1980 Yamaha XJ650 Maxim from United States of America - Comments

I friend gave me his old 1982 XJ650 Maxim two years ago, after it had sat abandoned in his back yard outside in the rain, snow and dust storms of West Texas for 17 years. It only had 9,200 miles on it.

New tires, cleaned carbs, oil change, etc. and it runs great.

The only problem I have had was a broken clutch lever last week (something of a shock down-shifting from 5th gear!). It's my first bike (I'm 52), and couldn't be happier with the outcome.

I noticed on my 1980 Maxim that the front brakes tend to wear unevenly, with quite a bit more wear on the "drivers" side of the rotor.

Any thoughts or fixes anyone can think of?

Thanks,

John.

Just bought my 80 650 Maxium for $500, and after putting new tires on it, rear brakes and a few cosmetic items, I'm happy so far. Need to tune up the carb, but other than that, enjoying it quite well. Needs some polishing and cleaning, but every second I have, I'm riding it. One day I will stop and get it all cleaned up.

Any suggestions on locating some side covers?

Probably a great bike if I could get it to run.

Just bought a used 1980 Yamaha 650 Maxim for $200. Needs some work on the chrome, but otherwise runs great!

Does this bike run on unleaded gas? I was told that it needed a lead additive, is this true?

Hi, can anyone help? I have an old 78 Maxim, which has just had a 650 engine put into it, but I have a major oil leak and not entirely sure why. A lot of oil seems to be getting into the Air Filter box (I know that during the process of the engine running it will get some) but this is a lot! And it is then leaking out of the bottom of the airbox. Can anyone suggest what the cause of this is, and how to fix it please!!

I'm looking at a 1980 Maxim 650. It has 64,000 miles and needs about $500 in carb. work since it spits gas. The seller wants $900, which seems high from what I've been reading. I know nothing about bikes, but this seems like a good, inexpensive and reliable first-timer's model from the posts. What do you think of this potential bike? Thanks!!

A friend just gave me his 1980 650 Maxim. It has rust in the gas tank and the carborators need to be cleaned, but other than that it looks and feels great. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to clean the carbs? Is there a remedy for a rusty gas tank?

I just recently bought a 1980 Maxim. I probably paid more than I should have for it, but it is a one owner with low miles. I have cleaned out the gas tank, the carbs, air box, air filter, and changed the oil. The bike runs really good but I'm having trouble getting it idle. I've been told that it could be an intake leak or the carbs may need adjustment. I may have to let a motorcycle mechanic look at it. I just don't want to spend a lot of money at this time. With the exception of the problem with the idle, I'm really enjoying the bike.