Ted's '82 XJ750 Maxim Bobber

And so it begins... :lol:

I got this bike free from my brother a couple weeks ago. The only catch was I had to drive clear across South Dakota to get it from him and hit hasn't ran in about 3 years (probably didn't run great before that).

I, of course, have grand visions of turning this into a sweet little rat-bobber in the near future but we're going for mechanically sound first.

FYI: I've already been trolling the forums here for about a month so I'm up to speed on Brake delamination, tire date codes, Valve clearance, carb synch, etc..

I changed the oil & filter, dumped out the bad gas, rinsed out the tank, filled with premium (no ethanol), and drained the old fuel out of the carbs. We got it to start up but barely idles on just a couple cylinders and when you try to give it some throttle it sputters out at about 2K. Soooo.. I ordered the carb kits and pulled them out. Thanks to the great threads here it went pretty smoothly, only took about 20 minutes to get them on the bench, got the lower ends disassembled and hit a road block with the top cover screws. About half of them don't want to bust loose and want to strip when I put a little pressure on them

I gave up on that for a bit and decided to pop the valve cover to check valve clearance. No probs there until I went to remove the left side cover to turn the crank and found one stripped screw and another that was totally busted off the case.

Done for the night.. any words of wisdom for extracting stripped screws? Any members in Sioux Falls that want to tinker on this beast and maybe have a couple beers drop me a line!

Pic on the trailer ride home.. somewhere outside Wall, SD & about 101 degrees outside:

I love this bike, hope to build something pretty similar:

Filthy emulsion tubes:

Busted filter and worn out rubber:

Busted threads in crank case:

Stripped out screw:
8)

 

Re: Bringing a '82 XJ750 Maxim back to life-might need some help

For the stripped Phillips screws, I've been having good luck with taking a hacksaw and cutting a slit across the top to use a flathead screw driver. Soak em in some pb or something similar too. I usually give the screw driver handle a good whack before I try to loosen them too.

 

Re: Bringing a '82 XJ750 Maxim back to life-might need some help

for the ones the snapped off......use a series of small drills and drill 'em out until either the drill bit catches and turns them out by by running them the rest of the way forward through the hole, or you're able to get and easy-out into them and turn them back out. Otherwise, just keep drilling up til you just get to the threads then start cleaning the threads with a chase.

For the engine Side Cover.... that bolt only needs enough tension on it to hold the cover in place. So, you can get away with making a JB-Weld repair. I'd recommend coating the bolt threads in a thin coating of grease, anti-seize, or something similar. Put the cover back on, put the bolt in, then make your jbweld patch. The grease should keep the jbweld from adhering to the threads. Once it hardens you can finalize the shape, and you can snug the bolt down just a bit more, too.

Dave F

Dave F

 

Re: Bringing a '82 XJ750 Maxim back to life-might need some help

Progress! Carbs are fully disassembled ready for some deep cleaning, clunk test, reassembly, etc.

I'm a little bit concerned, however. I have no metal plates ( c-shaped cover plate that is held on by a single screw) covering the air jets. Is this normal - can I run without them?

EDIT: Just got done re-reading Rick Massey's "Clean Your Carbs - The Whole 9 Yards" - some of these metal plates were OMITTED by the factory or by PO's. Boy, does that make me feel better! - Thanks Rick, you are the man!

Also bought an impact wrench.. gonna' give it a whack on the stripped screw.

 

Re: Bringing a '82 XJ750 Maxim back to life-might need some

Bad news boys:

Busted off the bolt. Turns out the new impact driver works pretty damn good but this one was seized. Maybe I was a little too hasty trying to beat this one outta' here eh? A little hot 'n' cold might've done me some good.

Guess this is as good a' time as any to learn about EZ-outs.. unless you guys have a better idea?




Another Stupid noob question: Where do the little rubber O-ring and the little aluminum plug in the carb rebuild kits go?

 

Re: Bringing a '82 XJ750 Maxim back to life-might need some help

Kroil will be your best friend. It works better than any other penetrating lubricant. When it comes to stuck fasteners, soak them in kroil for a couple of days, then take an impact driver to them.

For the one that's already broken, follow hogfiddles' advice (after soaking in penetrating lubricant). Drilling out the center of the bolt may relieve the stress that's keeping that bolt firmly in place.

As for the rebuild kit...where'd you get it from?

 

Re: Bringing a '82 XJ750 Maxim back to life-might need some

Ok, I'll try to pick up some Kroil today... never heard of it, can you get it most auto places? Thanks for the tips guys (I'll try Hogfiddles' method)!

I got the carb kits on fleabay - $59.80 for all 4 with delivery and had them in 3 days. Cheap and fast, but not good?

 

Re: Bringing a '82 XJ750 Maxim back to life-might need some help

You have to order Kroil. It's more expensive than other penetrating lubricants, but many on the forum swear by it (including me).

I ask where you got them because some sellers aren't going to be a thorough insuring you get the correct parts. I'd talk to the ebay seller, as I don't remember those parts in the rebuild. I don't remember if the float seat on my Hitachis had a copper washer or o-ring, and that aluminum plug doesn't jog any memories.

 

Re: Bringing a '82 XJ750 Maxim back to life-might need some help

Looks like a universal kit, one kit fits many carb types/styles. Use what is needed for your carb.

 

Re: Bringing a '82 XJ750 Maxim back to life-might need some help

The little aluminum slug is not needed. It's the mixture screw anti-tamper-cap installed by the factory and removed by owners once they need to adjust/rebuild their carbs.

The little oring might be for the mixture screw as well. That you'll want to use.

Look in the for sale forum. I linked a GOOD deal on Kroil thru their website. 2 cans $12 shipped.

 

Re: Bringing a '82 XJ750 Maxim back to life-might need some

A few things about your carb rebuild kit:

The float needles are probably longer than the stock needle, about 1mm. You will need to reset the float levels. Don't try to skip this step. Much frustration if you do. And wet set all four. Don'y try wet setting one and use that as reference. Again, much frustration will follow.

http://www.xj4ever.com/setting%20fuel%20levels.pdf

No sealer is needed on the bowl gaskets.

As previously mentioned you will not need the small plug and the little o-ring should be for the idle mixture screw which is under the little plug the might be still in your carb bodies, next to the enrichment plunger. Remove this plug carefully (if it's there) by drilling a small hole and threading a self tapping screw into it and pull out with a pliers. Keep in mind the idle mixture screw is located just under the plug and will be very easily damaged by a drill bit. This needs to be removed and cleaned so you can't skip this. Just be very cautious. Turn these mixture screws all the way in (don't over tighten) counting the number of turns until they seat. After cleaning and re-assembly use that number as a starting point. Should be in the 2 1/2 to 3 range. Don't forget a small dab of anti-seize.

Replace the throttle shaft seals as they are almost certainly going to be leaking. Order the from chacal. Click on the XJ Forever logo at the top right of the page.

http://www.xj4ever.com/hitachi%20thrott ... 0seals.pdf

Kroil. Get some. Always have some on hand. Awesome stuff.

http://www.kanolabs.com/google/

Good luck and have fun.

 

Re: Bringing a '82 XJ750 Maxim back to life-might need some help

idk, that o-ring looks a tad big for a pilot mixture screw. Though I've never layed one next to the float valve to compare.

 

Re: Bringing a '82 XJ750 Maxim back to life-might need some help

Yeah, I was thinking that too. But like you said it's hard to compare in the picture.

Teddy, if those are the wrong size you can get the right ones from chacal as well. In fact you can get pretty much anything you need for your bike from him. He's awesome to deal with too.

 

Re: Bringing a '82 XJ750 Maxim back to life-might need some help

Don't forget, Ted, one of our own sells every part for our XJs. Chacal is the man for parts. Click the XJ Forever on the top right of the screen.

 

Re: Bringing a '82 XJ750 Maxim back to life-might need some

Thanks for the help, guys! I did e-mail Chacal about some parts before.. I'm sure I'll order plenty of stuff from him before it's all over.

I just picked up some Kroil from the local gun shop here in town.. turns out people love this stuff for cleaning guns too! Got it soaking as we speak & gonna' head out to the garage to start some carb dip on the parts and round 3 of carb spray and air-hose on the rack.

Gotta' say I'm enjoying this project so far.. can't wait to get to the really fun stuff though! 8)

Not an XJ, but here's a little eye candy for ya's... my last project (at about 90% completion:

Before:



After (photoshopped scallops.. still haven't painted them on yet):

 

Re: Bringing a '82 XJ750 Maxim back to life-might need some

Nice!

 

Re: Bringing a '82 XJ750 Maxim back to life-might need some

The O-ring in the kit is definitely not for the idle mix screw, way too big. I somehow didn't realize there was a tiny o-ring in there until after round 2 of carb cleaner spray and air pressure. I'm missing two of them now - they could've been missing from the PO but I probably sent them into orbit with the air hose... might be time to hit up chacal but I'm gonna look in town first. I'm hoping put everything back together tonight & tomorrow.

 

Re: Bringing a '82 XJ750 Maxim back to life-might need some

There's a small washer in there also. The order of assembly is 0-ring, washer, spring and then the screw.

 

Re: Bringing a '82 XJ750 Maxim back to life-might need some

Thanks Biggs - luckily I found the springs and washers before it was too late. I called the local Yamaparts dealer and they couldn't locate the part# for the o-ring because "the parts diagram looks like a 12-year old drew it with a crayon" LOL I'm gonna hit the hardware store and maybe Fastenal on my lunch break..

 

Re: Bringing a '82 XJ750 Maxim back to life-might need some

Well, I've got the majority of three carbs put back together and about to wrap up the fourth. Then just waiting on the o-rings from chacal to button it up and move on.

Question: can I set fuel levels without the air mix screws in place?

Another thing that's kind of scaring the hell out of me right now is my throttle linkage seems to be sort of bound up. Last time I checked I could grab the linkage and open/close the butterflies pretty easily. It just feels stuck. I didn't take any of that stuff apart or drop it or anything, any ideas? I even sprayed down all of the linkage with some Kroil but still seems stuck. Couple pics just in case: