I'll have to change my avatar

Well, it seems that my search for a Maxim X has finally ended. I stumbled on a Craigslist listing in my area for a blue one. I have tried to make deals on 3 other X's in the past, and so I approached this one with a little trepidation. Sure enough, when I asked about it, the bike was already spoken for by a guy from Nashville who was supposed to come down the following day to get it. It was a nice day, and I felt like going on a ride anyway, so I asked if I could still come look at it. Hey, why not go look at an X when you know it's around?

So I got there and I see this bike that is nothing short of stunning. Original paint that doesn't have a nick in it, perfect seat, no leaks of any kind, glossy engine case, not a speck of rust, etc. I drooled over it and talked to super nice guy Roger Frost (the current owner) for about an hour and then we parted ways.

The next day I emailed him to ask if the other guy had pulled through. He hadn't. Apparently he was very concerned about the effect of E85 on older bikes, and wanted some more time to do some research. I want to be fair, because after all, the last time I tried to buy an X the guy sold it out from under me on the day I was going to pick it up after two months of communication. (It was very far away) After another day, however, I put forth an offer and Roger accepted it. I came out and gave him a deposit, and now I'm just waiting on my paycheck (looks like I'll be eating ramen noodles for a while) so I can give him the rest and pick the bike up.

I almost can't believe the luck I had in this deal. I guess it's good Karma coming back for the other two attempts.

Anyway, here are his pics of the bike from the Maxim-X.com registry. I'll take plenty of my own once I get it home.





So soon I'll finally be the proud owner of an XJ700XN. I spent all day today organizing my storage shed so I can fit it and the Seca in there at the same time. I had to sell the Seca to buy the X, but I sold it to my sister who wants to learn to ride, and doesn't have any storage, so I still get to take care of it and probably buy it back from her in a year or two when she wants something uh... more British. She loves Triumphs.

I just wanted to share the news. Look for some more pics soon. I just can't resist the idea of a little photo shoot with both bikes.

 

Congrats! I had a red 700 Maxim X sold out from under me about a month and a half ago. In my case I think it was a good thing though. Too big for a first bike. So I ended up with my 400 instead.

 

Looks good! I love the rims...

 

Thats a nice looking bike I don't want to rain on your parade but, It may not be original paint the tank emblems are not there at least on the left side. Or they have just been removed for some reason good luck finding any I have been looking for a left side since I got my X in march with no luck. You \can find some gold ones but no aluminum colored. Then last week some A%^&^% stole the right side emblem off my bike while it was parked in front of a friends house I was soo pissed that I stripped it down and painted it put ghost flames on it. It looks ok but is not original anymore so I may have hurt my value on it. How many miles does it have?? Mine was the same color as the but has a higher backrest on it with another cushon that says maxim on the back. Mine has a little more than 24k on it now and has been a great bike so far. That one does look very clean.

 

I'm buying from the second owner. The first owner didn't want the emblems installed, so the never were. The same with the turn signals. Hence the shorties that are one there now. I like bare tanks with no emblems, so this works out for me. That is a shame about somebody nabbing yours, though. I don't know how much the new paint job would affect the value, but I see these bikes with custom paint quite a lot. This bike doesn't quite have 9000 miles on it. No backrest, and no engine guards, but Vmax guards can be made to fit and I don't really need the backrest.

 

Don't be so sure. The MaximX is a total chick... I mean babe... Ummmm... Female Magnet? Is that politically correct enough? Anyway, you'll likely have lots of passengers.

Of course, now that I think about it, without the backrest they have nothing to hang onto except you. :wink:

 

Nice looking bike!!
Is it just me or did Yamaha have the best looking 80's bikes?
Helped a buddy do some work on his 650 Nighthawk.... the Honda's have stuff sticking out the sides where Yamaha kept everything within the lines of the frame...much sleeker....

 

Hah. Well my girl isn't a huge fan of riding with me anyway, but then again, look at my Seca. I even removed the grab strap and bars. Maybe a backrest isn't such a bad idea. "Look, you have something to hold on to other than me," but they're well known to be unobtanium.

 

I know that they were among the first to turn the starter around and tuck it inside. I totally agree. Yamahas are much sexier, and my new X is certainly more so than its closest competition, my uncle's V45 Magna.

 

Great find! I'm jealous! The X is definitely on my short list of bikes to own. Either that or the Vulcan.

 

i didn't even notice the short turn signals they are sweet.. Def a nice find and at around 9k it has barely started its life.. I also bought mine from a second owner and got filled in on the life of my bike it is a nice thing to know some history

 

Took me two tries to get my X, which was a good thing as the second was in far better shape (and had fewer miles) than the first.

You'll be liking your new toy.

If you want to know how to flush the coolant, I've done a writeup on that...

 

Yeah the last one I had a deal on had almost 40k and needed work. This one is much nicer with lower mileage. Just goes to show sometimes that things will work out if you just have patience. I should be able to pick it up tomorrow or Wednesday morning. I can't wait!

 

Well today was the magic day and as you will see I did in fact change my avatar. It is like I bought a brand new bike. It handles and rides beautifully. The somewhat negative thing I have to say about it is that my legs are a lot closer to those hot carbs than on the Seca. No hugging the tank on this bike. Other than that, you couldn't wipe the grin of my face for the whole 2 hour ride home.





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I LOVE those gauges. Any idea if they would fit on an 83 XJ750 Midnight Maxim?

Well, I know I don't need the coolant guage, but the rest is sweet looking. I suppose I could put a clock in the coolant one.

All I have to say is DAMN, those are nice looking bikes.

There is something about the Mid 80's bikes that I have always been drawn to.

Good catch, I am quite jealous.

Dan

 

The gauges from a XJ700 Maxim are the same minus the temp. I'm sure they could be made to fit with some fabrication. They go for sale on Flea-Bay from time to time. Thanks for the compliments!

 

That's one of the cleanest looking Xes I've ever seen!

Ya done good! :wink:

 

Great buy!
That is one nice X
Interesting horns (not stock I don't think)
I put a set of Stebel Magnums on my X (serious volume)
http://s288.photobucket.com/albums/ll16 ... =bike3.jpg

Chacal has the tank emblems if you want. They aren't curved perfect, but they look great.

I was going to make a backrest for mine since they're (almost) impossible to find, but I ended up mounting a small trunk with a backrest instead. Trunk cost me $80 and now I can easily carry (and lock up) more than a toothbrush on the way to work.
The mounting bracket was a bit of a pain though.

 

No, they're not stock, but the PO gave me a box of 4 stock horns. After trying 4 that didn't work, he gave up and put those on there. I'm going to experiment with them and see if I can get them to work though.

I like it without the emblems. I think that little piece of tin interrupts the lines of the tank.

This is a good idea. That would be the only other issue I have with the X. I put a little airtight container where the airbox used to be on the Seca and it held a toolkit, papers, owner's manual, spare fuses, spare headlight bulb, spark plug gapper, etc. The tiny box under the seat on the X is barely big enough for the papers, but I am not going to rip the airbox out of this bike so I'll have to find some other solution. Cosmetically, I don't really like chunking stuff onto the front or back of the bike, but I might go with a fork bag for tools and stuff and see how it looks.

 

Great find, Pacocase!

Worth eating ramen for!!!!

Let me know if you need some recipes......I have a ramen noodle cookbook. :lol: