MASSIVE Project?

Hi everyone.

I'm looking at buying a XJ550. Looking at turning it into a cafe racer / tracker / scrambler looking bike.

Has many people done this? Was it difficult? Are the XJ550 a good base?

New to the group! Look forward to hearing from everyone!

 

Looks good...now keep it stock there are fewer around eveyday.. if you still want to do this...at least keep all the parts . Resist putting pods on your bike will run good with stock airbox ...pods are more work to make work. Cheers

 

If you search, you'll find plenty of advice to folks doing the same. As a 550 owner, it is a great bike. They run wonderfully, stock, so the less you change the better. But if you want to mod it, the general thinking is to get it running well in stock form. It's far easier than after modding. Once you know it's solid, then plan (carefully) your changes.

 

100% get it running in tip top shape before you even think about modding it. That means go over it with a fine tooth comb. Follow all the resources on here for how to properly clean the carbs, check the compression, and also valve shims and cam tension, then properly set the carbs. Give all the fluids a change, check the brakes, so on and so forth. By this point you should be in love with your little 550, and you'll also have a safe reliable base for whatever you choose to do to the bike.

Is it a good bike base for modding? No, not really. Plenty of other bikes are a way better starting point. Although out of all the XJs, I feel the 550 is the best for modding.

 

Somehow I always feel that cafe racers should be twins in the vogue of the 60s Triumphs and BSAs. You can do great things with a 550 - see 8-ball 'cafe racer' thread - but more often than not they end-up looking like a poorly planned mish-mash.

 

The xjs are not a good base for customizing. Thousands have tried but none have succeeded. Many marriages and friendships have been lost over such projects. Best work with a Harley because they are countless in their numbers.

 

Sorry to disagree with above, but there have been successful xj projects. Go ahead and browse the "Showcase" section for some excellent examples. Ribo's green mutt, Baldwonder's copper ride, Saftie's excellent 550, Sybe did a nice tracker, BJMurdyk's bobber, Mike Marten's 900 has been featured in a magazine, there are a number of build threads approaching completion right now that would amazed you. The Darknight project, the Shadow Warrior Project, etc. It is not impossible, but it isn't easy. To say that it hasn't been done or that none have succeeded is an insult to many of our members.

 

Yes, but do they still have all their friendships and marriages intact?!

 

My wife hasn't left me..... yet.

 

Sorry, forgot one: Steber has a wikked monoshock project! And a wife to boot!

 

and a very cool bike

 

..mine said she was leaving me on Tuesday night - not bike related though (I don't think)..

 

Couldn't say for all, but in my case personal relations still mostly the same as they were before my first project. But my case might be out of usual order. I've bought my first motorcycle when I was seventeen. I’ve been riding bikes without significant interruption since I was twenty. Now I am thirty six years old and all my friends are motorcyclists. So I may say I have strong support.

All this customizing is a mere a question of time management and self-motivation. Surely it all may go hard, but you never know if don't try. And surely, one who decided to do, shall cross out from his daily list "to do" all those points where "lazy" indicated.

Cheer up; there are a lot of factors which cause more problems in relations than any hobby. For example, Ukrainian average salary is Euro 300-500 per month, combined with expenses that are close to those in EU, no social benefits and no tax allowances. That is really tough for relations.

 

"

Wise words.

Of course money never (ok rarely ) bought happiness - a shared goal and a mutual appreciation of what each person brings to the partnership is most important and in my experience most difficult to achieve. (time/money spent in hair salon vs time/money spent in garage - discuss!)