amatuer mods

Hey guys I have an 82 XJ 750J maxim, plan on doing some minor mods to her, by minor I mean no chopping the frame , however I do plan on swapping out the rear fender for a another yet to be located, and chop it off at about 1 maybe 2 o'clock, I want it to hug the tire nice and close, if possible without swapping the shocks out for struts, I know that means tacking it on at the base of the swing arm where it hooks up to the frame and putting a bracket on somewhere, I was thinking of welding it a few inches father down the swing arm. not to tough till I remembered that the drive shaft and the swing arm are the same unit, scrap that idea I figured, unless you guys have a better idea, if not I may contemplate struts.

I also plan on having a couple cover fabbed for the sides and top where I plan on installing a single seat. any suggestions for a seat? under the $125 mark? I'm a taller person +6' with longer legs so to cover up the gas bracket and seat me comfortably I figured it should be roughly 16 inches long, is that to much to ask?

This bike also has the full console with the speedo and tach along with a half dozen other warning lights and sensors, I dislike this bulky item :evil: along with the large square headlight and auxiliary light, I would like to switch those out for an after market tach and speedo and do away with the console and extra wiring that I ssume goes with it all, any tips? things to watch our for??

Again I'm new to the chop thing and hope to turn this bike into something I can be proud of. hopefully I can get a series of pics taken to show what little progress I make.

Thanks everybody and any suggestions are welcome

PS feel free to throw a couple paint schemes out there I'm still looking

 

I have the same bike and was thinking about some of the same mods. The main thing I would like to change and do not think it should be too bad except maybe mounting is going from a square headlight with the square aux to a round headlight with 2 smaller running lights (not sure if I want to attach to the forks so the running lights turn with the steering). I was thinking of more of a two up seat for myself though.

 

I have a 550 and have changed out the turnsignals on it. Some say that is foolish given the visibility of those huge old things. Mine were busted (due to the po laying it down) and I figured it was time to go aftermarket. I know some guys who do the whole LED light thing so they can put a higher watt headlamp on. I'd love to do that one. It always seems so dim to me. As for other mods, there is always bolt on things like handlebars, mirrors, exhaust, and pod filter (even though thess mess with jetting). I'm almost done with my chop job, and I have stripped about 60 pounds worth of stuff off the bike. I thunk it looks much better too.

 

saltycity
if your headlight seems dim try running a wire right from the battery to the headlight to see what difference there is(put a fuse in the wire)
there's a small loss in every connector switch and relay
if you like the results, think about your own relay with heavy wire, then you can put in a hotter light too
the turn signals don't need to be l e d's 'cause there not on that much the battery should handle it

 

I have an idea for a seat ..actually two ideas I used. I have one of the little solo seats with springs on the back that works good for short trips and soaks up the bumps.
And for long road trips, I have a seat from a Harley Sportser mounted on it now. It's a perfect fit and took about 15 minutes to mount. It's like it was made for the bike.

 

from what i read the sportsters seem t be suprisingly compatible with the xj'sit seems, if i recall the shocks off of a sportster,10.5" i think fit the xjs and drop the back end down two to three inches right?

PainterD any suggestions on welding a set of struts onto the swing arm? so i could keep the shocks, and have the rear fender hug the tire? and its one wasn't going to hard tail but still changing the rear set up and lights where would you put the plate?

Thanks
Aaron

Any tips out there on removing the console and replacing it with a simple tach and speedo?

 

On my first project, I mounted the plate on the side of the bike (on the axle bolt) and shortened a boat trailer fender.
I also had one mounted on the fender with a bracket I fabricated out of aluminum.
That's what it used to look like:



Then I took that fender off and mounted a bobtail fender from a Harley on it and used a truck LED tail light in the rear. I like this alot better:



I made solid struts for it, but after my first ride, I removed them. It was just too dam rough riding. The potholes are too numerous to avoid them all and eventually the rear end is off the ground and my back had to take the shock. Not good. PD

 

don't those tassles get annoying?

 

I'm sorry guys i just read through my last post and realized its REALLY hard to read, sorry it was late, after a really long shift.

Round #2

PainterD AWSOME looking bike, in both pics!!
I do have a couple questions for somebody with a little experience in modding bikes.

1)PainterD how is that chopped fender attached at the bottom?
my ideal is to have a fender that is chopped a little farther back than yours, maybe 10 o'clock, from this view.

And if possible have it hug the tire real close. I understand this means adding struts OR if possible attach the fender to the swing arm in two places. is there any way to safely weld on the swing arm, to create a second contact point for the fender?

2) in the second photo what shocks are those? I have the same set as in the first pic and prefer the open springs look, I also want to lower the rear end, I thought I read that Harley sportster stock shocks would fit and achieve this, am I remembering right?

3) are there any pics of the plate mounting in the first picture?

4) i plan on putting on some low rise drag bars or something similar, and i am afraid that the console (speedo/tach/warning lights) is gonna look terrible towering over it, especially after i swap out the square headlight, for a round one.

Thanks for the patience and such really appreciate the help.

Aaron