750 Maxim butchered

I know y'all hate it when we chop these things up, but I haven't posted in a while and the rust is just starting to mature.


With that said... I'm thinking about tearing it apart and starting all over again. Possibly stretching the rear end a tad and MAYYYYBE painting it.

 

Paint? After all that work making it look old?
Cover that bi**h in boiled linseed oil and go ride.

 

The bike has been built and riding for about a year now. Only reason I may break it down is because it's the cheaper option to buying a second bike and doing it all over again. Rofl.

My only regret on this build is the seat. Anything over 15mi and I start needing to pull off for a beer. Then again, it is just a bar crawler.

Cheers!

Edit: and the bare metal seat allowed a place to mount the rectifier.

 

Oh, look-----pods.

 

When the forum said it couldn't be done followed the writeup to a T for jet sizes. Seems to work great.

 

I don't think we ever said "it couldn't be done".....

 

Speaking hyperbolically ofcourse.

Does seem to take some effort to get started if it's been sitting for longer than a few hours. Cranks first time just need to hold the choke for a while. Wondering if there's a way to fix that?

 

We're going in circles here…

 

1. Drill a tiny hole at the end of the crack to keep it from traveling farther.

2. Get a can of Oatey ABS cement. Work it into the remaining crack and lightly coat the surfaces, too.

3. Give it time to melt/harden.

I use this stuff all the time--- LOVE IT

 

That's the factory airbox, no?

 

Yep

There are a few threads about making air boxes. A google search with site:xjbikes.com after your keywords will turn them up for you. Also look at the pods link in my signature. There is a thread in there that might help.
Switching to carb with cable operated slides would work too, but you'll need to mess with getting them to fit, be supported, and linking the cables.

 

Lol. Doesn't bother me enough to remove the pods. Just takes an additional 30 seconds if the bike is cold. NBD.

 

But then you gotta get the airbox back in....hehehe

( hint-- your heat gun will be your best friend)

 

It really shouldn't be having that problem, even with pods.
What pilot jets are in the carbs?

 

I only hate it when people chop things up and don't finish them. Looks like you're riding it and its the way you like it. Good for me.

Nice looking bike, I'd leave it and ride it! You can always start another project while keeping this one to ride. That way you can take as long as you want and not miss riding or rush your project. I usually don't care for the ratrod bobber bikes but this one appeals to me for reasons I can't pinpoint.

 

Pilots are 42's.

Thanks !

 

Generally a +2 bump is good for the pods, but you also have no mufflers. I'd move them to a 43, but you might have to drill them to 45.
What do the plugs look like a idle?
Do you have a colortune plug?

 

Haven't pulled the plugs since the carbs were rebuilt and no colortune. Maybe over my days off I'll check it out and order the 43's.

 

Just a note tho she idled like a champ after she's choked on startup.

 

A lean mixure will idle well.
Does she pop on deceleration at all?

 

she pops on decel only when I'm dogging her real hard. No tach so I couldn't tell you exactly but, I've gotta really be on that throttle in a lower gear.

Don't tell me that's bad, gives me a chubby when she's poppin' like that

 

If uncontrolled explosions in your engine/exhaust turn you on, wait til you see her hole. It's the one that will be blown in a piston if she stays for too long.

 

It's bad.
She's definitely lean on the pilot circuit. I recommend that you address the problem as soon as you are able.
When you pull the plugs you may find little balls of aluminum stuck to the insulator and ground strap. They used to be part of your pistons.

 

Haha

Gotcha

 

I honestly thought it was just dumping excess gas into the exhaust and it was getting burned up. Didn't think anything of it.

At the end of the day I'm no mechanic, I'm just a lowly fisherman trying to figure this bike stuff out.

 

Fishermen are far from lowly. The brother of a friend was lost recently in the Bearing Sea. Fishermen are awesome, and I deeply appreciate your efforts.

 

Sorry to hear that, luckily I work in sunny Miami, FL on a charter boat. Not much risk aside from lightning strikes.

I'll check the plugs on my next day off and post some photos.

 

So about drilling out the pilots to 45... how can I learn more about this?

Sorry for raising a dead post but I’m going thru my carbs again and figured I’d ask!

 

You will need a set af numbered drills (metric), a pin vice to hold said drills, and two hands. One hand holds the jet, the other holds the pin vice as you drill.
Slow and steady.

 

Great. Now, I’m able to find drill sizes for mains pretty easy but I’m only really finding one chart for pilots. I came up with .018 or #77 for a 45 jet. Is this accurate?

Any kind of cutting fluid I should be using or go in slow and dry?

