A few Pic of my stable

[tcoop]

It was a nice day to day In the 50's and not raining. So my wife and I decided to use the bike to do our running around on. Once we were done I decided to take some picture of the bikes.

This is my 82 XJ750J Maxim.
When I brought it home 2 years ago. Paid $450


after another $1000 and this last winter it now looks like this:
Before tires and while cleaning the carbs

it now looks like this:

Still a work in progress

This is my wife's bike. 83 XJ750K Midnight Maxim. picked it up for $550

Onlything done so far is to clean the carbs and put new tires on. (120 for the tires including shipping)
Things needed touch up all the paint,check valve clearances

And the NightHawk
When we Picked it up Paid $100


And Today


Modified CB650 Cluster

We still need to Replace the tires , Fix the horn and kill switch total in vestment on this bike $500 (including cost of bike and new tires)

All three are works in progress.Doing the work slowly because I like to ride more than I like to wrench.
At first I was intimidated to work on the bikes but now it has become a passion. 
(My wife has to limit what I spend)

[fishball]

Nice restoration work tcoop.  Way to bring those bikes back to life.

[tcoop]

Thanks, but the picture make them look better than they really are. I still have a lot of work to do...

The best part is i get to ride all three no one else in the family has their MC licence yet.

I have learned a lot from this forum and the xj forum. If it was not for you guys and gals I would not have attempted any of this.(My first XJ was so expensive because I did have some one else do some work )

[Hondo]

Bikes look great!

But the bars on the Nighthawk look like they are rotated way to far forward -

[tcoop]

That's the way they where when we got it. It does feel a little uncomfortable (they are also bent a bit) we will probably replace them before we do much riding on it.

[Hondo]

You only need to rotate them back, a very easy thing to do.

just loosen up the bar hold down allen head bolts, rotate the bars back and then tighten them up.

You may have to reposition the controls /mirrors on the bars when you get the bars where you want them.

I think the grips should be just about level with the ground when they are set right.

[detdrbuzzard]

all you'll need to do the handlebar job it a n allen head socket. nice stable even if the bikes are works in progress. when i finish the 750f up this week it still leave me three  more to work on

[tcoop]

I find my self always looking in the local internet classified for bikes that need to be rescued. I just don't have the money or the space to rescue them all. Ran across on yesterday  A Nighthawk for $350, shaft drive all parts there except for seat but needs to be assembled. No mention on the size. I just cant afford it right now and it breaks my heart.

[tcoop]

I will try rotating the bars back to see if it feels better. The left side seems further forward then the right. Is it possible for the triple tree to be out of alignment?

[happycommuter]

More likely the handlebar is bent.  I'm guessing these have knurling under the clamp and not a locating pin?  Laying a yardstick across the handlebars usually points out assymmetry for me.  To an extent, they can be re-bent...

Anyway, greater job of refurbishment than I've ever done, but what is the instrument modification, and is that why the dials are crooked? (edit: oh, 650 on a 450.  missed that.)

[tcoop]

It was all I could find at the time . The 650 gauges are bigger than the 450 so how they bolt to the 450 idiot lights is different (one bolt mounts for the 450 and two bolt mounts for the 650). I could not use the whole 650 cluster because the mounting bolts were spaced differently than the 450's. Trying to keep the cost down.  Some day we may get the correct cluster for it but this works for now.

[ariwhiteboy]

Wow, great job on those bikes! Have to say I find the first one the most impressive before/after.

[FocusPlayer]

Great work!

[hppants]

Boy, a little TLC goes a long way!  I thought the Yamaha "special" series was dedicated to the XS bikes.  I had a '79 750 Special, a triple.  Loved that bike.

[highwayjamin]

Wow great job on bringing the bikes back to life    They look a lot different from the first set of pictures. Nice work.

[tcoop]

Thanks everyone. I appreciate the all the feedback.

[taj1772]

Wow! Very impressive!!

[garo913]

Nice work!!