new project

I posted here a few months back asking your opinion on a basket case 1982 xj550 maxim the guy wanted 250 for. I offered him 200, but after talking to everyone here i told him i couldn't do it and he wouldn't come down on price. Well fast forward to 3 days ago. I saw the bike back on cl and sent him another offer that he accepted. I got in my car went to his house and picked up all the parts and the title. Then took the passenger seat out of my car and went back to get the frame. I took the front forks out of the trees and got the frame and rear wheel and the forks into my cavalier. He said the owner before him told him it had a bad head gasket so he tore the motor apart and found a chip out of the piston. These past 3 days I've been going through and putting the bike all back together just to figure out where everything goes and to make sure it's all there. After that i'm puling the engine back out and i'm going to take it all back apart and start rebuilding it. I figure it'll keep me busy for a while and i'll finally have a fun little project to play with. The bike hasn't been registered since 96 so I have my work cut out for me. Once i get some pics i'll pst them up and start a thread with all my progress. Hopefully you guys can give me some advice here and there.

 

Welcome to the forum Frosty, you have just landed on the right place. There are very knowledgable people in this forum that are always willing to help as much as they can.

I am in the process of getting an XJ650RJ back on the road so I wish you the best of lucks and post pictures of your progress.

 

i literally just got done going through all 10 pages of your thread and i can see theres some people in here that really know there stuff. No better way to get to know your bike until you tear it apart. i'm looking forward to seeing more on yours. It looks like your coming along nicely.

 

Welcome Frosty!

Appropriate handle for the weather now. I have an 81 XJ550 and have completely enjoyed working on it. Not perfect yet but it is very close and very happy. Mostly thanks to this forum. Ask any questions you need to and the help will come, and there are several other 550 owners here.

I haven't done a complete rebuild, but have been through pretty much the whole bike to make it safe and put it back to how it felt in 81 as much as possible. They are great bikes, very fast for a 550 and very good on gas.

You got a great deal for the money, with a little more and some effort you'll have a bargain that you can ride!

 

Golly.

Quite honestly, with the absolute rarity of 550 pistons, I'd call that a "good strike on a parts bike" and look for another one with a viable motor. I'm not trying to rain on your parade, but rebuilding a 550 motor to that degree could get really, truly, ungawdly expensive real quick.

Better to start with a solid motor, at least. There're plenty of 'em out there.

 

Frosty,

Good luck on your build.

Gary

 

Agreed. You just have to be patient. I had the PO drive my 650 Max to my house for $950 delivered. My 650 Max parts bike was stuck in 1st gear but I was able to ride it to my house 5 miles away and I paid $300 cash. The parts bike had new rear tire, new seat, highway bars and a windshield.

Criagslist has tons of Maxims over the course of a year.

I would not rebuild a pile of parts but that is just me. I have only bought ridable bikes even for a parts bike.

 

Putting this thing back together is more than half the fun For me. I like a challenge and it will be a lot of fun. I have another bike so I'm really in no rush to get this thing on the road. If I was really looking to spend some serious cash I would have bought an old shovelhead and done a ground up restore. This bike is really just to tinker with, get running, safe to ride on the street and probably bob it. I'm not trying to make it look pretty and dump thousands into parts and paint. I jus want ti get her running and road ready. I know I have a long road ahead of me. I reassembled the engine, put it in the frame, and have been putting everything where it needs to be. After I get it all settled I'll tear it back down to start rebuilding the engine and carbs. I may even just try finding another motor depending if I can find pistons for this one or not. I've seen used used ones on eBay dirt cheap but I don't know if I would trust them. I'll post some pics when it's not all cloudy and rainy outside.

 

This will be your biggest challenge. I wouldn't trust eBay pistons though.

 

I've been looking online but can't find them. Do you know of any websites Where I could find them at? I really don't want to bother with eBay and get bad ones.

 

Until you pull the cylinder bank, and measure the bores against spec for diameter and out-of-roundness, you can't really shop for pistons.

