streetfighter?

ok...how do I get my bikes suspension like a sports bike...and also...if i want sport exhaust cans....what do I need to do to make such an adjustment...

 

First off, you would start by loading up your bike & heading to the nearest dealer to see if he will take it on trade for a sport bike. what you are talking about doing is taking 20 year old technology & wanting someone to tell you some magical inexpensive way to make your suspension ride like an brand new sport bike. & as far as the cans go, have you priced any cans yet? if you install cans, you just doubled the value of the bike, there not cheap, & then you will have the issue with jetting & tuning. want a sport bike, go buy one, if not, good luck.

 

I assume from your nickname you have an XJ 650 Maxim. Perhaps it's a 750.

First, there are different levels of tuning the suspension. You can do a bit for a modest ammount of money (say ~200-300), alot for ~800, and to truely get to sportbike suspension quality... well over that if it was indeed possible.

First - the worst part of the bikes suspension is the rear shocks. The front forks don't actually do too badly (mostly because of the rake).

Once the shocks are alright you have to address the forks. Not bad but not great. The real problem here is that they are very long and infront of the bike. If you want the bike to handle more sharply and have better shocks you really need to change the neck angle. You can't do that easily.

The next problem is the rear swingarm - the dual shock setup isn't ideal. Even with good shocks you get an unbalanced loading... it twists. Now we're scratching the surface as the twist is allowed by the frame and the design of the rear shock mounts. You really want a monoshock and you really need a rigid frame.

Compare a maxim frame to a sportbike frame. The CBR I have has a wide frame that the engine is hung from. The metal is thick along the twisting axis, and thin through the non-twisting axis - reduce weight while increasing strength. The maxim frame is a mishmash of small metal tubing . The engine sits on it - it doesn't provide strength only stress.

If you want sportbike handling you'd really really have to sort out the frame as well... and if you got that far, why not biff the frame and use a better frame. Then of course how do you mount an XJ engine that has bottom mounts to a frame designed to hang an engine from?

End result? To get true sportbike handling with cost and arm and a leg... but perhaps not impossible.

IF on the other hand you just wanted sportier handling you could do it for much much less.

Truth be told - the maxim is a joy to ride... the problem with sportbikes is that they're too easy to ride fast. To have fun you need to go faster... but risk speeding tickets and nasty accidents. You ride slow and you get bored... sometimes even complacent.

I brought the cbr - love her loads... probably the best handling bike I've owned, but she really is a track only beast. Sure she tours... and I do tour, but honestly for the typical 2 hour ride she's a monster... so much overkill it's scary.

If it were me? Spend the $300-$500 on sorting out the rear suspension, fresh oil and new stiffer springs on the front... that would be a joy. Running the maxim fast was a thrill - it took skill and it rewarded good lines with fast times. The cbr is fast no matter what you do. Enjoy the effort of riding quickly with what you have...

A 4 into 1 pipe would add a few ponies and to some sound better... but I'd only go that route if I had spare cash or needed a new exhaust. Otherwise it really isn't worth it.

 

this always happens... I post and no one else does... I've got to stop thread killing

 

I love my maxim to death. I love the fact that it has a bobbed tail, a raked out front, generally looks like a sportster but better. And I can (and do) wind it out to 10k rpms. I take the turns and drag the footpegs. For $450 bucks it was a great deal and I got to have my hand at modifying something other than a jeep for once. All this though i dont take for granted. I realize its a 20 year old bike which still has a lot of parts which are as old as I am. I know what my bike can and cant do and I'm perfectly happy with it. Its got a cool factor those damn sportbikes cant have, because I made it's look, not molded it in a fairing.

However this winter has taken a toll on it. Im currently putting in full width axles under my jeep, and have had to drive my motorcycle only for the last 2 weeks. The XJ will almost garunteed not start on its own power in the cold. I either have to jumpstart it or Pushstart it. I have a feeling the coils are dead, but i'm not sure, it runs fine once its up. It also runs rich in the cold. I have almost vowed to never buy another carborated bike.

For this reason ONLY am i thinking about getting another bike. And i know for sure my next bike will either be a Triumph Thruxton (to much money though for a carborated bike....But i love cafe so damn much) but will most likely buy a Suzuki SV650. This was my original favorite bike, and i think I will have a fun time turning it into a cafe or hooligan-esque bike.

It all just comes down to money....

 

And i must add that my most premier bike would be the Triumph speed triple.

I just dont know if i should trust myself on something that fast... or expensive.

 

I beefed-up the front end of my 750 Max with a new set of Progressive Suspension springs, 2.5 cm of additional pre-load and Permatex Hydraulic Jack Oil doing the front-end work for giving my oversized load a little comfort.

After cleaning and re-packing the 38 Ball bearings in the headset and adjusting them babies just-right ... I got a silky-smooth, performance-tuned front-end, so dialed-in that the Medium-Large SlipStreamer fairing >> does not vibrate << !

I swapped-out every bearing in the back-end for Sealed Roller's. Including, the nearly impossible, to get-the-hell-out-of-there inner bearing on the rear wheel.

Everywhere on the rear-end suspension points; I added additional Nylon washers or shims to eliminate side-to-side rattle and quiet-down the ride when when the weight shifts from left to right.

I'm running an old set of Koni's with damping and preload. I run the springs soft and the damping at three. When I win the Lottery ... I'm buying some High-tech shocks you can tweak the heck out of.

 

Don't change a thing! I'm looking at picking up a Maxim 650 and will want to make some modifications for comfort and style. On my quest for information, I came across this forum. It's posts like yours, woot that have answered my questions. I really hope I'm able to get my hands on this Maxim, if I do, you'll all be hearing more from me!

Good luck on your bike, themidnightspecial!

 

WoW! Ditto! This seems like the only bike that is more hooligan than my X!

But I don't know if I would even trust myself on a Daytona 675. That is why I am looking for a sv650s right now. But, a speed triple would be SO much fun!

 

yeau... SV650 is an incredible bike for an incredible price.


But i have also added buell onto my list of bikes i can buy and chop up without caring...

 

Honestly the 600 is a lot of bike... the sv 650 is sort of tempting, but not really. The 675 is more bike than my current 600...

My choice for a sporty bike? A Ninja 400. Goes quickly and handles like a top - and we can import them into Canada now - so long as the frame is 15 years old.

Now bigger displacement for a touring bike makes sense... the 600 tours well, but a 750-900 inline 4 would be better... an triple... that would be glorious. Infact I've been quite fond of the 955i for some time... don't have a clue how it would tour though.

The 919 is an out of the box street fighter wanna be... but holy cow that's got some serious power. I'd be in trouble from day one if given such a toy. It reminds me of Hunter's comment when given a 900ss, he was convinced an enemy had sent it for him knowing he'd ride it like a maniac and likely kill himself on it. (From Song of the Sausage Creature)

Woot.

 

TMS I tend to agree with the concensus, you really need to accept the fine bike you have for what it is.

Sure you can make it whatever you want, but open up your wallet and throw a bunch of hard earned cash away.... then go buy what you really wanted because you wont be happy till you do!

 

try ebay i found a set of kerker pipes brand new in the box for $205,a big score for me,but keep looking there out there.