Its done end of the road i tried..

Ive done alot of work so far and have spent alot of money the last thing i had to do was to order my rings and gaskets sets i just dont have the money.. i think its worth it but other people dont. Want to find a 750 or 650 engine to drop in. i still needed 200 dollars cant pull it off..does anyone have an engine they could part witht hats not bad for 108.87.. cause thats all ive got left i spent 600 already..

Poor little xj..

 

This should help you out.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FOUR-New ... dZViewItem

About $42 shipped for four sets of rings.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/_Motorcy ... 06.c0.m245

$35.95 plus shipping for a complete top end gasket set.

You're welcome. Now go get her rebuilt over the winter and take your time and get it done right.

 

Tyler, you will find that with bikes of our vintage, $600 is a good start. It took me over $800 just to get my 82 750 Seca safe to ride (I'm still counting on all of the rebuilding that I've got planned for this winter). That is with a $200 purchase price. But look at it this way. It's done, correctly, and I don't need to worry about breakdowns anymore! Older bikes are expensive but once you've done the work, you can enjoy the fruits of your labor! Get yourself a part-time job and save up for your parts. It sucks 'cause it takes a while but the end result is priceless!

 

+1... I bought my 81 750 seca for $200 as well. I got lucky and was able to get her running and riding without more than about another $100 into it .... but now that I've started in doing some more major maintenance, I'm looking at another 3 to 400 before I'm done over this winter.

But the best way to look at it is that once you're done, she won't need much other that gas, oil, and tires!!

 

a car is going to be much more to replace parts for anyway and take more time and space, stick with the bike

 

It's a tough proposition for a kid building a bike. Inside your head is a Stopwatch you're trying to beat. You have to overcome that urge to see progress being made on an hourly or daily ... or even a weekly interval.

The thing to do is not give up.
Especially, if you already are invested in the project.

Speed bumps like not getting the wiring harness from the guy and having to wait for other parts are the dues you have to pay to be a RESTORER!

Restoration of a vintage motorcycle is not an activity which will provide "Instant Gratification".
Quite the opposite happens in reality.

The process gets more demanding and time consuming as you work toward the Finish Line.

Your challenges get more labor intensive and time consuming, the closer and closer you get, to the point where you turn-on the Ignition, with your fingers crossed, and stand there second-guessing yourself about every single move you've made, before thumbing-in the Start Button.

Giving-up and bitching about it IS part of the process.
Boy, you gots to be able to sing the Blues with some real heartache before anybody going to call you a Blues Man.
And, you don't get no bike restored without learning to sing The Blues!
Even if YOU be the only one listening!

Step back.
Clean-up the shop. The Bench. And, ... put all your tools away.
Throw a sheet over the project and take a little break.

Come back and uncover the job and relish about how far you've come.
Not how far you need to go!
You see, ... you're closer than you think!

 

If you quit, you will never be able to go to the local bike hangout and sit and have OTHERS view your hard work. Talking to them will give you lots of pride and satisfaction that you did the work yourself, not some bike shop. Besides if you have a problem you will already have the knowledge to fix whatever is wrong. That and no bike payment will work wonders

Sean

 

If you can't afford to finish it now, set it aside and relish in what you have done already. Save a little coin here and there. It took me over a year to get my xj1100 to a point that it is running and safe to ride. still looks like crap tho. It is worth it to keep it and get it done eventually. Many people that re-do classic cars spend years working on them, a bike can be just the same but so much more rewarding personally when done.

 

SOOO TRUE. It's painful waiting game at best but VERY worth it every time you go out and hit the starter button on your brand-new 26-year old bike. Hang in there, winter is coming; take your time and you'll get it done before spring. Sounds like you're way too close to give up now.

 

Iam selling it as parts. with the money i make this winter and the money i get from this iam buying a running strong reliable xj. in the future i plan to funny restore it.Iam not giving up im seeking and alternate route im still on the bike path just getting something better. and smarter

 

I thought this bike belonged to someone special and that was the reason for the rebuiled?

 

Or you could just buy the parts I found for you and have a strong, reliable bike. You've got $600 in the bike. I'm getting you out the door for less than a hundred more. You've ever got money left over with what you would be spending on gaskets and rings to fill her up a few times. You're not going to get that much out of the bike selling it for parts. You're having trouble getting $200 scraped together and if you're looking to get a nice running bike in the spring? Good luck with that. Spring is when people jack up the prices because it's riding time.

