My 82 XJ650 Maxim Complete Rebuild

I had another thread started but it got out of date and a little off topic, figured I would start a new one now that it is done.

Huge thanks to all the countless members that assisted through the project with knowledge or parts, I would not have ended up with a bike this nice without it.

Here she is when I picked up. Happened to be in my home town for a weekend project and stopped in to see some old friends. We used to ride together about 15 years ago and this was his ride then. He had picked up a Heritage Softail since then and the XJ became a patio ornament. At least it was covered but she was rough and not running. A couple beers and $200 later it was in my truck.





Fast forward 19 months, here it is! Ignore the goofy mirror, Chacal has a couple sets on the way to figure out what works with these bars. The last set had me looking at my shoulders.

 

Bike was a total teardown. Major issues were 5 broken intake/exhaust studs, oil leaks, and a couple splits in the frame from frozen water. Frame was powder coated once repaired.

Frame:

 

I tore the engine down part way, it had good compression numbers so I didn't see any reason to tear it down past the head. Every gasket and seal that I could access was replaced. Since the original head had 5 broken studs, I opted for a good replacement which I then tore down and rebuilt completely.

 

Cosmetics. PPG paint, I can't recall the color. All the little pieces were powder coated. Once I struck up a relationship with the shop, it was about $6 to blast and powder coat all the parts. At that price, it's not worth my time to clean up and spray paint it. One note, if you have your controls powder coated make sure they don't coat the inside. It looks nice but makes it really hard to get the turn signal switch to function properly.

I picked up a buffer and supplies for under $40 at Harbor Freight and polished the aluminum bits. It's messy work to remove the clear coat but the results were great!

 

Carbs by Hogfiddles! I've done carbs but I really dislike it as I always get something wrong or get impatient and screw it up. Dave took really good care of these. When startup time came, I just had to set the levels and fine tune. Nice!

 

And a million other little detail things. Here are the gauges after resto. Don't worry, the rusty bolts were replaced.

 

Once again I have to thank the members on here!! There are too many to list but some notable mentions go to Len for his amazing parts availability and catalog, Hogfiddles for the carb service and advice, k-moe for the never ending knowledge, sybe for the generous donation of the tach, the list goes on!

All said and done, here was the list:

• New brakes front/rear
• Caliper and MC rebuild
• New SS brake lines
• Carbs rebuilt
• Tapered steering bearings
• New wheel bearings
• New swingarm bearings and races
• New seals everywhere
• Handlebar swap to Daytona Cruiser bars
• Paint/Powdercoat
• New Tires
• Rebuilt petcock
• Upgraded fuse block
• Every other little mechanism I can't think of rebuilt/greased etc.
• New intake manifolds and airbox boots.

I still have a couple little cosmetic things like repainting Yamaha on the side covers, but that can wait until winter. I want to ride! Need to find a nice set of crash bars too.

 

Nice bike... I would like to find some crash bars too.

 

Thanks!

Once more pic since it is fathers day, I had help from my middle boy. He loves motorcycles and riding with dad.

 

Very cool.

 

Job well done!
I, for one, have been impressed!

 

Nice job. And I see you have helpers. Always important to start them young.

 

Nice work! Happy Father's Day!

 

Beautiful results. All the work clearly paid off for you.

 

Thanks all! It's a blast to ride, she won't be a garage queen for sure.

 

Stunning. Great Job!

 

I have just found this website and its great to see these old ( real ) bikes being restored . Im in the process of doing the same to mine .

 

Fantastic work, looks beautiful. British racing green? Oh, and forgive me if it is too personal, but I am curious what your total investment ($$) is now that the bike is in arguably better than new condition?

 

Honestly not sure on the color, I'll email the shop that did it as I probably should know that.

I did track spend, mainly for insurance reasons. I'll shoot you a PM with those details.

 

I'm not sure if you are aware, but Chacal carries replacement decals for the ignition and switchgear.

 

I do, it's on the list for future small details. He's got quite a few things I'd love to have. My goal was address all the main things and get it rideable, then I can do the small things at my leisure.

 

I really like the chrome gas tank emblems. Did you pick those up from Mikes XS?

That's a super nice looking ride, it really shows you put a lot of hard work into restoring it. Good job!

