What did you do to your Yamaha today?

how does the old black exhaust look?
It really sucks looking for a exhaust for this bike.
ANYBODY know where to get a sissy bar/back rest for these bikes, wanna take my little misses on long rides!!! RUN AWAY!!!!
I've put alot of work into "EDITH" and all she wants to do is keep on going!!

1982 xj650 maxim "Edith"Edith

 

Got my new front tire in the ... well, UPS, not mail.

Pulled the front wheel off (first time I've done it, no biggie - any tips for getting it back on when I'm ready? I'm going to have to wipe down the axle, it got some crud on it from the garage floor {ditto the spacer} - should that be ok, or should I grease 'em?) and took it and the tire in to be mounted & balanced.

Figured out that my case guards work pretty damn well for putting jack stands under (duh).

Bought a sissy bar/luggage rack combo for $15 off of CL. Turns out it won't fit easily (or look right - it's a super-high back) - it's originally off a CB650. Hoping to turn a tidy profit on eBay.

 

Installed the signal relay and now everything is done. The bike runs great and the weather is supposed to clear in the next day or two, thanks everyone for all your input and ideas, the forums are great, and a great big THANK YOU to chacal for all of his hard work keeping me supplied with hard to find parts and his super fast service.

 

Putting on a Front Tire can be a Heavyweight Fight.

I used to do mine. Right in front of the Tool Box.
Still have the Tire Irons and a Tool called a: "Breezer"
http://www.dansmc.com/breezer.jpg

I'm done.
Now, when I need a New Tire; I employ the Monte Carlo method.
Pop the trunk on the Chevy and listen to the Oldies on the way over to the Bike Shop.

 

Changed brake fluid, a lot better now, but got to change those lines sometime soon too...

 

ran through the plugs on the bike
1 is good
2 had less than .010 gap. corrected to .030
3- wet. dunno why yet. still fires, but is getting wet. I think the float might be sticking.
4- good

now, after checking plugs it is harder to start. had to start on prime today.
go figure. one thing after another

 

Installed new blinkers...sweared, a lot, because they had only the positive wire and i could get no mass on the original brackets.

Of course, in my magic box full of connectors i missed just the ones i needed inside the lamps, so walked to Halfords, get the right connectors, re-cabled everything, replaced the relay (10 w bulbs and i hadn't space for the 27w bulbs) and, as i had the tank off i installed a fuel filter.

Then, i also buy a drag bar and a petcock rebuild kit but tomorrow i'd like to ride...next time

 

Played around with the mixture map some more - mostly leaning out the low-load areas between idle and 5K.

Still tweaking the startup specs as well. Hot restart is good and cold start is good, but she floods easily when doing a hot soak start (left hot to sit for a few minutes, then restarted). The flood is easy to clear as well (just twist about 80% throttle and crank for a second) but I really want to be able to just push the starter button without touching the throttle and have her start no matter what the scenario. Or, come to think of it, this may be a bit of kickback... might need to retard the cranking timing a bit.

Took a test ride down to pick up a few things at Wal Mart, then up the highway to about 75MPH. Running very smoothly and pulling well. Also very drivable at low RPM's. Plugs a nice tan. Can't wait to get on the dyno, but, due to tuning shop's being busy, my work schedule, and vacation, it may well be a couple of weeks....

Overall, pretty good

 

I got tired of the bike and tire stores charging me 35.00 to 50.00 every time I wanted/needed to change tires. On top of that I had several shops tell me they had balanced the tire and wheel but then I would point out the old weights hadn’t moved or there were no weights at all they would look at me with this stupid look of “Oh $hi* what do I say now?” I even had 2 shops tell me “as long as you get that white dot on the sidewall lined up with the valve stem it’s balanced” not so!!! The last straw was when I took my wheels and tires to Sp*&@%e V@##^y Power sports and they told me they were booked out 2-3 weeks.
I left there and on the way home stopped at Harbor Freight and bought the tire mounting stand and the motorcycle tire changing attachment for just over what I was quoted for a dismount, mount and balance. I built some custom wheel clamp/fingers for it like the ones shown here http://www.advrider.com/Wisdom/TireChangerMods1.0.pdf
I didn’t like the mount/dismount bar that came with the kit, so I built myself a reproduction no-mar mount dismount tool http://www.nomartirechanger.com/product/show/6 with delrin tips, and now I do all of my own tires, my friends have use of it to do theirs as well. Along with that I picked up a motorcycle wheel balancer on eBay http://www.ebigonline.com/Items/sky241? ... R%20W/AXLE built a stand for it, and now I know that every wheel that I put on is as good as it can get. The old tires come off and the new ones go on very fast and easy. Based on local prices including everything I bought and built I/we have kept over a thousand dollars in our own pockets.

