Newly Licensed -First Bike

Hey all. Got myself an 83 Yamaha XJ 750 Maxim. Just passed my beginners course and just registered the bike. I am super excited! I didn't get to ride it yet because it rained today and was kinda late in the day after getting it registered and writing the written portion. So the other thing is I keep hearing 4 cylinder bikes are t great for beginners. Any thoughts? Kinda getting weary after reading all the negative thoughts of beginners on these types of bikes. I like torquey bikes... thoughts?

 

Welcome suvoth, and congratulations!

I would say these are fine for beginners, especially compared to a 1600 cc harley or a Hayabusa.

I wasnt new to bikes when I got my XJ650 9 yrs ago (grew up on bikes). But it was a re-entry into owning and riding one. I wouldnt look back and change anything, especially now familiar with other bikes.

Suggestion: scour this forum and learn about all the RIGHT ways to maintain your maxim.

 

Just take it easy with your right hand until you have a few months of riding time behind you.

As an old-school rider I'd prefer that you had something under 40 horsepower as your first motorcycle, but if you're mindful of your limitations the bike won't bite you.

Get a copy of Proficient Motorcycling by David L. Hough if you haven't already. Read, learn, practice, and Be the Bunny (<--- click the link).


Oh, click the first link in my signature too.

 

Just got my 650... First bike.
I love it. Took the windshield off and high back rest. I take my course next month.
Spent 10 hours cleaning her up

 

Is this a reply of some sort?
If not you really should be making your own thread.

 

Thanks! I definitely will!

 

I'll take a look for sure! I am not a speed demon.. although the best part of riding in the course was definitely the higher speed stuff, cornering etc. I'll definitely be taking it easy! Little scared..or probably just nerves. Gonna take it out tomorrow in the neighborhood

 

Just sharing in the excitement of being a new rider with a beauty bike.

 

Great news on the new bike and becoming a new rider. Now it is time to put your head on a swivel and never stop looking for others not seeing you. I am supper happy you took a rider class, got to ride their bikes first and get a feel for it. I am guessing their bikes were smaller bikes? As k-moe said, just make sure the rand wrist is in control. The fun of twisting that throttle and feeling the power of the bike is one of the reasons I still ride. Just make sure you twist when it is safe and low traffic. With all the other things you have learned in class I will add one more thing. If you feel the need to pass a vehicle in front of you and notice a road or driveway ahead on the left, so many drivers no longer use turn signals. Most deaths in my area happen from bikes getting turned into when they are passing a vehicle.

Be safe and have a great time with your new bike. Enjoy and get out there!

 

Thanks for the tip! Yeah, the bike I was on for most of my course was a TW 250..big difference. Gonna go ride my bike for the first time after I've had a few coffees lol plus I need to get an octave booster because there is old gas (4 years old) and new gas in the tank.

 

I’m not sure how an octave booster will help a motorcycle, but maybe @hogfiddles would know.

 

OK. When I first saw your post you hadn’t written the text yet.
Carry on

[EDIT] Chack the codes onyour brake lines. They look original, and that is not a good thing.

 

Well this isn't going well! First, my license plate frame is too big so I can only put one screw to hold it on. The. I checked the gas .damn near empty so I got a Jerry can of gas and was putting it in..yeah, dripping it everywhere then I noticed it dripping fast out the bottom of it near this black case. Blood blister is from pinching myself putting on the license plate. 2nd pic is where it's leaking from

 

All fixed! This bike doesnt off. I have it on pri thinking that was off

 

If you have fuel dripping out whether on prime or not, your carbs need attention

 

It appears you have a stuck float. Check you oil level and open your oil fill cap and take a whiff to see if it smells like gas. I wouldn't recommend riding the bike until the problem is solved.

 

I'll have to check that. Drove it around after fixing the leak..that was user error..had it on pri. However, it seems to be dropping Rpms and stalling out..my friend was here and he gave me a boost because one minute the bike was running, next the battery was drained. Seems to be losing charge and the guy I bought it from put a new battery in it..so looks like it must be an alternator problem..sigh

 

Even on Pri (prime) the carbs still shouldn't leak.

 

Hmm my mechanic friend told me it's supposed to fill up the carbs on pri. But we switched it on and it stopped immediately. Gonna test the alternator tomorrow by removing the negative wires from the battery while running to see if it shuts down immediately

 

STOP RIDING IT!!!!

Your crankcase is full of gas. You will damage the engine in a very expensive way if you keep running it with that problem.

If the floats and float needles were doing their jobs correctly the fuel could not have gotten into the crankcase.

STOP RIDING IT UNTIL IT IS FIXED!!!!

That black case is the airbox, and fuel/oil only comes out of that if the crankcase is overfull.

Get a new mechanic. Seriously. He's right about how the petcock works, but missing that a float isn't working correctly is an unforgivable error IMO. Thinking that the stalling and not charging is because of the alternator is even worse. While you could have an alternator issue, that isn't why the engine is stalling.
If he's not familiar with how carbureted motorcycles work, then he really shouldn't be helping you at this time.

Be your own mechanic. We'll teach you how.

Heck, we'll teach your friend too.