Great day

Here it is almost November those of us in northern US are lucky to have an indian summer. Today got into the 70s took Seca out felt great bike really rolled, hadn't rode for a couple of weeks ( been busy with truck , car work) was great until the wind kicked up 20mph gusts not real fun. Stopped for gas go to start bike up starter clutch slipping after several tries fired up. Came home, pulled starter wanted to check brushes. What did I find I think P.O. may have replaced brushes they were worn , but not real bad. But there was little grease in the reduction gears, added grease , and put a new brush block in . Omg starter sound much better and I don't hear the sound of slippage. ( I hope I don't have to split case to replace clutch yet at 17000 miles) All in all was a good day .

 

Weather not so nice here. Looks like it's going to be the wettest October on record, 28 rain days out of 31. Quack quack. Snow geese arriving by the thousands, they look like waves of bombers.

 

Low 70's here on Long Island. Multiple trips out on the XJ. Didn't want today to end. One for the books!

 

Spent day in garage...only in 50s and it rained...adjused left header had a slight leak I could hear it....fixed and polished tank and cleaned up a little. Sorted one of my tool boxes out..30 plus years in aviation I have ALOT of tools 2 roll arounds with top boxes are not enough need a taco wagon just never bought one...

 

I got to change rear brake cylinders on my son's truck. It is a former farm truck and everything was rusty and a royal PITA to free up (thank you candle wax and torch, whithout which the job would not have been able to proceed). A two hour job that took 6 hours. On the plus side it was warm all day, and I used the Seca for parts runs.

 

^^+1 had to replace rear brake line on my truck..pita a couple of weekend ago , my one man bleeder was life saver !!! Temperature here in Chicago area is supposed to go up close to 70 as long as we do not have 30 mile an hour gusts I hope to get some more riding in ( before I winterize for the season) Plan on replacing 82 vintage brake lines with braided steel brake hoses , I know should have replaced long ago for my winter project.

 

Rained all day Saturday, and I helped my oldest boy move from one apartment to another place on Sunday. I think riding season may be over for me, but I never know up here. The weather can be strange.

 

I know ,you hear it is going down in temperature and then the weather person says 60's to 70's later in the week !!! later in the week gets here and it RAINS!!! I want that job you have a 50/50 chance

 

Hey nearly November here too but about low 60s. Mild enough so I don't have to burn any gas on heating though.. Took my bike back to it's winter store yesterday but got a flat rear tyre with 1 mile to go. Uphill pushing was some workout. I eventually figured the bike could power itself if I was careful with the clutch

 

It is warming today, from around 50 degrees to an expected to mid 60's rest of the week. XJ commutes are in the plan

Its that time of year I have Stabil in the gas tank at all times, just in case it suddenly gets cold and I have to store it.

 

Ya. It's weird not having any snow yet.

 

You just jinxed it.

 

It now November and it is going into upper 60s and It is windy and I'm going to have to cut yard again...I'll admit it I'm not the spring chicken I was once. I've become a fair weather riderused to hop on and go. In my younger days rode before my teeth were chattering was a great ride on my Kawaski 550 LTD rode 600miles in one day...not now I'm a wimp I guess

 

The range of temps in one day here is a bit annoying. It could be a decent riding day ("highs in the low 60's!"), but as my morning commute is so early, the trip TO work would be dealing with temps in the 30's. That's a bit too chilly to have the mindset, "Hey at least the ride home will be worth it...," especially without any faring/windshield.

 

Same here - 45 degrees north latitude.
if you don't like the weather in north central Wisconsin - wait 10 minutes, it'll change.

 

Today's going from 30's to 60's in 4 hour span. I'll hop on for a ride after lunch w/ camera in case there are any leaves left along the canal.

 

Nah... I'm leaving the snow blade off the little tractor. It's sure to snow because I'm not prepared.

 

Got off of train...77 degrees but sun was setting , went for a short ride around town . I think there were 100 bikes out. It was a great day I ordered new braided brake hoses from xj4ever ( my winter project) .

 

Scorred 2 used disk brake rotors off eBay for 16.00$ if they are as good as picture I will be a happy camper. Mine are grooved these do not look bad at all. Now assoon as my hoses from xj4ever get here I'm in buisness

 

Yeah, I think I also took my last ride of this year earlier today. Tomorrow morning is supposed to be warm too, but I think I'm going to take that opportunity to drain what little fuel remains and go through my winterization procedure.

C'mon spring!!

 

Sat and Sun supposed to be 65 both days maybe??? I hope to ride

 

Another great day...ordered braided steel brake hoses from xj4ever on Tuesday and got then today Thursday...great service can't wait to put them on.