 

XS badges do not work. I got lucky on these, bought them NOS in a bag for $10 each. They weren't a perfect match but I was able to drill a new hole and fill the old hole to make them work. Laying them in the sun before installation helped them conform to the tank shape once I tightened them up. Best we can tell they are from an RX100 http://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/any-idea-what-these-yamaha-badges-are-from.91310/

Thanks for the comments!

 

Ahh gotcha, thanks for the information I'll see what I can find.

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Is there any reason you didn't put the engine guards back on?

 

Yes, they were previously "used" and not up to par for this project. I'm actively seeking some nice ones but will probably put them back on soon as I'd rather have some tipover protection.

 

Excellent craftsmanship. Very nice indeed.

Gary H.

 

@k-moe @chacal here ya go! They really improved the wow factor.

 

Nice looking! Also, if you take some white paint or a paint stick and "color in" the recessed lettering on the signal direction "thumb lever"................

 

A real pro would've noticed the red line missing from the kill switch too....just saying

 

I wasn't going to say nuthin...........

 

Updated pics of final completion. All little things, stickers, exhaust cover, etc. done. Just needs some front footpeg rubber and I'm good!

 

Looks great! You wouldn't believe it's 35 years old!

Also, January in Cleveland seems nicer than I expected!

 

Man I wish. Haven't seen my bike since October. Just updating since I referenced this thread earlier but realized I never put the finished pics in.

 

2 Thumbs up ... looks great

 

sah wheeaatt!

I went back and reviewed the thread from the beginning - really nice job.
I do have to ask (only because I replaced mine with help from Len) the 'flange liner' on the bottom edge of the tank - what made you decide to go without?

 

I like the gauges did you get new faces?

 

I was planning on replacing that, just forgot until you mentioned it. D'oh!

The cover is NOS, managed to finally get a hit on my constant lowball offers for one on eBay. The gauges were rebuilt using other parts gauges I acquired over the project. Was SOL on the tach face until @sybe sent me a near perfect one for free. This place rocks because of the members.

 

Great job! It makes me cringe when I see posts and pics about people taking these beautiful classic bikes and chopping and maiming them to created yet another ugly Frankenstein bobber. I think it must be a fad in some circles like saggy pants.

I love the green too.

 

^^+1 I hate seeing any bike hacked up ...Some folks do a good job, but some are complete hacks , He did a fantastic job restoring his bike !!!!

 

Beautiful, thank you for keeping it as close to stock as possible. To me there is nothing like the original look of the maxim.

 

Bobbers are a "trend" that started over 80 years ago with HD just models in the late 1930s. We're they in saggy pants? Nope, racers who wanted to go fast. No need to bash a style simply because you don't understand it. Knock poor craftsmanship or or poorly conceived designs, but attacking people's tastes is more of a personal assault. Some want a photocopy from a factory, others want something of their own style. That is all.

 

The pants were quite saggy in the 30's. No elastic back then and bulky under garments too.

It is not a personal attack to comment on a general trend.

 

In my opinion, that is not commenting, it is an insult. Or else you are a fan of ugly monsters.
Jayrodoh's bike is neither. Sorry for sidetracking thread.

 

@MattiThundrrr: I think you may have mis-understood Paul's comment. Jay's bike isn't bobbed; it just doesn't have stock bars (same as mine). Everyone has a right to his/her opinion but as you know we get quite irritated (flame on!!) when someone shows up and start bashing a member that we know has spend the time and effort to recommission a solid bike such as Jay has.

Gary H.

 

Sorry, I was the one who unclear. My comment regarding Jay's bike was an attempt to get the back thread on track. very short on sleep

 

Imho you and Paul both are fine. Paul was stating his opinion while you were defending a member in the way that we do here. Cheers.

Gary H.

 

Beautiful and inspiring job! Really like that shade of green for it, but the time and effort put into reconditioning the switchgears is my favorite part.

Is the seat cover original or does it have a newer one? Looks to be in nice shape.

 

Thanks for all the comments!

It is a Saddlemen cover. PO put it on before I bought it.

 

How do I undo the chain to get to the head gasket

 

You should start your own thread. The model you are working on and a little background would be helpful as well.