Desert Military XJ650 - podded, modded but not cut... First Built

Fellow riders, xj brothers and sisters, since this is my first post I should probably thank to EVERYbody here for asking good and not so good questions, and especially to people who answered them. Yeah.

So. I bought a basket case xj650 about two yrs ago basically to see what a motorcycle engine inside looks like, right. I like to learn. My bike was all in pieces when bought, sized engine, rusty etc. Nobody in their right mind would touch that. Spend a $100 bucks for her.

When I split engine case something "clicked", I was hooked and I said "daaamn! , I'm gonna make this baby run again"...
Many of you guys were one of those kids that have to take every single toy apart? I know I was. I still am I guess. Anyway, you guys are great help. And if anything was easy, it was because of you. Every single component was a project on it's own, no bolt unturned, every part was disassembled to the smallest bits at some point (except the final drive) and cleaned.
Ya!

So you might have some questions, shoot it up. I'll try to answer for this project specifically, but most of it it's just usual XJ stuff.

Bike is 1982 XJ650 Maxim, 35080 km when I bought it. Been riding it for a couple of months now without any problems. I don't consider it finished yet, but she's a rider. woop...woop...

Some pics, hope you like her.

After initial cleaning and blasting several spider families with air...



The moment of being hooked...


...assembled...


... and, say, 20 months later...




Detail ...


Detail 2...


All the work I did myself - solo seat, handles, paint job, tail light/license plate/signals bracket... front tire is rear tire converted with "kit" ...

Saddle bags? Well, I bought.

Check some video me accelerating ... YT


Okay gearheads see you around!

 

Nice work!! I'm assuming with the front/rear wheel kit you have a drum brake in front? What mods did you do to run pods and exhaust?

Very cool

 

He's got a disc up front. You can see it on the left side of the wheel.

 

OK.
Let's get to the elephant in the room first.

Wherever I stop for coffee or something there's always a guy who ask if I re-jet the carbs. The answer is - yes, I re-jeted 'em. I re-jet them according to the Church here for 4 in 1 exhaust, baffled, sea level (calculate a bit).

Pods
Now, the pods are the cheapest Chinese free shipping option. The ones that covers that top oval hole on the intake side of the carbs. When I ordered them I didn't know as mush as I know now (which is not much, but a bit more than nothing lol).

There's a lot of arguments stock airbox vs. pods. My experience is only with pods, as I have bought disassembled Maxim, and I figured I'll have to take carbs on an off for at least 48 times, and pods just make a life a little bit easier this way.
Airbox was designed and engineered for that engine, it's watertight, and no problem unit. Putting it on - easiest and the right way to go.

If you want to go pods way, I'll say you can do it, but read and learn everything this forum has to offer, know in what kind of trouble you can get into, watch videos.
I never had any major issues and my bike is running nice and smooth. I do have some flats, but that don't bother me much. I did however kept my (cracked) airbox, rubber boots and chrome covers just in case my pod adventure would become a nightmare.

I plan to fab one filter for all 4 carbs, but not just yet.

Carbs
...I supercleaned the carbs. That means that they have been completely disassembled at least 4 times, if I remember... That's right all the way to the single bolt. Changed all gaskets, shaft seals, membrane springs, renew fuel enrichment system, basically every inner part renewed, I think floats and air jets were not swapped and I changed all the outside bolts. Rubber boots to engine intake were in good condition.

I used carb cleaner spray. I tried some stuff from youtube too, like lemon juice boiling, vinegar etc. I was fun.No matter what, I had to dig into the dirt. Be warned carb cleaner will change your shaft seals (and all rubber parts for that matter) in to a black gooey slush if not wiped off. You can, however, soften hardened shaft seals with carb cleaner, but clean them off shortly after...

I just bought new ones.

Now, for main jets I put from stock to 118 and pilots to 43. But I'm not sure right now, so... yeah.

Carbs were in crappy condition, they don't look like it, but they were...