 

most i can do right now is sit on it and make engine noises, no matter the weather, like I'm going somewhere. as soon as i get the title, i applied for through the state ,I'm going to start a total rest on the lil xj750 rj. great lil winter project

 

Patience make a ckeck list, and little things add up to grand scheme of things . Just remember even if you put 1000$ into your bike, still cheaper than buying new and having a bike payment.

 

i love restoring these lil jap bikes and bringing them back to life. some of the cheapest fun in vehicles you can have. i would rather have a old bike than a new one anyday. this will be the 5th bike I've restored and I'm really looking forward to this one. i get excited like its christmas morning and I'm 12 all over again when i get a new project to starter on. its when i get started and start all the headaches is when it seems like a bad episode of married with children playing out.......i wonder why I'm doing this but..... that first ride and that engine is humming at her sweet spot in the rpm range and there is no one around but me and that bike makes it a feeling i can never forget... then I'm so proud I've done this... then there is hunt for the next one.......im addicted to it...

 

is there a cure?......

 

There SHOULD'NT be!

 

Asking for a cure suggests there is a problem, addiction or disease....

 

er'' Kmoe---- explain the "candle wax" please,
stu

 

Candle wax----- now THERE'S a technique I forgot all about.....the last time I used that one was back in the late '80's. Awesom--thanks for a a quick flashback!!!

Dave

 

Heat the stuck fastener. Apply a candle (paraffin). The wax melts and wicks into the voids. When it cools it expands and helps break up the corrosion as wll as lubricating the threads. It's about the fastest way to get a stuck fastener to budge. I've removed things that way which have not moved by other method. There are many other methods, and all are good in particular situations.

 

Yes. Another project is the cure. Hair of the dog that bit you!

 

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Heat the stuck fastener. Apply a candle (paraffin). The wax melts and wicks into the voids. When it cools it expands and helps break up the corrosion as wll as lubricating the threads. It's about the fastest way to get a stuck fastener to budge. I've removed things that way which have not moved by other method. There are many other methods, and all are good in particular situations
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ok, thanks its worth a try I s'pose,
this one is stuck well , tried eazeout with heat, tried alum, tried acid.
all no good, the alum didn't do a thing ,after 5 days.
will try this.
stu

 

Got my disks I ordered off eBay today they look even better than pictures, got out my 120 grit sanding disk ran over face , looks great afterwards. Just need to paint inner portion of disk. I' m set now to do brakes , I don't want to go it just yet. I rode around neighbor hood today.

 

So Sunday - resynched and went out for a ride on a beautiful day - parked her on top of Irma Hill and took a couple pics:

 

I got out today on a favorite road across the river:

 

pics are awesome and love the video of the ride. reminds me of Arkansas when I'm on my virago 920 last year. dkavanagh great vid... i want to get my 750 secca done asap

 

The music pairs well with the video.

Boy, you guys still have a lot of leaves on your trees . . . .
Guess winter will be coming sooner here before there . . .

 

Thanks. Don't have a lot of royalty-free music choices.
I'm having fun w/ the go-pro and have a bunch of footage from a ride along the canal from last week, but distilling it down to some highlights is a PITA. Maybe this week.

 

Motorcycles make all the music a video needs.

 

A perfectly running XJ makes my day perfect music .

 

If only I could capture more engine noise, and less wind noise. I agree though. I love the bark of acceleration.

 

Nothing like getting on a crisp fall day getting lost on back roads , the smell of the leaves turning , and the sound of the engine humming sweetly .

 

The Maxim and Seca junk bikes are now moulded into one the Sexim 400 is alive and running. Will post pic when all cleaned up and ready to ride.

And OMG you guys elected the Donald!

 

Nope, Hillary got 200,000 more votes than him. The electoral college did. Democracy strikes again!?!

 

You'd need to use multiple mics, and edit multiple tracks to geet great sound. For good sound you can use a remote mic down behind the carbs.

 

So my buddy Lou had tripple bypass today looks good . Came home from work 36 degrees out garage not heated ( yet) set enrichement full on ..hit starter ..fired right up. P.O. wife she always asks why I run it and rev it up..BECAUSE I can lol. When your carbs are rebuilt right and synched and stabil in tank and it starts from cold ....makes a great day...oh and I upgraded to braided steel hoses and was missing the brackets from the front fender..found a pair on eBay they came today....now if it would just warm up into the 60s ( I guess I'll have to wait till April)

 

Started mine up today too, about 31 degrees out. Fired no prob. 7 year old asked why and I also said "because I can." Real truth is I haven't winterized her yet

Good to hear about your buddy!

 

They didn't yet---- electoral college meets Dec 19

 

Not sure what confuses me more, the wiring on my Seca, or your voting system!