Hey, guys! More to read than what's needed... or wanted.

I'm Taylor. Just bought a 83 XJ550 Maxim for 600 bucks on Craigslist. First bike, not my first vehicle project, and finally (89 BMW 352i), after YEARS of waiting, I finally got motorcycle. I'm a newb... I'm sorry. My mom and wife were pissed when I bought it, but I don't see myself caring in the near future. I just wanna ride, and I wanna prove em both wrong by building something great... and save on gas. California gas is horrible to pay for. I'm from Houston, but the navy sent me out here. Money doesn't seem to last as long. I've got ideas for this bike though. A cafe seems like it'd be cheaper than a bob, and I'm on a super budget. I read a similar topic about the same thing, but it all boilled down to "What do YOU want on your bike?" Something simple, I guess. Just a new tank and a new seat for the look, and maybe drop the suspension a smidge. I don't want REALLY wanna have to fab custom parts either. I can, but it's more money than I have at the moment. I've read, so far, that the Seca tank, if I can find one, fits. I've also read here that it doesn't look right. There's no way I can add a longer seat pan to compensate, right? If so, can someone point me in the right direction? Am I in the wrong section for some of this convo? Before I do any of that though, I have to make it run again. The guy I bought it from messed with the choke, and pulled the throttle on and off for about 15 seconds before starting it. When I got it home, I couldn't do it. IT turns over, there's gas, the plugs are still good. What am I missing?

 

hmmm where to start...hmmm
before you do anything cosmetic, I mean anything at all
you have to do Required Regular Maintenance!
this means check the Valve Clearance.. it is a daunting but
actually a simple test
then you need to make sure you can stop.. aka the brakes
front brakes means new brake lines.. the ones that are on it
are probably the original.. and guess what they were only meant to
last 4 yrs
then the master cylinder is probably not reliable
you can rebuild it, or just replace it.. both about the same price
so then you probably want to replace the front brake pads
now on to the rear brake drums.. how are they?
the pads sometimes peel off the drum and if this happens..
lets just say you do not want to know
so where are we at in this little story.. oh yes
how clean are those carbs? probably not.. take them
apart and clean them.. clean the so clean that your momma
would be proud
now how do the tires look? better yet what are the date codes
printed on them? are they cracked?.. replace them
now the bike should be safe enough to ride
that is if it runs
now you can do the cosmetic things you want
or you can ignore all this advice and end up spending too much
time and too much money on something that might
get you down the road 100 miles
or 20,000 miles
the choice is yours

cheers and enjoy

 

oops.. forgot to add in do a compression check
a super simple test to let you know if the pistons
are good or not

 

good advice ^. bottom line...$600- $800 and a fist full of your time to make it a solid runner.

 

Welcome.
Assuming you are still in the Navy, enlisted, so at least we won't have to worry about you wearing proper gear when you ride. For the record though, don't ride without proper gear, no matter how nice or hot the weather is. So the first money you will have to spend is $5-600 on a helmet, jackets, gloves, boots and some leg armor.
The next money you will have to spend is on maintenance. Make sure the bike is fully and completely mechanically sound and safe.
Then once you have put some miles on the bike, you can spend some time modifying it cosmetically. For what its worth, I had a set of superbike bars on my 82 550 Maxim and it made that a very sporty machine. Still looked kind of cruiser-ish, but it helped it to handle a lot better than the buckhorn style bars that were originally on it.

 

Hi Taylor, appreciate your service to our country.

Here's my 2 cents:
Heed the advice given above; you have already admitted that the purchase has pissed off SWMBO and your Mother. If you kill yourself because you don't take care of what is recommended (brakes!) then your wife and mom wil really be mad.

Don't worry about looks until it is a reliable, safe ride . . . and maybe by then you will fall in love with the stock look and save yourself more money.

Speaking of, the guys are right - proper PPE and parts are gonna cost some coin. Order your parts from XJ4 Ever and avoid an extra headache. Ask any questions you have here, take an MSF course - better yet, have your wife take the course with you.

 

Compression test doesn't necessarily tell you whether or not the pistons are good.....it tells you whether your compression is good. If its not, it could be pistons, rings, valves, etc........


If you have low compression, then a leak-down test will help narrow down as to whether its piston/rings, or intake valves, or exhaust valves.......

Dave

 

Welcome ,,,thank you for your service....As I have come to find out, this a great site and it has great knowledgable XJ bike owners that know a lot of stuff. So if you dont know something, someone will , and they will help....Good luck..

 

MSF is the best 80 dollars ever spent
and fun as all heck!

 

All of this info is definitely appreciated. And we're not allowed to ride without proper PPE and the safety course on base anyway. Me and my brother used to ride back in Texas, but I didn't have my own bike. All that riding and such is in the future. First, I have to make sure it can stop before making it go, right?

 

Hah, called it!

 

As you are a military budget. Do not get in to big a rush to modify the bike. Get it running, safe, and rideable. Then put some miles on it to get a feel for the bike, and what you want out of it. It might just turn out not to fit your riding style. Figure out your riding style first. Then you will have a better idea what style bike to build.

Your plans will most likely change several times before you are ready to get serious about making any changes. You might come across a piece that you just have to get that will change the entire plan for the bike.

Do not get hung up on any specific style. Some modifications can be very difficult to reverse if you change your mind half way through, or it does not turn out like you were thinking. The cruiser style frame is a bit more difficult to build into a cafe than the sportier style seca frame. The bobber style is generally not very comfortable for long rides.

Take the process as a learning experience. Tackle little projects as the money can handle them. And remember most of all. It does not matter what you ride. It only matters that you ride.

Ghost

 

Yes, stopping is critical; probably more critical is NOT having the rear brake lock-up.

Look in Mighost's signature. . . There is a link to BigFitzs Delamination Post. It is a great starting point. Other members will have important links in their signatures. . . check them out.

 

Navy, San Diego... 32nd Street Naval Station? Out of idle curiosity, how many carriers do they have parked down there at the moment?

You need to hire him to start the bike for you.

Seriously, one should merely have to set the choke, hit the button, and it should fire off almost immediately. Sounds like the carbs need going through.

You'll want to touch base with our resident parts wrangler. His name is Len, but his username on here is Chacal. He runs a little enterprise called XJ4Ever. You can send him a PM (private message) here, or email directly to info@xj4ever.com.

The xj4ever.com site (minimalist though it may be) has a number of illustrated walkthroughs ("writeups") that some of us on here have done. You'll want to at least make note of these:

Inside Your Carbs
This shows why keeping the carbs clean inside is so important.

Setting Fuel Levels
After you've cleaned and reassembled them, this will be the next step. It can be time-consuming and extremely frustrating (ask me how I know this), but getting the levels set right is also rather important.

Lastly, there's another user on here goes by BigFitz52. He's our resident 550 Seca expert; he knows his bike inside and out, and it's immaculate. I strongly urge you to pick his brain if you have any questions.

 

I'm stationed at North Island (Coronado). Can't tell you how many carriers are around though. Loose lips sink ships, right? And I'll definitely look up Fitz. My buddy and I are gonna get started on the essential maintenance tomorrow morning.

 

That's okay... if they're around, I'll see them when I go through the Midway museum on Monday. Couple of years back, they had no fewer than three of the things sitting nearby. The next year, one or two got deployed and the third had gone up to Washington state, I think it was, for a refit.

USS Midway Museum