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I finished my 850 final swap yesterday and have since put 150 miles on the bike. I bought the XJ in mid-February and have steadily been working through examining and servicing every object on the bike. I’ve rebuilt the calipers and master cylinders, changed a tire, de-linked the brakes, fixed the fairing, added fork spacers, etc. I really was having trouble with the idea of not checking the swingarm and wheel bearings. I had an 81 Virago that the swing arm bearings failed on so I’ve been looking for a reason to check these.
As far as the install itself of swapping the final and making the necessary changes it’s not bad. I chose to pull the rear swing arm and all related parts as well as the rims for refinishing. This small addition makes for a LOT of additional work. All the parts were showing their age so a lot of elbow grease, some sandpaper, and some paint made everything look much nicer. I also cleaned the calipers with 3M scouring pads and re-painted them. Upon re-assembly I was able to work some new grease into the wheel and swing arm bearings!
On the final I took a grinder and knocked down 6 of the ribs to make them look like the 1100 final. It’s not going to be easy to spot the 850 final in this one. All the parts were painted with rattle can epoxy paint.
On the first ride it was immediately apparent that the gearing was different. I must say 1st gear is a tad high for my liking. I feel like I've traded 1st for 6th. On the first ride I nearly dropped the bike as a result. I was making a hard right turn into a business and I let the RPMS drop too far and stalled the motor. While leaning right the bike immediately wanted to drop right and I was able to put my right leg down fast enough to act like a pogo stick and 3 hops later had the bike stopped. It all happened so fast I didn’t even have time to think, just re-acted. Had I been on my 850lb Honda it probably would have ended up on the pavement. A side from the tall 1st gear everything else if fine. I ride in a medium size metro area with a mix of regular surface streets and expressways. I still prefer the 850 over the 1100 with in town driving.
Tonight I headed out for a town 45 miles away and can report the bike really performs well. I can’t get over how much better the gearing seems to fit, what a well manured ride now. I have to think this is what the bike should have been delivered with. 65 mph now revs at 3900rpm, not 4500. On my first fill-up since the swap mileage went from 35mpg to 40mpg but I'd really like to see 45mpg. About the only thing left to address on the bike is a good carb cleaning and I’ve picked up an extra air box and will be looking to mod it for a more modern filter element. I have an XJ and don’t like the idea of hard to locate 50.00 air filters. Final comment is it receives John’s 2 thumbs up review and no going back for me.
FWIW the Honda VTX guys are doing the same thing for the same reason. I've swapped rear end on my 1800 with the 1300 rear end and don't even drop into 5th until 60mph now but then that ride doesn't red line at 8500
As far as the install itself of swapping the final and making the necessary changes it’s not bad. I chose to pull the rear swing arm and all related parts as well as the rims for refinishing. This small addition makes for a LOT of additional work. All the parts were showing their age so a lot of elbow grease, some sandpaper, and some paint made everything look much nicer. I also cleaned the calipers with 3M scouring pads and re-painted them. Upon re-assembly I was able to work some new grease into the wheel and swing arm bearings!
On the final I took a grinder and knocked down 6 of the ribs to make them look like the 1100 final. It’s not going to be easy to spot the 850 final in this one. All the parts were painted with rattle can epoxy paint.
On the first ride it was immediately apparent that the gearing was different. I must say 1st gear is a tad high for my liking. I feel like I've traded 1st for 6th. On the first ride I nearly dropped the bike as a result. I was making a hard right turn into a business and I let the RPMS drop too far and stalled the motor. While leaning right the bike immediately wanted to drop right and I was able to put my right leg down fast enough to act like a pogo stick and 3 hops later had the bike stopped. It all happened so fast I didn’t even have time to think, just re-acted. Had I been on my 850lb Honda it probably would have ended up on the pavement. A side from the tall 1st gear everything else if fine. I ride in a medium size metro area with a mix of regular surface streets and expressways. I still prefer the 850 over the 1100 with in town driving.
Tonight I headed out for a town 45 miles away and can report the bike really performs well. I can’t get over how much better the gearing seems to fit, what a well manured ride now. I have to think this is what the bike should have been delivered with. 65 mph now revs at 3900rpm, not 4500. On my first fill-up since the swap mileage went from 35mpg to 40mpg but I'd really like to see 45mpg. About the only thing left to address on the bike is a good carb cleaning and I’ve picked up an extra air box and will be looking to mod it for a more modern filter element. I have an XJ and don’t like the idea of hard to locate 50.00 air filters. Final comment is it receives John’s 2 thumbs up review and no going back for me.
FWIW the Honda VTX guys are doing the same thing for the same reason. I've swapped rear end on my 1800 with the 1300 rear end and don't even drop into 5th until 60mph now but then that ride doesn't red line at 8500
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