Fuel tank on my Maxim X

Well I am new here but have tried to search the prior posts so I dont ask the same question. I have not found my answer so Please direct me to my answer of help me.

I have a 1985 XJ700X and have been trying to restore it to a clean useable condition. I had the fuel tank dipped and electrified to clean ALL rust off of it but when it came back it had over 100 pin holes in it. i bought a bondo glaze that says it is for this aplication and treated all holes. I then applied Red-Kote to the inside to seal it. I did a water test and after 1 hour I had no leaks. I painted the tank and installed it on my bike. After having fuel in it overnight I noticed small bubbles in the paint from the pinholes.
I have put to much money in the bike to just get it running and ready to ride. I don ot have the extra to buy a new tank this year so I need to try to repair this 1 and repaint it.
I have the Red-Kote inside so braising is not an option. The Glaze didnt hold. does anyone have any ideas of what I can do to get this bike on the road? Will JB Weld work? and most of all What other model tanks will fit this frame?

 

Not sure about other tanks but Cream should go over your coating...It's pretty think stuff. I had a vision once that had pinholes on the tank paint just 3 days after i bought the bike. They had painted it and forgot to clean the tank and seal it I guess. I grabbed some cream hardner and went to work. It never leaked again. That stinks that you had bubbles in your fresh paint though.

 

Well I looked it over good and I belive I have discovered one problem. This Red-Kote stuff is NO GOOD. I drained the gas and it is pink. the paint on the tank is black metalic and now has dark red streaks in it where it bled through. I coted the tank 2 weeks before any fuel touched it so I know it had enough time to cure.

 

That sucks!
Hope you didn't run that gas through the motor.

 

You will probably need to have the tank redipped to get rid of the red cr@p.
Then start over, start with creme 1st then check the tanks seal and if its good then paint it... sorry man

There might be a tank come up on fleabay that you might get cheap!??

The tanks that are right for your bike are only 1985 and 1986 XJ700N and XJ700X
any others wont look right on that bike, the insignias wont be right

again, sorry man

 

I found a cheap one on fleabay. So im keeping my fingers crossed.

as far as running it through the motor.... I put fresh fuel in it and drove it about 5 miles. then parked it and the next morning is when my nightmare started. I havent ran it through it since.
So what is this cream stuff? where do I find it?

 

Where? All the tanks I've seen there aren't for the X.

 

I bought one from Pinwall cycles on e-bay, they didnt have it listed but I called them and they had one that I thought was a pretty nice tank.
I didnt say this $100.00

 

That's a nice deal you got on that tank, Varuum. I was thinking about snapping that one up myself... Since I'd already bought the backrest and luggage rack from the same seller!! :wink:

 

Will let you know about the JB Weld just put some on my tank tonight.

Just noticed it start to leak yesterday got one small seaping patch so hope to have got it early enough

 

Looks like I spoke too soon:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Parts-fo ... enameZWDVW

 

Is that the correct front and rear seat for an X? I believe that's a non-X (and perhaps, a 1985-only non-X 700) seat?????

Bueller? Anyone? Bueller?

 

If you're talking about the seats from the seller I just linked to, you're right -- something looks odd. The rear one looks okay, but the front one looks like it might have been recovered at some point, at least. I'm under the impression that the X and non-X seats from that model year were similar, if not identical.

 

From my limited, meager research, I think that the 1985 non-X 700's used that single-button front seat with the "taut" vinyl, as well as the no-buttons rear seat section with taut vinyl.

I believe that ALL of the 1986 XJ700 models (X and non-X) used the "wrinkled" leather-look setas, with the 4-button front design and the two-button rear section.

I'm just not sure what the 1985 X-models used.

Or, for that matter, how to explain this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 0201758337


or this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... %26fvi%3D1

 

You may very well be right.

The way you describe it, the same as the 86. The parts fiche makes no distinction between model years, so take that how you will.

 

my 85 maxim x from 2/85 had the 2 button rear and 4 front.
you cant see it great but these are the seats that were origionaly on it.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... otohosting

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 51861&rd=1

 

Hey Varuum, thanks. So did both the front AND the rear seat have the "wrinkled" or "loose" vinyl material? The rear seat in the auction that you listed above appears to have a reall "taut", stretched vinyl cover similar to what the non-X models had (but with the 2 buttons).

 

Both are Tight. although they look like pillowtops They are pulled taut.
if you look at the sides fo the one from pinwall you will see it raises "billows" up on the edges. mine just flows over.
also the back of the rear seat says yamaha (faded but its there)

 

So both your front and rear seat are taut?

Have you ever seen a '86 seat on an X? They appear to have a very loose-fitting, "wrinkled" material........maybe that's the difference int he '85 and '86 seats, the taut or loose vinyl?

And yes, if your rear seat has the YAMAHA stencil on the back, then it's an '85 seat ('86 models had a YAMAHA decal ont he rear fender in place of the seat stencilled lettering).

 

Yes both are taut.
No I have never seen an 86. in fact untill I bought this bike as a junker I had never seen an xj700 or x of any year.
This bike was ready for the crusher... I bought it for $300 and thought I had made a bad deal. I am just now figureing out what I have here.

 

I hope this uploadds right

 

and this

 

They did....but your seats appear to have no buttons at all?

 

they are recovered without buttons. As I started restoring this bike I just wanted a clean useable bike. In fact over the winter I plan to do some body modifications to make it 1 of a kind. So the lack of buttons wasnt an issue.

 

Chacal,

For what it's worth my 85 also had 4 buttons front and 3 rear and one button on the high pad on the sissy bar. It was the snug fitting vinyl on mine Yamaha on the back of the rear seat and Maxim on the back of the sissy bar pad I have had to recover my front seat as well but I did put the buttons back so it is kinda stock.

Varuum,

U also do not have the correct rear rim for that model year either but if you are customizing away from stock it doesn't make any difference. The X's had a mostly closed rear wheel with five open cutouts like a reverse % spoke pattern. THe aircooled(non X) had a open five spoke design which I kinda like but Oh well what I got is what I got.

 

Here're pics of the wheels:

The first two pics are of the stock MaxX wheel; the third pic is of the air-cooled 700 wheel...







FYI, there's a MaxX rear wheel on eBay right now, if you want to go with the original.

 

Len.

Strangely, I have two '85 Xes and they both came with different seats. One had the 4-button pillowy front and the 2-button rear while the other had the smoother taut-fitting one-button front with no buttons on the rear. Admittedly, I haven't had the bikes since new but I'm pretty sure the 4/2-button combo is original to the bike and have no reason to believe that the other bike is anything but stock.

Is it possible that one of the seats was an upgraded factory option?

And that over-stuffed, 4-button monstrosity is hideous but sure looks comfy! I'm sure the GF would love it.

 

thx for the pic Max.
Man I would have loved to had the air cooled rear wheel on mine oh well too late now its all getting a face lift.

 

Max, That is a sharp bike!!!
I know this is alot to ask but would you be able to take a pic and post it of the top of the rear fender with the seat off? Removing the rear seat is one of the mod's I am wanting to do to this bike but I want to keep the ability to reatach it and have it look good to. Im a DIYer so im trying to get some ideas on how to do this.

 

Sure I can get a pic, but I haven't done anything to the fender so it's not all that pretty with the seat off. One thing I was considering was taking a spare rear seat and shaping it down into a little faux-mustang look. The GF doesn't think much of that idea, but I'd have the stock seat to swap back on for two-up riding. It's about time she started riding her own bike anyway... :wink: