New old XJ

[John]

If you need a starter, I have a few @$20 each.

[wingnut]

Thanks John, I was picking it up as a spare as I rebuilt it but still don't have a great feeling as to how its going to hold up. The armature had some pretty deep burning. It cleaned up by turing it on a lath but there is not much depth left on the comintator bars. It turns the engine over well for now but lets see what happens when I put some strain on it. Still waiting on the carb kits. Again thanks for the offer and I may well take you up on it

Dave

[wingnut]

TC's EVERYWHERE!

Another one on TC's fuse bolcks finds its way into service. Replaced the worn and broken OE fuse holder. Mounts to the top of the air box and works great. Thanks agin TC.

[wingnut]

Kick Starter

Hey Pat priced the starter on a Harley latley?

[wingnut]

I’m trying to put this XJ back on the street as a dependable daily ride for the brother in-law. Read that as “cheaply as possible”. When I got it the mufflers were holed on the bottoms from rust.


The theory here is I get it running well and he comes and gets it. The looks are his to correct. I’ve got a enough chrome of my own to rub on. Anyway, here is my solution to the rusted out mufflers.



The patches are made from 1/16th titanium. I went looking for stainless steel because it would form better but the titanium was all I could find in the scrap bin. I just used steel pop rivets and the undersides of the patches are buttered with a good coat of JB weld. Might smell funny the first time they see heat but it should hold up.

[MacMcMacmac]

If you don't want to use the main oil gallery for a pressure reading, there is a bolt up on the right side of the block, just under the cylinder head, near the back, where you can take a pressure reading. It is the main feed to the camshafts.

[wingnut]

The Sweet Sound of Success

Remounted the carbs and exhaust system. Used a 1 gallon plastic gas can for a temporary fuel cell by connecting the fuel line to the tanks vent.. I had to prime each cylinder with a small shot of fuel thru the spark plugs holes to get it to light off the first time but it did start and ran pretty good. Charging system is working and after a little carb tweaking it idles. Shifted it thru all the gears while it was on the center stand and everything sounded good. Test ride around the block and I was impressed with the power. This thing is going to be one quick machine after a carb sync and finial tuning.. During the short ride I notice oil on my left boot. It seemed to be coming from the galley plug which I had removed to check the oil pressure, so I figured I had forgotten to tighten it. Wrong! I put the Allen wrench in and had just started to apply a little torque and the cap broke off flush with the threads. Everything is free so removing it was not a problem. Problem is where do I get another one. First thing I did was go over to the 1100 partser but no luck. The galley plugs on the big engines are smaller by about a mm then the plug on the 650. Anybody got a spare XJ650 galley plug they want to sell?

Dave

[MacMcMacmac]

Put out an APB at xjbikes.com, I'm sure someone has a spare there.

[wingnut]

Found one at Bike Bandit along with exhaust gaskets and some other stuff I needed. Here's a picture of it after its first ride under its own power in about 3 years.
That's my buddy's 79 750 in the back ground that we finished back in December.

[wingnut]

Balls Question

Has anyone ever used the tapered bearing conversion kit from P&M? Is it hard to do? Special tools? I have the fork tubes off to replace the seals and the triple tree is apart because I felt a notch in the steering when going lock to lock. The balls were pretty dry but don't seem to be damaged. Still think tapered would be better and for $40 not that bad a price. As long as its not a major PITA to convert.

Dave

[wingnut]

Well here she is with the tapered bearings installed and the XS head light treatment. The original headlight bracket was rusted and one of the ugliest arrangements I’d ever seen. Those original turn signals on this thing look like they came off of a school bus! So after some scrounging and Ebaying ( the front XS turn signals are on the way) this is what she is going to look like. After the last test ride found that the crossover duct on the exhaust was leaking badly at the joint. Had to cut the rusted and broken clamp off and use fiberglass tape, muffler sealant and a stainless steel collar along with 2 stainless steel hose clamps. When I removed the rear wheel to go thru the brakes I discovered why they were weak. The front shoe has separated itself. The abrasive material was in one piece so everything got cleaned up and JB wielded back together. New shoes on the way but it will let me do some more test rides. Delivery day to the brother in law is May 5th. Still got lots to do.

[wingnut]

XS headlight conversion

Could not take the look of the front of the XJ. So we used the fork ears from a XS750, the headlight bucket from a special and the originial headlight ring from the XJ which was bent when we got the bike. Added some new turn signals from an XS and the logo badge from a 1100. Looks pretty good now. Still looking for a seat pan for a 81 650XJ at a decent price but she runs sweet and rides real nice.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Wingnut,

Congrats on a job well done! Is the old seat PAN badly rusted, or are you just trying to find a decent seat?? You could probably get one of those recover kits from JCW to work on it, or even get it done at an upholstery shop?? But, hey, you're in NC, you're supposed to DuctTape it aren't you??
T.C.

[wingnut]

Duct tape is standard equipment in NC

TC I'd duct tape it in a heart beat if that would fix the problem. Notice all the space between the rear of the seat and the grab bar? That's because the seat is from a 750. Its what came with this pile of parts so no telling where the correct seat is. Its held on with tye wraps at the rear right now as the mount brackets are not even close. Seems that XJ guys don't keep plies of parts around like we do so I'll keep looking. If I can find a good pan with brackets a good cover is a no brainer. And thanks I'm pleased she came out looking good. Learned alot on this one.

Dave

[wingnut]

Oil question

Is the oil pressure relief valve in the filter bolt or is that a filter bypass valve. The 650’s bolt was mangled by the PO and I bought a replacement off Ebay. It’s a EMGO. Anyone know of any problems with these? Aftermarket is scary when dealing with some engine parts.