Trokel's XJ900 thread - and other bike stuff

edit 26/9/13 - Seeing as I posted this in the general thread I have decided that I will also include the other bike related stuff that I have been up too in here as well.

My plan is for this to be an ongoing thread that details all aspects of my XJ900 including everything from the mechanical stuff to some of the rides that it goes on
I will provide details of the work that I am doing to it so that I may get advice and feedback from the vast knowledge of everyone out there and hopefully give back by documenting some of the problems that I encounter and how they were solved.
SO PLEASE FEEL FREE TO RESPOND WITH YOUR COMMENTS AND WORDS OF WISDOM AS YOU SEE FIT

Lets begin with a brief introduction.

Recently I bought an 83 model XJ900 which a few of you will have seen in some of my other posts. It is a very tidy looking bike that seems to have had quite a bit of time, effort and money put into it as well as some very unique modifications. For quite some time I was looking for a cheap (under $1K) early air-cooled Japanese bike of any brand around 750cc with minimal fairing as a bit of a project and I was planning to travel a reasonable distance for the right bike. Then I saw this one in the local paper and even though it was a lot more than I was planning to spend I decided to check it out and instantly fell in love with it. So that was that I had to have it.

 

Re: Trokel's XJ900 thread - a work in progress

When I looked at it the main faults that I noticed were all 3 brake disks were too thin, the rear tyre was perished and there was some minor oil and fuel leaks but other than that it started, ran and rode very well.
So once I got it home I began to work on resolving these faults and also carried out a bit of servicing as it seemed to be a bit lacking in that area and that's when I started to notice a bigger problem that I had missed.

 

Re: Trokel's XJ900 thread - a work in progress

Well? Don't leave us hanging. What's the "bigger problem?"

 

Re: Trokel's XJ900 thread - a work in progress

Metalgear sell the discs. Is your frame cracked under seat?

 

Re: Trokel's XJ900 thread - a work in progress

Dayam! That is a sleek bike! Please don't leave us hanging!

 

Re: Trokel's XJ900 thread - a work in progress

This is precisely why I hate the Aussies...they have all the best stuff!
Really HOT women...The best RX-7's I've ever seen...and nothing but really cool bikes!
I really don't hate the Aussies...I guess I really just envy them!
Cool bike!

 

Re: Trokel's XJ900 thread - a work in progress

You are correct on one account. Metal gear do sell disks and that is what I ended up buying



But tell me more about this cracked frame issue, is that a common problem? Is this something else that I should check for and if so where exactly?


And in reply to the other responses - Sorry for leaving you hanging, but as I said this is a work in progress so I can't reveal it all in the first 2 posts.
But just to keep you interested here is a picture of how it looked last weekend

 

Re: Trokel's XJ900 thread - a work in progress

In response to a question in one of your prevoius threads, that is an XJR petrol tank, and it holds 21litres.
Nice bike you've got there, how about an FJ1200 3CV front end upgrade?
Here's one of my XS1100's with an XJR1200 petrol tank and FJ 3CV front end.

 

Re: Trokel's XJ900 thread - a work in progress

From what I can gather the bloke I bought it off did very little by way of maintenance to it in the 2 or 3 years that he owned it. It seems most of the work on it was done by the previous owner before him and when it comes to appearance they did a very good job.
For those of you that haven't picked it yet it has had an XJR1200 tank custom fitted to it because the original XJ900 tanks have a tendency to rust out. This may not sound like much but in order to make it fit correctly it has had custom made brackets welded to it and special infill sections added to the side covers to fill in the section where the original tank used to go. Also the seat has been cut down so that it doesn't look out of place where it meets the tank. All in all I think it is a very nice job that looks like it was meant to be that way and not just some thing that has been slapped together to make it work.

 

Re: Trokel's XJ900 thread - a work in progress

Nice looking bike. Thanks for the info.

What are the main benefits of the XJ1200 front end :?:

 

Re: Trokel's XJ900 thread - a work in progress

Re the frame. They are known to crack where lower frame spar meets seat loop. Examine closely. Not serious though and easily welded. I like the shocks on that bike. I wonder what brand they are? The uni joint has been known to fail but not common. You mentioned it had an oil leak. That's unusual and was perhaps a clue to your later major surgery?
Where are you by the way?

 

Re: Trokel's XJ900 thread - a work in progress

..and crack in other places, i have read of a few variatons on th theme here, it's worth a careful look around. My new toy has a crack parallel to th frame on inner side of side stand mount, it kinda looks like a fault in th tubing.

 

Re: Trokel's XJ900 thread - a work in progress

The FJ has got 41mm diameter forks as opposed to the XJ900's 37mm. The 900's front brake calipers are twin piston like an early FJ11 or 12, but the later FJ's are 4 piston calipers.
I think the front wheel on the 900 is 19inch though could be wrong, and the FJ is 16 for the 11 and early 12, and 17 for the later 12's.
An XJR on the other hand has got 43mm forks with a 17inch wheel and 4 piston calipers.

 

Re: Trokel's XJ900 thread - a work in progress

Gosh that's beautiful. What kind of a rack is that? I hadn't imagined a 900 could manage a rack and still look so elegant...

 

Re: Trokel's XJ900 thread - a work in progress

That is a nice looking 900. 8)
Check for the cracks / previous repairs , my 5 bikes all have them.
So where abouts in NSW are you ??

 

Re: Trokel's XJ900 thread - a work in progress

Looks like I better do a frame inspection while I have got it apart.
The rear shocks are SHOWA brand. They have a model no marked on them however I can't remember it at the moment but if want let me know and I will check for you.
As for the oil leaks the main one was from the antidive units which was an easy fix. There was also a bit of a leak at the rear of the head where 2 small nuts had come loose but that seemed to stop once I nipped them up.

As for me I am located in the Albury area.

 

Re: Trokel's XJ900 thread - a work in progress

While carrying out my initial service I discovered that it had different spark plugs to what the manual recommended and also one of them was different to the other 3. 8O



At the same time I figured it would be a good idea to do the valve clearances and as it turned out some of them were well out of spec.

 

Re: Trokel's XJ900 thread - a work in progress

Not sure what brand the rack is. I picked it up for $20 and then I custom made the mounting brackets to make it fit how I wanted it.

 

Re: Trokel's XJ900 thread - a work in progress

Looks like a gearsack copy. Gearsack was a very popular aussie made rack for many years but for some inexplicable reason you can only buy the bags now..

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/australi ... 1005464059

 

Re: Trokel's XJ900 thread - a work in progress

Alright
I probably need to speed things up a bit so that I can get to the point that the bike is currently at.
But first -
So I did the valve clearances and replaced the spark plugs with the ones the manual recommended and took it for a spin. It ran like crap. Seemed to be misfiring once I got to around 4500rpm. It was at this point I thought that I should have a go at doing a carby balance. (this was something that I had never done before).
So after a bit of research I bought a Carbtune Pro and this is what I found.


But Before too long it looked like this


But of course in order to do that I needed a YICS Blank off tool and here is the one I made out of a piece of steel rod and some brass tube that I had.