Let me introduce myself...

Hi all,

A couple of months ago I joined this site. Why? Because I have bought a '83 XJ750 Midnight Maxim.

I bought the bike last year on an action. I have no information on the history of this bike, as the P.O. has passed away and his relatives found the bike in a garage when cleaning out the house. The only thing I know is that the bike has been sitting in that garage for at least 7 years.
The bike is basically sound, but needs a lot of cosmetical care and some technical care.

I have cleaned and checked the brakes, checked the tyres, checked the electronics and was able to start the engine. A short ride to make sure everything works.
Engine starts and idles oke-ish. It needs the choke for a long time (at least 10 minutes), at least longer than I would like, and it has some misfires along the way. As soon as you start driving, whenever you want to accelarate under load, the misfires increas. Driven at a steady 80 km/h it misfires occasionally. So first thing to do is replacing 40 year old coils and plugwires. And of course I have know idea how old the sparkplugs are.

My first goal is to make sure it runs as good as possible and after that I will start improving the looks. Goal is to keep it as original as possible.

This is the first bike I will be working on. I have owned a bike before, but that one I used for home-work traffic, so it was maintained by the dealer. This one is for fun.

By saying this is the first bike, I am not inexperienced. I have owned and maintained classic cars since I was 20 ( my first car was actually a Fiat X1/9, that car was really demanding...). But that was a lifetime ago.
These days, I own a 1967 Datsun Fairlady Roadster, a 1977 Datsun 280Z 2+2 and a 1987 Nissan (Datsun) 300ZX Turbo. And the 10 years difference is not a coincedence And now a Midnight Maxim.

 

Welcome. A friend of mine used to have the same model Fiat...that's the one that looks a bit like a Pontiac Fiero, right?

 

Welcome to the party @Emil Stojanov!!

You should have no problem getting this bike to run perfectly.

I would suggest that since the bike sat for 7 years (at least), then the next thing you need to look at is the fuel system. Especially the carburetors.

just my opinion

 

I think carbs before coils and plug wires. They are probably in good shape.

 

Nah, they are not in good shape. If I touch a plugwire while the engine is runnig my hair tries to stand upright. So definitily leaking current there.
And the misfires, I can hear and feel that it is unburned fuel that ignites in the exhaust. To me that indicates a problem with the ignition, and not with a lack of fuel.

 

But I agree, The carbs will get a good cleaning and a replated gold top.

 

The new ignition coils form Chacal arrived today (7 days only!) and I have them installed already. Piece of cake.
Started the engine and it runs more evenly and no misfires anymore.
Tomorrow I plan to make a short trip of around 100km to see (and feel) how the engine is running.

 

You are playing with fire doing this without first cleaning out the fuel system. A partially clogged main jet could burn out a piston, taking the bore finish with it. Just my opinion of course.