First Ride!

Woohoo!!!

After a year and a half of working on the blasted thing, I took my Maxim out on its "Maiden Voyage" today.

Took it around town to run a couple of errands, probably a five- or six-mile round trip.

It still has some issues; The idle's "hanging" at 3-3.5 K, so I need to look for air leaks. It "popped" from the exhaust every once in a while, so it may be running a bit rich, so the dang carbs are going to have to come off again. The bike jumps when it's put into gear, so I need to adjust the clutch. I know I need to check the valve clearances.

But all that pales beside the fact that IT RUNS AND I CAN RIDE IT! :mrgreen:

 

Awright! Bet that grin is still stuck to your face...

 

You Betcha!

I was pretty surprised... this thing's got some "Get up and git!"

Now, keep in mind that the only other bikes I've ever ridden are the Yama TW200 (itty-bitty single-cylinder dual-sport) in the BRC, and my dad's '06 Fat Boy (I know, basically as far out to the extremes as you could get). The TW was a fun little bike, but I'm a big guy, and it's way underpowered. The Harley'll actually get going pretty quick (all that torque, you know), but it feels like the heavy bike that it is the whole time. My brother-in-law, who used to ride a 650 Max, told me that I'd take one ride and want to trade it in on something bigger. So I was pleasantly surprised by my first ride. First of all, I really had to get used to the fact that the inline 4 wants to rev way higher than the previous bikes I've ridden (I'd be surprised if the Harley wasn't redlining at the Max's cruising RPM). Once I got that under control, I was constantly startled to glance down at the speedo after starting from a stop and realizing "Whoa, I'm pushing the speed limit already?"

So that's another basket case back on the road!

 

Thats great that you got your bike out. I got my 1100 cranked up and went for a short ride on Saturday. It Felt so good to get out.

 

I believe the popping is due to being lean, not rich. This jives with your high idle. Check for vacuum leaks before yanking your carbs.

 

Bingo!

 

Thanks, guys!

See, this is the main reason I'm glad I bought an XJ. I haven't found any other model of bike that has an online owners' community as knowledgeable, helpful, and gosh-darn fanatical about their bikes.

 

That's not entirely true while I admit these guys are pretty hard core, they are not the only ones... Much as I hate to admit it SOME of the harley pukes are like that. But the other major group that I have seen that are fanatical are the KZ owners.... The kawasaki KZ(XXX) where the XXX is bike size are just as fanatical. I had a 1979 KZ400 which I loved... I almost wish I had rebuilt the engine after I blew it up.... I was younger and stupider then and not as secure in my limited mechanical skills. I bought my 83 XJ750 to replace it, mainly cause I was looking for another group of fanatics and because the KZ400 was a little underpowered., atleast for this 200+ lbs. guy.

 

Update:

This makes a lot of sense now. If I make it a little richer by feathering the choke, it stops popping and the idle jumps much less.

Thanks again, guys, that narrows it down a lot!