The new guy has questions

Hi All, I am new here I just bought my wife a 1985 Maxim X. I thought it was like other maxims untill I picked it up. Then I noticed it was water cooled. On my way home I stopped at a gas station and a guy came up and said "back in the day that bike was a screemer" My wife has never ridden a bike before so did I buy to big of a bike for her? Also what are your thoughts on this bike performance, reliability, mpg, etc. Hope to get a lot of info here.

 

I'll voice my opinion:
I love the bike. It's easy to ride, a good starter bike IMO
Size...depends a little on her size too?? I think it would be a bit more than a petite 95 pound lady might want for her first, but if she is more "average" she should be OK. Time will tell!

--Ummmm, yeah.. it is "spirited" but you don't NEED to crack the throttle full open (beware of the "X" factor that kicks in around 6500 rpm by the way) But after some time on it you WILL WANT to

Reliability wise- He's my take:
The engine itself is very robust.
Valves are a major PIA to adjust (but you seldom, if ever, need to adjust them)
Carbs (as with all the old bikes) are the heart of most of the problems. Sitting lets them gum up, fuel mixes are different that when they were built, very few shops know how to work on them (and they charge an arm and a leg), some of the rubber parts are not very "rubbery" after 23 years, and adjustment is paramount.
The coils are a bit "finicky" in moist environments...OK, some will say they are horrible when it rains but I haven't been unlucky enough to experience that personally. The rest of the electrical is typical I would say. Not a huge generator so you need to beware of auxilary electrical loads like a heated seat.

MPG is typical of a bike this size and depends on how well tuned it is and how you ride it. If you find yourself testing the throttle stops on every shift, you will see how much it can consume (just like a car or other bike). Most will say around 33-40 mpg I would guess.

Go here to learn more about performance and specs.
You will NEED to order the XJCD.
http://www.maxim-x.com/specifications.html

If you ride it a little, you may want to keep it and buy her something else

 

Yeah - my suggestion was going to be to keep the X for yourself, and let her have the airhead You'll love them both!

 

Well put, Mike.

I've had my X for almost 15 yrs and still love it. Handles nice, looks great and pulls like a... A... Well, something that pulls really hard!

Weak points? Like Mike said, when I ride mine hard I might as well be driving my old Cherokee for the gas it drinks. That, combined with a smallish tank, makes for frequent stops when you're out on a roadtrip. Depending on her size, you might wanna think about putting some hi-way pegs on for long-distance comfort. I sometimes feel a bit cramped on longer days, but then the frequent fuel stops offer plenty of opportunities to stretch the legs.

Make sure the front breaks are working well. Rebuild them if you're in doubt. Steel lines inprove performance. Rear brake doesn't offer much in the way of modulation so you really do rely on the fronts.

I don't think you necessarily got her too big of a bike. In fact, I got one for the GF last summer and with a little luck and some warm weather, she'll be on it in a few weeks. Make sure she understands the need to keep it under 6000rpm until she's got a few miles under her belt.

 

Thanks guys, I myself ride a V-Rod(please be gentle on me) and figured it would be a bit big and $ for her to learn on. I have a seca turbo in HS and wanted one of them for her but a good ridable one is hard to find. I found the X on craigs list and yes the carbs are giving me trouble and I have it at a Yamaha mechanics house right now being looked. He was the head mechanic at our local dealer until they closed last year. He has worked for them for 20+ years so I hope he knows what he is doing. I will keep all posted.

 

Rickomatic (and others) have some great carb cleaning tips in the FAQ section.
Clean well adjusted carbs are critical for good performance.
If it doesn't have an inline fuel filter get one installed!!! They are about $4 and worth about $100 if you have any crud in the tank.

There is SO much information on this subject here you can read for weeks I bet.

Be careful though...if you tune it too well, she'll leave the V-rod in the dust...although you might not mind looking at her backside