Buy your bikes, boats and Jeeps always at the end of the riding, boating, Jeepin' season. That's when you find good deals.

But if you're not going to buy those rings at that price, let me know. I may buy them myself just to have handy. The ones I originally posted were already bought by someone, but the seller has a .75mm set for the same price.

 

Ok gang, it sounds like the general consensus is that Tyler is making a hasty decision. I also hate to hear of someone having invested so much time, to say nothing of the money, into a dream. Tyler, what will it take to convince you to hang onto your bike? Have you applied Rick's Step-Back approach, it really can help in these instances.

 

Ah the impatience of youth. My 17 yr old son could not wait until our schedules aligned to install the sub woofers and amp in his car. The result was no power to the head unit, no sound to the speakers when the power was resolved and a blown sub woofer amp that he is saving up to fix or replaced. Took me at least 10 hours to get the sound back and clean up the mess (except the amp of course).

Point is Tyler take the good advice. You lose nothing by stepping back for a bit, but you may gain a bunch in the long run.

All of us only want to encourage you to not give up and see it through. Even if it is frustrating and expensive at times.

 

Dude step back and count to 10 before you beat that child and part her out!

Tyler I'd hate to see you stop now. I've read your posts as you've dealt with setbacks and all, and have felt your pain.
I had to Google "Methuen" to see if it really was a place and apparently it's in Massachusetts. Now I know you've got'ta have winter there and soon, so take this time to slow down and reasses. I know this is being the devil's advocate but who's to say you buy this totally put together nice other bike and.... 6 weeks into the riding season something EXPENSIVE happens. Now you've shot your whole wad acquiring a bike that you don't have the money to fix and you miss another year of riding.

Are you going to dump the girl next door you know everything about, and instead get together with Britney Spears cuz she looks good, but turns out to be a lil' crazy and hard to live with?

I know.... but just my thoughts.

 

The absolute WORST thing to do is "Part-Out" the Project.
You might get lucky and somebody buys the Block or the Head.

And then, ... the buying drys-up and you get stuck with a Jig-Saw Puzzle with a couple of pieces missing.
Not good!

You would be better-off selling the entire project to someone looking for something to do.
That way, the guy who buys the whole project will not have to spend time gathering parts and searching forever.
You are selling him a whole Kit.

The Key to making the sale is making it a Package Deal.
Carefully writing your ad copy and accompanying the copy with some very well composed (staged) photographs.

Make it a Win ~ Win situation.
Price it to break-even or make a modest profit.
Hook-up with a Restorer
Don't just Nickel and Dime it down the drain.

 

Iam out of money. This is way to exspensive iam done with my engine.and i know after i do that engine more will come it always does. I wish i could find another engine for sale and i wish i could get my damn wiring harness after 2o days of waiting...

does anyone know where i can buy an engine. on here or around ma/ nh if so please tell me. i need help i WAS convinced i was building this come hell or high water until i heard the price and its just not worth putting money into an engine i dont even know will run after i do this.

 

what would you call reliable xj?? any you find will be 20 something years old and need something unless you pay 2,000 or so but you will still find things that need to be done. I bought my X for $900, needed tires asap it didn't even drive it out of the garage til they were replaced. So price was $1050, carbs weren't quite right another 35-40 bucks in miscelanious and a few hours, The seat was ripped small I know but couldn't stand it. Exhaust had holes in the mufflers $85 bucks to have some nice stainless patches welded on that you can't see at all unless you are under the bike. all said and done I have about 1500 invested with the price of the bike. Not bad but I know what I have. This winter being I am at the mileage I now have to remove the valve cover and do the Valve shim adjustment. Stick with it man even if it takes longer than planned otherwise you are going to be starting the cycle all over again.

 

You rebuild the engine for less than $100 with the links I gave you. You've pretty much got a new engine if you do it right. Or take a chance on a used one that may or may not need to be rebuilt soon. If you've already got the engine tore down, it's easier to rebuild than drop in a different one anyway.

I'm definitely not the most patient person around. I cut some corners when putting everything back together (especially on the carbs) because I wanted to get on the road a few times before the winter hit and I've got a few issues that I've discovered on my rides of 250 and 200 miles over the last couple of weekends. Fortunately, the weather has turned cold and I have all winter to take care of it. Once spring comes and with the work I have planned over the winter, I'm going to have a bike that is going to run and look like new. Five months and a bit of money here and there is going to get me to that goal.

Just remember, you don't have to do everything all at once. Pace yourself with your time and money and you'll be rewarded come spring.

/last post on this subject