Luke Mailey Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 Hey all. Just picked up my xj. I had to travel 180 miles to pick it up, and what a ride home! so windy! I doubt I'll be using it for long trips! Just wondering if there are after market fairings to buy? I know there are screens (any one own one? Where best to buy?) but are there any real fairings for it, or will any fit from other xj's (like the diversion)? I used to ride a virago (only a 125) but this is my first 'big' bike. It may need a little work as the gears are very clunky, the front break is very spongy and the rear break is SO sensitive - just a small nudge will lock it! I'm only using this for the winter - I'd like a sports tourer for summer. I'm sure once I get used to it I'll love it. Any help would be great on the fairing/screen front. Thanks Luke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimR Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 Hey all. Just picked up my xj. I had to travel 180 miles to pick it up, and what a ride home! so windy! I doubt I'll be using it for long trips! Just wondering if there are after market fairings to buy? I know there are screens (any one own one? Where best to buy?) but are there any real fairings for it, or will any fit from other xj's (like the diversion)? I used to ride a virago (only a 125) but this is my first 'big' bike. It may need a little work as the gears are very clunky, the front break is very spongy and the rear break is SO sensitive - just a small nudge will lock it! I'm only using this for the winter - I'd like a sports tourer for summer. I'm sure once I get used to it I'll love it. Any help would be great on the fairing/screen front. Thanks Luke Hi Luke, back in the 80's Oxford products (along with others) made a nose fairing for the XJ550, but it did upset the handling alot (over 85 mph you would go into a tank slapper) and the only way to fix it was to add a steering damper and have it turned up high for high speed work. The fittings the fairings came with (by todays standard) were really bad (bits of mild steel bent and drilled and the odd U bolt or so !). But maybe today someone has made a better one have a look at this. The gearbox (back in the 80's) was not clunky in fact better than most, have you checked the chain tension and the rear sprocket dampers (either could give you a clunky gear change), but if the bike has laid idle for some time the oil gallery behind the altenator maybe partly blocked, this gallery supplied force feed oil to the gearbox & clutch from the oil pump and if you feel the clunkyness is internal to tthe engine, this is a good place to start. I had one blocked with swarf (from the factory) and it took about 500 miles to destroy the engine (all that was left was the cylinder, cylinder head and crankshaft, I fitted new crankcases,gearbox and clutch) but I very much doubt this is a problem to you and your ruff gearchange will be in the external tranmission. Regards Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Mailey Posted November 11, 2008 Author Share Posted November 11, 2008 Hi Luke, back in the 80's Oxford products (along with others) made a nose fairing for the XJ550, but it did upset the handling alot (over 85 mph you would go into a tank slapper) and the only way to fix it was to add a steering damper and have it turned up high for high speed work. The fittings the fairings came with (by todays standard) were really bad (bits of mild steel bent and drilled and the odd U bolt or so !). But maybe today someone has made a better one have a look at this. The gearbox (back in the 80's) was not clunky in fact better than most, have you checked the chain tension and the rear sprocket dampers (either could give you a clunky gear change), but if the bike has laid idle for some time the oil gallery behind the altenator maybe partly blocked, this gallery supplied force feed oil to the gearbox & clutch from the oil pump and if you feel the clunkyness is internal to tthe engine, this is a good place to start. I had one blocked with swarf (from the factory) and it took about 500 miles to destroy the engine (all that was left was the cylinder, cylinder head and crankshaft, I fitted new crankcases,gearbox and clutch) but I very much doubt this is a problem to you and your ruff gearchange will be in the external tranmission. Regards Jim Thanks Jim. I'll check the sprocket dampers, but chain tension is fine. It's just had a £430 service, and the mechanic should have picked up on all the issues relating to the fact that it has stood idle for so long. It may be that the angle of the gear lever needs some adjustment. Its great of you to write that whole tract of suggestions - thanks! I'n not really sure how long I will keep the bike for. As it cost £430 to get road worthy, I don't really want to spend too much making it run great, or I will have spent more on it than the bike itself is worth! It is in great nick for its age though. It's only done 36,000 miles. The engine may have been re-built, as I'm told it was bored out to a 600cc. The gearbox feels ok - I think the gear changer is just out of line. As you may have guessed, I'm not very mechanically minded, but I have downloaded some service manuals and such in PDF's, so will look at what is best to check (on the