Edit: the bike has sat for about a year at this point and just went thru the carbs again. The pilots are clogged and I can’t get them unclogged and accidentally ordered 2 sets of 42’s. So my plan is to drill out the old ones to maybe a 43? And one of the new sets to a 45 and play around with it till it seems right.

 

Get a metric set of drills. The jet sizes are in tenths of a milimeter.
45 main is 0.45 mm.
Your conversion to inches is the closest drill size that you find in inches, but it's still a tad large to make a true metric 45 jet hole.

The jets are brass. Brass is essentially self lubricating at typical cutting speeds. You will not be using a power drill. Drill by hand with a pin vice.

 

I genuinely don’t understand why you want to try 45s. Also, for as cheap as jets are, I would highly suggest ordering new set of 43s instead of drilling them. Drilling jets NEVER ends up at the precise size.

 

45’s were recommended to me by k-Moe earlier and so far all of his help through the years has been spot on.

And as I said earlier I accidentally ordered 2 sets of 42’s. I could just order a set of 43’s as well but they don’t make them in 45 (that I’ve found)

 

He is a great asset to this place in deed!
I am asking because I am at see level and my bike seems to run perfect with 43s.
Did you have any issues with 43s?

 

Haven’t tried 43’s yet only 42’s

 

Careful drilling gets the hole close enough that any differences can be compensated for with the idle mixture screws.
The big problem that people tend to run into when drilling jets is buying crappy drills, using a power drill, and not having any practice drilling a straight hole by hand (cut slow, cut steady, and cut straight. Speed tends to make the hole oval, and can cause the cutting edge to chatter or leave a spiral along the bore wall ).
A jeweler's lathe and a boring bar (more like a boring pin) will do a better job, but the difference is neglegable as a practical matter (and the cost is ridiculous).
If a factory-made jet of the required size were available that would be preferable, but it's often the case that odd sizes are not (or even never were) in production.

 

@k-moe any tips for cleaning the tubes the emulsion tube sits in? I been sitting here scrubbing it with a brush and carb cleaner for a half hour I still see a bunch of fuel varnish. It’s only bad in 2 of them. Very close to wrapping the brush in steel wool and going to town.

 

B-12 chem tool and Q-tips. Using a long nose pliers to get all they way though that tube. Works great IMHO.

 

The carb bodies need a soak. Be sure to follow the directions on the can of carb dip.

DO NOT use steel wool. You'll never get all of the fibers out, and some bits of them can get imbedded into the aluminum.

 

I reaaaaaaallllyyy don’t want to crack the carbs off the rack. Guess I don’t have much of a choice

 

It's not as daunting as it may seem. Snap a couple pics to help with reassembling. I have some plastic lunch trays that I lay out each disassembled carb into. Keeps everything for each carbs together.

 

Everyone says that at first.

Either do it now or do it later. Everything needs repair eventually, and carbs are no exception.

 

Full tear down and soak each carb bodies one at a time in Berrymans 1 gallon carb dip and pull out and soak in hot water with dawn dish soap . I just finished my spare set of carbs with a full rebuild , if you look at my thread "Why you should replace butterfly seals " you will see how bad these seals can get . New seals and makes tuning carbs much easier . Please note ALL rubber seals need removed Idle mixture screw and butterfly seals , the mixture screw "O" ring is small and can be difficult to remove sometimes.

 

Yes I actually pulled my mixture screws out the other day to see how they work and couldn’t get the o ring out. Got a set of picks on the way.

Alright I guess I’ll disassemble completely and remove the flakey black paint on the carb bodies while I’m at it. Aircraft remover safe I assume ?

 

Aircraft paitn remover is safe.

The best tool to for removing stuck idle micture needle o-rings is a sewing needle.
Pick one of an appropriate lenght and size, heat the end, and bend a small hook into it.

 

If you dont want to order the butterfly seals 2 #11 buna O rings on each side will work so in other word 4 per carb . Harbor freight has an O ring kit that has rings that work recommend putting some silicone grease on rings while reassembling.

 

Thanks for all the tips guys.

Another question, my pipes are chopped just past the x-pipes. Do those x pipes (collectors?) cause any additional back pressure or can I chop those off as well?

I ask because they’re pretty corroded and I took off (and threw away) my center stand when I initially tore this bike apart. I’m trying to get a jack up underneath the bike and don’t want to take the pipes off to do it.

 

Will that HF kit include the appropriate sized o rings for fuel supply tubes you think?

 

You want the crosspipe in place. It increases exhaust flow (and in a semi-roundaout way intake flow as well).

Chopped exhausts just result in more noise, not more power.