"Nah mate, I’ve never had one of them in. Very unpopular, Yamaha hardly sold any of them," a breaker from Norfolk informed me. This seemed odd as the old Which Bike Used Bike Buyers Guide described it as very popular, and I had bought two of them, myself. Perhaps I had been supporting Yamaha’s 650cc range for the past seven or eight years.
The first XJ I owned was in 1982 when I was a student in London. As the first big four stroke I’d ridden it was obviously superb in my opinion. The second materialised in November 1986, due to my suffering from withdrawal symptoms, having been bikeless for four years - but marriage and buying houses does this to you, I’m afraid.
I am probably different from the majority of UMG readers and contributors in that my motorcycling is purely a hobby - I have a job that requires me to provide a car, so the only justification for having a bike is that I’d go nuts without one Consequently, I have only managed 2000 miles this summer and can’t quote the usual chain, tyres, bits and pieces per 10000 miles, etc (thank god, I hear you cry).
Anyway, last November I was looking for a cheap hack to do up over the winter and was touring the local bike shops. I dropped into R.A. Wilsons of Boston and amongst the shiny rows of GPzs there was a small group of much older and decidedly ratty bikes. Sitting forlornly in the far corner was a XJ650 with a rather nice FZ paint job. It was love at first sight! I asked if it was for sale - it was, said the assistant, about £850 when it’s done up.
Once I had picked myself up off the floor, I found myself saying, well, I’ll give you £500 for it as seen, without letting my brain get into gear. Much to my surprise the answer was yes, but with no guarantee. Thus one week later I was again the proud owner of a XJ650, a 1981 model with 23000 miles on the clock.
On reflection, I was perhaps taking a chance, as the only thing I checked before delivery was that it was a runner with all the gears. I hadn’t noticed the lack of indicators, or the oil weep on the cylinder head or the bald tyres or the dented petrol tank or the but love is blind as we all know. On the plus side, it had the smart paint job, ace bars (if a little bent), a newish Neta exhaust system and Giulari sports seat. It ran well save for brakes that didn’t stop it once it was going.
The bike was stripped down to the bare frame and completely resprayed using cans and cans of cheapo aerosol. I nearly broke down looking at the wiring loom hanging from the ceiling as my knowledge of electrics is limited to joining wires of similar colour and hoping. I wasn't even sure which way round it was supposed to go. The engine was treated to a coat of black heat resistant paint, despite the warnings not to use at a temperature below 70'F - I didn’t have much choice as it was January and probably 0‘F.
Many very rusty parts were sprayed with Hammerite, which gave a good finish and comes highly recommended. The oil leak was cured with a new head gasket, the steering head bearings were replaced with tapered rollers and everything was generally cleaned, greased, etc. The brakes and forks were treated to new seals, whilst the swinging arm bearings were left alone as they looked a real bitch to remove.
A set of indicators were acquired from the breakers for £16 — two from a SR125, two from a LC250. They fitted without any problems but the big test was the wiring loom it only took three goes to get it right. Even the indicators worked after I stopped both sides flashing alternately.
So far the rebuild had cost approximately £80, and all that was left were the usual filters, plugs and a set of tyres. I went to the local dealer and thought I was onto a winner when he said the tyres would cost £55... until he explained that was just the front, the rear was an extra £60. Eventually, I traced a set of Avon F2/R2s at a local tyre depot for £89 fitted, which consisted of bashing the tyre as hard as possible with a rubber mallet.
After the usual necessities - tax, insurance and MOT - I hit the road mid April. My first impression was to try to stop revving the nuts off it as I wobbled away, but I was ashamed to see the tacho had yet to reach 4000rpm. Talk about being rusty, more like complete corrosion. The motor, however, was very smooth and the gears quite positive; memories of five years back came flooding in and the bike certainly didn’t feel six years and 23000 miles old.
The handling was OK, but as I was a complete idiot after four years, I wouldn’t have been able to separate it from an Asda shopping trolley (fitted with Marzocchis of course, which, fortunately, had been fitted to the XJ). The engine felt strong and willing but was a lot peakier than the first one I had owned, with a large flat spot at 4000 - 5000rpm. When changing into top at this point the bike actually decelerated unless powered into the power band.
It was very similar to a LC I owned back in ’81 — no power until 5500rpm and then it would try to pull your arms out of their sockets. However, I like engines with these characteristics as they tend to make for entertaining riding so I proceeded with a suitably manic grin on my face.
Once I was back into the swing of riding the beast, I soon found that it tended to wallow around bends at anything over 60mph with a vague feel to the steering, and a wobble in a straight line above 70mph even with the tyres at the correct pressure. Fitting of new front wheel bearings sorted out the latter problem, and the handling has become pretty respectable, taking into account the 19 inch front wheel and ace bars.
The shaft drive is excellent it doesn’t have any effect on handling and obviously has virtually zero maintenance requirements. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the brakes — the lever often used to come back right to the handlebars, making clenched buttocks a far too frequent necessity. A new master cylinder and Goodridge hoses cured most of the braking problems.
The hoses were cadged off a friend’s recently deceased Z550 for a small sum. The brakes now have plenty of feel but do seem to fade alarmingly (especially from 100mph) when I’m trying to keep up with a friend on his GPz550.
The bike will do 100mph anywhere (but I won’t), but anything over 110mph would require considerably wider and straighter roads than those that exist in East Lincolnshire. Acceleration at mid range speeds is terrific in third or fourth gears with fifth (top) used purely for cruising at 5000rpm or around 80mph.
I am glad I bought the XJ — it has provided large capacity performance for an overall outlay of around £900 including running costs spread over a year. The only maintenance required in 2000 miles was to keep the petrol tank full (35-40mpg), the oil level correct and tyres inflated. The rear tyre is already half worn and will have to see the year out.
I have toyed with the idea of getting another bike and repeating the rebuilding process again this year, but FZRs and 500LCs are still more than £500 even when very tatty. I am still in love with the XJ and probably couldn't bring myself to sell it anyway. It does seem to be what Which Bike described as bullet proof. Maybe this will inspire other armchair enthusiasts and prove that two wheels need not be too expensive even when high(ish) performance is demanded.
Gary Parsons