New 1984 XJ 650 owner here to raise hell.

Hey Guys

For some odd reason, I turned into a side street to follow a garage sale sign - can't remember the last time I did that. In any event, at 25 years of age, I have never sat on a bike, and fate brought me to this:



Picked it up for $270 CAD and a Starbucks Caramel Frappachino (Venti, natch.) I have no idea how to operate this thing at all, but determined to figure it out. There's a couple things that I can see will need to be fixed - gas tank cracked a bit (cosmetic only i think), trouble starting, windshield can take a hike, etc. Will be around here asking questions in the future, so thought I'd drop a line to say hi.

Tim

 

"Welcome to the Hotel California"

You couldn't have found a better pack to run with!

Once we get all our bikes fixed-up and learn how to ride 'em ... we're all buying Bowling shirts and meeting-up to go unplug all the Juke Boxes in Harley Bars.

 

Its amazing the powers these bikes seem to have over us.. its almost alien... That is a really nice looking bike, and for that price it was definitely a steal! (Was it a divorce/estate sale?) Since you probably have no idea of its maintainance record or how long it was sitting before you got lucky, minimum first things to do are drain the gas tank and put in fresh gas, change the oil and filter, change the spark plugs, check and clean/replace the air filter, and run some carb cleaner through the system (both through the tank and the intake). That, along with some tuning should eliminate your hard starts/rough idle/stalling.

As for the gas tank, unless you notice gas drips or leaks in the crack vicinity, you are probably ok. The paint is more than 20 years old, and it can be expected to develop hairlines and spiderwebs. Tanks usually rust from the inside out (unless there is a damaged area where the steel was exposed and was allowed to rust), and will usually start leaking along the bottom welds. When you dump the gas, look at it in a clear container and see if there's rust particles in it. If there is, you will have to etch and seal the tank (not only is a rust-through bad for the tank, rust particles in the fuel can clog your carbs)

If you're ditching that windshield, I'd be happy to take it off your hands!

-Taz

 

I think it was a husband-bought-the-bike-without-permission-and-wife-was-pissed-off-they-didn't-talk-about-it-first kinda thing, but, who knows.

Thanks, I was looking at it today and completely lost as to where to even start - gives me something to work on tomorrow. Screw planting flowers in the front lawn, I got a bike now!

Yea, I think I either want something smaller, or take it off completely. My drive into work is about 30 minutes on the highway going about 100km/hr, 10 minutes in the city going 60km/hr. Is the windshield on a bikes main function to displace rocks from ones face, or is it to keep rain out of your face when it's wet? Or mabye it's just to deflect bullets from rival bike gangs with novel names such as "Cobras". Totally lost. Drop me a pm with your email address though, and i'll drop you a line when I tear it off.

Tim

 

Funny stuff gentleman and a privilege to be a part of "Hotel California" and the XJ obsession also. Tim, you are one lucky buckaroo in getting an XJ for your first bike. Take care of that thing and make sure it's right before you start unleashing your wrath on the neighborhood and the local main drag. You will lose XJ karma for not seeing to it's needs before riding. Be sure to check the brakes and take a bike safety class so fun doesn't turn into disaster. You have come to the right place for information about your bike and sharing naked pictures of your past girl friends....in PM to me of coarse. :lol: This site is loaded full of good information and it's just a click away. You should also get a good repair manual to help you get the job done right. Bikes are a blast to own and I know you must be just itching to get that thing on the road. Best of luck to you and congratulations on the new bike!

 

Good score... Right lets got down to some good ol hell raisin 8)

 

What a score.

There should be more annoyed wives forcing their husbands unappreciated XJs onto the street.

You've joined a great forum and will benefit from the expertise and guidance of the expeerts here. Have a look at getting the XJ CD as well. Money well spent.

Welcome aboard eden.

 

Welcome.

As a new rider I suggest having a look at this site:
Riding tips n tricks

You should also be able to do a motorcycle handling and saftey course. This will help you to get the most out of your bike and learn ya how to operate her safely.

Also it would be wise not to ride your new bike in the clothing that you are wearing in the picture, invest in some quality (leather) riding gear, boots and a good full face helmet. Road rash is not nice.

Enjoy your new ride.

 

How come I was not informed of the ex-girlfriend naked picture exchange going on here? Is their a secret sign I need to have in my signature to join the club?

