Slightly altered 83 XJ750 Maxim

I like my stripped down GS1100R. Besides they are Fuel Injected. You will really like working on the BMW, but be warned the parts are $$.

 

I just sold my R1100RS and it was great. But I want to build an airhead which is carbureted. Or I could just make it easy and buy RnineT and be done with it.

 

buy the rninet

 

@PavelK313 I scanned through, but didn't see any.. do you happen to have any pictures of the way you mounted the top side of the rear shock?

 

i don’t, but it’s pretty much same as bottom mount

 

Man, I just can’t keep myself away from buying bikes. After selling my last WR250X 10 years ago, I been always wanting another one. Well, today stars aligned and I found exact bike I been looking for for the past 4 years. New to me 2009 Yamaha WR250X.

 

Hello everyone! I am somewhat considering in selling my XJ. I am not totally set on it but toying with the idea. Every time I build or modify something I always say I won’t sell it, but the truth is that I have attention span of a 2 year old and get bored with cars/bikes fast.
Since people who have read my thread know what went into my bike, would anyone like to chime in into what value to put on my bike? I have receipts for all the parts I purchased, labor was obviously free to me but I did invest a ton of time into it.
I would appreciate any input you have on my question. Thanks!

 

I too like flip bikes, like to have a few rides ready to go, but once I fix them up and had the fun and education of restoring them, they need to go. As far as price, that will be all on you and the buyer. You will never get your money back doing a restore on one of these nice bikes. People other than us, will not see the loving pain that goes into our work. When I got to buy a bike I always get the blue book value and go from there. The bike I am buying is only worth more to the seller not the buyer, the blue book is my grounding factor. I am sure this is not what you wanted to hear.

 

I am most definitely not selling it for KBB volume. Lol 99% of XJs are worthless.

 

You will just have to find the right buyer for your bike. Good luck on selling her if that is what you decide to do.

 

It was one of my long time goals to ride XJ on PCH and today I finally did it! 220 miles, 6 hours, beautiful scenery, bike performed flawlessly, she ain’t a bad ride especially for being 38 years old.

 

Keep the bike. You have a one of a kind and its reliable. Buy a second bike and use the XJ to go back and forth to the part store. Then you can keep or flip the second bike.

 

What is the master cylinder and levers you used on the build? I want to change my oem ones (they're leaking all over the place).

 

Rebuild kits are available.

 

Stock R1 master and aftermarket levers that came with the donor bike.

 

Photo from today’s ride.

 

I was literally just admiring this picture on reddit.

 

very nice work he has a build thread here 750 is lighter than a 550

 

This build thread?
slightly-altered-83-xj750-maxim.123033

 

Yesterday, I needed to go to a shop about 10 miles away from me and instead of taking a car I decided it was a nice 75* day and I would take my XJ. Two roads lead to where I needed to go, one is a freeway and another one is a side road with few turns, I chose the second option since being on a freeway is boring. Since it was such a short ride and I had no intentions of riding hard, I wore jeans, shirt, tennis shoes, helmet and gloves. I was riding at leisurely paste and enjoin the weather. On the way back I kept going faster and faster in each bend of the road.... as I approached the very last corner before the straight to get home, I set myself up for a fast entry and exit. Entry was fine, right at the apex I got hard on the gas in 4th at about 75mph and unfortunately for me there were few bumps in the road at that exact spot. I got by far the baddest tank slapper I ever experienced in my life! In a split moment the only thing I could think of is how bad this shit is about to hurt me and my XJ... what felt like forever, bike finally Seattle’s down and rode out straight. I felt very blessed at that time but also shocked, as I have not expected it from my XJ. It’s always been very forgiven and compliant motorcycle.
So as a word of advice for others with steep front ends on XJs, BE CAREFUL!

 

Great you didn't get injured, how quickly things can change especially on a motorcycle.

 

I'm no expert on motorbike handling, but the smaller engined xj's are made from small diameter thin wall tube - so when things go wrong they can flex, flex leads to wobbles, to tank slappers. More modern, short bikes have much stiffer frames for a reason. Even the modern "retro style" bikes made from steel tube have obviously bigger diameter tubed frames. Adding sticky radial tyres exposes the frames shortcomings too I guess.
All of this might be nonsense, but this is how I see it.
When I rebuilt my Kawasaki gt750 trike with a simple solid back end I was amazed how much flex the frame had. Ended up triangulating under the seat (impossible with an air box), between the engine and headers, low down and high up inside the already triangle shaped back end. At each step I checked the reduction in flex. I didn't solid mount the engine, but that would have been the next step.

 

Just finished reading this build thread from the start. Great job and nice pics...thanks for posting!
To keep or not to keep...seat time may help.

 

I'm sure you've mentioned how "steep" your modded XJ is but I can't recall? How steep is it? One other thing about XJ's with modern forks the absence of the leading axle shortens the wheelbase quite a bit. Your tires are also different as I recall?
My rake is 25.5* with 2001 R1 forks and triples, R1 front wheel/tire. I also have Race Tech 1.0kgm spring in them. 12.5" rear shocks and 17" 140/17/70 rear wheel/tire. I did make some aluminum front top motor mounts, I may do the others when I get time.
Cheers, 50gary

 

I did post it somewhere in here but if I remember correctly it was around 25* and yes, it has a lot shorter wheel base than stock.

 

Six and a half months ago my wife and I became parents to our son. Ever since we found out that we were expecting addition to our family I wanted to take a picture of my son on my XJ, because when I was little my dad and I took similar pictures on his Jawa 350 that he owned at that time.

 

I took my Grandson out on my trike today - how did that happen....

 

Well… as they say, all good things must come to an end. Today I sold my XJ. It brought great memories, amazing experiences and I met new friends with it. Here is the last picture of it under my ownership.
I am sure no one will miss me here but I’ll still be visiting this place from time to time.

 

No matter what the new owner paid (within some sort of reason), he got a deal. That is one nice-looking and seemingly well-engineered bike. Good luck with your family project!

 

I personally think that new owner got a smoking deal, but it is what it is. Now he has one of the coolest XJs out there.

 

I would like to own that bike, a smashing machine it is.

 

Loved watching the progression of that bike and how you worked through problems. Enjoy family time there will be an XJ available when you get the bug again I'm sure, they are bulletproof.