new to me 1985 xj700 maxim! What to fix?

On a whim I bought an '85 aircooled maxim here in VT. It runs and stops, but barely. I was told (and believe) it's been sitting for a few years. I want to tune 'er up, and am looking for a couple answers.

What's the proper spark plug gap, what kind of plugs are recommended?

What battery size should I get?

Does this thing have points? What about a distributor cap?

Rear brake is cable actuated, right? Should I bleed the front brakes with DOT 5 or ??

These things are pretty cool, engine sounds good, and I like the shaft drive. carb clean and valve check, then maybe new tires and fuel lines.

I think I'll easily throw more $$ at it than I paid for it, but fixing can be fun, right?

 

#1>>> you NEED to be able to stop. It's more important than making it go in my opinion

Give us a bit more of a hint why it doesn't stop.
Does the lever come all the way back to the grip? Is the lever hard to move? or is it just mushy?

Then check the rear brake shoes for delamination (do a search)...you do NOT want to stop unexpectedly.

No points, No distributor cap. It's all solid state.

Rear brake adjustment is a threaded rod that attaches to the brake pedal. There is a nut you tighten to take play out. Don't over tighten it or the shoes will drag and may lock up when they get hot.

You need to get a service manual. Or the XJCD (better option IMO)

Also closely check the tires for dry rotting and look at the date code. Blowing a tire will also make for a very bad day.

I know it's a bit clumsy, but search the forums and do a lot of reading. You will find 90% of your questions have been answered many times.

OH>> and welcome to XJBikes

 

Can you tell us if it's the back brakes that are slow, or the front brakes that are slow? That'll help us diagnose a whole lot better. My guess w/o any info is that your master cylinder and caliper are gummed up, so you'll end up doing a flush/rebuild/cleaning of them. If it's the back, your pedal will travel a long way before the brakes engage. You don't want too much travel there.

Let us know!

Welcome to the forums, you'll find just about all the answers you need here, or at least someone that can tell you where the answers are otherwise.

Since you got an 85 airhead, one of the best people to read and learn from is Desinger_Mike, who you've already met, above.

There are other 85/86 700 air- and wet- heads around the VT/NY area, me being one. If you wish to meet some others, PM me and I'll give you more info on a carb clinic coming up that will be only a few hours from you.

Dave F

 

Cool, thanks!

Stopping is for sure more important for than moving. But I need to move before I can stop. The PO and I jumped started the bike, and it ran ok. It smoked alot, but the engine sounded smooth. I'm hopeful that the smoke is mostly from bad gas. Three of the four sparkplugs were really dark, so new ones can't hurt, right? The brakes actually seem to be fine, but I haven't been able to get the bike up to any real speed. All the lights and electrical work, so at least I got that goin' for me.

Seems like to check for a brake shoe delam I have to remove the rear wheel, no? Thanks for the heads up.

I already know the tires are done; they're bald, cracked, and hard as rocks!

Tomorrow I'll put in new gas, new plugs (NGK BP8ES gapped to .8mm (I searched :lol: )) and replace the ES10L-A2 battery that was in there.

I hope my $250 gamble pays off!

 

The good news is that you found this site early in your journey. Now I know you are in a hurry to ride but you should take your time and go through the maintenance steps in the manual before you try to do any serious riding. This will help you ride safely AND help keep you from standing along the side of the road with a broken down bike waiting for someone to pick you up.

Welcome to the site and good luck!

 

Really need to check brakes for delamination....OR you might be lyin in the road with a broke butt....waiting for somebody to pick you up. For $250 you stole it!!

 

I'm having trouble finding any brake shoe delamination threads, little help?

I agree, this site rocks! Everything I know about VW's I learned from thesamba. I have a feeling everything I will learn about XJ's I'll learn from you guys.

Fresh gas, fresh plugs, and a fresh battery coming this afternoon. I'll let you know how it goes!

-Will

 

ha ha, I know!

 

If it doesn't, I'll give ypu $350 for it...

 

You might as well start mentally preparing yourself to pull the carbs. Personally, I would start there otherwise you are going to go round and round with it. Might as well dive in and make them all clean, bench sync, float levels, install and vacuum sync and then she should run good enough to start attacking the other issues.

I think it was Bigfitz that did a good write up on the steps you need to go through to get a bike back on the road. Maybe someone has it in their favorites list.

$250...Damn, I paid more for my air shocks! but they ride so nice 8)

 

ASCII and ye shall receivii.

 

Brakes, carbs (read "in the church of clean" by chacal and "the whole 9 yards" by rickcomatic"), valve shims, and the fuse box is where I would start.... also, I wouldn't worry about the brake delamination.... when you pull the wheel.... you might as well replace the drum brake... its only 40 bucks and it only takes a minute. When I first got mine the brake looked fine. I pulled my wheels to get tires a couple of weeks ago.... and it was starting to delaminate.....

 

Fresh gas, plugs, and battery, and this thing screams! The dark smoke cleared out, and now it idles great. A testament to how well built these things are. Brakes need work now, new fluid, pads, and shoe. New tires after that. Then front suspension. Thanks for all the help so far

 

How many miles on the bike?

Stuff you still need to worry about right away: Valve adjustment; replace brake lines (4-yr life span, bet yours are original) and QUIT RIDING IT until you physically inspect the rear brake shoes for signs of delamination!!! This is a really common occurrence, and it can wreck you.

 

As for DOT 5 , Read the entire thread. Recommend not.

http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=31206.html