 

Another mini project that I was really excited about was the rear to front wheel conversion. There was a guy on Craigslist selling the kit nearby and I had to have it. Drum cover was measured for Virago I think?... but on the other side there is machined bracket that fits with the holes on the rim on one side and holes of the rotor brake on the other. So front disc brake works. There is some playing around to make everything fit nicely, centered and straight.

Adapter kit...

 

Very nice, well thought out and planned (and executed)! Love the engine color. Pin-up gal on the tank is the only way to go.......

 

Thank you guys.

@desmotom Just want you to know I didn't meant you as an elephant in the room, as I was writing that post before I saw your response lol
I was referring to everyday occasion on the parking lots.

So, no hard feelings, ya?

 

No problem! Good info and project. Pin up girl!!

 

The Engine Rebuilt

That was actually the first thing that I bite my teeth into. Everything else just followed. According to previous owner engine was laying on it's side for like 15 years. Was seized because of nr. 3 piston. Anyway, I started to tear it apart after I studied Haynes manual to unconsciousness. Even though I did broke some cooling fins.

I bought complete gasket kit, the one that comes with valve stem seals. Believe it or not, I did the whole (first) disassembly in the kitchen, haha. After 15 years there wasn't a drop of oil inside.

Gears were surface rusted. I bought some eco friendly de-rusting solution, doesn't smell or anything, looks yellow like if you go to nr.1 (washroom), soaked rusty parts for like 24 hrs, and they come out really clean. Later I bought another one that looks green.
I actually de-rust all the parts with that (I don't remember the brand exactly).

Clutch rings looked good almost as new I cleaned, measured them and put them back. So far there was no slipping or anything wrong, but due to its age new clutch rings are one of the things on my list. I want to be on the tight budget, but some things just have to be changed sooner than later.

Engine cases, cam shaft/valve cover, cylinder head, engine/valve head were soda blasted. I was rinsing the heck out of them later as I didn't want to have any soda leftovers in those tiny little oil passages.


Re-threaded all bolts and holes on the engine to get proper torque later.

In the process I did some stupid mistakes, but I don't have any regrets reassembling the whole engine about 4 times lol.
Like one of the bearings slip from that half circled "thingies" that catches the groove of the bearing. I realized that when engine was already on the frame and shifter side cover wouldn't go all the way. I was so pissed I grab the engine from the frame with just hands an put it on the rubber mat on the floor. Before that I was experimenting with some really weird ways to do it.

Some other time was to rebuilt the starter clutch.
I bought a starter clutch repair kit. To unbolt those three bolts I used cordless Makita impact driver, bought replacement bolts which were about 3mm to long, so I ground them of, and use red loctite.

I think other two times were to redo the gasket seal between cases and to rethread holes and bolts.

When working on starter motor I make it really, really clean and make sure it wasn't damaged. Brushes seemed fine but I replaced them anyway.

I also replaced alternator brushes on an clean all the wiring and connections.

Checked all the valve stems for imperfections, they seemed fine, I ground valve seats, and later put all the correct valve shims to get them into specs.


Putting the engine together, timing it right and put it back on the frame is pretty straightforward once you do it 4 times lol.

For the paint I used engine enamel, both black and sandy colors are PlastiKote brand. I used same sandy color for forks, final drive, gas tank, side covers and fork tree (maybe for some other small pieces). Before painting it I cleaned the parts and use etch primer to properly bond the paint to the parts (except the cylinder and valve head just cleaned those, paint 'em and let the heat do the rest)



There's probably a lot of smaller things done that I didn't mention here, but you have a general idea.

 

What is the Poll all about?

So, I was playing with some ideas in the past and for clearer vision I did some photoshop and designing. It might help you guys to see what I have in mind.

Decal


Pin-Up


Sharkmouth



Thank you.

 

Combination of two. The pin up girl with Yamaha 650 on the bomb.

 

I like the decal makes it look like a crazy thing Yamaha made. Next favorite pin up

 

I think shark mouth suits the bike best. Your photoshop skills are high. Now I distrust all your pictures! Lol. Great job saving the bike.

