Modgod1
1974 Honda CB550 Cafe Racer in Progress
1980 Yamaha XJ650g Maxim-I
FOR SALE – $450 MECHANICS SPECIAL! - Just clean the carbs and you’ll have a solid runner! It was running great just a few months ago!
I live in Lexington, South Carolina. U.S.A.
Also, the front brake needs to be rebuilt, and the new turn signal needs to be installed/wired.
I personally, would change the handlebars, because of their awkward shape (even for cruising), which is simple because everything just slides off and on, (you don’t have to run wires through the handlebars.)
OR, if you’ve been watching Café Racer TV, someone recently just turned a similar 1982 Yamaha Cruiser model into a sweet Café Racer!
Bike is TITLED and I include a practically New Haynes Manual for this bike. Has a new wiring harness, and new-ish battery. 18622 miles on bike.
Why am I selling it?: I’m NOT a mechanic, and I want to put the money into my 1974 CB550. At $450 I’m losing money on this bike.
There’s some great info. and pictures in original color of the bike here at wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaha_XJ650_Maxim
Time has not been kind to many bikes of the late 1970s and early 1980s. But there were a few celebrated models that are still great bikes today, and Yamaha’s XJ650 is one of them. Although other makers had dabbled with the cruiser get-up laid over basic Japanese four-cylinder motorcycles, no other manufacturer had made the million-dollar commitment: design a brand-new four-cylinder, and build it specifically as a special — at Yamaha the special became the standard.
For stoplight aggression, the Maxim air-cooled, twin-cam 650 engine housed in a sturdy, cross-braced duplex steel tube frame was a genuine mid-12 quarter-mile streaker. The engine looked lithe and athletic too; Yamaha made it narrow by locating the alternator piggyback—behind the cylinder block and above the gearbox rather than hanging the works on the end of the crankshaft. The Maxim had another amazing feature for a motorcycle touted as a high-performance piece: shaft drive.[1] Contemporary reports praised the Maxim's performance and braking. Criticism was aimed at engine vibration and under-damped suspension. Notwithstanding the minor gripes, the Maxim sold well. Succeeding Maxim models were refinements; the 1982 Maxim 650 had a more comfortable cut to its handlebar, an air-adjustable fork, and a more luxurious seat. Along the way, the Maxim earned a reputation for bulletproof reliability and durability, even surviving the indignities of turbocharging in its XJ Seca incarnation — An XJ650 Seca Turbo was featured in the 1983 James Bond film Never Say Never Again. With a small set of upgrades the Maxim 650 is a capable sport-cruiser today. Many owners add braided-steel brake lines, progressive fork springs, upgraded brake pads and tapered roller bearings for the steering head.
Cycle magazine said in 1982 "Three years later, after the wide proliferation of special styling, it's easy to forget what a landmark bike the Maxim was...The 650 was striking, controversial, sensational, and wildly successful in showrooms. Other companies have produced bodacious knock-offs of the 650 Maxim, imitations that suffer from excess. It's too bad the Maxim was obscured when manufacturers blanketed the market with cruisers. A decade down the road, the Maxim may well be a genuine classic of the 1980s — a bright idea that stood the test of time."[2]
Yamaha's Maxim 650 ad said, "It's hard to believe one motorcycle could be so fast, so light, so lean, and so beautiful.".[3] Also listed as the lightest and narrowest 650 bike available at the time, with the widest rear tire in its class.
FOR SALE – $450 MECHANICS SPECIAL! - Just clean the carbs and you’ll have a solid runner! It was running great just a few months ago!
I live in Lexington, South Carolina. U.S.A.
Also, the front brake needs to be rebuilt, and the new turn signal needs to be installed/wired.
I personally, would change the handlebars, because of their awkward shape (even for cruising), which is simple because everything just slides off and on, (you don’t have to run wires through the handlebars.)
OR, if you’ve been watching Café Racer TV, someone recently just turned a similar 1982 Yamaha Cruiser model into a sweet Café Racer!
Bike is TITLED and I include a practically New Haynes Manual for this bike. Has a new wiring harness, and new-ish battery. 18622 miles on bike.
Why am I selling it?: I’m NOT a mechanic, and I want to put the money into my 1974 CB550. At $450 I’m losing money on this bike.
There’s some great info. and pictures in original color of the bike here at wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaha_XJ650_Maxim
Time has not been kind to many bikes of the late 1970s and early 1980s. But there were a few celebrated models that are still great bikes today, and Yamaha’s XJ650 is one of them. Although other makers had dabbled with the cruiser get-up laid over basic Japanese four-cylinder motorcycles, no other manufacturer had made the million-dollar commitment: design a brand-new four-cylinder, and build it specifically as a special — at Yamaha the special became the standard.
For stoplight aggression, the Maxim air-cooled, twin-cam 650 engine housed in a sturdy, cross-braced duplex steel tube frame was a genuine mid-12 quarter-mile streaker. The engine looked lithe and athletic too; Yamaha made it narrow by locating the alternator piggyback—behind the cylinder block and above the gearbox rather than hanging the works on the end of the crankshaft. The Maxim had another amazing feature for a motorcycle touted as a high-performance piece: shaft drive.[1] Contemporary reports praised the Maxim's performance and braking. Criticism was aimed at engine vibration and under-damped suspension. Notwithstanding the minor gripes, the Maxim sold well. Succeeding Maxim models were refinements; the 1982 Maxim 650 had a more comfortable cut to its handlebar, an air-adjustable fork, and a more luxurious seat. Along the way, the Maxim earned a reputation for bulletproof reliability and durability, even surviving the indignities of turbocharging in its XJ Seca incarnation — An XJ650 Seca Turbo was featured in the 1983 James Bond film Never Say Never Again. With a small set of upgrades the Maxim 650 is a capable sport-cruiser today. Many owners add braided-steel brake lines, progressive fork springs, upgraded brake pads and tapered roller bearings for the steering head.
Cycle magazine said in 1982 "Three years later, after the wide proliferation of special styling, it's easy to forget what a landmark bike the Maxim was...The 650 was striking, controversial, sensational, and wildly successful in showrooms. Other companies have produced bodacious knock-offs of the 650 Maxim, imitations that suffer from excess. It's too bad the Maxim was obscured when manufacturers blanketed the market with cruisers. A decade down the road, the Maxim may well be a genuine classic of the 1980s — a bright idea that stood the test of time."[2]
Yamaha's Maxim 650 ad said, "It's hard to believe one motorcycle could be so fast, so light, so lean, and so beautiful.".[3] Also listed as the lightest and narrowest 650 bike available at the time, with the widest rear tire in its class.
Or is it just South Carolina's too far for you?
