1982 Maxim 1100 "Project Rat Bob"

I bought a 1982 Maxim 1100 a few years back. Everything looked good when I bought it, I tested it and it rode fine. I went and got a legitimate safety and I got an eye opener. It needed fork seals, steering bearing, new front and rear tire and a new signal relay switch. When it was all said and done I spend $600 on the parts and another $400 on the labor + $1200 for the bike. So I'm into it $2200 so far. Not bad, but more then I wanted to pay. Old bikes have there problems I understand, Its just hard to see them without pulling them into a shop and inspecting it yourself.

Oh well...

I rode it a couple more years and the speedometer started to fail. I suspected the cable might be stripped but after hooking it up to a drill I found out that some jackass spun back the speedometer and messed up the internal gearing. The bike looked a little rough to only be at 28000km, but the owner said it's been stored outside for 6 years. My mistake... Buyer be where. I tested out the compression before I bought it, and its a solid engine. That gives me confidence that this bike should last many more years.

Lastly the transmission has started to fail over the last couple of years. It's struggling to shift from first to second gear, most of the time. I got a link to the xj11 forums from a lad by the name of "mlew" (thank you sir!), and I'll be taring into the transmission this weekend.

Into the project...

I want to make a rat/bobber. The bike doesn't look quite good enough to make the typical stylish bobber you sometimes see, with the black and chrome highlights. I was thinking flat black with red highlight (rims and engine cooling fins) or a military style camo (greens and tans). I dont want any chrome on the bike whatsoever. I want it to look somewhat junky but in a unique way.

Here's some before and after pics of what I have done. So far I got the rear end cut off and right now I'm prepping to drop the engine and start work on the transmission this weekend.

Before...





After...









Stay tuned, I hope to be updating fairly regularly.

 

I need the seat cover if you are not going to reuse it.

 

I wont be selling any parts till probably sometime in the new year. I just want to make sure I dont sell off anything that I might still need for the project. When that time comes, the seat is yours.

I'll probably also be selling off...

Rear signal lights
Rear fender and tail light
Rear shocks (maybe)
Rear sissy bar unit
Rear foot pegs

if anyone else is interested.

 

Any idea how much the engine and transmission weighs? Could 2 guys lift it out? I was hoping to remove it this weekend.

 

The engine is a bit awkward but I can carry it by myself. Definitely less awkward with another person helping. Lift with the knees! haha

Most folks lay the bike on it's side to remove the engine. Just unbolt everything, and lift the frame off the motor.

 

I can remove the engine by myself its not that heavy. Fab some sort of cart or platform with the height the same as the lower frame. Straddle the frame and sit on the seat and pick it up and slide it onto the cart. I have a motorcycle/ATV jack that works great for that.

 

An 1100 engine might be 200 LBS - - you suspend it from an overhead support with multiple ratchet straps, lift it one inch to clear the frame, and swing it out the left side of the frame - repositioning the straps that interfere with the frame backbone as you go.

 

make yourself a u-bracket and attach it to the studs under the intake and slide it in from the side. I removed & installed the engine all by myself.

 

Tip the bike on it's side, unbolt the engine, tip the frame back up.

 

Before you yank that engine,
be aware that you can get to the tranny while still in the frame.
The xs 11 bikes are notorious for having a second gear issue.
seeing as how that site(xs 11.com) referred me here for my xj bikes,
I return the favor.
You can turn the bike upside down or suspend the front end, or even lay on your back to do it.
Search the forums for(second gear washer swap)
Also a different common problem is the pulser coil wires pull apart as the vacuum advance rotates the timing plate,
Hope this info helps.
Btw that engine weighs about 215 lbs.
Joe

 

That problem doesn't occur on the XJ1100, only on the XS1100, the vac advance is built into the TCI unit on the XJ.

 

Update:

The original plan was to drop the engine and take it over to my uncles place to work on it (hes got more room and a work bench). I was told today that there's not enough space over there, so that idea is out of the question.

I stepped into the garage poped a beer and stared at the bike for a good long while. After looking it over I decided that taking the engine out would be impractical, my garage is tiny and I have to squeeze a snowblower in beside the bike when I'm done work for the day. Even if I did drop the engine, I don't have a place to work on it other then the floor right beside the bike. Plus I didn't consider the drive shaft. Just looking at it, it looks like a big job to separate it from the engine?

Anyways, I gave my cousin a call and after alot of beers and curse words, we managed to muscle the bike upside down (as suggested in the rebuild article from the xj11 forums). During the lift he says "OH! I think I just blew out my left nut!" I was laughing so hard, I almost dropped the bike. 8O

And there she sits. I'll probably get into it tomorrow, It was -10c today and I just didn't feel like working when its that cold. You touch the metal and lose feeling in your fingers in a matter of seconds. Now that its upside down I can shut the garage door and turn on the small space heater. Its still cold but better then nothing.

Here's some more pics.

 

Like it. :lol:

There's a part of that article from the xs11.com that go's on about pulling up one of the selector forks on re-assembly with a piece of stiff wire, like what is used for coathangers, well I struggled with attempting to do it like that, and in the end positioned the fork over the selector drum and the pushed it into place.
A lot easier that way. You'll see. :idea:

 

Please tell me you drained the oil first... 8O

 

I hope you did that as well. If you didn't, all the metal shavings in the oil pan just got dumped into the motor. And that will require a complete tear down, flush out and rebuild.

 

The oil was drained weeks before I started this project. :wink:


Update:

I got all the covers off today. Some of those bolts can be quite stubborn after 31 years, lots of spray and gentle tapping with a hammer did the trick. The day went by without a problem, the real work will begin tomorrow.

Looking into the bottom of the engine I see a chain that is 21 links wide! (about 2"). What the heck is that for? surely that's not the timing chain? (last pic). I also see a normal looking chain in behind it. (first time looking inside an engine)

 

Glad you did or it was going to suck being you. Hope all goes well with this.

 

That chain 21 links wide is the primary chain or starter chain and the thinner one is the camchain or timing chain.

I've only ever done the washer swap, the one by the side of the 2nd gear, and had no problems with the bikes jumping out of 2nd gear.
Some people undercut the dogs on the gears but it's not really needed unless very worn.

Lots of info about the pro's and con's as you've probably on the xs11 forum.

 

Thanks for the info.

My issue is getting it into 2nd, once its in, it rarely pops out.

Update: I spent the day at my uncles place. Hes also making a bobber. We ordered 2 sets of white wall tires. They should look awesome with the flat black engine and tank. I was thinking of painting the rims red. Check that out on google it looks amazing. :wink:

Going to get some work done tomorrow, I have the whole day to myself.

 

Well that can only be the beginning of the end.

Now you've gone that far it would make sense to at least do the washer swap.
You really don't want to be tearing into the gearbox again for such a simple fix.

 

What is the washer swap suppose to do exactly? I understand it causes the dogs to engage further into the next gear, but does this help to prevent popping out or make it engage easier? I read through almost every guide on the xj11 forums and as far as I can tell, it doesn't explain this anywhere.

I cleaned up my gears and had a good look at them. They seem to have hardly any ware. I'm unclear as to how the gears are suppose to be reshaped. Am I suppose to round off the edge of the dogs (as well as undercut) to allow them to engage more smoothly? Or would this cause them to resist engaging? I would assume you'd want to keep these edges sharp, but the pics in the articles suggest otherwise (unless I'm not understanding them).

My problem is the bike fights me when I try to engage 2nd, which suggests that the dog is skipping. Would a rounder edge on the dog help it engage, or make it worse?

Here's some pics of the gears. Note the red arrows. Am I suppose to round off these edges? (I understand the undercutting, but I'm confused about whether the edge should be rounded or not).

 

all the dogs and slots have a worn side and a un-worn side, not just the rounded corners but the orange peel texture where they fit. on a new gear they would look the same. the texture makes a lot of tiny bumps to keep them from sliding apart, since we can't put that texture back the dogs and slots are ground at a slight angle to keep them together. you can't grind enough away to get rid of the roundness but don't put any more on it, that gives less contact area.
take a look at the contact areas on the shift forks and the nub that slides in the drum slot
(nice camera work)

 

Well said.
As I've said, don't omit that washer swap. It makes everything that little bit tighter, so to speak.
I've not had a problem since.
Up to you mate, it's all good advice and if you don't want to take it then find out the hard way and rip into that gearbox again. :idea:

 

Your gears look good to most I have seen. It won't take too much to clean them up. The items you have circled need to be square with no rounded over edges. The roundness was caused by the gear slipping under load.
The difficulty shifting is most likely caused by a bent or worn shift fork.

 

I'm not oppose to the washer swap, I just wanted to know what it does before I do it. Transmissions are new to me, and I'd like to gain as much knowledge and experience as possible from doing this. Who knows, I might never have to deal with a transmission ever again.

As far as the shifter forks go, I had a good look at them. One of the fork tips looks a bit different then the other. Mostly the way it was machined, it's not the same as the other side. It doesn't look bent though. I need to do some precise measuring to be sure, but we got another cold snap in Ontario. -20's and -30's (c). I haven't been working in the garage for a few weeks now.

I did manage to paint one of the wheels at my uncles place, as well as prepping the pipes for painting. Aside from that I ordered some parts.
I got white wall tires front and rear, a new speedo and tach, and a lower end gasket kit. I was looking at some teardrop shaped signal lights I think I'll pick up as well. As far as the handle bars go, I was thinking a 24" drag bar. I kind of like the drag bar look more so then the bobber (raised up) style handle bars. I know I said "project rat bob" but its turning into "Project rat cafe" lol

Sounds like a good place to eat at right? 8O

 

Update - Progress!

Sorry for the lack of updates, it's been a hell of a winter up here in Canada, however, I have finally been blessed with some nice weather! I got a full day in today. :wink:

After stripping off the old handle bars I installed the new 28" drag-bars, however, I quickly found out that I grossly underestimated the amount of clearance I would need to avoid hitting the gas tank. The 2" risers I ordered were completely inadequate. So I took the original risers and drilled out the bolt to fit the new larger bolt size. After I reattached the originals, I mounted the 2" risers on top of the old ones. It might sound like a bit of a hack job but it honestly looks pretty good, and all the handlebar accessories fit with a half inch of clearance over the gas tank. I'm quite happy with the way it turned out.

Tomorrow my plans are to finish the electrical work. I need to relocate the ignition to somewhere below the seat (because I no longer have the original gauge cluster). This should be relatively straight forward (I hope). I'm no electrician but I figure I can just lengthen the wires that were originally going from the ignition to the main plug behind the headlight. The wires that I no longer have a use for (neutral light, high beam light, warning sensors) can just be cut off right? Its not like I have anywhere to hook them up. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

I got the tires painted. I think I'll wait till the very end to have the whitewalls installed. There's still more painting to be done. I'm going to black out the engine and exhaust as well as most of the rest of the bike.

Some pics of today's progress.