She's done, selling her for parts

Well thats the end of the line for my Maxim. I hauled her to the shop yesterday to get the valve clearance checked and the timing reset. The mechanic looked in horror at the burnt up pistons and the not much better looking combustion chambers. In a nutshell he told me he didn't want to take my money on something like that. 2 Mechanics said there right away it would need a complete rebuild and is entirely not worth it. The one suggested I either drive it down to the recyclers or sell it for parts. This was all at a glance while it was still loaded in my buddies truck. By the way, it was a bitch getting it in there. Just us 2 guys lifting and without a ramp. That's just about asking for a hernia.

The mechanics were amazed it ran at all and seemed shocked when I told them I rode it 6000km like that last year.

The latter is what I want to do, and do so via Ebay. I wanted to start selling on there and start building some positive score.

It's an '82 Maxim 650.

So if anyone is interested here's what she has to offer.

-Most of the chrome parts are in nice shape all except for the exhaust.
-The seat got a brand new covering on it last spring (2007) with a snowmobile seat material, looks nice and new and nice nicely padded.
-Gauges are functional
-Gas tank does not appear to have rust inside. On the outside it looks decent except for one scratch on top and the "Yamaha" emblems have no chrome on them. No dents on it.
-Forks look good and function well as far as I can tell.
-All lights and stocks are in good shape and nicely chromed
-I have a new head gasket still in the package which I will sell if I can't return it.


Anyone interested just ask. Also, I'm in the Edmonton, AB area and if anyone wants the whole thing that's fine with me. I could even deliver it within a reasonable radius with a little cash for the effort.

I'll be moving probably within the next month or 2 so the whole wad will have to be gone one way or another by then.

It kind of sickens me to think I hauled it 3500km across the country only to ride it once out here and find out she's toast. Thats the way she goes sometimes though, what can ya do.


I don't think I can afford another bike this year. However I know my next steed will be a Suzuki V-Strom 650. It would be nice to have a newer bike I can ride with confidence of not getting stranded.

 

Before you get-out the wrenches ans start taking-off bits of it to list on eBay ...

Do yourself a favor and conduct a Compression Test on the Bike!

Maybe they just didn't want to work on the old girl and insulted you right along with it!

 

I did a compression test last summer. It seemed Ok except for cylinder 3 being down. A dry and wet test showed a leaking valve was the problem. I already had the head off when I brought it to the shop. The piston tops are so burned up they appear to be warped.

They were going to work on it, I had an appointment to bring it in. When I got there they said they'd do it if I really wanted to but in no way do they figure it's worth putting the money into. The one brought out a ramp and we were all set to take it off the truck until I pulled the garbage bag off the exposed cylinders and they were near knocked back in shock. :lol: I tend to agree myself.

 

you obviously got tools and you already pulled the head. Are the cylinders scored bad? If not, you might be able to get away with replacement pistons/rings, head job, gaskets and re-assembly...

If cylinders are bad I've found them on Ebay with pistons/rings for under $100 delievered, Or Get next oversize pistons/rings and have the cylinder bored and the head re-worked.

 

ya thats very true. you can get some pretty good cheap parts

 

If you replace the pistons with oversize, or even just new rings, you will have to rebuild the lower end as well or else it will go soon after - speaking from car experience and I believe bike are the same.

Don't let it go!

Post some pics of the cylinder will ya so we can see 8O

 

I mean if you burned a hole through a piston you would have to go into the bottom end, but it sounds like thats not the case.

 

Ok I've come back with a couple of pictures. And as to what's said above, yes I suppose it could be restored quite cheaply if one was to do it themselves. However, although I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty I'm not exactly a master mechanic. Though I do most of my own auto maintenance and what not I've never torn into an engine before. I suppose in theory I could do the job, however there are some other factors stopping me. Time is one, at the rate I'll go about it I'll never get to ride before winter when it's too late. Besides the very slow speed I work at (this being a learning experience as I go along) I just don't have a lot of time to do this. Week days are mostly a write off as long as I'm working afternoon shift and weekends I try to live a life. That and a drinking habit to support slows the job further, lol.