 

pin up girl riding the shark and a yamaha tattoo on her thigh

 

Some people just want it all. sheesh!

 

not really. i didn't mention the bomb (which the shark should have in his mouth, btw)

great looking bike

 

I think you should just go with this:

 

i like it, real nice job, but when i watched the video, the chrome bars jumped right out. paint them bars

 

lol

You guys have some cool ideas. Imagine "Pin-up dude" waving a hat.... haha ..sitting on a bomb (really!?)...

Yo, painting chromed bars would be major PITA. You need to scratch the surface with sanding so the paint can have a grip, somewhere to stick to. And chrome is really hard. I kinda like them bars though.

I did go through a hassle of painting chrome caps on swing arm. Scuffed them with scotch brite, spray paint 'em black (I think Krylon camouflage black - Walmart), and use some of the 2K spray can a.k.a. "spraybomb" (Lordco) in mat finish.

I like 2K spray can clearcoats because they have catalyst inside. There is another valve on the bottom side of the can and you press on it so the catalyst mixes up with clearcoat in a can. Then you have like 48 hours to use it. You basically end up with shop grade top coat, resistant for chipping and scratching.... Ya, not like them Marha Stuart clearcoats lol....

Try it!! It's like $20 canadian per can.

I used same mat clearcoat over paintjob. Nice dull finish. Love it.

 

You need to watch a film...


And bars come in colors now, not just chrome.

 

i think this guy tried to do what you did but he missed
http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/mcy/5712968146.html

 

Definitely worth watching the movie. It's one of the classics!

 

Yuck-- missed by a few miles

 

How would he even get an ostrich on the thing?

 

Oooh, I think I watched that movie.... I just don't really remember it! Probably to smoky, puf-puf give...

Think that guy w fatboy technically did a good job, but by my opinion colors should be connected, showing natural lines of the motorbike, now that red is just scattered everywhere, almost look like he put together one bike out of two - one red and one grey.

I bet if it would be just red, all red, it would look bitchin.

 

Some of Kubrick's best. Hooray1!The inevitability of our demise! Think I better go dust off the DVD! Sometimes, I think the doctor is a parody of Henry Kissinger.

 

Why only sometimes?

Kubrick actually modeled the character on a physicist at RAND corporation. I think Kissinger was still teaching at Harvard when the film was made.

 

Paintjob 1/2

Now, when I was thinking about the paintjob it was more about how many steps I need to do to get the result. Even before I bought the motorcycle I knew I was going with desert camo theme. There are several steps for this custom paint, preparation is 95% of the paint job. First I had to deal with gas tank. It was already stripped out of color, rusty, dent... in almost decent shape.


Started prepping it for body filler /w angle grinder and buffing pad (like scotch brite) to knock off surface rust. (I dealt with inner rust later).


A friend of mine, Mr. Z, offered to help me with preparation as he still had his autobody shop. He did in two hours what would probably take me weeks to clean that kitchen. He told me he used usual body filler for smaller dents and some fiberglass reinforced body filler for bigger ones (emblem dents).


After that: sanding, smoothing it out, etch primer, filler primer, sanding up to 600 grit, clean it, put my desert base color and clearcoat it.

Boom!

Ready for custom.


I use acrylic colors, mixed them up as I imagined (well, kind of ). Knock the shine of the clearcoat with trusty ol' scotch brite for my paint to stick. Masked and paint first brighter part of camo and then repeat with darker part of camo, airbrush some shadows here and there. Ya man, getting there...

 

Paintjob 2/2

Then I make a whole bunch of cutouts for camouflage "dots", I only used brihgter color for those and scatter them around as I feel like it. After that I used brush to ad some sharper shades, and airbrush for softer shades.
Sprayed all parts with mat clearcoat 2K spraybombs...



Still without the black on the bottom half of the tank


The biggest bi$%h was to create an illusion that black line is going super straight with the line of the whole motorbike, as tank surface, especially the front, is constantly bending away from us. I figure it out and it came out perfectly.

