Considering 1982 XJ650 - Purchased!

Greetings to all, first time poster here.

I am getting my hands dirty with basic motorcycle maintenance, taking a course at the Crucible in Oakland. It's covering everything up to and past valve maintenance. Very hands on, it's really cool.

Currently I am riding a 2005 Yamaha FZ1. The thought of doing serious work on it scares me - besides the added complexity of newer bikes, it would be an expensive bike to learn how to take apart and fix up. Too many opportunities to FUBAR it as well.

I'm looking for an older, reliable, easy to work on bike with plenty of OEM and after market parts still available. One of the bikes I am considering is the XJ - lots of fans, great rep., and I am used to the inline fours. . Please look at this one, and tell me what you think:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/mcy/438677775.html

It seems like a reasonable price. The owner has the paper work in hand, and he claims it still runs great. You can see in the photos the handlebars are a bit rusty, and I bet there are other problems with a bike that's 25 years old. Perfect for what I want. My main concern is that it hasn't hardly been ridden for two years.

After I get it "fixed up", I plan on either keeping it as an alternative ride, or perhaps selling it, hoping to at least break even on the deal.

Do you guys think this is good deal? Are the XJ's easy to work on, easy to learn maintenance with?

Thanks, and much appreciative for any info!


Dave

 

Re: Considering 1982 XJ650

I'd pay it. If it passes inspection, of course. I'm not too crazy about the exhaust, but that's a personal choice. The stock looking seat? It appears to have been recovered :?:. I'd definitely would check the rear brake shoes. Both XJs of bought had "sat" and I found the shoe linings laying in the drum. You want to find this BEFORE riding the bike. Not after the rear wheel locks up going down the road at 30mph. Other than that, she's not a bad looking machine.

 

Re: Considering 1982 XJ650

I hope you come on over to the dark side.
XJ are great, easy to work on, and fun.
Granted thats all relative to what you got now.
But all in all welcome to the xj site, and hopefully soon to the xj family

 

Re: Considering 1982 XJ650

Thanks.

Is it possible to briefly explain how to look for shoe linings in the drum? I am not at all familiar with drum brakes, so I hope that's not a stupid question. My concern here is that I will have about 80 miles to ride to get it home. Having the rear lock up while on the Bay Bridge is not something that would be good.

 

Re: Considering 1982 XJ650

I'm not too fond of the stock master cylinder on the low bars - reservoir ends up at a pretty steep incline.

I always love it when ads lie about the Blue Book Value. Kelly Blue Book shows an 82 XJ650 Maxim in good condition dealer list at $985. That's for a reconditioned unit in excellent condition. Trade in value $585. Having said all that the Blue Book seems low to me.

The aftermarket pipe likely means someone has messed with the jetting in the carbs.

$650 isn't too far out of the ballpark.

Oh, rent a trailer - don't ride it home.

 

Re: Considering 1982 XJ650

I second that! Here's an exploded view of the rear wheel. To get to the brake shoes, you need to put the bike up on the center stand. Then remove the cotter pin from the rear axle nut. Then remove the nut and washer. Loosen the pinch bolt on the rear fork (right-hand side) and slide or drive out the axle. You will also need to remove the cotter pin and nuts/washers from the brake shoe backing plate bar (this bar keeps the backing plate from rotating with the rear wheel). Once all of that is removed, you should be able to pull the backing plate away from the rear hub and have a look. If the backing plate doesn't come all the way out, you may have to pull the rear wheel off its splines, but I'd save that for home as it can be a real you-know-what to get reinstalled. The backing plate should pop far enough off so you can do a thorough inspection of the linings.

Hope this helps...

 

Re: Considering 1982 XJ650

I'm not sure I can do all that at the seller's residence.

Assuming I keep my foot off that rear brake - how likely is it the lining would come loose and lock up the wheel?

I don't have a trailer, but suppose I could do a U-haul if there's a real danger.

 

Re: Considering 1982 XJ650

I tend to agree with MiCarl. Regardless of how well it runs and so forth, you will endup (especially if you hang out here on this website for any length of time) spending a few hundred bucks fixing things that "need fixing".

Because of the stated issues and the unknowns I would think $550 would be in the ballpark. Perhaps $100 more if, when you get there and look it over and drive it you have a really good feeling about its basic good points and the way it runs and shifts.

In any case... go look at it... that will give you some experience in looking at these bikes. Come back and tell us what you you saw.

 

Re: Considering 1982 XJ650

If your goal is to get a project bike, then I'd say this one is a great project. It isn't beat to peices, it's just old and neglected. He isn't asking too much, but I might still be inclined to dicker with him just a little; he's been sitting on this awhile and may be getting anxious to move it. If you really want to dive into it, I think this bike is a good candidate for a total restoration, and might even be a dandy chopper project. I agree with the trailer idea. 90 miles is a long way to ride a used bike with no dealer warranty.

 

Well, I took her home yesterday. It made the trip fine - Santa Rosa - San Rafael - Oakland - San Rafael (home). About 90-100 miles, through some hairy traffic (Bay Area had a HUGE weekend - Fleet Week, fairs, parades, and a free (!) bluesgrass festival in GG Park). Traffic jams everywhere.

Mechanically, it was a b**** to start at the seller's house. Well, a 25 year old bike that hasn't been ridden much for at least two years, with a battery at least three years old. With the help of a charger/starter, it cranked up. Once warm, no problems starting, and the engine... while rough in spots, easily cruised.

Biggest problem - front brake either was basically non-existent or LOCKED. It only affected me once, when I hit the brake a bit hard at a stop light. I laid a bit of rubber and did some miner S's, but did remain upright. It turned out to be easily fixable - a bunch of crap in the brake lever. I pulled the lever, cleaned it out, oiled the return spring a bit and now the brake works much better. Not great - the rotor is still pretty smooth, but it doesn't brake quite evenly. Maybe the pistons.

Good news is the rear brake is damn good. Very smooth and effective. Go figure.

More good news, I got the bike for $550. In my area, getting a running bike that's not 50 years old, and can drive away for a long trip... I think that's a fair deal.

I'll make another post in the XJ Chat section. I have a few questions, more than a few really , and the bike does need a good bit of work.

Thanks for the kind advice guys. The journey is just beginning.

 

How exciting! And good for you.

Welcome to the collective. Resistance is futile. :lol:

 

Good score and make sure you get those brakes cleaned up, your life could very well depend on it!

 

AWESOME! Kewel that you were able to bump down the price a bit, and kudos for having the kohonas to ride it home! Looking forward to reading about your progress in chat, and do post some pics for us! Congrats!