Another is working myself into a corner. Back home in Southern Ontario I had my dad to help out with anything when I got stuck. He's been a millwright for decades and has rebuilt car and snowmobile engines in his time. There seems to be literally nothing he can't fix. The definition of "millwright" he says is "super mechanic." :lol:
I'm alone out here 3000km from home and if there is something I can't figure I pretty well have my manuals and these forums and thats it. The manuals can be pretty vague sometimes as well.

I'm trying to move here too, in which the bike feels like a bit of a thorn in the side. Also, while in Southern Ontario XJ's seemed pretty rare. Here around Edmonton they are a dime a dozen. I was driving in my car a few Sunday's ago and saw 5 different XJ's in a single day on the road. I doubt I've ever seen that many in a month back home.

Anyway, here are my pics.

 

The reason behind rebuilding the lower end is because of the new compression the pistons will have. This will be too much for the lower end to handle.

The pics don't look so bad. A honing and some polishing up and some new parts here and there could get ya going...

And Rick as well as others are always here to help ya!

100 for new pistons if you can't use your current ones.
30-50 for piston rings
20 for connecting rod bearings
100-150 for gasket set
20 for crankshaft bearings
100 for honing

All those parts are new too (http://www.partforyamaha.com/pages/part ... parts.aspx), you could probably find them on ebay for a little cheaper and some other bits and ends most likely.

 

if not hit up chacal here on the forums I dunno if he has pistons and everything but he may have some things

 

PM sent!

 

Naught, you have a very salvageable engine sitting there. You can overhaul it (rings and pistons) in about a weekend. From the pictures (and I really wish you could get closer to the piston crown) it looks like you have a fair bit of carbon buildup with signs of pre-detonation. Your head looks to be just fine, albeit with a bit of buildup (easily removed with a bit of work). Personally, if you could get the head off, you have the skills you need to rebuild this thing. Two months should be ample time to get it done, provided you get started right away! We, collectively, will be more than happy to walk through this with you. The other option is to source another used engine and take your time wandering through this one.

 

doesn't look bad at all to me, especially since it still runs. does it run well? you might even get away with a good cleaning and valve job and run it for a couple thousand more miles

 

I wish I knew what the compression figures were before you removed the head.
Looks like you have a major de-carboning job on your hands.
That stuff comes off pretty quickly with a wire wheel on your drill.

If it comes down to needing it Honed ... AutoZone will lend you a Hone for free.
Honing is a bit of an art. The Idea is to not let the hone "Sit" in one place as you work the cylinders.
Once you Hone a new cross-hatch pattern on the sleeves; your done.

I think you can save that engine.
I also think you should get a second engine ... a runner ... and put it in there and have the Bike to ride while you are learning to rebuild your original.

 

HUH ???

Anthony14: If there was alot of slop in the rod to crank bearings it would warrant going in. If not, It was made to handle that compression in the first place... RIGHT ?

Supernaut: It's not beyond your capabilities as you've shown that by taking it apart. It was a good call taking it apart to see what was wrong. Most stealerships wont even touch anything anyway thats partially disassembled or in a box any way. So thats probably why you got the response you did from them. Is it worth the rebuild? Could be if you did the work yourself and found inexpensive parts. But might not be, If like you say if you can pick one up for around the same $. I mean, that makes sense if they are that plentiful being sold !

BTW, I've went through 2 XJ650s and just finished a second XS750, rings, valves ect on the top ends. The last XS was only a 2 week job after I got it opened up. Now granted I dont have a heavy 8) drinking habit, but I do enjoy some Tequila after I finish one !

Good Luck!

 

You are correct, but when they were new they were wearing at both the same rate...

Anyway, like I said, I don't know if that rule applies to bikes, all I said was that it applies to cars and to add to that, if you have the engine apart, I would do the bottom end while I am in there to save it from having to be done in the future because then you would have to get a new gasket kit again, when that money could be put towards the bottom end at the same time. Or at least that's what makes sense to me.

 

My turbo motor looked worse than that when I took it apart. It was coked up bad. I cleaned it up with a scraper and some wire wheeling, honed the cylinders, installed new rings and called it good. It ran perfectly fine. I think they just don't want to bother putting in the time and money only to get stiffed for the repairs when the owner has a heart attack from the final bill and abandons the bike. Seriously, it looks like an oil control problem and little else to me.

I have some 650 bits you could have for free if you like, a new cylinder head gasket and some valve stem seals I didn't use (I think I can find them all!), along with some other odds and ends like the o-rings for the cylinder barrels and exhaust gaskets. I know, it sucks having your bike tied up, but really, you could be done in a day or so. I know 650 rings were still readily available when I ordered them 2 summers ago. It doesn't hurt to try. Engines can still run extremely well even if they are not dead-on dimensionally. I just revived a free rider mower engine that looked hopeless when I opened it up. It ran out of oil, snapped the rod and scored the cylinder. I honed the cylinder, installed some file-fit .010" oversize rings, polished out the crank and put in some new gaskets. It fires right up and doesn't even smoke, which was a real surprise when I consider the scoring I had to deal with. Hey, if it lasts me a couple of summers, it was well worth $125 in parts. It could keep you mobile till you can afford that V-Strom.

If you wanted to be a real cheapskate, you could try decarbonizing the chamber and piston crown and checking if the rings aren't simply seized. Freeing up stuck rings might just solve the oil control problem.


How many km's on your bike?

 

Hi all, thanks for the support and all trying to salvage this. If I were in a different stage in life I'd hang on to her. Say I were well established and had a house with a garage where I could do whatever I want. My dad has given me much the same advice on this as a lot of you have. So to pick through it. Yes I do believe I could get it fixed on my own again. However it would take me a good deal longer than an experienced mechanic. I'm a kind of guy who likes to read tech articles in magazines and what not and have a shit load of mechanical theory in the brain but not a whole lot of hands on experience. Someone here called it a weekend job but at the speed I work it would probably be several weekends.

Anyway, it saddens me as well but my decision is finalized. My reasoning? I'm am moving shortly and this bike is a thorn in the side when it comes to that process. I really only have Sundays and the odd Saturday to work on it. I came to thinking as well. The transmission on this thing was always sketchy. Gear grinding when shifting was not uncommon and I had to be real careful to try and match the RPM to the next gear to minimize that. Also last summer I've had the thing down shift a gear all by itself on a couple occasions. Scared the shit out of me, one time was right before a highway on ramp as I was about to enter. It could end up real bad in a curve. Basically I get the impression that previous owners must have beat the shit out of this thing.

The bike has about 68,000km on it if I remember right.

I'm sorry guys. If I were an established man with my own home with a garage, the bike could sit around for an indefinite amount of time until I get around to fixing it in my own due time. In reality I am 22 years old and a 1st year plumber apprentice who is looking to buy a mobile home very shortly. Living in an apartment sucks monkey nuts.

As I type I have the entire front brake assembly packed in a box in the trunk of my car to be mailed away to a buyer tomorrow. I'm sorry but that's the way its gonna be. I don't like to see another XJ bite the dust or to see such a loss on my investment. If someone bought the whole wad and brought it up to running status that would bring some joy to me. I don't see that happening though, XJ's are actually somewhat common in the Edmonton area compared to where I come from.

Thanks for the help and support all. I'll still be on the forums now and then.

 

"A wise man knows his limits and dwells within them". Sad call buddy (Taps playing softly in the background). I hate to hear of the demise of a salvageable bike. But your reasoning is sound so best of luck to you, do drop in often.

 

Well it sure took awhile but the XJ made its way off today. I got $500 for it, no haggling was started. One less headache to deal with when I move. I'm going to use some of this money to buy a BBQ. I'm damn sick of cooking everything on my George Foreman type grill. The sad part about this wad of cash is that I got it on rent day. It was in my hand then into my land ladies hand just minutes later.