I used Krylon (spray can) camo black and then re-coat whole tank with 2K mat finish. Rear fender also desert camo, same procedure except I used plastic primer in this case.


Rear Fender Mod

I saw this mod here on this forum I just don't know where, but I think that guy cut his frame bobber style.

For rear fender I ordered harley sportster /r fender of ebay for about 20 bucks, plastic. It fits really nicely on the plastic half of the stock fender, although you have to cut the end of stock fender and about inch along the sides. Little heavier duty scissors did the trick. Then I just put new fender on top, decided how much is gonna stick out in the back and use 6 rivets to clamp them together. I used two 1" spacers (... oh hell, maybe 3/4"??) between frame (which I kept stock and uncut) and fender.

Connected frame and fender with spacers and pair of nuts and bolts



Later, ya?

 

Phenomenal job. Also, pinup, no two ways about it.

 

Heya guys! Been busy lately like ... I don't know, busy. Thanks for voting


So I was planning to talk about exhaust a little, but I was fooling around again with my camera and did some recordings. If you're interested, here's a second video. Yeah! They say a picture is worth a thousand words. My guess video is probably kinda there lol

Tell me what you think;
does it sound healthy? Should I try change/improve something? Appreciate all opinions.Besides, @MattiThundrrr mnay now be convinced is not a photshop lol




Before I bought this slick, sexy, superlight titanium alloy Akrapovic exhaust I have built custom muffler and have some photos. Allow me to do that thread some other day....

Now...

there's been some shitty times and my engine is now RIP so I am basically in search for another one. I'm kinda bummed, it's a little embarrassing but I guess that's what might happen to 15 yo seized projects.

Maybe a heads-up: If it happened to me it can happen to you... or it might already did.


Quite a story but I'll make it short. Started with "symptom" of carbs not getting enough fuel, sounds like boogh, booogh, uunf, bo-oo-ogzzz ....
... adding gas

OK, I said I'll go back and clean some junk somewhere in carbs I thought. Highway, around 100 kmh started making clacking noise (wtf!?) for, say, 20 seconds, k-bam!, engine dies, clutch lever, pull over, shitload of traffic on highway (kinda scary), find a safe spot... towing, some cops...home.
First obvious sign - #3 piston rod came loose (2 bolts), starts flying around doin' shiat inside and poke through engine case. These are bolts that I didn't want to touch during rebuilt.

Some pics here;

#3 cylinder gone to kazoo


Still on the frame


Hole big as a fist


Piston rod all f@#ed up, bolts torn out



Don't be to concerned of what could happened please.

I am now excited to get a reliable, running engine ... or make it like. Throw it in the frame and ride again.

I learned so much from my mistakes, I can't wait to make another one! lol

I learned a lot from this forum too, so hell ya, thanx!!!

 

Bah! Just slap some jb weld on there, no problems!

 

But I haven't seen JB weld in gallon cans

 

Crying shame all that hard work goes poof . Here is your chance to put a 750 motor in it +hp.
Can't quite fig out from video where in BC you are Fraser valley? ,I'm down in Tsawwassen

 

you had it running from scrap parts. you have our respect!

 

Not only running from scrap parts, but running perfectly.
Used engines are not terribly expensive.

 

Thank you guys for kind words, much appreciated and hello to Tsawwassen.

Been a while now searching for another engine for my project. Finally I got the chance to get one on Wednesday. Actually I got a whole bike.

It's 1983 XJ750 Maxim. 44000 km

Pretty much complete, PO had it for 25 years and moderately well maintained. Just what I've been after.
Bike didn't run when we cranked it, but at least it turned over lol.

Spent two days cleaning carbs and two days swapping engine and such. Put new throttle shaft seals and gaskets on carbs. Jets are all stock, 120 main 43 pilot...

Anyway swapping engine was the main thing these couple of days. Fits perfectly. Checked the connections. I tried both TCI, they both work well but decided to use "new" one from 750. New filter and 2,5 l of Rottela T oil. You know, the one for diesel engines? lol
Also put my refurbished starter motor and my alternator coil (is that what is called, I can't remember).

