vendor aka Chacal on whose behalf I independently (& unsolicitedly!) opine: "HEY--YOU!!!--buy the damned $20 O-ring!!! You think this board and these parts grow on trees? Our Benefactor is too classy to say it so I will--if you can, do what you can--if you can't--hey--pipe-up--maybe we can help-out."

 

I spent three years on and off rebuilding my '83 XJ900RK from the frame up. I have a beautiful 30 year old machine that will eat most modern fuel injected, liquid cooled 600cc bikes for lunch (and I know this because I used to drive an '04 Daytona 600).
Would I sell the XJ, no. Would I add a new bimmer liter rocket to the garage, maybe. Haven't even put enough time on the XJ to get her much above 95MPH yet (and that's just about red-line in second gear on that bike)

 

Oh I look at other bikes from time to time and even fantasize about trading up. But my Maxim 650 stands the test of time and has been there for me through thick and then. I have picked her up when she was down, helped her look her best, and rode her like a bat out of hell. So even though I look at other bikes, my XJ stays!

PS, the first time I rode my son's Zongshen, I got pulled over by two Ohio State patrol officers and they made me push it home with lights flashing behind me.

 

as long as it has two wheels im happy with it, but i do really want a kawasaki ninja 650, it was the bike used in the Dark Angel tv series, and i actually almost bought one before my xj550, but it needed a lot fo work.... which looking back from where i am currently, maybe it wouldnt have been to bad....

 

Oh yeah, I am the same way. I fantasize about having a Vyrus 987 or a Bimota Tesi 3D (Gahhhhhhh! Forkless bikes! *droooool* ) but I never act on those, not like I acted on getting this Triumph.

 

I ended up with the XJ purely by dumb chance. I'm doing a crazy amount of customization on it, so I can't say I love the XJ per se. From what I've seen its a sound machine (not planning on any engine changes... yet) and I'm not gonna blame the way my custom rides on the design, but its not like I'll ever be able to say "wow, glad I got an XJ", because by the time I'm riding it it won't really be an XJ.

For my daily rider, I'd probably be happy with almost any BMW that was in decent shape. I'm also keen on the Versys and the KLR650.

 

After my first XJ650 was totalled in a parking lot (bike was parked), I bought a second one. But working on the second one, and riding it... I found myself a bit bored. I had reached the bike's limits. I started looking for what would be next.

I ended up falling in love with the pre-88 FJ1200. I read everything I could about them. They also have a great forum, and rallys every year. The engine was an evolution from the XJ engine, but 16 valve, chain driven, perimeter frame. Unlike a standard 'crotch rocket', it featured a seating position that was upright even in its time, making it great for distance riding. I found one I liked in Seattle, flew up, fixed it, drove it back to TX, and got my Iron Butt cert on the way.

I started building a wiki to collect the info around for it recently. The modifications possible are limitless for the bike. And the torque and roll on power are competitive with modern bikes, unbelievable. There is no 'powerband'. Everything is the powerband.

Sometimes I find myself nostalgic for the old XJ. Then I get on my FJ, and the feeling usually passes. Someday, when I grow older, I may find myself missing an XJ. I might finally get a Seca, which I always wanted more than a Maxim anyways. I'd either go with a 550 or a 900.

But for now, I can't imagine taking that step back.

What's interesting is reading other people who move on from the FJ. It also has an extremely devoted ridership--some people have owned their FJ from the factory floor, been around since the email group in the 90's. But inevitably, some people lust for a new bike. It's hard for me to imagine, though--I don't think I'll ever really get to the point that I can ride this bike beyond its limits unless I take up track riding as a hobby.

Seeing Jpaganel join the FJ forum recently made me smile! It seems like a natural progression from the XJ to me.

Now if they imported XJR's into the states, I might start thinking...

But the engine in an XJR is almost identical to the FJ, but without the perimeter frame. But it's naked, which has always been my preference style-wise.

Hard to say.

But yeah, for better. I'm happy. I put my maxim through its paces.