one2dmax

How much rebuilding are you doing? You can either take the engine cases in and get them soda plasted or even dry ice blasted. Both medias are excellent for almost all metals and even softer materials. It will look like new and even a bit polished if you use the soda blasting. You can also use that for the valves. I have used a fine wire brush and general solvents (spray can carb and even brake cleaners) to remove the heavier deposits. Sean Morley

It sound like the gears engagement dogs are rounding off which is very common on many transmissions (especially 2nd gear) I can get the trans undercut at Fast By Gast for you (they are undercut a little from the factory). They do excellent work and I am setup with them. I have had numerous transmissions done by them and all shift better then new when I get them back. You'll want to check and probably replace the shift forks while you're in there. Also, look the drum over carefully as they wear too. Typical price runs between $350-$500 depending on how bad the trans is. They can generally hard weld any heavily worn dogs and re-cut them. It's cheaper then a new gear would be but just as strong (or stronger). Sean

I've had my 83 Seca Turbo since 88. It survived a major accident (woman ran a red light and I caught her in the act!). Since that time I have had 4 750 maxim engines in it (2nd gear always fails and another engine is cheaper then rebuilding one). I currently am in the process of getting it back on the road (haven't ridden it since 94). This winter it is getting a 900 engine installed! Sean

I've got a couple of friends with those bikes and they love them. I am sure you would be very happy with one too. Sean

If you don't have any luck you can email me direct with what you need. I am setup as a dealer for them but don't order much. [email protected] - shipping still is expensive but not that much. Sean

I forgot to mention. I may have spare parts for that bike laying around too. I have two FZ600 chassis's in various condition. I won't be the cheapest you can find but won't misrepresent anything either. Sean

Normally the sidestand switch is routed up and rearward to a 2 wire plug in but yours is a bit different. From the looks of the microfiche (http://www.starmotorcycles.com/star/parts/home.aspx) it looks like you have the switch with it's two wires going into an extension harness (all routed forward) which in turn plugs in to the main harness. If you can find the main harness connection point you can jumped the terminals to bypass the switch for now. Then you can order the part you need to fix it and get it back to normal. Sean

Best bet on these questions is to ask the guys on the XJBikes.com website. Sean

Sounds like the sidestand switch is sticking. It's mean to kill the bike if the sidestand is down and you put the bike in gear. If you put it back in neutral and it starts then that's where you need to look first. If you get the sidestand working and then it runs once started and put in gear but won't start with it already in gear and the clutch pulled in then the clutch switch is bad (located on the bottom of the master cylinder). You may have both issues so tackle each one separately starting with the sidestand. Sean

I do know the R1 calipers and R6 are the same and will work for most swaps well. BUT, the 04 and up are radial mounted and will NOT swap. Sean

"Honda Polish" - best I have ever found! Sean

Update - I wasn't using tap water (sorry - was using distilled). It worked ok for the rubber based parts like the slides and small stuff and only marginally worked on the rest of the stuff. Swapped out the water for my cleaner and what a difference. I had left the cleaner on all night and it only took 30 minutes for the HD cleaner solution to work! Sean

I am trying plain tap water on this current set of carbs. It's been in overnight this time since it wasn't ready in the three hours I was at the shop yesterday. I have also heard that good results can be had by putting the carbs in an old pan or pot and boiling it in distilled water on the grill then using a dental waterpick to clean the orifices out with. Sean

Might want to check your contacts to see if there is any corrosion. It may be as simple as replacing one or more of the bulbs. Sean

Thats the simple and inexpensive way to get the job done but a pin could always work loose and create some damage. You could weld the drum too. I imagine we could make a 2 speed transmission but it would be a lot easier to simply weld that drum up. You can possibly also remove the shift segment pins from the end of the drum assembly. I don't remember if it's accessible from under the clutch basket but if it is you wouldn't even need to remove the engine from the chassis. Just pull the end off the shift drum that the shift shaft engages and just remove the unneeded pins so it won't shift for those gears. Sean Morley