Hello all

Howdy. I was given an '81 Maxim XJ650 recently. It has 2500 miles on the odometer. It sat in a shipping container for 3 or 4 years. Boss gave it to me as a first bike.

I got it home, bought a new battery for it, bought a gallon of gas, and fired it up. It ran very rough. The boss mentioned that he thinks it has a valve problem. I drained the oil and on the magnetic plug I found quite a bit of metal shavings. And there is has set.

I've looked around and to rebuild the motor, valves and cylinders, seems to be fairly expensive, especially for a first bike. I haven't taken it into a shop yet to get their opinion.

I guess my question is, do I cut my losses now as I only have a battery and a gallon of gas in it, and sell it as parts to other XJ owners and get a beater bike, or do I dive in?

This is going to be a first motorcycle for me. I don't have any sentimental attachment to it. And there's a chance that I won't even like riding on a regular basis.

Any advice is welcome. And thank you for allowing me to join this fellowship of XJ owners.

 

That's 25 hundred, not thousand?? then you have STRUCK GOLD !!
Buy that man a steak dinner !

98% sure your problems are in the carbs - specifically the Pilot/Idle circuit and there is NOTHING wrong with the valves.

The Pilot screws are sealed under little metal caps, the hardest part of cleaning them will be removing them without damaging the brass screws beneath.

I wouldn't even break the rack all the way down provided the "fuel rail" doesn't leak, simply tend to the Pilot Circuit and general cleanliness, polish the slider pistons (clunk them), check the float levels, which should be spot-on, re-assemble and tune.

The first valve adjustment is at 3,000 so there's a SLIGHT chance you have a valve STARTING to go "out of spec".

Read a couple carb-cleaning threads on this site.

 

I'm wondering about the metal shavings on the drain plug magnet. Would this be a normal occurrence during the break-in period? Fitz, any insight?

 

If that is, indeed, 2500 miles then it may just be break in shavings.

One thing to keep in mind is that oil does oxidize over time and 30 year old oil isnt going to give much protection.

 

Jesus, pics please!

How come these things never happen to me?

 

The bike isn't in great condition. It hasn't been treated well. There are a few fins chipped off the jugs (I think that's what the outside of the cylinder walls are called). Both covers are missing. It looks like the electrical wiring was messed with a bit. But I'll get some pics tomorrow.

As I said, I know nothing about bikes and I'm not sure that I want to get into all that it will take to get this up and running. Maybe I'm just better off selling it for parts.

 

Try to find out if the speedo/odometer works or is original. May have a lot more miles on it. Check valve specs and compression. If ok, then move to carbs.

 

Try to find out if the speedo/odometer works or is original. May have a lot more miles on it. Check valve specs and compression. If ok, then move to carbs.

 

Welcome to the group and to your original question:

What you have could be a great bike if you are willing to learn how to fix it yourself. If youare looking for a first bike to ride hapily and take it to a dealer for service this is NOT it.

This bikes are old enough that hardly any shops will work on them and if they do there is a high possibility that they will rip you off.

If you are looking at a first bike to learn how to work on them and be proud of your ride then you have a winner and you are on the right place to ask questions ang get help alongthe way.

Even if the bike "looks" great, there is scheduled maintenance that needs attention due to a rubber pRts that deteriorate over time.