 

For once, I just went for a nice ride. Weather was absolutely beautiful today here in the Springs, so I went up Ute pass into the mountains a bit, drove through the cute little town of Green Mountain Falls, came back down through the canyon again and drove along the foothils and past Garden of the Gods.

All that with no, well almost no, ulterior motive for tuning (I did turn the idle down a bit once I got the bike REALLY warmed up) ;-)

Along the way I think I saw every motorcycle in the area out on the roads; I certainly wasn't the only one taking advantage of this lovely Sunday afternoon.

Cheers,
Paul

 

Mounted & Balanced New Front and Rear Tires on the '80 XS1100.

Finished cleaning the Carbs on newly aquirred 81 XJ550, installed them and popped it off . Ran it for 5min enough to warm it up, killed it, changed Oil, Filter and Plugs. Started it back up and it purred!
$200, 54.8kmi on it and it runs Great!

 

Rode out to Metamora Indiana... I blinked and missed everything in town but the castle. A fantastic 125 mile ride though

 

By the way, has anyone noticed that this thread is comming up on it's 2 year anniversary? Has to hold the record for the longest running thread?

 

I checked plugs and they were pretty white(Bike ran ok but had a stumble in the idle) tweaked the mixture screws a tiny tiny amount richer and re-synced the carbs not sure i did the bike any favors seems to take longer to warm up and run without the enrichment. ERRR!! Oh well i will go back after it next time I get a spare moment bad part is it is my only transportation at the moment..

 

How do you sync the carbs, the book says to use this funky tool? last season I was getting about 35 mpg on Edith.
Anybody know where to get a Sissy bar for her?
what kind of rear tire are you guys using?

Angelo
1982 Maxim xj650
"Edith"

 

you need a YICS tool to sync the carbs, PM chacal he can sell you one and ship it really fast, or you can search the forums and find the how-to build one, but really it is easier just to order it

 

Removed, cleaned, rebuilt, installed, filled and bled my master cylinder. Now going to figure out why the brake light switch isn't working...

 

I took the 81 650 out of storage today and rode it on a few errands and put fresh gas in and she runs like a top. Fork seals on the way for the next time its up on the lft.

MN

 

Dunlop - Arrowmax GT501FJ's front and rear, a matched set is better. I got mine at cycle gear, got both of mine at their store for under $200 front is a 100/90/19 the rear is a 130/80/18 their web price today is $92 for the front and $110 for the rear. Metzler ME 880 Marathon's are still available in 18" & 19" wheel sizes as well. I have noticed it's getting harder to find good quality tires for these rims these days. good luck.

 

Fixed leaking petcock and changed engine oil since it didn't seem to like old ones :? Not sure if some fuel has leaked into the oil...

 

Changing the oil tonight, and fixing my float levels (HAS to be the only thing left to do to get colour on my plugs)

 

you are referring to a yics tool. I have a 85' maxim X it doesn't have the yics thing going on. I sync them with a homemade tube setup. After the day or so and the warmer weather the bike def. runs better when warmed up and idles smoother than before. must have just been the chilly temps that had it acting up. I will recheck the plugs tho when I get a chance.

 

Reassembled the petcock valve, installed the newly painted tank (again) and rode it to work!!!

 

who is " PM chacal " and how do I get ahold of him?How much?
Going to Cruise night today . I got a new rear tire so I am going to let the old one go in the "burn out pit"!!!! Let her smoke!!!! Winner gets a new set of tires!!!!!!!

Will try to get pics!!!

