82 650 Maxim

The whole bike vibrates as soon as the engine starts running.

 

Stop drilling a crack should keep it from growing longer , this is something that the poster of this thread should do only slightly larger a #21 bit and then fill with JB Weld.

 

Numbered drill bits...dont have any of those. I'm not saying that I won't stop drill the ends of the crack, it just makes me nervous. It will get fixed when time allows

 

if you were to take it off and drill it, how tight would you make that screw next time
i can't believe that cover vibrates in relation to the engine case, sorry

 

The cover does not vibrate in relation to the engine case; the whole dang engine vibrates, and the ends of the cracks are full of stress risers. That will cause the crack to grow over time.
That flex seal stuff is great, for water (sometimes). Not so much for oil.

 

Classy.

 

is a 650 cover the same as a 750 cover?

 

Yep.

 

Is it a gasket or big o ring that seals the center cover onto the clutch cover itself?

 

Both, sort of. It's a rubber gasket.

 

Well thanks to a fellow forum member I now have a clutch cover without any cracks in it. Was extremely careful when I torqued everything down, little by little criss crossing back and forth around the cover. I decided to make my own cover gasket and reused the center cover rubber gasket. No offense to chacal or any other parts source, money is just extremely tight right now. If it leaks, well then I'll be ordering gaskets but the center one looked really good and I was very careful transferring it to the replacement cover. Thanks for all the comments and advice. I'm sure this won't be the last time I post about an issue but trying to keep everything about this bike in this thread so there's a history. Oh and I painted the cover just because I wanted to see how it'd turn out and so far I like it.

 

Well guys, everything as far as the clutch is concerned is working out as it should. There are some more things I need to do to fine tune it's running and all but with life always seeming to get in the way, etc etc. I am currently in the process of swapping in another used rear tire, courtesy of a buddy as the old dunlop isn't far from having no visible tread outline, and I am wondering about the rear wheel bearings. They feel nice and smooth. I am estimating that the bike has between 25-30k miles on it and have no idea when or if they have ever been replaced. Should I just plan to replace them anyway as good practice, or run them since I can find no real reason other than age/mileage to replace them? Also, I am curious if there are any specs, procedure, etc outlined here for what the fall should be on the neck bearings? Thanks in advance, any help is appreciated.

 

Not sure about neck bearings - you can adjust any slack out, but they shouldn't be tight, rough or notchy.
As for the wheel bearings, stick your finger in them, one at a time and rotate, any roughness or slack, change them, otherwise leave alone.
Just my own methodollogy, feel free to disagree anyone.

 

The reason I ask about the neck bearings is that I have a head shake going on at hwy speeds. Upon checking the neck bearings the other night I notice that there is very little to no resistance when turning the bars with the front wheel off the ground. I have come to understand that on most bikes there is a range of spec for the fall off the front end when turning from center. For now I need to snug them up ever so slightly and hopefully over the winter convert to tapered roller bearings. As far as the rear wheel bearings are concerned, i found no cause to replace them so i didn't. I am very happy with the new rear tire. Although i will say i definitely notice the difference in size between manufacturers. Little by little i am turning and tweaking this little 650 into one heck of a sleeper. Thanks for the reply @Minimutly

 

The standard that I use for steering stem bearings is set them tight enough so the wheel stays centered until I push on the end of the handlebar with one finger, at which point it should flop over full-lock to the opposite side.
There should be no forward/aft, or side to side play at the bars, even if they move smothly.

Headshake can be caused by a number of things. Steering stem bearings worn or out of adjustment, swingarm bearings worn, wheel bearings worn, shocks worn-out, forks in need of rebuilding, out of balance front tire....the list does go on.

 

So here I am yet again. Having more troubles with things I thought I had sorted out. This spring I thoroughly cleaned the forks inside and out, replaced seals, new oil, etc. I also installed some tapered bearing in the steering head. Which after some minor adjustments seem to be going ok. I also removed the carbs for inspection, increasing pilot jet size, resetting bench sync, rechecking float height, etc. It runs ok after running sync and colortune. Not 100% happy in that dept. What really let me down was when the clutch started slipping again after just having replaced the friction disks and springs almost literally a year ago. Now I am stuck with deciding what to do. Part of me just wants to push it into the corner and let it sit there but I enjoy riding too much to realistically let that happen. I believe I should replace the friction and steel disks along with the springs again. Trouble is my budget is extremely small after everything I've already done to it this spring. Is it worth it to buy a 40 dollar caltric clutch kit that includes both sets of disks and springs? Or should I just leave it sit until I can afford a Barnett kit? Other than the lack of lining on the old disks I couldn't find anything wrong. The steels are unburned and flat, I haven't measured their thickness though which is one thing I did wrong, and i always checked the cable free play religiously almost every time i ride. Just looking for some thoughts to hopefully get me through this extremely frustrating time with my xj

 

What oil did you put in it?

 

I have been using 20w50 valvoline motorcycle oil. Might be a touch on the heavy side for early spring and late fall riding but that's what most everyone I know around here runs. Doesnt necessarily make it the right choice but that's part of what swayed my decision. I had thought about using 10w40 but I had the 20w50 still on the shelf from last year so that's what I went with. I'm planning to replace both friction and steel disks this time and go from there.

 

If its still cool uout where you are, thicker oil could cause a bit of a slip, however once the engine is warm it shouldnt matter. Did you pre-soak the fibers in the oil for 24 hrs?
Otherwise, only a notched out basket, or weak springs should cause slippage, unless the dics are worn out already.