XJ Mechanics in South Florida (West Palm Beach or Broward?)

Hey, I'm looking for a good mechanic to help assess and glorify my new old xj 650... I'd like to learn to do the work myself but I need the bike for transportation first.

I'm in Greenacres, right near Lake Worth, FL (West Palm Beach area)...

Cheers!

 

We tried to warn you. Sorry, man, but if you're going to actually USE a 30-year old bike for transportation, you're going to need to get serious about fixing it yourself, or get out now.

If you honestly think you're going to be able to afford to pay somebody, PLUS buy parts, for everything the bike will need, then you need to think again.

I use my bikes for commuting and daily transportation. But it cannot be done without going through the bike, and getting it 110% FIRST. And I sure as heck couldn't afford to pay somebody to do all that needs to be done to make a 30-year old Jap bike safe and reliable again. It certainly can be done, but you need to do it yourself.

I'm not trying to pee in your cornflakes; just enlighten you to the hard truth. You can't afford to pay someone to properly recommission your bike; or you'd have bought a new bike. It's DIY or drive your car/truck, honestly. Or go buy a new bike with what it would cost you to pay somebody to fix yours.

Sorry.

 

i was thinking maybe get a local bike mechanic to look it over for a few hours, give me a realistic estimate. you see ads for bike mechanics for $50 an hour or so...

that and get the manual

 

Re: XJ Mechanics in South Florida (West Palm Beach or Browar

If you are inclined to do the work, it is not difficult......Listen to Fitz...the checks and repairs do not take long and will potentially save your life...To have a "mechanic" do this is extremely expensive and the job may not be done right...that's where you come in. A 30 year-old Seca has worn rubber all over it + old tires [what's the date on your tires?] and issues with the rear brake shoes and front brake lines......If you ride now, there's a real good chance that somethin's gonna give. If you think you need a mechanic, get rid of this bike and pay up front for a 1 or 2 year-old machine that MAY be all right - there are no guarantees. I have learned that on this site people are really concerned about each other.... the advice offered here is second to none. Here's where I'm at with my "new" 82 XJ650 seca:



and the carbs:



Currently have the front brake lines removed as well as the calipers and now the rear wheel.......I haven't done stuff like this before either...but now I KNOW what's done ...and what isn't...

 

actually a friend and his roommate own a garage, said if i bring the bike in they'll look it over for me. the guy works on everything, i think he also turns a lot of cars into racecars...

if i can turn the bike over then i can drive it the few miles to the shop... at least i know they'll be straight with me, have access to cheap parts...

and of course get the manual, shit

 

nice pics! thanks

sure looks beautiful, if i could wrench it where i'm living now i would be in there

 

So, just let me understand this...no garage, right? I work during the day and have a busy family life.....I have this project [+ a very ugly CB350.....belongs to Bobbybonez] and you will need space for a good few weeks while you do this stuff.....believe it or not, it's one of the best things about these older bikes....old, dumb guys like me can actually do stuff with them....and, once again, know that it's done right....

Dave

 

sort of, and that's one of the reasons i got this kinda bike. i wanna get in there but am a bit migratory of late...

 

plus, it's a nice bike for a beater on it's way to ressurection

 

I can attest to needing a garage.. mine is taking up a LARGE two-car garage with room for work benches, TWO full-size tool boxes, trash cans, a table saw... the list goes on. I'm doing a complete overhaul, and if you expect to use yours for regular transportation, you should do the same (I live in the Northeast and used mine for primary transportation last November through April.

The work that needs to be done may be a pain in the ass, but start a thread here.. post some pictures of the bike, post the condition it is in, and ask TONS of questions. The group will get you up and running. Safety checks, performance and reliability can all be managed on your own with a little time and patience, and when you have her on the road and cruising, the feeling of knowing not that you have a bike that rides well, but a bike that YOU made ride well and a bike that YOU can fix - that is something you can't compare to any other feeling. In short, you can't buy that kind of satisfaction.

Safe riding, and PLEASE ask questions. The last thing any of us wants to see is an obituary or report of serious injury that could have been avoided.

 

You're missing the point. You can't be using it for transportation until AFTER certain things, primarily brakes and tires, have been attended to. You can't ride it "while" or something bad will happen; the resurrection needs to come FIRST.

TRUCK it to your buddy's garage.

 

so I tried the screwdriver shorting test at the solenoid terminals and the tube blew a little smoke and the engine tried to turn over but couldn't do it. but it tried which was more than it was doing without the screwdriver.

figured it was worth a try.

 

OK, that was a basic solenoid test. If everything else has checked out fine, then performing that test tells us that the starter will still work independent of the solenoid. It DOES NOT confirm a bad solenoid, as there are a lot of other factors that could prevent the solenoid from being energized. It's simply a crude but effective way of bypassing the solenoid.

To help us all communicate a little more clearly going forward, we need to clarify the common usage of a couple of terms:

"Turn over" is generally used to indicate whether or not a motor is actually spinning when the starter is engaged, not whether it's firing or not.

"Firing" is what the motor does when it tries to run. To most of us, "not turning over" means that the motor isn't turning, period NOT that it's spinning but not firing.

I think what you are trying to convey is that the motor is turning over, possibly firing erratically, but won't "light up" and actually run. Right?

Last but not least, what does "the tube blew a little smoke" refer to?

 

Thanks Fitz. There's a clear tube running down past the battery that seems to vent something... ? i could get a pic maybe but when i did the screwdriver test there was some smoke and it tended to come out of that clear tube. i don't like the sound of that either.

so i might be able to trade some logo design for this mechanic to work on my bike but I'll know more tomorrow maybe - i picture like a motor flying on some cartoonish angel wings but I offered through a friend to possibly ... u know, ressurect the blue angel

 

Hey!! I use to leve around there!!!... listen, the guys at Broward Motorsport Honda work pretty good, located in West Palm, and listen get everything done by a mech first, then while you're using the bike you will have time to get to know her mechanically

 

The clear tube is the battery vent, and you don't ever want to see smoke coming from it. It's not smoke, it's battery acid vapor and Hydrogen gas caused from an excessive load put on the battery. While working at a car dealership, I saw what happens when a battery is shorted when a screw driver fell across the posts, it made lots of "smoke".
Rod1, I think you are missing the point when it comes to this site, we are trying to help out a fellow XJer with our combined wisdom by keeping him from needlessly spending his hard earn money on so called professional mechs.