 

If I might make a suggestion, take off the windshield and store it for a while. Try riding without it on the highway, then put it back on and try the highway with it again.

My bike is very similar to yours, except I've got a highback seat and engine guards with highway pegs. I've twice removed the windshield over the years and rode without it, only to find that at higher speeds on the highway it is more pleasant with less wind blasting into my helmet and bouncing it around.

Polishing the sheild up will remove most of the small scratches and increase visibility through it immensely.

My Maxim was the bike I learned to ride on, and I think it's excellent for the purpose. The center of gravity is so low that it is very easy to learn low speed turning without a top heavy bike trying to tip on you. My confidence in this ability was greatly increased when the previous owner took me on the back in a parking lot, and leaned it over so far that the foot pegs were scraping the ground several times.

It's got tons of power for acceleration which is fun, but isn't designed to go stupid-fast which is also good for a new rider.

A really good project for you while you are stuck just looking at it is to clean up all the electrical contacts including the fuse connections. Open up every connector and sand any corrosion off, remove every ground wire and do the same. There are plenty of ideas on the board of how to prevent further corrosion from occuring. Open the signals and remove any corrosion there as well. This bike's electrical system is vulnerable to corrosion and it causes all kinds of problems down the road - including hard starting. I recently did this and the difference in starting is remarkable.

 

You done did good, son :lol:

 

Thanks for the kind words, lads. Since it's probaly been a while for most of you guys, let me quickly run down my first foray into this meck-and-ick stuff.

Go back in time, before brat kids and midnight curfews. You're 25, and just bought a POS bike @ a garage sale that doesn't run worth crap, and has a leaky seam in the gas tank. You've waited patiently for 2 days for the heat to reduce to a low boil in the kitchen before you sneak into the Garage at 22:00 after the other goes to bed.

You set your laptop up on the bench of your new house - your first garage - still cluttered with boxes from the move, parted like the Red Sea to make room for the XJ. Yes, the XJ is the Jesus to you.

It doesn't run, so you sit on for a good 5 minutes while you try not to think of falling off it at 100km and picking your skin up from the pavement. Chills.

23:00: you crack open your can of Guinness and drink from the can - screw pouring it into a glass, drink around the widget - your a biker now. You jump on XJbikes.com, find the diagnostics for a bike that won't start (Rrr-Rrr-Rrr-click-click-click) and get to work.

23:30: Cleaned the plugs, cleaned the contacts, cleaned the cleaners, still won't run.

00:15: Check over to make sure that battery is charged, this bitch is running tonight. Check the wires, check the Solenoid, check the starter button, jump the Solenoid.

00:45: Starter's coming off. Almost stripped screws holding it together. Frack. Crack it open like an un-helmeted mug on pavement - carbon guts spill out. No end in sight. Black, black, black. Clean it up, Re-Grease, check brushes, 13.mm & 11.mm. Finish up, reassemble, getting giddy.

01:30: Reassemble starter for the 4th time.

01:45: Grilled Cheese time. I find if you fry the cheese on a peice of Ham, and use a piece of toasted bread in an open face, it's more healthy than the standard Bread-Cheese-Bread deep-fry route. Of course, this could be argued it's no longer a grilled cheese. I digress.

02:50: Reassemble starter for the nth time. Why won't it spin! There is no God! WHy..Whhj.. oh, it works now.

03:15: Slip it in, Slap it down and Hit the launchpad. Va...

... Roooooom, rum, rum, rum, rum, Rum and coke time. Kill the engine. If wife heard that, I'm a dead man.

04:00: Sneak into bed with the stealth of a Ninja, prowess of an XJ, and knock off with a Grin you couldn't capture on a Panoramic Camera.

 

Great story, good descriptive phrases ! Give us more ! :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

$270!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! wow what a steal

 

I'm sorry. Buying a XJ for less then $300. in Canada is illegal. I am afraid you need to box it up and send it to me in Calif. ASAP before you get in further trouble.
Good find Bro! Take some Motorcycle Saftey Training and you will be on the road in no time.
Casey M
Riverside, Ca

 

Ha! That's some funny stuff, Tim. I can tell you're a natural-born motorcycle enthusiast who hasn't really KNOWN until now that you're a NBME.

Kinda like an Irishman who hasn't had his first drink until age 25. Look out!

 

Great story bud!

I think the point of the training is so he is on the bike in no time, and on the road at no time. :wink: