Aussie XJers

G'day all,

I came across this site awhile ago and found it really good to see local rides as updated by members. basically, if you have a favourite road you like to go scratching on, you list it here so others can see the rating and info. I reckon it's a great sight.
http://www.bestbikingroads.com/

I already added some rides for Western Victoria... not much to choose from out here.

cheers, Gareth

 

Hi all, just thought I would give a thumbs up for Len. I ordered front suspension bushes for my xj900 when I received them one bush did not look right, so I sent a photo of the bush to Len and within the blink of an eye he emailed me back and informed me a replacement was in the mail, and at no additional cost to me.
Great service. Goods travelled from America to me in Australia in a bit over a week, well done.

Gary

 

Geez that's great service and fast delivery.

Were the shipping costs reasonable?

 

G'day all,

Well after procrastinating for years, I finally got my old XJ back on the road, albeit on club plates, but finances don't allow too many bikes on the road. I spent a few hours servicing her, glueing the diaphragms to their respective slides after they moved abit, checked the valve clearances, and gave her a big clean and polish. Gotta say I picked up some Kero and a air sprayer from supercheap auto, and it worked great in removing built up grease and crud. I get to have her on the road for 90 days, which will give me plenty of time to refurbish my FJ.

next time I will be taking the exhaust system off and treating the rust that is taking a hold of the headers, and maybe paint the engine black "in frame".

cheers, Gareth

 

Hmm. I don't think that paint color and stripe pattern were available in North America. Looks nice

 

Nice work Gareth. I bet you're happy to have it back on the road with minimal work?

Stripped the head, cylinders and pistons off mine today in prep for an overhaul. The OP had let fuel drop through the cylinders and then left it in the shed for a while. Rings were stuck fast in 3 of 4 pistons. On the positive side my valve clearances were within spec and the head looks good.

 

Thanks for the comments, if I was to ever re-paint her, I reckon I would stick to the same colour. Almost every XJ650 Seca I have seen on the road has the same colour paint and pin stripping. Must have sold in big numbers here. Never seen a red one either...

Tough work removing the head and barrels, I hope she goes back together in decent order, not too many big delays. I bought a spare recon head and barrels years ago in preparation of "the big job", but she never missed a beat.

cheers, Gareth

 

Best place for parts in Australia? I suspect it might be easier to buy a complete headlight with wiring etc than try to fix mine.
Or anyone got a spare?

 

There are limited parts in Australia but it's well worth looking out for a donor bike or wreckers. What's wrong with yours?

 

Dnardy, I have a spare headlight but they have no attached wiring. From memory, the wiring is in the harness and it just plugs into the back of the headlight. The hassle is all of the rest of the wiring in there. The headlight is a big box used to hide all the connectors for ignition, lights, horn, etc.

 

Cheers mate got it sorted now I think. Housing and dress ring had some issues too but nothing i couldn't fix with spare screws and nuts I found of the right size. Soldered up a broken wire, pretty sure the battery is just buggered and nothing in the bike is drawing power too badly. Not pretty but regoed and enjoying riding it.

 

Hi Guys
This is my XJ900
It's an '85 model and Iv'e had it since '89
The poor old thing has been sitting in a shed for the last 10 years, so I guess it's turned into a bit of a project.
Fuel system first then we'll see how we go from there.

 

Gumtree has some stuff

 

Anybody have a spare brake caliper sliding pin dust boot. Took my calipers apart today, and one had turned to goo. Needless to say, there was not sliding going on. I'll replace it once my order comes in. The urgency is that I want to finish the brakes this Easter long weekend.

 

Sorry can't help with the caliper, if it was just the rubber boot, is it needed for the brakes to work? Of all the things I have fiddled with on my 650, I never needed to touch the brakes. Hell, I am having a hard enough time balancing her carbs, with the YICS tool and without. Bloody nightmare....

 

I finally got around to insuring the bike today, did it through RACV, full comp, agreed value of $3500, excess of $300, all for $72 per year. That's pretty damn cheap, 90 day registration. What are the costs of other members on normal plates? My FJ1100 normal registration costs around $150 per year.

 

I'm just 3rd party, club rego. My bikes just a $1200 shitter.

Speaking of which, I broke a rear blinker off, & would like to change them to smaller or bullet type ones. Anybody have a link to some that fit easily?

 

Gday,
hell, my xj650 was a $300 non runner, the fj was $1000 and well worn, I don't restore 'em, just ride 'em!
I like having the insurance, old bikes are hard to get fixed, and parts are getting rare.

Cheers, Gareth

 

I have a spare one. Let me know if you solved your issue.

 

Hey Gang

I'm cleaning up the garage ready for a move in a few months and have a heap of spares lying around that have to go. Basically a whole bike plus a bit more - less the frame. A stack of XJ900 F and N bits including a solid motor. Before I start taking photos and putting it on eBay etc I thought I'd raise with you all in case you need anything. Let me know.

Cheers
oby