XJ650 owner wondering if there are any daily reminders I should be aware of

I recently purchased my first bike, an xj650 seca, was wondering if there's anything I should be listening or looking for..I'd like to keep this bike running smooth so any advice would help

 

Take a MSF course.
Read this: http://xjbikes.com/forums/threads/the-information-overload-hour.27544/

Ask questions on this website and become the best XJ mechanic on your block.

 

First bike a XJ650... the same one that myself and half the people on here have been looking for like the holy grail from indiana jones.
take good care of it, dont let it near salt, water, sunlight, cars, dust, rocks, dirt.

In all seriousness;
a motorcycle safety training course is a great idea (seen above from Stumplifter).
There was a time that I was training people as well so ill give you a few pointers.
Each and everytime you ride your bike do a walk around, i dont care if your late for work/class/significant other, DO A WALK AROUND.
What this entails is a visual inspection of everything:

• Tires look ok?
• Bolts (all the ones that hold the main bits together) are not hand loose?
• puddles of fluid below the bike?
• cables that run to speedo and tach are connected?
• brake levers are free to move?
• clutch cable moves freely?
• Once you start the bike run through an electrical test: headlight (High/Low), turn signals, brake light?
• take a ride for about a block and then park and assess again.

You need to do this each and every time so you get a feel for how your bike works, for instance; If i dont give the bike a bit of throttle before turning it off it wont start right up the next time. these little things must be figured out for each bike.

As far as things to listen for:

• Nocking at idle
• sputtering at idle
• backfire when decelerating
• sluggish Bleh sound when you throttle up

(all of these are typical carburator/ timing/spark issues and can be solved easily)

• Do you hear a static noise at idle if you are close to the engine?
• do you hear a kazoo like sound (i cant think of a better analogy) coming from your tachometer?

This should be good for a start, say hello to the central US section of the forum http://xjbikes.com/forums/forums/central-us-and-canada.10/
there may be guys close buy in this group that would be willing to help out in person.
and last but not least, click on the link in the top right corner. Len has everything you would ever need to fix your bike, only go to a dealer if you are desperate.

Good luck and have fun.

 

Wow, that was a lot of incredibly useful information..thank you so much man, I'll be sure to check that stuff out

 

Good post E13.....

jeff

 

Two items that e13 mentioned just to clarify if your front brake hoses are original look for a date on them , if it says 80 to 83 they are original ...replace with braided steel or new rubber from xj4ever . The other is to look at the tire there will be a date code if tires are more than 5 years old time for replacement even if they look fine . Remember your on only 2 wheels and a blow out at speed is not cool . I once upon a time bought an 82 Honda 750 Custom with 4500 miles original owner passed away ..still had original tires looked like new ..but were hard as rocks when I replaced tires (first thing I did) . The picture of your bike looks good ...keep it stock there are fewer around now and gets fewer everyday. Happy riding ... welcome to the family on this site

 

check for gas and make sure the petcock is on run

 

Check your oil level before every ride.

If it is rising, you probably have gas leaking into it. If so, and/or you smell gas in your oil, it is faulty petcock and/or carb float issue. Time to fix the leak and change the oil.

If the oil is falling, then you have a leak somewhere or burning oil.

FYI - Don't leave petcock on Prime. If you do, and you have a carb float that isn't shutting completely, you will have a gas puddle and gas in the oil. If you have the petcock on "Run" or "Reserve" and you still have gas leaking into the oil/ground, then it is time to rebuild the petcock.