What did you do to your Yamaha today?

Worked on bike for first time in months , awhile back I bought another instrument cluster with mint faces on Speedo and tachometer . Speedo had 1840 miles mounted it up was chuffed my self cancelling turn signals worked all was good till I hit 30 mph sounded like a JT8 jet engine...took Speedo out and lubes gears and sprayed down the gimbel put it back together ...no joy it is getting dark and temp is dropping so to call it a day.

 

I chipped away the ice holding down my garage door so that I could stare at the bikes longingly ... while repairing the snowblower.

 

The South beckons you to "come on down"...........

 

Nope. Canada is cooler. Much cooler. Sorry.

 

I've been trolling the forum off and on the last few busy years, just keeping up on regular bike maintenance and riding. But I got the itch to finally swap out the old 4-into-1 Kerker headers (that have been on the bike since I bought it in 2001) with the OEM header pipes and collector box that I've cobbled together over the years. Chacal just sent me the parts order with all the mounting hardware, gaskets, and seals. I'm looking forward to getting the "magic box" under the bike, and hopefully feeling a little boost in performance (as some of the older forum posts suggest).

 

3/19/18
Got the front wheel yanked in prep for new tires.

 

Got the title work done for one of the bikes. Now, after I finish up the midnight seca, I can start swapping the 6k mile touring seca into a good titles frame. Looks like I’ve got the year covered now!!

 

After finishing up my stint in church with 2 racks of carbs, tonight I moved on to checking valve clearances. Got one bike measured and recorded, pretty sure I know what shims I need for that one. Might pull the other one apart to measure and record incase I can swap any between bikes.

 

I did a valve shim job a couple weeks ago. Happy with results. All shims were out of spec on mine. Today I took apart front calipers for cleaning and rebuild. They were Grimy

 

5" of snow today.... ugh...

 

I cleaned up all the oil on the ground under the motorcycle. It looks like its time for some seals Ill tell you what.. Maybe I need to remove the rear hoop of the frame and put some big old fish tails on her!!

 

Installed the new speedo/tach on the red xj650. If it weren’t for the mileage on the new one, I’d thought I was installing new old stock. So nice now to have a working tach and nice bright red markings instead of faded white.

 

Failed miserably to buy an xj650 seca on ebay - it was a typical "barn find", rusty heap, but potential for yielding coplete engine less carbs, twin disc front end and large rear wheel. Anything else would have been a bonus, but I really wanted to go take a look at it. The seller wouldn't send me details, despite it being only 12 miles down the road.
Never mind, another will come up I guess.

 

I got a new Motad 4 into 1 exhaust, a replacement fuel tank and my front fairing repainted, assembled it all today. Was hit by a car last June and was not injured. Finally getting round to getting the bike back on the road.

 

Yup. Yup. That’s on my list!! Nice

 

Yes Joe I had a Laser Jama 4 into 2 system on the bike that the car driver ruined, a low speed impact but I am slowly getting the bike sorted, next job to polish the engine cases and the fork legs. Very pleased with the bike I am it is good fun sorting it as well as riding it.

 

Pulled off cover
Rolled into driveway
Checked oil level
Checked tires
Checked brakes
Turned to prime
Full choke
Hit the starter
Hit starter again- ignition
Unplugged battery minder
Check lights
Rode off into sunset...spring has finally arrived

Snow again this weekend....

Update from next morning - rode it to work today. Snow again tomorrow!!!

 

Where did you manage to find a motad system?

 

Motad was/is a British Company they have a facebook page

 

3/22/18
-New Rubber! Local Yamaha dealer installed a pair of Kenda K761 on the Euro model seca wheel + stock maxim front wheel
-Installed new rear EBC Performance brake pads
-New axle cotter pins
-Cleaned out + regreased front speedo mechanical sending unit
-Graphite lubed speedometer cable
-Replaced chain master link

Euro 550 18" swirlys fit great for anyone looking to do that swap. Much, much more visually satisfying than a 16" wheel.

 

Opened the garage door after a 15hour day. Looked at the bike and said. Nope. Not tonight honey. I’m too tired. Hahaha.
I’ve got the shoes and the pads now for the midnight seca along with the wheel bearings for front and rear
Waiting on a few other odds and ends to come in and then I’ll make a day of it in the garage.

Baby steps for me. As always to anyone and everyone here who has helped me in the past with my learning curve. Thank you. It is closer to becoming a reality for me

 

Midnight Seca, I like the sound of that. Pics ?

 

Still in it’s ugly Betty phase. Coming along tho

 

On E Bay.

 

Yes they used to supply a lot of Triumph exhausts according to Motor Cycle News, anyway they went into receivership and I read they may be starting the business up again. I hope so there exhausts are good.

 

Coming along nicely. How far with the “midnight” look are you going?

 

For the most part it is completed for appearance sake, beyond getting another MM turn signal and maybe just maybe a black exhaust.
The rubber will be dual purpose tires. I want metzler Karoo 3’s but I’m sure I’ll get a lesser expensive set for now.
I know enough from my inexperience about wrenching that this year itself will not be one where the bike goes thru a complete tear down and repaint. I’ll save that for another time. Then again. Maybe not. I like the old patina well used look too.
This will be my version of a midnight seca adventure bike.

 

Trying to bleed front brakes from empty. Which is a pain in the hole haha .
On the plus side got tank done.

 

Good looking tank paint!

 

Thanks.
And got the brakes together .seals arrived for callipers yesterday. 7 days wow and no tax.
Your the man @chacal .

 

I added 99 miles to the odometer.

 

I just painted my tank red. Looks really good.

 

Working on the headlight wiring today. The yellow item on the crankcase is the wheel lock.

 

Made another PO bike mine today. if odometer is original and working 5K miles XJ650J. Free bike.
of course it was running when parked but ...........PO, must have forgotten to shut it off

 

you have a wheel on the crank case?

 

Installed 6 helicoils to fix my screw up last time i checked my valve clearances

 

Drove to Member Joe Ellif's home to pick up 750 seca engine....long drive but should be worth it going to clean it up and I'm either going to install it and tear down present engine to do the starter clutch or tear into this engine. Joe is a great guy jealous of all his bikes

 

My Yamaha, not a darn thing!

But, I spent Friday night at indoor flat track races. When the 750 twin class was racing, the sound bouncing off the concrete ceiling of the old MN State Fair Hippodrome was UNREAL!



Then, Sunday, I went to the Donnie Smith show. Yeah, I understand the work that goes into the customs, but it's the rat rods that get my attention. The last three images are of my favorite. It took us a while to figure out the controls.

 

1980 XJ650Maxim, 22K

With the imminent threat of warmer weather approaching:
Opened up both shed doors. Removed the bike cover after far too long. Looked under the seat to check for unwanted visitors. Thankfully, no winter squatters or their leavings this time.
Drained the carbs, refilled them again using the prime petcock setting, and drained them again. Then filled the bowls once more using prime setting, then returned the petcock to run position.
Looked at the engine oil sight glass, front master cylinder glass, fluid levels good.
Popped off the right side cover, eyeballed the battery electrolyte level (just a little low but above the min line), battery tender still showing a steady green light just like the last 4+ months of hibernation....ok..
Disconnect battery tender, ignition switch on, throttle closed, hit the choke( enrichener for you purists) took a deep breath..and pressed the start button...
Varoom! Fired up in 2 seconds! A little choppy at first, but with some synchronous throttle and choke manipulation, fair idle achieved in about 1 minute.
While fully warming up, O/A condition assessment - adjust tire pressures, check lighting and horn operation, leak checks, fork and shock articulation/oscillation, brake and clutch lever operation.Then..
Helmet and coat/gloves on, and out for a short ride to refuel with fresh gas.
Short ride turned into 115 smooth miles (hit reserve then).
Of course when I got home 3 hours later and cold to the nads, the wife gave me the "WHERE THE HExx HAVE YOU BEEN!" stare. Tinted face shield hides chagrin well.
Ah, the reward of proper storage procedures.
Now for a quick carb sync check, battery water top off, charging voltage check, then a good washing and polishing!

Time to ride y'all.

 

Bike finished ready for the road just to start to de rust the tank tomorrow and fix the paint on the belly pan. Checked all the electrics today and all is well.

 

Last night I have conpleted putting the X back together. Everything seems to be wpoking great. Now the weather needs to warm up .

 

I just finished putting the needle back together on my speedo, lubed up a new speedo cable too. The speedo cable started seizing up when I was around Lake George last fall and pop went the needle. I got it started it for the first time this year yesterday. So now I have to change all my fluids.

 

Wet checked my mikunis today, close enough to start the maxim. Ordered a new pair of coils, so hopefully thursday should get it fired up. Also checked out the wiring on one of the rh bar switches I bought on ebay, all makes sense - except that I noticed the Haynes manual I have has the start and kill switch numered wrongly (reversed) on the 650 (uk spec from memory) wiring diagram. How could they get it this wrong?

 

Hy again to all,soo new problem on my bike,lets start:
In winter i put bike apart-not the engine in just take it out,and paimt the frame now in put it all together start the bike and he was runing poor,so i chec gas vacum bouth ok then i check spark and found two (#2 and #3) was gone spark plug,soo i change all four andnow bike wont start,is just trying to start but is not.soo i check all sparks and are good.
Any idea?

 

Pulled the 700 out to take a quick ride and pick up a few items. With the bad weather and busy work schedule, it's been over a month since the last ride. Shame on me. I was so excited to get out there as it was almost 50 degrees today. She hesitated at first, but then came around. Got to the end of the drive and decided to do a quick check...

Headlight: Good!
Horn: Good!
Tires: Good!
Left Signal: Good!
Right Signal: Good!
Front Brake Light Switch: Good!
Back Brake Light Switch: Good!

What? What's that? Where's my Plate???

Oh yeah, I forgot that a couple of weeks ago I pulled the license plate and put it on the back of the 650 for a few laps around the block (she's not on the road yet)... I never put it back!

Here's to always remembering that pre ride inspection.