Unless the cylinders are in good shape, spec-wise, you may not be looking for stock pistons. If a re-bore is required, then you'll be looking for (4) oversized pistons+rings.

Which brings me back to my observation about trying to do a top-end rebuild on a 550, and how it can get real expensive real quick.

 

Sometimes you have to go where you can find it, whether thats ebay or not. Of course it would be great to find NOS parts from a trusted seller, but sometimes that isn't possible. Especially with older or rare motors. I've sourced many parts for my '74 Toyota from Ebay and haven't been disappointed yet. You just have to make sure the part you are buying is what your looking for (by asking questions of the seller), and that the seller is as reliable as possible on Ebay. The questions you ask and the response you get should give a clue as to whether or not they know what they're selling and whether or not they are honest.

bigFitz is right about the measuring. If you get those and they are in original spec, then you should be able to use OE pistons with new rings.

Perhaps something like these:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1982-Yamaha-Max ... vi-content

You could contact the seller and see if they can give more information (measured size, OE or not, etc.).

 

those are actually on my watch list on ebay right now lol. I wasn't planning to get them, it was more of an idea on how much i could find them for. Who knows though, maybe after i get some measurements i'll grab them.

I have micrometers and a dial caliper to measure the piston and the bore but how do I figure out if it's out-of-roundness? Should i just take the dial caliper and take different measurements from different sides of the bore. to see if one side measures different from the other?

 

Pretty much, yes. You need a bore gauge, kind of an "inside micrometer."

Then you take measurements at 90 degrees to each other; near the top, in the middle and toward the bottom.

There are specs for both "out of round" as well as for "taper."

I highly recommend a factory service manual; all of this is detailed therein.

 

Awesome! Thanks for the help here I really do appreciate it. I do have a factory service manual that came with it, so i'll crack that open tonight and have a look at the process. Hopefully I'll be able to pull the motor back out friday and get some measurements.

 

Although it's easier, you don't need to remove the motor to pull the head/cylinders.

All that's covered in the factory book too.

 

Here's a few pics for you guys. It's pretty beat up.

This is when I got it home. I just set the tank and seat on it.

Here's a few from today. Got bored and flipped the bars, but I put them back afterwards. Just wanted to see how it would look and feel.

Here's the awful tank. I haven't decided what I'm going to do with it yet. I'm thinking of sand blasting the outside and giving it a rattle can paint job, then going the por-15 route for the inside. I've done por-15 on my harley tank with awesome results.

Engine after I took it back apart.


Here's the only thing in great condition.



Here is the chipped piston skirt.



Sorry for the crappy iphone 3 picture, but it's all I have.

 

Having now seen the pics; I couldn't agree with me more. I'd call that the "parts bike" and find one with more viable bits still clinging to it (like an un-blowed-up motor.)

 

Well it's a project for sure. I have to admit I've never seen a piston like that before?? It's a bit of a strange failure for sure, almost like it had a pre-existing stress fracture or it somehow got tight down low on the thrust side...hmm.. that is a puzzle.

You can SB that tank but you could also just strip it, sand it, etch it, and paint it with primer, base coat, and 2k clear-it will look new. If you need to coat the inside por-15 is the way to go but be sure it's clean, etched and TOTALLY dry prior to coating.

Thanks for the pics Frosty, always enjoy those. You do have a lot of work ahead of you, but I believe that XJ can be rescued, albeit with a lot of effort on your part. I can sympathize as I'm currently wrestling with the XV750 listed second in my signature-it's not wanting to give up it's internal head pipe but it will lose by pm tomorrow. If you read the last line of my signature you can see I'm an eternal optimist. :wink:

 

I'm going to try to part out as many things off the bike that i'm not planning to use as i can to get a running eng. I'm going to stick with it unless I get a sweet deal on another, or maybe i can get lucky and find one without a title and swap parts over.

 

Well when i got it the guy said the owner before him said it only needed a head gasket but he tore it all down anyways. He didn't mention the piston until i went to get it and he pointed it out to me. I'm thinking after he pulled the cylinder block off he whacked that skirt against something, but who knows.

