New '82 XJ650 - A Couple Questions

Hello everyone,

I just bought an '82 XJ650 with about 21,000 on the clock. It starts up and runs pretty good but I've got a couple questions:

- What's the normal idle RPM for one of these things? If I start the bike cold it idles somewhat lumpy around 1,000 RPM but it stays running. Once it heats up it's pretty much a steady 2,100 RPM. Is that too fast for an idle when hot?

- When the bike is hot (and idling around 2100) I hear a pretty steady rhythmic "pop" coming from the left exhaust pipe. Is that a miss? The bike still pulls and doesn't seem to hesitate at all under WOT, it's just a mild audible sound I noticed. Something I should be worried about?

- I don't have a manual yet, so what would you say are best practices for a brand new owner? Should I go ahead and just change the oil and stuff now? Any other adjustments/inspections I should do before riding it daily?

- How reliable is the shaft drive on these things? I've owned a few Harley Sportsters but never a bike with a shaft drive.

 

The bike should idle around 1200 RPMs when warm. Since it is new to you, you may want to go through the maintenance routine for carbs, valve clearances, and mixture (actually how much air goes in the mix as it is a single screw per carb). The Church of Clean how-to on the carbs will give you a good understanding of these carbs. Once done with this basic maintenance, assuming the boots are not leaking air, your bike should run a lot smoother. As far as the reliability of shaft drives, I haven't seen any concerns with them. Mine is in great condition with around 35K miles on it.

Here's the link for the Church of Clean: http://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/in-the-church-of-clean.14692/

And for more reading, the Information Overload Hour (took me days, but I was really new to bikes): http://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/the-information-overload-hour.27544/