 

After work today I broke out the wires from the Lh control switch socket, pushed the wires into like for like colours on the loom, hotwired the ignition switch, fitted a set of 10A fuses, and pressed the start switch. The red light winked on, but no cranking. There is a relay missing under the tank, looks like it could be the start inhibit relay. Red/wht, red/wht, light green, and black/yellow wires. Shorted the reds out, pressed the button and wahay, she spins.

 

This post is called "What did I do FOR my (other) Yamaha today?

I sat in the DMV for almost two hours while I waited to apparently leave empty handed... No New Plate... No New Reg... Arrrgh!

The backstory:

So... The new RJ came from CT. I'm in NY.
CT has a "rolling 20 year rule" on titles, or at least to the best of my understanding. Anything OVER 20 years old, doesn't get a title.

In other words...
Lets say that today, I live in CT and I buy a 2018 Yamaha. I will receive a title as the owner of that vehicle. Then let's say I hold on to it for 21 years and sell it. As far as I can tell, the new owner turns in the existing title in the transfer of ownership and will not be issued a new title because the bike is older than 20 years old. Now throw a string of buyers and sellers over several years and you can see how the title (especially the original one) will be nowhere to be found. This is also apparently not a problem as long as the vehicle stays in CT... Buy, sell, Loan it to your Aunt Nanny, whatever... You can even register it without the complete VIN (more on that below)...

If someone really knows differently, please enlighten us... This is only based on my limited experiences so far .

Meanwhile in NY, we do have a "no title" situation, but it is not related to the AGE of the bike. NY started issuing titles just after 1969 (I know this because I have a 69 VW... no title, just a transferrable reg.) So if a vehicle is sold in NY and it was manufactured after 1969, it will receive a new title for each new owner. Regardless of how old it gets!

I knew the CT PO did not have a title, but I wanted that RJ! It's quite the specimen!

I made an initial trip to the NY DMV before I purchased the bike. I told them what I knew and what I was going to receive from the current owner and the 20 year rule thing.
They told me, "Just get the current owner's registration and a hand written bill of sale, fill out the paperwork and you'll be good to go..."

Deal made. Bike home.

I made the unfortunate choice to go to the DMV at 2:30pm today, on a day that they are open till 6PM. Here's a secret... they only move at a reasonable pace when it's close to quitting time! 20 stations and only about 8-9 of them were being utilized.

TICK TOCK, TICK TOCK, TICK TOCK... They have this weird number and letter system for the "next up" customer... probably to throw you off and keep you guessing....

A person could go crazy waiting in there...

"OMG when is my number going to come up?"
"Why do they keep calling all the 'H' numbers?"
"What the deuce?"
"Come on lady behind the counter with the cat sweater on, you're done with that person, hit the button and take the next customer.... No! It's not time for your break!"
"Did I lock the car?"
"What's that smell?"

My number comes up "C918!" HOORAY!

I finally get to the counter.
I give the guy my stuff.
"I'd like to register this motorcycle please," I say to the guy.
He's not happy that there is no title. (Remember a 1982 motorcycle is not that old as far as NY is concerned... we should have titles on our 82's)
The CT registration does not say "transferrable" like a NY registration would if there is no title.
He leaves to go ask "his boss."
He's gone a while.
He comes back.
He says... "OK I think we can work with this!"
I'm thinking "Woo Hoo!"
He pulls out a shiny new plate... Don't act too excited Nuch, be cool, be cool!
He looks at my insurance card.
He looks at the CT Reg.
He looks back at the insurance card.
He looks at the CT reg...
The CT registration has a shortened Vin.
It doesn't match the insurance card.
He's not happy.
There's no JYA... There's some Alpha characters missing from the middle but indeed it ends with the same 4 digits.
This of course doesn't match my new insurance cards because I gave the insurance company the vin on the actual frame. They wouldn't accept the number on the CT reg.

He leaves again to talk to "the boss"
I feel like the situation is slipping through my fingers...
I gaze longingly at that shiny new plate just laying there...

I start thinking, "I can grab it and make a run for it!"
"No that won't work you idiot!"

He returns...
He says, "Yeah... I'm going to need a picture of the vin on the motorcycle to submit to the state."

Yay! I have one on my phone!
He says, "A HARD COPY! And we can't print it here so you'll have to come back!"

Doh!

And just like in the movies... he looked at me and slowly pulled the shiny new license plate back towards him and put it in the drawer.

So close...

I felt like the kid Ralphie in that movie "A Christmas Story" where one of Santa's helpers kicks him down the slide and he bellows... "Noooooooo"

Here's to hoping that a the requested hard copy picture satisfies NYS...
I was told that once this is worked out, NYS will be issuing a new title in my name.
I mean after all, It's only a 1982.... and when I get it,
I'll be Partying like it's 1999!

Another day I my RJ friend... Another Day.

 

I looked at my XJ, inspected for any furry rodents (seat is inside) and sighed deeply.

5-8" of snow tonight.

 

most states that do not title oldbikes can give you a certifacte of nontitled.

you should not have added the aditional numbers to the vin for your insurance.

next option is register it in VT through the mail you will get plates registration and ask for non title cert.