Compression (1-2-3-4 ) :
130, 120, 135, 135 (psi)

Valve clearances (1-2-3-4 ) :
E: 0.18 - 0.20 - 0.18 - 0.20 (mm)
I: 0.11 - 0.09 - 0.11 - 0.09 (mm)

I got motor running with bench synced carbs, sounds smooth and sweet so far, idles normally. Will see how it works under load but pretty much sure i'll have to re-jet (really??) and figure out what's going on with compression in 2nd cylinder.






So far I've noticed neutral light doesn't work which consequently makes my life little shittier. Have to take stand up and both of my hands were occupied holding the motorbike. Got to bridge it out or something (fix it).

Now, I do have a question.

XJ750 got shifter linkage system so that little rod that shifter attaches to is moved forward in case. I assume swapping it with 650 cover and internal linkage would solve the problem?

I never tried that so I don't know if I have to drain the oil out before swapping back to 650 shifter??

Thank you.

Here are some pics after swap and assembled.





Later!

 

You are correct.... The 750 shifter cover is different than the 650 maxim cover. You do need to swap the whole cover assembly for the one from the 650. You can tip the bike toward the right side to get the oil level low enough on the left to do the swap, but you should have your new cover gasket ready, too...

 

Thanks Hogfiddles, good info (as usual .

 

That #2 cyl may come up after you put a few miles on it and recheck valve after a few hundred more.
And you will love the extra ponies !

 

Holy smokes!!!


I must say guys this few years since I decided to tinker with the motorcycle was such a great experience. Looking for new knowledge, experience, meet new people - I got it all.

Yesterday I swapped shifter cover and internal linkage back to xj650 style. Tilted my bike to the right, like @hogfiddles suggested, it was a breeze

Bench synced carbs @Polock way (the way that #3 butterfly edge sits on that tiny hole in carb).

Read all about whatever I could about engine oils and then decided to do it @k-moe way

And I know I will set up the clutch @RickCoMatic way

...for everything else there's @chacal !


and a lot of guys here I didn't mention with all the ideas, projects, questions, answers, suggestions - just priceless.


If I may suggest something - when refurbishing old carbs... NEW throttle shaft seals are an absolute MUST. Really, just do it!

Now, back to "Holy smokes!!"
Today I finally insured my ride and hit the pavement. Troubleshoot initial gremlins and make a circle around the block. About 2-3 km.
Got back and I was really really f....n unhappy.

Throttle response was terrible and clutch was from some other planet and carbs were, I swear, they were sneezing. Bless ya!
Decided to quickly take tank of. Then I reroute and loosen up throttle cable, loosen clutch cable and put vacuum hose back on the petcock.

After that my bike was so awesome I just couldn't believe it. Thing was just flying through all gears (up), throttle responsive all the way, acceleration, speed was amazing. @Toomanybikes , those extra ponies man, you were right, I love them. I just couldn't stop smiling. When I hit the gas I almost draw a brown butterfly on my shorts. Holy shit!!

And I didn't even try to sync carbs. With stock jets and cheapo chinese pods.

There are at least two things that I have to attend to:
downshifting to second and first gear is a nightmare, really hard.
And starter rattle, which makes me believe starter clutch is in need of renewal... luckily I have refurbished one from original engine.

Thank you ALL.

 

Short story short...


...


...


There!

 

Do you do your own paint or farm it out?

 

I did my own paint Toomany... base color, camo & sharkmouth.

 

Congratulations on a very nice bike and a very entertaining thread dirtmax!

 

Just happened by this thread. That's a damned nice looking ride, and a pretty inspiring story!


Glad to hear you got it all worked out, and yeah, these 750 engines are bloody awesome. Just keep pulling harder and harder

.. Also, while I'm totally in #teampinup, that shark mouth is great!

 

You're the bike I took acceptance for my sport exhaust from ! Love the paint it looks gorgeous!

 

Thank you guys.

I'm happy with my ride, everything works... so far. lol