Traded an old sailboat for an `82 Maxim!

howdy.. new to biking scene. About a month ago I traded an old Hobie Cat sailboat for this 82 xj650 maxim and am really happy with the deal.

Ive ridden a alot of offroad and freeride mountain bikes, and even built a 50mph E-Bike out of an old Gary Fisher, but this 82 xj650 is my first genuine Motorcycle.

The bike has ~37k miles and ran ok, but it idled like poop when i got it. So far, with a lot of help from this forum, I've sorted several vacuum leaks, cleaned & bench syncd carbs, adjusted floats, installed the YICS Eliminator and now have her purring at idle.

Also replaced a rat's nest of wires and aluminum foil with a nice clean modern bladed fuse box.

Still need to crack the head open to check chain tension and adjust valves. Also built a beer bottle manometer to sync carbs.. tho im not 100% sure ive sorted all the vacuum leaks just yet...

Few other issues still need sorting and will be posting in the technical forums in short order about those..

anyway, glad to be here and many thanks for the volumes of info i've already found here, and used to great advantage.

 

Welcome on Slackard, and congrats on the bichin deal. I too profited from a barter deal for my 700, and have been enjoying it much.

Glad to hear you're getting her up to snuff.

 

The cam chain tensioner is external and you don't need to pull the valve cover to adjust the cam chain. You probably have a manual tensioner; the adjustment procedure is covered in the service (and owners') manuals.

You DO need to check the valve clearances; until they're in spec any carb sync work is futile.

The YICS eliminator is intended for use when synchronizing the carbs; not to be left in permanently (its seals will melt.)

 

here is the elminiator i got..

the maker suggests leaving it installed as he provides a certain high temp o-ring which (he claims) is rated to withstand engine operating temps.

on the various forums ive heard mixed opinions about whether or not to leave it installed. Right now, the bike doesnt idle well without the eliminator installed.

I will be checking valve clearances and reshimming before i winterize in about 2 months.. Once i do that and sync the carbs, ill be pulling the yics eliminator out to see how she runs.

still not certain ive got all the vacuum leaks yet.. anytips other than squirting wd40 or using an unlit propane torch on the intake boots to see if rpms surge?

 

The eliminator is for synching, and you can leave it in for a while so you can ride a bit and continue to adjust it, but it's not a permanent addition. If your bike isn't running well without out, you have something else going on, and you're probably right that it's a vacuum leak somewhere.

 

The cam chain tensioner is self adjusting on the '82 Maxim. Hope this helps.

 

yea saw the chain was automatic after i went looking in the book again.

now just pricing out the stuff ill need for the valve job..

does everyone pretty much just wait to order shims until checking clearances?

Do you leave the cover off for a week or 2 waiting for shims? or reassemble and run? Leaving the thing torn apart, i expect, could invite rust... thoughts?

 

Document your clearances and button it back up (replacing the gasket if needed). Then find out what you need and order, and when it's in you can take off the valve cover again. The first time is the hardest. After that you can remove the tank and valve cover in under 10 minutes.

 

You need to check valve clearance first. Pull the shims and record what you shims you have. Figure what shims you'll need to bring out-of-tolerance valves in tolerance. If you get shims from Chacal, you'll have them in 3, maybe 4 days. Mr. Fitz has an excellent write-up on checking clearances.

 

you will most likely be able to swap at least some shims around. Also check with your local bike shop, some will trade. You can also PM Dave (hogfiddles). He runs a shim pool. Get a new valve cover gasket and "doughnuts" they will be shot.

Also, I did not see that you did anything with the front or rear brakes. You most likely need front + rear pads, new front lines, and a MC and caliper rebuild. This is your first bike - make sure it stops before you go!

Check those tire date codes too!

 

More great tips, thanks!

Tires are good, front one was new this spring and rear was last spring.. tread depth is good.

Brakes are on the to do list. Stopping power seems good, but i do take your meaning.. spent a lot of time riding and working on mountain bikes and yes, brakes matter a lot

Looking closely at the valve cover looks like whenever it was cracked last they used a bunch of rubber sealant when reinstalling.. cant wait till I get to scrape all that crap off in prep for the new gasket.. expecting the donuts were never replaced so valve cover was leaking, hence some orange goo to solve... same orange goo is around the inner cover bolts.. Sheesh!

Will post some photos here in a bit.. you guys can marvel at a previous owner's truly ridiculous custom paint..

 

Here she is.. at some point, someone loved this machine very much..


Pretty sure those are Cherry Bomb glass packed mufflers welded to stock headers. The luggage rack says harley davidson, thinking maybe the fender and rack are off a sportster?


Maybe too much lovin goin on here.. Im not sayin, just sayin..


Here is a closeup of he valve cover and the orange goo. Also looks like its been laid down at least once, the front edge heatsink fins are broken away

 

Sometimes love hurts.

The graphic on the tank looks like an artichoke. Any idea what it was supposed to be? Reptile scales maybe?

Looks like it definitely has potential; but also like you have your work cut out for you.

Get a service manual; you're going to need it.

 

The same graphic is on the rear fender too.. ive heard artichoke, ive heard dragon scales.. One of my buddies wives even said they look like old lady boobs! I'll leave it open to interpretation

Found me a PDF copy of the haynes service manual on the online that appears complete and quite useful thus far.

 

That fender does look like a sportster. Love to see some shots at how it's mounted on....

 

Be careful with the Haynes; it has some BAD info in it. Intake valve clearance specs (should ALL be .11mm ~ .15mm intake and .16MM ~ .20mm exhaust) and fuel/air jet locations (in top of Hitachis - transposed) wrong.

 

That red gunk looks suspiciously like High-Tack gasket sealer. If that is indeed what it is, you have some work. That's used to adhere the gasket to the valve cover, not the valve cover to the engine! You don't need any sealer on the gasket/engine join, just some quality silicone gel.

 

+2 some more shots to see how that fender is mounted if possible please?

 

Ask and ye shall receive. Couple people asked how the Harley (Sportster?) fender was attached -- looks the they just drilled some holes to align with the xj650j frame.

View of fender graphics.... *hurl*


Rear mounting view


Side mounting view


And just for giggles, heres a shot of the bladed fuse box i put in.