Advice needed - looking at XJ650 this week...

Ravenz07 does nice work... Painted my bike and he went the extra mile...

 

Thanks. I think your resto post is where I saw it, I just couldn't remember.

Think I'm try out tskaz's advice first, though. cheap is good :lol:

 

Ask them to use gas-safe clear coat on the tank.

If you don't you will probably regret it the first time you fill up.

 

That is the main problem with my gas tank right now......

Looks like they overfilled the tank and I got a big dull spot on the right side of my tank where the gas spilled.

 

Congrats on the bike, let the fun begin.

Funny thing I noticed (not only from your posts earlier, but in other places as well). Is quite often people ask if they can keep up on the highway... I guess it must come from being around some of the v-twins...

I have a baby Max ( XS400, a twin, pretty much half an XJ ) at and it can do fine on the highway.... but I think the confusion comes as my wee little 400 has about the same horsepower as an 800 V-twin.

Back to topic, have fun with the XJ, once the work is done they are rock solid.
I've had my bike running for a bout 5 years as a daily rider, only let me down once ( stuck float one day on my way to work)... was going to say twice, but I had to get a new battery this week, not the bikes fault

 

I'll blame it on misinformation. Other bike owners told me to get something 750 or above to keep up with other the others I'll be riding with. They were concerned that anything below a 750 wouldn't even be able to get up to speed on the interstate or keep up on highways even.

But after I got searching, my dad and an old friend told me that some of their first bikes were 450s and around that size and that they're speedy little things.

I think it's a common misconception. other people (who apparently have not had a smaller bike) just got me paranoid with their assumptions on engine size.

But you know what they say about assuming.... (if you don't, I can't post it cause it has a curse) :wink:

 

Also, my grandpa (who at the age of 80 toured the US on his Honda Shadow) wanted me to get a 250 :lol: Where's the faith, grandpa? :roll:

 

I've got a buddy with an R6. He "can't believe that old POS can keep up" with him.
8O

I'd probably get the same reaction from a Harley rider, but I've never had one catch up to me.
:twisted:

 

That sounds like a challenge I'll have to take up with the Hubby after my riding classes and when the bike is ready :twisted:

 

That 650 has more get-up-and-go than you'll ever really need. When you can be doing 70, drop it into 4th gear to pass someone, and if need be still drop to 3rd, and you're just hitting the middle of the power band by then, you got plenty of power to spare.

Dave F

 

I can't wait to ride it. my first bike.. don't know what I'm doing. Hubby teaching me little by little, but haven't taken it out of first gear yet, LOL. Classes are in July... long time to wait... but plenty of time to fix it up!!! What a conundrum.... Just sitting there in the garage, looking all beautiful (to me at least) and all I can do is sit on it. :x

 

Hey, that's fine. You're still getting little lessons on how it feels. Mine sat here almost two years before I even started it up. Then I'd go out and start it up, and just let the clutch out enough for it to move forward a LITTLE, then I'd let it roll back to it's spot. That was enough. Eventually I started riding circles around the house. Probably a week or more til I even shifted once. Eventually on to the road, now fastforward 10 years.......I'll ride anything anywhere, and about 20 bikes either in or have graduated from the collection.

Yeah.....you'll be here soon!!!!!!

Dave Fox

 

I suggest you also sign up over here

Beginner Bikers
A bunch dedicated to getting riders off on the right foot.
They are big advocates of the 250 as a starter, as they are more forgiving to newbie mistakes.. But a lot of rider coaches and such are on hand to offer assistance to any questions. And Capt' Crash is there as well ( look for his instructional videos on You Tube)

 

I think this whole "need a liter bike for the highway" idea is due to a lot of riders having started in the last 10 years or so after bigger bikes were more widely available and motorcycling became kind of a mainstream status symbol instead of an enthusiast's activity. Add to that the dealer incentive to sell more bike, and we have a lot of people with not a lot of experience telling people they need an 1800 to keep up with a Prius.

 

OR ...

The fact that, for cruisers at least, they have continued to get larger and heavier..... so need a larger power plant to get them going. My little thing comes in under 400 lbs,
I'm surprised how anaemic some of the 600-900 range v-twins can be....
compared to a SV 659 for example, (light and quick)

 

That's a very good point.

 

Oh, and that thing hogfiddles said about letting out the clutch just enough to roll forward and then let it roll back to the start ( by pulling in the clutch lever) EXCELLENT practice for learning where your clutch engages. I came to a bike after a year or so on a scooter... no clutch. I used this technique a lot to get used to it. sounds a bit silly, but it really works. Once that becomes comfortable , then you can move on to slow speed riding and practice circles and figure 8's. It's easy to go in a straight line, slow speed control is a must have survival skill/