New XJ650 Owner... great forum!!

Just picked up my first bike... its a 1980 XJ650 MAXIM. Its a great bike and I'm glad to be a member of a group of people driving a great machine. Its in nice shape but there are a few things I'd like to do to it.

I have two questions:

Has anyone used those gas tank refurbish kits? My tak has a small amount of rust inside (not much) and I don;t want it to get worse.

Will it run okay on 100LL (AVGAS) ? I have access to some (tank sumping) for free and my lawn mower runs great on it so I was thinking about buring it in my XJ as well.

Regards,

Scott

 

Nice looking bike! Welcome to the fourm. Make sure you put your bike details in your signature for future posts.

 

The AV fuel shouldn't hurt your bike, but it is overkill. If you are worried about it, mix it half and half with the lowest price gas (87 octane here).

 

Welcome. I'd steer clear of AVgas in a bike. A lawn mower is not hard to replace, bike motor is a litte more expensive. Somewhere in the back of my dusty memory banks I recall a cautionary tale about putting too high an octane fuel in a motor not preped for it. Just a tingleing in my mind that is all. Might be nothing. Hope someone more knowledgeable pops in.

 

Higher octane burns slower. Might affect performance a little bit. Definitely won't hurt the engine.

At free I'd use it!

 

I personly would not use straight avgas or even 93 for any extended period. These bikes are not designed nor do they require anything more than 91 MAX. I have personally seen several times what can happen to an engine when to high octane fuel is used for extended periodes. Higher octane burnes slower and in engines with compression ratios of 10:1 or lower carbon will build up in the combustion chamber leading to pinging, detonation, then eventually holes burned in the pistons and other damadge. I would mix it with 87 octane at about a 3:1 ratio-3parts 87:1 part 100. That should reduce the octane enough for long term use.

 

Thanks gentlemen for all of the replys. I will avoid running straight 100LL but will add some to regular and see what happens.

One nice thing about AVGAS is that it doesn't go bad as fast or gum up the fuel system if let to sit. But I surely don't want to carbon up valves either.

After 3 months of drought we are getting lots of rain so I can't get get out and ride my new XJ :^(

 

I used the gas tank refurb kit on my 81 550 Seca. The stuff is amazing. I bought the 3 part solution, The etching, neutralizer and coating. That coating is a tuff as nails. It will also fix smaill pinholes as well.

 

Kontiki, your avatar is a little blurry, is it meant to be an F4U or and F5F?

 

F4U. Yeah, it does suck ... I concoted it down to an acceptable size from a small GIF file. I need to work on something better (not a lot of size to work with!)

I am going to buy that fuel tank coating kit from KBS.

Got a chance to ride my 650 today.... what a rush! Blasted down the taxiway at the airport to see what the accelleration was... pretty scarey. (I don't mond going 200 MPH in an airplane but on a bike... 50MPH feels lile 100! hehe)

The rear brake makes a hideous groaning sound so I suppose I need to replace the pads on that sucket. Anyone have a recommendation on where to get good pads? The front brake grabs like hell, but there is a slight pilsing so the rotor may be a tiny bit warped.

Think I'm gonna like these wheels. ;*) just need to get a few things the way I like 'em. I love this forum... I suppose I need to make a donation so assuage my guilt for getting all this excellent free information.
Semper Fi

 

i say stay away from the sealer stuff, it has the potential to put your fuel system in a world of hurt
shake some 1/4 nuts around in there to get rid of any loose stuff,rinse it well and get a good inline filter

 

Kontiki, I've cleaned out a set of carbs for a fellow cleaning up the mess after a tank sealing session. It didn't work and the mess made the carbs unusable. May I suggest you look into the electrolysis method. Chacal, a fellow XJ'er does this regularly and I've purchased two tanks from him that were treated in this method. I would avoid using a sealer unless you have a pile of holes that cannot be fixed any other way. If so, follow the instructions to the letter. Heartache will follow if you don't. Hit the search function for details on how to use a common battery charger and table salt to clean your tank.

 

Sweet bike Kontiki, enjoy it! On the brakes, I picked up a set of rear shoes from eBay for $9.99 & shipping, but they're readily available from places like Dennis Kirk for about $25-$30 or so. On the tank, (as Polock & Robert stated), if it's really just a small amount of surface rust, I wouldn't go the POR/Kreem route. Just remove it manually (sandblast, wire brush, nuts & bolts, etc) and be sure to give it a good cleaning out before filling with gas.

 

Nice bike Kontiki, ride safe I would definitely suggest JC whitney if you are looking for parts also dennis kirk is a great place to shop for stuff you need. HAVE FUN and ENJOY!

 

Gentlemen thank you for all the input! It is greatly appreciated... hoping to save myself from the major pitfalls by listening to those who have bravely gone before me. hehe

 

Hey guys,

I just started restoring my dad's old XJ650LJ but I can not find the air filter at any of the places I've visited. I can't find the part number in the owner's manual or service manual either. Do you guys know of a website I can find this part at and what this part number is?

Thanks

 

Yes I do! xj4ever.com or hit Chacal's link at the top of this forum (the flashing icon on the right). He'll most likely have exactly what you need and can get it to you pronto.