 

PM stands for (private message) his user name is chacal and he has the most extensive supply of parts for these vintage bikes than anyone out there, he has even had some parts we can't get anymore or never could get made up by a machinist, (like a spin on oil filter adapter) or you can send him an email at info @ xj4ever.com (copy and paste the address to your email, and then take out the spaces on either side of the @ symbol)

 

Riding her to work today, sunny and 80 degrees!

 

Second that notion Grutz

 

Rebuilt the Petcock, drove it for 50 miles, got a attak of compulsive ebay shopping, buyed a new seat cover and this chrome shocks

 

Over the last month I've cleaned and rebuilt the carbs. All new rubber seals and o-rings, including fuel rails and throttle shaft. New hand grips. New stainless steel brake lines. Rebuilt the fuel petcock. Still haven't rode it this year. :cry:

 

You should be out there scooping the snow instead of playing on the internet. (Did you know they have the internet on computers, now?) At least scoop a straight line in the driveway so you can run it to the road and back. It counts!!!

 

Tried to fit a new bar to solve the problem of my clubmans touching the tank.

Result? horrible to look and horrible to drive. While remounting the clubmans i heard a "SNAP". The screw thread of the bracket for clutch lever and left mirror is gone.

So, as i didn't have a retap set, as temporary solution i had to saw, drill, curse, flatten, smooth and put a longer bolt with a nut...then saturday again to my favourite Japan Bike junkyard.

Time for switching bars: 15 minutes

Fixing the mess: 3 hours

 

In the past month I have:
- Removed, disassembled, cleaned and replaced the carbs & boots
- Removed, disassembled, cleaned, and replaced both handlebar switch assemblies
- Fabricated a spare key and added to my multi-tool
- Removed, lubricated, and refitted all cables
- Replaced the rear tire
- Cleaned and adjusted rear brake
- Replaced rear drive gear oil
- Set cam chain tension
- Replaced oil & filter & O rings
- Rebuilt petcock, and pulled the dent making the petcock sit on an angle
- Cleaned grounding points, and added a ground jump wire (connecting the battery ground point and the frame ground point on the back of the engine)
- Rewired the rear lights using terminal blocks, thus allowing for future expansion
- Straightened my long-bent shift lever

Still to go:
Charge battery to see if it's still good, figure out a better fog light switch, change the plugs, then fire it up and see if it was all worth it

 

kicked it :lol:

 

In the past month and a half Bought an 1982 XJ650 Maxim for $800. Have'nt owned a bike in about 15yrs.

-changed the oil,filter and o-ring
-changed the rear gear lube
-replaced spark plugs
-replaced the gauge cluster
-bought new mirrors
-replaced brakes
-cleaned out master cylinder and caliper
-put on new valve cover gasket and donuts
-cleaned and repainted valve cover
-bought a slipsteamer turbo S-05 windshield
-put on a luggage rack

Still looking for a backrest or trunk to add on and replace grab bar

 

Gonna order an inline fuel valve since the petcock's unhappy, along with a new clutch lever after the bike fell over and busted the end off.

Recently I've been spending my time repairing the cars and mowers....hopefully next week I can finish cleaning the carbs and get those back together and installed....then it should be time to try to start it. Eeek!

 

Jumped it, took it to the motorcycle shop to figure out what the problem with the charging system is. Bad r/r. Which brings me to the question:

Does anyone have or know where I can find a replacement regulator rectifier for a '92 600 SecaII?

Also, it started raining while I was there so I had to ride home for the first time in wet weather!

 

Replaced the headlamp on my '82 550R this last weekend.

Yesterday I changed the oil and the filter, and ordered a new set of K&N RC-2372 air filters to replace the crappy Uni sponge pod filters that were on the bike when I bought it that have finally worn through.

Also plan to give it the first really good cleaning of the spring/summer, including a heavy-duty degreasing - the engine is screaming for it.

Once I get the whole thing cleaned, maybe I can finally figure out where my teeny tiny but amazingly consistent oil leak is coming from.

 

Today, I tore apart my left hand control housing on my Yamaha XJ700 in hopes of finding a reason for my horns not working.

I didn't find anything but dirty bits that I cleaned. Once I did that, the turn signals now make a click click in correspondence with the flashing light (which it didn't do before) but no luck in the horn department.

I think these are the original horns (which shined up real nice) and I would hate to have to dump them because they don't work.

