My free 1980 Yamaha Maxim 650

Hello all. Recently acquired a 1980 Yamaha Maxim 650. Found it on Craigslist and the guy was asking $500 for it. He had it torn down thinking the valves were messed up, but turned out to be in great shape. The issue was the carbs. Two of the carbs had different sized float needles which caused the crankcase to fill up with gas. That was the main issue all along. He stripped it down because he wanted to "bob it out". I contacted him and we agreed to $250. We chatted back and forth and told him about how this was going to be my first bike and my dad had this exact bike when he was in his 20's and how this was going to be a father son project before I head off to college this fall. 5 min later, he texts back and tells me if I take pictures of the project and don't turn around and sell it, I can have the bike... FOR FREE!!! So... I picked it up and now it is sitting in the shop ready to worked on! So gonna post pictures and progress on here and stay true to my promise! First picture is my dad and his friend with his maxim when he was 24 and next one of course is me with the new maxim. Glad to be here!

 

congrats on the bike! I was 25 years old when I walked into a yamaha shop and started drooling over the 650 maxim. I went back several times and finally bought a 1981 silver metallic 650 maxim. I road it for 20 yrs. 3 years ago I bought a 750 maxim and a 750 seca. Once again I love riding these bikes!! I am 60 years old now.

 

What an awesome deal. Please make good on your end.

Welcome aboard; time for some reading before you get to work.

http://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/tech-topic-the-history-of-yamaha.14576/

http://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/tech-topic-the-real-costs-of-maintenance.14581/

http://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/the-information-overload-hour.27544/

http://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/in-the-church-of-clean.14692/

http://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/the-secret-life-of-carburetors.14751/

 

Cool!

You will find all the help you need bringing it back to life right here.
Need parts? That's covered also.

 

Jeez it's like I'm one step behind K-moe tonight . . .
Going to bed now, work starts at 04:00 tomorrow!

 

just to keep the ball rolling.
haynes 650-750 free down load
http://www.manualslib.com/manual/837861/Yamaha-Xj750.html
find a factory service manual fo it too.

don't look at it as a free bike look at it as having $250 more to put into the bike

 

Congrats, that will be a great project with pops. I'm thinking of doing a golf cart with my 12 Y/O next summer. You have some work ahead of you on that one. Jugs are off the motor?

 

Welcome,nice helpful folks here.now get to wrenching, cuz that leads to riding

 

Thanks guys! The guy gave a haynes manual came with it. Still am going to order a factory service manual for it. So far, I've put it our barn and laid out all the all the parts and I'm going to organize my tools so I'm not hunting for something when I need it most. The jugs are not off the motor... the head is removed tho. I have rebuilt a 4 wheeler engine, multiple cars engines, tractors, etc so I have pretty good mechanical background. Now I just need to evaluate and determine what needs to be replaced before I put it back together. Will post more pics soon.

 

Thanks guys! The guy gave a haynes manual came with it. Still am going to order a factory service manual for it. So far, I've put it our barn and laid out all the all the parts and I'm going to organize my tools so I'm not hunting for something when I need it most. The jugs are not off the motor... the head is removed tho. I have rebuilt a 4 wheeler engine, multiple cars engines, tractors, etc so I have pretty good mechanical background. Now I just need to evaluate and determine what needs to be replaced before I put it back together. Will post more pics soon.

 

Welcome aboard. I saw the sell add on craigslist. The PO was also a member here. He could've got it running but said in the add he's not into Japanese bikes (British only). He also acknowledged how clean it is. It's a very nice platform for a great recommission.

Gary H.

 

Worked on the bike some over the weekend. Got the rear blinkers wired, the rear fender installed and rear tail lights/ brake lights wired as well. Going to have the head inspected/ pressure checked either this week or next so I can start putting the top end of the engine back together. The switch for blinkers and headlight is shot. The solder for the wires for the blinker on the inside of the switch are broken. Going to order a switch and hopefully finish the wiring part of the bike this weekend.

 

.

 

Pics so nice, had to post em twice!

Looking good man, keep it up!

 

you can re solder the wires with a fine point iron available at any hardware store there is a thread on the rebuild someplace.

and if you do not know it the headlight comes on when the bike is started

here is a thread
http://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/xj650-no-voltage-on-left-turn-light.71030/#post-474371

 

This thread has everything I like about this site and our little community. You're in good hands both with a Dad that would do this with their child and the folks here. I can't wait to see this finished and you riding off to college.

 

Thanks everyone! Dad helped me re- solder the blinker switch. Got all the wires hooked, put some juice to it and all the electrical system works. Blinkers, taillight/brake light etc with the exception of the headlight. After doing some googling, I've read that the alternator kicks on the headlamp when the engine is running so I believe the headlamp will work. The fusebox is messed up. If you touch it or twist it slightly it will cut off so I'm going to order a inline fuse holder and replace the fuses to resolve that issue. Going to order some parts tonight:

Inline fuse holder
Carb(s) rebuild kit
Top end gasket kit
Clutch kit ( don't know if it is shot or not. Thought it would be a good idea to go ahead and replace)

Dad is taking the head to the machine shop to have it checked out this week. Progress is slow, but we're getting there!