'85 XJ700X has trouble idling when warm...worth it for $500?

Hi everyone,

I found this site while doing some research. I've been wanting to get a motorcycle for the past couple of years to commute to work and play with. My coworker mentioned that he'd sell his bike, so I went up to look at it tonight.

It's an XJ700 X, either an '85 or '86. Around 42k miles and it's not the prettiest bike. This will be my first bike so I'm not worried about appearance. I don't mind having a few things to work on....I'm somewhat mechanically inclined and would like to learn how to work on the bike.

The issues....when just started, it runs ok, especially 3-4k+ rpm. But off idle it seems to hesistate - it doesn't instantly respond when you hit the throttle, and you have to rev it pretty good to get going without stalling.

However, after it warms up a bit, it's a HUGE pain to keep running. It doesn't even want to start unless the choke is in, and if you release the choke, it just wants to die again.

I was looking around and found that those had ignition coil problems, which is what my coworker thinks it is...he just thinks that something is warming up and becoming unhappy. The off idle hesitation when cool is probably carb adjustment, but any suggestions as to what the dying problem might be caused by?

He asked $500, but I could probably give him $400 or maybe even less. I haven't seen anything this cheap, and like I mentioned, I wouldn't mind having somewhat of a project bike for my first one. Something to keep 1-2 seasons then replace.

Am I crazy, or does this bike sound workable?

Thanks,
Brian

 

Re: '85 XJ700X has trouble idling when warm...worth it for $

can you say:

"clean these carbs please?"

i think 90% of all XJ issues can be solved with 3 little steps: 1) put an inline fuel filter on the fuel line, 2) completely clean the carbs and 3) replace the fuse block...

depending on how rough the bike is and how much effort youre willing to put into making it your own, $400-500 sounds fair to me...

but im not mechanically inclined so take my advice with a bushel of salt...

d

 

buy it and dive into those carbs. if i can do it you can!

 

Dooo eeeet!

If you can pick up that bike for $400 you're getting a great deal and it sounds like not much more than a good carb cleaning to get it running well.

I've got a MaximX and I absolutely love it as do most everyone I've run across who has one. Or two! :wink:

 

Re: '85 XJ700X has trouble idling when warm...worth it for $

Thanks for the encouragement (peer pressure? ) and advice! I'll grab the bike I guess. Maybe I'll give him $450....I hate to give him too little, because I do like the guy and anything less would make me feel bad.

So the problem when the engine warm is likely the carbs, too? I wonder what they look like inside....he said he's had them apart a couple of times, and a previous owner had, too.

I think I can tackle that. I might need some help....any good writeups or tutorials for cleaning this carbs on here, or somewhere else? I didn't see a Haynes manual for the bike, but did find a place that has service manuals.

I know what a carb is and what it does, and know what most of the parts are, but I'm a bit sketchy on how they all interact and do. But I'm willing to learn! There's a guy at work who does nothing but mess with motorcycles at home, so I can always enlist his help.

Thanks again...I'm looking forward to playing with it!

Brian

 

Re: '85 XJ700X has trouble idling when warm...worth it for $

Check the plugs... I was having this problem on a 750. Turned out largely to be the plugs. Of course it certainly wouldnt hurt to go through the carbs too, but check the plugs first.

 

Jump all over that deal.
Get the carbs off and have them cleaned.

Put them back on and ride til you puke!

 

check my signature for a link to find a bunch more helpful links... thanks to the XJ wizards we've pretty much got a walk-through for you! happy XJ-ing!

 

Re: '85 XJ700X has trouble idling when warm...worth it for $

Wow... You are new here... You might also wanna ask if anyone has any opinions on what oil to use! :wink:

 

Re: '85 XJ700X has trouble idling when warm...worth it for $

Oops! So it appears this comes up a lot....I checked the link in 07spacker's sig and looks like it's just what I was trying to find! I've always found that a search pulls up a lot of fluff, so it's hard to find *the one* writeup for a topic. Great!

I also wasn't sure if the carbs on the 700 were similar to the 650, 750, and some of the other engine sizes, but I guess so

crispy, I was going to replace the plugs, too....they're Champions now (of two different temperatures, no less), so I'll try to find the NGK or Nippons that are referecend on www.maxim-x.com.

Yes, I really am new.

 

Re: '85 XJ700X has trouble idling when warm...worth it for $

Naughty boy. Daddy spank. Go stand in the corner. :wink:

There's a cleaning FAQ on the XJCD (Don't have one? I strongly recommend you get it) for the Mikuni carbs, but unlike the Hitachi cleaning FAQ, this one doesn't have pictures. I've got the carbs for my own X apart at the moment (waiting for parts from our resident parts supplier), and I'm taking pictures to try and flesh it out a bit.

NOT.

650 and 750 (aircooled) use Hitachi carbs. The X uses Mikunis. Different animal. Float needle seat in the bowl is different, all the jets are mounted differently, the starter plungers move sideways instead of up-and-down like on the Hitachis -- this means you can only remove two of them unless you want to break the rack apart -- well, you get the idea.

To answer your original question... I wish I had found MY X for $500...

 

Re: '85 XJ700X has trouble idling when warm...worth it for $

I looked around on here some more and found the link to that CD....I'll email the two guys and make sure they're both still accepting checks. Does it have the service manual for the XJ700X? Or does someone make a repair manual?

Want to do a core exchange on the carbs once you're done? You send me your nice purty clean ones, and I send you my nasty ones, then you just keep them once you've cleaned those, too? :wink:

Great info, thanks. Was there a 700 engine that was similar to the 750, just with a shorter stroke? That's what had me confused.

Hopefully I will find I lucked out then!

Thanks a ton for your help, guys....I love the internets.

 

Re: '85 XJ700X has trouble idling when warm...worth it for $

It does indeed have the service manual and parts listing. There is no third-party service manual that I am aware of.

AHEM.

That was exactly the difference between the 700X and 750X. The U.S. got the 700, everybody else got the 750. There was also a 700 aircooled at the same time, but it used Hitachi carbs.

 

Ah, makes sense now. I'll email about the CD tonight, sounds handy!

I agreed to buy the bike today for $450!

 

WOOHOO!! Good news!

And welcome to the club. :wink:

 

Re: '85 XJ700X has trouble idling when warm...worth it for $

Thanks! I'm looking forward to messing with the bike....be ready for some dumb questions!