New to XJ Bikes

Hey everyone, Im brand new to this site. Ive always wanted to rebuild an older bike, so the other day I stumbled upon an 81 XJ 650 on craigslist for 300 bucks and the rest, as they say, is history. I've already learned more about bikes in the last two hours of cruising the forums than I have in the last 5 years ( Im a helicopter guy, kind of a different beast) Im planning on ripping everything apart down to the frame and going through every piece, so Im sure Ill be spending some serious time on here. Well, I just wanted to introduce myself and let you know Im super stoked to have found a site with as much info as this one. Take care

 

Welcome! With this site you can take your bike apart and put it together piece by piece.

 

Certainly came to the right place Dan. You have stumbled unto a wealth of knowledge and the resident parts guy Chacal is top notch.

Get some images of the bike up before you start your project. Then do some updates as you move along.

Welcome aboard!

Rob

 

Welcome! These bikes are the Bees Knees!!!!!!!!!! lol. But seriously, these bikes are a ton of fun and you should not have any trouble finding what you need

 

Welcome.

I do have a suggestion before you start: Compression test.

Even when they're got free it just doesn't make financial sense to rebuild an engine. If the mill is good then the cash outlays shouldn't be too great (assuming it's not bent around a pole).

Of course you'll be putting lots of your own time and elbow grease into it. But that's the point of the thing, insn't it?

 

Welcome! I just did the same thing myself. Bought an '80 XJ650 for cheap. Definitely follow MiCarl's suggestion and buy/borrow a compression tester and make sure the engine is good. Then go buy a Haynes or Clymer manual on this bike. I'm chasing down an electrical problem and it is invaluable. Good luck!

 

Welcome. And don't be afraid to ask for help. there's a few of us on here around your neck of the woods. I'm down in baltimore.

 

Welcome and ditto the comp check. These engines are know for high mileage. I think what takes them off the road is four carbs with tiny passages. Induction leaves little room for error so go through your carbs and their proceedures surgically.

 

Thanks for all of the pointers guys. I will most definately do the compression test. I actually just got the engine out of the frame about 3 hours ago. I pulled the oil pan to make it a little easier to wrestle of out the frame, and found a ton of goodies in the oil pan (mostly pieces of the cam chain I think) so that was a pleasant suprise. Ill try and get some photos up soon. Thanks again

 

Heeeeyyy! Welcome to the site. Yeah, it is definitely great for learning a lot about your bike. But I thought helicopters just used big motorcycle engines. Haha... just kidding.

Well... are you going to be riding it while you fix it up or going to keep it parked and go over everything?
If you are going to be riding it and fixing it up while parked, do a brake job right away. Especially the rear brakes. Don't pay attention to wear on them. Just change them. And inspect the hub. Go over the cables really good too... especially the clutch. If this is your fist bike, its better not to learn about a broken clutch cable when you are in 6th gear on the highway. Haha.
Have fun and ask or tell as much as you want here.