cheap!). Luke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimR Posted November 11, 2008 Share Posted November 11, 2008 Thanks Jim. I'll check the sprocket dampers, but chain tension is fine. It's just had a £430 service, and the mechanic should have picked up on all the issues relating to the fact that it has stood idle for so long. It may be that the angle of the gear lever needs some adjustment. Its great of you to write that whole tract of suggestions - thanks! I'n not really sure how long I will keep the bike for. As it cost £430 to get road worthy, I don't really want to spend too much making it run great, or I will have spent more on it than the bike itself is worth! It is in great nick for its age though. It's only done 36,000 miles. The engine may have been re-built, as I'm told it was bored out to a 600cc. The gearbox feels ok - I think the gear changer is just out of line. As you may have guessed, I'm not very mechanically minded, but I have downloaded some service manuals and such in PDF's, so will look at what is best to check (on the cheap!). Luke Hi Luke What I told you wont appear in manuals I was there at the time .... some younger motorcycle mechanics would not have not come across the problem (or ones without Yam experience). But on the cost of service/repairs I have a workshop & MOT testing station in South Worcestershire and I'm sure that I would have put the bike right for well less than that (an offer I'm extending to users of this site), in fact a full service (labour) would have been £125, MOT £20 and I'm now wondering what to spend the 300 quid on ..... materials would have been no where near that. But I must stress that is only to users of this site, may be bear it in mind if you need anything done later the money saved would well pay for a trip into the depths of Worcestershire. The 528cc cylinder liners would have been very close to a problem bored to 595cc but I guess someone could have added a 600 cylinder & pistons to the 550 as they share the same crankcases but the cams & head were different so it would not go like a 600 (less top end but more torque). You can check the cylinder by looking at the lower section (by the crankcase) at ... ummm memory is failing here either between the 2 centre cylinders at the front or by the l/h engine case cover it will read either 528cc or 595cc dependant on the cylinder fitted. The bike, sorted, should give you lots of riding pleasure for year to come 36k is nowt to worry about Regards Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Mailey Posted November 12, 2008 Author Share Posted November 12, 2008 Hi Luke What I told you wont appear in manuals I was there at the time .... some younger motorcycle mechanics would not have not come across the problem (or ones without Yam experience). But on the cost of service/repairs I have a workshop & MOT testing station in South Worcestershire and I'm sure that I would have put the bike right for well less than that (an offer I'm extending to users of this site), in fact a full service (labour) would have been £125, MOT £20 and I'm now wondering what to spend the 300 quid on ..... materials would have been no where near that. But I must stress that is only to users of this site, may be bear it in mind if you need anything done later the money saved would well pay for a trip into the depths of Worcestershire. The 528cc cylinder liners would have been very close to a problem bored to 595cc but I guess someone could have added a 600 cylinder & pistons to the 550 as they share the same crankcases but the cams & head were different so it would not go like a 600 (less top end but more torque). You can check the cylinder by looking at the lower section (by the crankcase) at ... ummm memory is failing here either between the 2 centre cylinders at the front or by the l/h engine case cover it will read either 528cc or 595cc dependant on the cylinder fitted. The bike, sorted, should give you lots of riding pleasure for year to come 36k is nowt to worry about Regards Jim Jim, The mechanic shouldn't have charged me that much - he wanted even more, but I knocked him down. His reasons were that the carbs needed a serious clean. Once he'd cleaned them, he failed to notice that the o rings were shot, so the carbs filled up with fuel. It took him at least 3 attempts to notice! I made sure he didn't charge me for the time this took, but he still said he'd spent 8 hours labour on other parts. I'd be annoyed at the price if I didn't see the tears in his eyes as he took the £430 off me (he wanted closer to £550! It's great to hear that if I have further problems I could trek up to Worcs to take it to someone who knows these bikes - much appreciated! Once I've ridden the bike for a little longer and gotten used to it, I'll begin to get a feel for what else needs doing. Thank you Luke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave C Posted November 18, 2008 Share Posted November 18, 2008 For a small cheap screen you cant beat these http://www.getgeared.co.uk/PUIG_Universal_...torcycle_Screen I used one one my XJ650 and comfortable cruising speed went from 50 to 70, it just deflects enough air to make it comfortable without making it a liability in a cross wind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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