I didn't really think about stripping it and sanding. That might be a better route to go for me. I've done por-15 before on my old harley tank because of rust, problem was that i had to be super careful not to get anything on the paint. This will be nice to do though since the paint is obviously no good. It's going to make it a h*** of a lot easier and quicker. I still have the old chemicals to do it but I think since this tank is pretty darn beat up with rust that i'll get another kit so it's all fresh.

 

You just need to verify that the pistons are truly available.

http://www.citiesedge.com/oempartfinder ... MOTORCYCLE)/CRANKSHAFT_-_PISTON_(XJ550RJ_-_1982)

Ghost

 

I don't think i'll even bother trying to rebuild this engine. I don't want to have to bore and hone and go though the process if trying to find pistons and rings. pistons for these 550's seem to be a rarity, and when you do find them they're expensive since yamaha doesn't make them any more. I'd rather get a complete used eng that runs and has proof of good compression. How long will it take to find one? I don't know, but I would much rather go that route.

 

Frosty not sure where you are, but it shouldn't take you long to locate another 550. Since I bought mine in Sept of '11 I have seen 3 or 4 in my area on CL. That might not seem like much but I am in an area that is pretty dry when it comes to old SJM's. You can search CL, ebay, and Yakaz and it wouldn't hurt to check the junkyards and ask around.

You should turn on your location feature under Members options so members know where you are, who knows there might be one near you now.

 

Well I'm in charleston sc and there are two different motorcycle scrap yard within 2 hours of me. I think I may give them a call after I part some of this bike out to see if they have anything for me. I've never heard of yakaz but i'll definitely check it out. The only eng worth a darn I've seen on ebay is for a 650 and they're shaft driven... bummer. I wish they would have made them all either shaft or chain driven. I sure would love to dump a 750 in it.

 

Is this the engine you are looking for?

http://cleveland.craigslist.org/mcy/3514762142.html

This one does not look that great but what do I know

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/mcy/3456833626.html

This one had all the parts:
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/sat/mcy/3484978214.html

 

No way. the first one is exactly what I'm looking for. Funny thing is, I'm originally from cleveland but the military has me stationed in charleston. The wife and i should be making a trip to cleveland in the next month or so. Lets seee if iI can conn her into bringing a motor back with me in the car. I'm also talking to a forum member in columbus ohio (We'll pass right by on the trip home) who has one for sale as well. I just don't know if i'll be able to fork up 300 bones right now...especially if the wife is with me. lol

 

My wife is from Ohio, she went osu and we lived in Cleveland for a year. We do go to chuktown at least once a year.

Good luck

 

Frosty,

Could you pick up a motorcycle for me in Columbus (not just the engine) and drop it off in Charlotte on your way home?

I just bought one and I need to find a way to get it here

 

Frosty; keep an eye on Craig's list. You might be able to snag a whole other 550 Maxim, title or not, for the same price as the clean motor.

Either way, you'll be much better off starting with a viable motor.

 

Sorry, all I have is a little beat up cavalier. I got my bike home by pulling the front forks off, taking the passanger seat out and making 2 trips to get. Wish I could help.

 

That's what I would like to do. There's really only a few things I would like to get off another one which would be a decent tank, motor, carbs and wheels. I'll keep an eye out. If anyone else sees one let me know.

 

Frosty,

Check your inbox, I sent you a PM, I may have found what you are looking for.

 

So I found exactly what I'm looking for. a 1981 running xj550. Looks to be in decent condition, not sure how good it runs either but he wants 300 bucks for it with no title. Perfect, because I have a bunch of spare parts and I have a frame with a good titel. Here's the kicker... I'm deployed overseas and won't be back for 6 months. Just my damn luck!

 

Frosty,

Where is the bike, I may be able to help you out.

 

its in charleston sc. I'm going to try and call a friend with a truck to see if he can get it, but I'm not counting on it. I shot the guy an email and it turns out it doesn't run but did when he put it away. I don't care as long as the motor isn't shot though.

 

Alright, good luck man.