- First Ride on my 83 XJ750

- So I took my new (to me) 83 XJ750 Maxim out yesterday for our maiden voyage together if you will... I had not ridden a motorcycle since my accident in 2005. It had been some time... I was nervous but exited...

I I spent a little bit of time "debadging" it in the morning to get rid of the Yamaha stickers and the Maxims on the battery cover thingees (pretty sure that is the technical term) in a light drizzle (more of an occasional mist) while my pitbull looked at me like I was crazy...

It was exciting to say the least. Took her out for about 10/15min before it started raining and I knew I hadn't been riding long enough (experience wise) for that kinda trip.

I had a question...
She seems to idle high in Neutral. If I am stopped at a light in N it it idles high (around 3+) but if I put it into 1st and hold the clutch it is fine.

I messed with that "Idle Speed/Timing" knob between the carbs earlier to get her running but that is the only "negative" from playing with it. I assume clockwise=higher idle & counterclockwise=lower. Is this correct? Am I looking at the wrong adjustment?

Again I was able to ride with only one stall which was awesome so I am really excited to ride more...

Thanks all!

 

Set idle when at full running temperature and go from there. Yea, their fun, just finished my carbs with help from a lot of XJ fans.

 

- Are my guestimates right?

Clockwise=higher idle
Counterclockwise=lower idle

 

Yep. Did you do a vacuum sync, also?

 

- No...
I'm not really sure what that is or how to do it...

 

Buy yourself a Carbtune Pro 4......a nice vacuum sync tool......pricey thou before worth it.....& a colortune plug.....you will be all set then to dial it in....

 

Your Pitbull ain't the only one looking at you like your crazy.
Why 'debadge' you XJ?
Are you embarrassed to drive a Yamaha - a vintage one at that?

Here's a tip; crumple up some aluminum foil and dip it in water and then scrub away on you carb hats . . . It's like magic!

 

I agree...you should have left them on.....see how nice they look when painted silver...instead of that gaudy gold flake....

 

- I gotta try that foil trick...
I was wondering if there was a fix for that... Thought I may have to take them apart or replace them. THANKS!

How hard/expensive is carb-tuning?
My buddy works for a bike shop here in NJ but he is in Texas right now on vacation. He said we'll go over the bike when he returns and I'm sure I'll learn a lot then combined with all the bike/brand specific knowledge from all of you guys...

As far as the stickers go it is more for the clean look I suppose.
I am not really a fan of brand names plastered on things (GAP tshirts or Aeropostale sweats with the company name huge across the leg etc). I had originally wanted to matte the bike out but I like the black now that the labels are gone.

I would like to replace the tail-light though...
I thought about taking off the rear fender and just leaving it that way & installing a new tail-light I think it would look pretty cool but I'm wondering if I will get mud/water/dirt lines from the tire rotation on my back or passenger's back...

FiveOfAKind, it does look pretty cool with the silver... That bike is CLEAN! I like...

- Eric

 

Fenders were put on a bike for a reason......but then you can tell I am one for keeping a bike stock as much as possible.......

Anybody that does Pods = Problems.....keep my thoughts.....

These bikes are tough enough to dial in...let alone to throw pods on them & to start having airir/fuel & jetting problems

Valves & carbs are 2 of the important & hardest things to deal with on these bikes.....they must be right on.......once they are dialed in.....your bike will fly down the road......

 

- What are Pods?

Is there a tutorial or or anything on setting the carbs/valves?

 

Uh oh (hint). Yes, there are nice explainations for "trying" to run pods but the CV carbs our bikes have were not designed to run pods. Proper air/fuel through each carb produce proper hp in each chamber. To have a properly sync'd bike is to have equal hp at all four as close to spec as possible. Pods allow too much air through the ventura in each carb which make it difficult to get the a/f mix correct. The airbox is designed to do the opposite. Imo keep the airbox (for now anyway); dial her in where she'll produce 18, 19 or 20hp across the board. Take her for a spin and grab a hand full of throttle and tell us what you think. Oh yeah...hold on. Hope this helps.

Gary H.

 

- Great info...
How do I dial in the settings?

I'm not looking to add anything crazy or at all motor-wise.
But I should really get to learn the motor and how it works so that I can do work on it myself. Working with carbs & a bike in general is all new to me...

 

"Pods" are individual air filters for each carb and they tend to cause misbehavior in CV carbs.

Valve clearances how-to: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=14827.html

Part Deux: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=29209.html

Plus you should really invest in a service manual.

 

- I'm back... Sorry I've not been on much.

I've got about 950 miles or so on her now. Mixed miles (city, highway, "country-side," bike runs, etc.). MAN is it fun. She's been doing really great. I realized the bike is shorter in general it seems than most. I assume because it's an inline motor. I dunno. I look forward to maybe doing a few lil projects on her. Nothing major. Anyone know of any replacement seat options that look more like current bikes as opposed to the larger giant seat?

Thank you guys for all the help.
I look forward to getting back to browsing around here n getting information.

- Eric

Also... I have a service manual that came with the bike...
I browsed through it a bit. A lil over my head but it is pretty straight forward so I'm sure I'll get more use out of it as I go...

 

Here is a picture of her from when I rode down to the Highlands in Sept...

 

Just lettin you know, I support your de-badging. No shame, it still says yamaha in black capital letters on engine, but the bike looks sooo clean! nice work. Would the front fender fit on an 82 seca? looks smaller than mine.
ps Cool helmet, but is it DOT?

 

Fender will not fit the seca correctly. The axle on the maxims are mounted on the front of the fork where the seca is on the bottom.

 

Weird... the lower on my seca's forks has the axle on the front of the fork.
Oh well, why fix what isn't broken, when there is so much that is!

 

Actually your right on the 750. I think the axle is mounted farther up on the fork leg tho.