My First Ride...Needs Some Work

Hey guys, go by my last name, Joiner (used to it from the prison). Just rode and bought my first motorcycle. 1985 XJ700 Maxim X with 35,500 miles. Needs a serious valve adjustment, horn doesn't work, is missing a mirror, missing the whole air cleaner and filter, needs new hand grips, tires are dry rotted, highway foot peg is broken, small dent in gas tank with some paint missing....$500 (good deal?). Seemed to ride okay but it was my first time ever on a bike. Was torn between having a great ass time and pissing myself (don't own a helmet yet). Its parked now hoping you guys can help guide me into fixing it, love working on things and this seems like a perfect project (went to college to work on cars and semi trucks, don't know how I ended up in the prison). Sooo, questions, where is the horn located? Found the fuses, they're all good. Rubber or foam hand grips for a beginner? Guy told me its "racked", how do I fix that? Thank you and thanks for having me on here.

 

Welcome from Michigan. This is the perfect spot to get help and get your machine road ready.

Good luck! Ride Safe!

 

Looks like your front brake lines are original too.... they need replaced prior to riding.

Also check your rear brakes for delamination.

And you got a steal!

 

The horns are located under the tank just behind the frame and above the front of the valve cover. If you can't see them when looking at the front of the bike, someone removed them.

Get a helmet. It's the reason I'm still alive.

 

Don't plan on riding without a full face, its going to be parked until next summer. I have a wedding to pay for and valves to take my time adjusting. Thank you, I thought I saw the horn there but it also looked like it had coolant hoses running through it?

 

Thank you

 

I'd say you may not have 'stolen' it, as it looks kinda rough, BUT, they are known for being a real rocket when in good shape.

here's a 1986 fazer 700, basically same motor ( genesis ): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpiUX2hilcc

You'll be looking at some $$$ to get her into good shape, plus your labor, which is free since you'll be doing it all. Tires, brakes ( lines and shoes/pads ), and other tidbits. I believe the cams have to come out to adjust the valves, so anticipate an afternoon for that. But, I think the interval is like 10k miles, whereas the airheads are 5k.

Welcome aboard the XJ train.

 

Oh yeah, not sure what 'racked' means.

 

That dude is waiting to be a red stain on the road.... around 1:40 he hits a wheelie and lands in THE WRONG LANE

 

Welcome aboard Joiner.

You do have a project on your hands, but it will be well worth it.
For a point of reference, here's what I picked up a few years back for $400:


After countless hours of work (not to mention a huge dent in my wallet) this is what I ended up with:


I did sell it last summer as I needed the funds to do the resto-mod on my current bike.

No doubt it will be a challenge, so tap into the great community here and we'll do our best to help you along. And, we're glad to see that a helmet is in the future, 'cause it looks like you've figured out that the X models have some serious potential.

 

As far as the cams coming out, I was reading about another guy with a water head who just
loosened the tensioner, removed most of the cam caps and loosened others and was able to gently tilt the cams up and out of the way. I just ordered the tapered feeler gauges from Len and while the gas tank is off I'll look for the horn more (its needed for inspection in DE and I might want to replace it with something loud anyways). If I picked up what the PO was explaining, it being racked means that the front forks are slightly off center from the frame? And its a shame you had to sell that bike, this economy hurts us all. You did an excellent job of it. Making this thing street legal and safe is my first concern. After reading how rare the X is I'll probably make it nice after a few years when I've had plenty of time to learn to ride. Advice from the PO "its your first time riding, don't make it nice, when you drop it after put countless time and effort into it you'll be super pissed"

 

As much work and money as this project will be, its still cheaper than my other 1985 project that's sitting 400 miles away at my dad's house.

Miss that car, but riding a motorcycle will do more than mimic the t tops off.

 

After doing all that work, selling the bike was tough to do, but I used most of the funds in doing the resto-mod on my current bike.

By "racked" do you mean the forks are out of alignment/bent, or is the steering head part of the frame twisted? Should you be using it for a parts bike?

If it's salvageable, you'll definitely want to get a service manual before you tackle anything. And, your initial focus should be on the safety items like brakes and tires.

Lastly, nobody plans on dropping their bike (experienced or not), just seems to happen from time to time. Cosmetics are usually lower down on the list of importance, so if you take a MSF course and ride sensibly, hopefully you can keep it nice for many miles to come.

 

He pointed it out, didn't say anything was bent so I'm guessing out of alignment? The forks look a little like they're sitting to the left of the rest of the bike when you're looking from the seat. He ran through how to fix it but I didn't write it down.

 

It can be done mine looked far worse then that here is a then and now pic

 

Street pizza waiting to happen. But yeah, these engines can get it, I never plan on driving it hard like that, too much risk for my life.

 

A few questions:
1. What is broken off the sides of my carbs?


2. What are these four random connectors to that are under the tank and coming from the main harness?


3. Where is the horn? All I can find is the fan, the ignition coil or whatever its referred to on motorcycles, and something that has to do with coolant going to the cylinder heads (water pump?)


4. What size Allen wrench takes off the valve cover as I can't seem to find any and I'll have to ask my buddy to borrow his.

 

Surely he wouldn't do that in traffic. I see no harm done here. I sure as hell didn't know these bikes could wheelie though. How is the Fazer different from a maxim X or airhead? I just read that these run 11.89 in the quarter mile, stock?

 

Awesome color bike by the way, is that original? thats the best color iv seen on any seca/maxim