Anyone have any suggestions? I have tried adjusting the screws on the back to see if I can get any noise, but no, nothing.

Thanks!

Eric

 

Today, I pulled off the yamaha emblem on the forks, sanded the remaining little bit of chrome off, then primed, wet sanded, and painted it to match my side covers. I also re-installed the carbs, intake boots, and manifolds, cleaned the airbox and battery box, hooked the throttle and choke cables back up, and woped everything back up. stood back for a while, wishing I had the cash for my tank now instead of having to wait until the weekend. I'm ready to hear what she sounds like with the carbs cleaned! Found my new seat on ebay, just waiting to order it.

 

Replaced the gasket in my gas cap.

 

Today I took off my rear wheel, removed the old brakes, cleaned everything out (including all the old crappy grease), sanded buffed and polished the rear brake cover, and put everything back together again w/ all new shoes and grease.

What's more amazing is......the brakes actually work and I have NO 'extra' screws, bolts or washers laying around ! ;-) They work pretty darn good to, compared to what they were before.

--josh

 

As here is storming since 2 days, i equiped myself with pliers, screwdriver and a staple gun and i changed the seat cover - that the cat of the PO loved to scratch - with a new one...went good!

 

Stared at mine in the garage while waiting on the thunderstorms to pass... and they still haven't.

 

Yesterday I replaced the crappy Uni sponge pods with a nice set of K&N filters (take off the gas tank, take off the old filters, oil the new filters put on the new filters, put the gas tank back on).

In the process I found that the rubber brackets that hold (and here I show my true ignorance) those little gold boxes that are part of the electrical system had broken, leaving those boxes dangling from their wires. Now there are three of these things (that I know of) - one under the seat, one under the rear half of the tank, and one under the front half. I'd used electrical tape to "fix" the bracket under the seat a year or so ago, and since that was still holding, and since I had the tank off, anyway, I decided to fix the other two as well.

Y'know, "if it ain't broken, don't fix it" is really a wise saying. With all the pulling and tugging I had to do to get these pieces back in place once I "fixed" them, I ended up exposing a short in the ignition system that took me two hours to chase down (replacing the filters - the job I'd originally set out to do - only took one).

Still three hours later I have a pretty nice-looking set of filters on my carbs, I no longer have any dangling electrical parts, and when I touch the starter, she fires up in a heartbeat, rather than grinding along for ten seconds like she used to. Net net, I'd say that was a good day's work.

Of course, now that I know how easy it is to take that tank off, I'm all itchy to repaint it something other than the crappy matte-black the PO decided to cover it with...

 

New tires mounted today, a set of Bridgestone Spitfires.....
Started cleaning the chain, gawd what a mess......
No more el-cheapo chain lube... messy, + leftover goo from the POs
... On the hit list before putting her back together.....
Finish the chain clean.... clean up the brake drums/shoes...
Sill in decent shape and no delaminating (yay!!)
Will double check the front pads too....

Wheel axles could use some grease, rear was almost dry....

Any ideas on lubing the springs insid ethe brake drum?
shot of silicone lube or some grease?
need something that won't drip or fling...

Anyone think of anything else I should do while I'm in there?

 

I changed the clutch and brake levers, installed my ebay mirrors, fixed the clutch safety switch. Stared at my dented tank for awhile then rode 50 miles.

 

Put her back together.... and OMG!!! what a difference new tires make......

 

took everything apart on the Xj650 cleaned er up some started cutting got everything off the back of the bike cleaned up the cuts started geting ready to weld the hard tail on

 

Waiting on my starter button from Chacal.... Can't start it with no button!

Put the new aluminum brake lever on so it matches my clutch lever. I couldn't stand having one aluminum one and one black one, it drove me nuts for months.

Then I decided to get it all pretty and shiny, and put on two coats of wax.

Had a cold beer and stared at the dent in the gas tank wishing I knew how to fix that.

 

If it's a simple dent where the metal isn't creased, you can try dry ice. Hold it in the center of the dent until the surrounding metal gets frosty. Then, use a hair dryer or heat gun to warm the metal. Open your gas cap. It should pop right out. You can also let it sit in the sun after the dry ice and sometimes that will do it.

Easy cheesy! You can look up dent removal with dry ice on YouTube.

Good luck!