My First Bike-- 81 Maxim 550--FINISHED

Re: My First Bike-- 81 Maxim 550

Ahh it wont be to bad. The po of mine painted EVERY THING... Over spray on everything lol. Tires, wires, the old headlight,the sight on the mc and engine oil level lol.

 

Re: My First Bike-- 81 Maxim 550

Spent the afternoon tearing her down some more. Not too many setbacks, although I was just about sick every time the exhaust flange nuts "cracked". Pulled the exhaust, rear wheel, chain guards, and front fender. Problems so far: My exhaust collector is toast, rusted out pretty good, and one of the mufflers is stuck on there still. Can someone help me out, a torch will ruin the chrome if i try to loosen it off that way, right?
Pulled the rear brake apart, lots of dust built up, not sure if that counts and de-lamination or not.
You can see in the one pic that there is a fair bit of build up around the exhaust ports. Should I be anticipating pulling the head off to get rid of similar deposits on the valves and seating? I was hoping not to pull the engine apart too far if at all.
Also curious about the colour of the area around the front sprocket. It's really sticky, almost like a rubbery paste. Any insight?

Thanks for the help, enjoy!

 

Re: My First Bike-- 81 Maxim 550

Looks as if everything should clean up nicely. Lots of anti-seize on those studs!

 

Re: My First Bike-- 81 Maxim 550

Any thoughts on whether that's an acceptable amount of carbon build-up on the exhaust ports? Or whether a torch will ruin the chrome on the muffler if I try to heat it up to get it off?

 

Re: My First Bike-- 81 Maxim 550

 

Re: My First Bike-- 81 Maxim 550

Man, I hope you know where everything goes taking it apart like that! Keep it organized or you will regret it!

I wish I had the place to do the same thing though, its too much fun.

 

Re: My First Bike-- 81 Maxim 550

Haha ya no worries Ravenz, I got everything ziplocked and labelled, and I got the manual and I've been taking pictures of everything as I disassemble. It is a blast!

 

Re: My First Bike-- 81 Maxim 550

Awesome! Thats how I do it too, but it sucks if you abbreviate something and forget what it means!!! haha Keep us updated! What the plans so far?

 

Re: My First Bike-- 81 Maxim 550

Overhaul for the most part. Everything is probably "safety-worthy" but I figure I can't ride it until spring anyways so I might as well work my way through her, teach myself a few things and tune her up the way I want. The to-do list so far is carb rebuild, petcock rebuild, new fuse box, in-line fuel filter, and then an overall cleaning and re-paint. Hoping to have it on the road by march or april (whenever the snow breaks), but official D-Day is may 13 for the Port Dover ride.

 

Re: My First Bike-- 81 Maxim 550

exhaust build up isn't really an issue, go at it if you want with a wire brush but it's not really an issue. I'd be more concerned about running rich.

 

Re: My First Bike-- 81 Maxim 550

Brakes? Rear shoes, front pads, fluid, hoses?

How old are the tires?

(if you're serious about riding to PD13.)

 

Re: My First Bike-- 81 Maxim 550

Brakes look good, like I said, a bit of dust build-up in the back. Probably going to do a caliper and MC rebuild as well, lots of wear left tho. The tires were within the last 2 or 3 seasons. Still lots of tread. Fitz, do you have a link to one of the delam threads with pics so I can be sure?

 

Re: My First Bike-- 81 Maxim 550

Thought I had already posted it, but here's is my main concern at the moment. Thoughts? Will she hold or should I replace?

 

Re: My First Bike-- 81 Maxim 550

Seems fine, I dont see any holes. It looks like it has some surface rust, but it doesnt seem as though it is enough to weaken the metal. Clean it up and see what it looks like. As of right now though, I wouldnt be concerned.

 

Re: My First Bike-- 81 Maxim 550

I'm just thinking with the broken off tabs on the 2 inlets it might not seal properly... Maybe I am just being anal...

 

Re: My First Bike-- 81 Maxim 550

You're not being anal and it might not seal properly. You're missing more than tabs, the clamps are welded to one of the tabs on each spigot and they're what's missing too.

You can try it and see; I would be concerned that it will leak over time.

 

Re: My First Bike-- 81 Maxim 550

Ya, I've got the clamps at home, although I dont think they came off in one piece. Kind of a redneck fix but I was wondering if some gear clamps would work?

 

Re: My First Bike-- 81 Maxim 550

Also considering getting or making a couple of "Y" pipes to go from 4 to 2, instead of a whole collector box. Will this cause any problems with the back pressure? Has anyone done this before?

 

Re: My First Bike-- 81 Maxim 550

I made 2 2-1 merges for my 650 over the winter. Plenty easy enough if you've got a welder and some simple math skills. Depending on the length you want the merges to take up it's only a couple bucks for the tube.

The mufflers and the rest of the pipe will effect the back pressure too.

I had to up my main fuel jets 2 sizes. I went from a 4-1 to a 4-2 through FLH harley mufflers.

 

Re: My First Bike-- 81 Maxim 550

I've got the stock mufflers, the only thing I would be changing is the collector box to Y pipes, same length.