1982 XJ550 Maxim rebuild

Nope. I have a set of JIS drivers on order for reassembly, so doing what I can for now. I'm not going to mess around with screws that are half rounded out. The TIG takes 30 seconds and then I can rip them out with pliers. These were stripped before I got them. The impact driver worked on a few really corroded ones after some heat. The heads were toast after that. The rest were a lost cause.

 

Makes sense. It's a shame that so few people bother to use the toolkits that came with the bikes (or even bothered to keep them, as mine was missing). They weren't the greatest, but at least the screwdriver fit correctly.

 

Yeah this bike is missing the kit. I will probably put a repair kit together after it is all done. Video is processing from tonight. Will post it shortly.

 

WPC treatment


Untreated

The journal and lobe surfaces feel like a teflon pan versus glass on the untreated. There is no coating, though. The cam moves easily under the caps even with the bearing surfaces untreated. Ideally you would treat both and the oil layer strength would be increased greatly versus polishing.

 

Nice. I had that done to a piston several years ago. It slid down the cylinder bore so easily.

 

Frame has been treated and had first coat of poly frame spray on. I will flip it over in 24 hours and coat everthing again. The carbs are fully disassembled and been coated black. Still need carb 4 body and a bunch of carb parts to finish the carbs. The clutch pack looks original and still has wear life so gonna clean and reinstall. Gearing looks new and no signs of case cracks so far.

 

The e-clip that holds the oil pump gear is no longer viable, ordering a new one. It just spread open and gave up. Torch and quench turned it into rice paper which popped in halves across the garage. Good news, no more sludge in the case.

 

Primary drive gear bearing is a 6205. Looks fine, no play.

 

3 carb bodys, rails and heat shield are painted. As soon as I can find another carb body I will rebuild #4 and rebuild the pack.






Both tabs on both side bars are split. I am debating buying replacements since the chrome is peeling and they are severly pitted.

 

Based on my research those were a factory option and these are original crash bars with road rash. I think I will try to weld the tabs up and paint them black to match the frame. There is one NOS set on ebay for $110. I need that for a new oil filter cap and possibly oil pan after an incident with the shop crane. I just glued the pan up too!

 

I said I was not going to pull the jugs? Well...

It is good that I did.

 

@chacal sells a spin-on filter conversion. Worth the money IMO, but oil filter housings are common, and cheap.

 

Already have one on the way. The filter cover is a critical part of oil cooling. Getting rid of it will reduce oil life, especially conventional mineral oil. It would take the same amount of time to change the filter and the flow will be better with the internal element.

 

Speaking of oil filters, the only filter construction that works worth a damn is Wix. I only buy theirs or Amsoil EA. They produce all of Amsoil's filters. Napa gold is the same filter production from the Wix plant, different branding. I was an Amsoil dealer for about a year and dropped their sales pyramid scheme. I am thinking about doing a slice and test brand comparison for my YouTube channel.

 

Alternator cover is curing.



Drive sprocket cover has been wire buffed and is curing.

 

Maybe I missed it in the thread. What color number/name is the paint? So far everything looks great.

 

It's dupli-color light silver engine enamel. I can get the UPC when I get home tonight. The topcoat is wheel clear for impact resistance.

The YICS orange is Chevy engine orange. I could not find the proper burnt orange color used on the original emblem but with black under it it's close. I'm not painting the circle emboss on the covers, I think it distracts from the logos too much.

 

Looks good!

 

Silver/Alum



Clear coat



Frame coating



Orange