82 Maxim XJ1100 Dark Knight Build

previous owner of my bike engraved his SIN number on every part on the bike.

 

Ok next issue, the bike no longer starts, ugh. It turns over but no go. The idle is perfect, and I replaced the spark plus. The only thing I haven't replaced is the battery, no idea on age and it seems to be slow recovering on my trickle charger. Could this be my issue? It's literally the only thing I can think of.

 

there is a good chance its bad. Check the voltage on the battery when you try to start it.

 

1982 was the final compliance transition year in the U.S. (waivers were granted to allow manufacturers to continue selling vehicles while they changed over). My Seca (and all the 1982, and pre-1982 Yamaha's that I've looked at) have 9 digit VIN stamped in the frame, and a sticker with the 17 digit VIN.
Yamaha didn't stamp 17 digit VINs (that I'm aware of) until 1983. What VIN is on the title depends on who did the initial title paperwork. My Seca was titled with the short VIN.
Regardless: the stamped VIN is the legal VIN (federally); the sticker is just an easy way to show the full VIN, and was required as part of the compliance waiver that Yamaha was granted.

 

^^

@David Cormier :
In the information overload hour, there are directions for determining your 17 digit VIN. For me, that didn't work - the Canadian VIN database had the frame-stamped short VIN, NOT the long VIN. *IF* your shorty VIN doesn't work, this is worth trying, but note that your insurance provider won't be looking up the VIN in the database, only the registry agent.

So, insure the bike with the short VIN, then take the insurance to the registry agent. If you CAN'T register it with the short VIN (that is, specifically, they actually try to look up the short VIN and it fails, then you'll need to go back to your insurance agent, have them change the VIN to the long VIN, and try again.

But, as I said: All three of my short VINs are the correct VIN's in the Canadian database. I'd expect yours to be too.

 

So the bike is registered and insured now it just needs to run again. I replaced the plugs on the weekend and still nothing, mine were black as all hell. This thing needs a ride to burn off the char.
So in replacing my plugs I didn't know you needed to remove the upper screw as I never have before. I'm hoping tonight that fixes my issue as the battery seems to fine at 12.63 volts without load before attempting to start. Wish me luck and always remember to remove your spark plug top screws so your plug wires fit right !!!

 

What upper screw?

 

The adapter that screws on top of the plug. Take it off so the OEM caps will fit on

 

Success all around! The maiden voyage was a success.
I do have a few questions though.
At idle in neutral I'm at about 1100-1300rpm. My gage isn't exact enough. But when I'm in gear holding the clutch lever down at a light my rpms sit at around 2000. Is my clutch somehow not fully depressed?? When I change gears at around 4500 rpm it's smooth without issue so I don't understand the higher rpm. Thoughts ?
Other than that it's just very different riding a classic bike vs a modern bike. Brakes don't seem quite as firm, throttle a hair delayed. But this beast is a blast !!!!
The sound of my exhaust is just aweosne. I will try to take a GoPro video this weekend.

 

In most spark plugs on the non spark end there is a spot for a little screw, some seem to come with the screw, some without.

 

I'm assuming you renewed the throttle shaft seals and eliminated any potential tramp air leakage.
Tweak the mixture screws richer a 1/4 turn and see if it improves the hanging idle.
Not my style but the bike is cool.

 

Well with snow now on the ground looks like the season is toast, but I got 150km in so the build was a success. Over the winter I am going to build a housing for the computer and a gage mount off of the original. I am also going to build a cover for under the seat to protect all of the wiring from the elements bod forbid I get stuck in them.
Spring time I will get the bike in for a tune to eliminate some minor after fire then I should be good to go until the following year.

 

Today was +15 and I had to go for a little ride down into a river valley nearby. Still need some tuning but the bike runs amazing.

 

So I know what effect it has on a XJ650 to drop some of that weight. Doing that to an XJ1100 - damn that thing must fly...

 

It seems to have pretty silly amounts of power I've only taken it to 140 so far and it got there pretty quick. I'm trying to be a responsible adult when riding now, but the urge to BRAAPPPPP never seems to go away haha
This winter I've got a few little odds and ends to tend to, then next year I will put it to the test.

I did probably make a mistake in my bike choice of the XJ1100. I love the bike don't get me wrong. However with a tank that limits you to about 140km or so my dreams of a trip down to Montana may need a different bike..........

 

You should move to the US - we have these things called "gas stations".

 

Calgary is sitting on one of the biggest oil patches in North America... Finding dinosaur bones to burn isn't the problem. Plus, I believe Montana, his stated destination, is still in the US.

 

You have a tank capacity of a little more than 5 US gallons. That should get you 150 miles or 240km. Something is wrong if you are that poor mileage. My XS and XJ 11 get 40 MPG on the highway going 75MPH.

 

Well I guess I was premature in my assumptions. I did burn 10L / 100k roughly so I would get 200kmish to a tank. The bike does need a tune. I'm looking at the manual it says fuel capacity in 19L and reserve is 4.1L does that mean the tank is actually 23.1L or is that reserve part of the "fuel capacity"?

All of this may be put on hold soon as I just got a job offer to move to Saudi Arabia and I will not be riding any motorcycles over there.

 

You should ride over there - you can learn new skills -

 

Be cheaper to buy a new bike there than ship one over, if nothing else.

Yeah, 19 liters = 5 gallons = full tank, including reserve.

Saudi Arabia? That's a heck of a move!

 

tank capacity includes reserve

 

Another question for the masses, I need to create a housing for the factory computer. I need to enclose just the computer as I will be mounting it on top of my speedo mount which has yet to be mounted. With 6+" of snow I've got time. I'm just wondering if anyone has ever printed or could help me print something like this ?

Just tossing around the idea to see if its been done

 

I've got a 3D printer and have done a fair bit of printing myself, though my printer is currently down. It'd be pretty easy to design a housing and have someone on 3DHubs print it for you, cost is pretty minimal.

You'd print the face first (the area against the build surface will have the best finish), and build up. I'd use PETG or ABS for the best weather and temperature resistance. I'm a PETG man myself, but ABS is readily available via 3D Hubs and is what the vast majority of plastic on the bike already is anyways.

There's lots of free 3D design software specifically for making printable objects. You could probably use even something as simple as tinkercad for this (www.tinkercad.com) which is web based, as you'd make it purely geometrically anyways. It's really easy to learn to use - you basically just add and substract geometric shapes to build the object you want, in the exact dimensions you need.

Make probably a two piece enclosure, with hollow cylinders for screws. Don't need to worry about threading them, just get a good sized pilot hole for the screws; err on the side of being too small, as you can always drill em a bit bigger if need be.

 

There's lots of free, better software, too - 123D Design or Fusion 360, for example - but complexity ramps up fast. Depends on what you're comfortable with.

 

Thanks for the info. I’ve wanted to pick up a 3D printer and been needing a custom mount for my gauge. I’ll have to start drafting things up and send it out to someone to make until I get one.

 

sweet build. congratulations. was a real good read

 

Thanks! it took longer than expected of course but I am super happy with the end result.