83' XJ900 info needed

[trokel]

Hi all,

For a while now I have had the idea of getting some king of early air cooled 4 cylinder road bike for a bit of touring and the odd rally. No matter how much I tell myself I don't need one I can't seem to stop myself from looking around. Some of the bikes that have grabbed my attention are the Honda CB & CBX750, Kawasaki GT & GPZ750 , Suzuki GSX750 and the Yamaha XJ's.
I was preferably looking for a 750 but I have the opportunity to take a look at an 83' model XJ900 and was wondering what people thought of them.
Which brings me to my Questions.
Even though they are old do they still make a good reliable touring bike?
What sort of problems do they suffer and what should I look out for?
And any other info that you think may be of use.

Also I may consider looking at Club rego down the track and was wondering what the requirements are with that in NSW

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[itsgunnahurt]

Originally Posted by trokel

Hi all,

For a while now I have had the idea of getting some king of early air cooled 4 cylinder road bike for a bit of touring and the odd rally. No matter how much I tell myself I don't need one I can't seem to stop myself from looking around. Some of the bikes that have grabbed my attention are the Honda CB & CBX750, Kawasaki GT & GPZ750 , Suzuki GSX750 and the Yamaha XJ's.
I was preferably looking for a 750 but I have the opportunity to take a look at an 83' model XJ900 and was wondering what people thought of them.
Which brings me to my Questions.
Even though they are old do they still make a good reliable touring bike?
What sort of problems do they suffer and what should I look out for?
And any other info that you think may be of use.

Also I may consider looking at Club rego down the track and was wondering what the requirements are with that in NSW

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

One problem they suffered from was rust in the lower part of the tank. Water would accumulate in the area below the fuel tap. Adding a bit of metho every so often was a preventative, but if the rust is already there, it's too late. I had the tank repaired, but it rusted through again... in the end had to buy a new tank anyway.

In the early 90's, I had an 85 unfaired model and it was awesome, the engine was just soo smooth. Did a few bigger 2-up tours on that bike.
It's a shame when I went to replace the bike, Yamaha released the "XJ900 Diversion". I didn't think it was as good as the older XJ...

[Oldfatbeerman]

Originally Posted by trokel

Hi all,

For a while now I have had the idea of getting some king of early air cooled 4 cylinder road bike for a bit of touring and the odd rally. No matter how much I tell myself I don't need one I can't seem to stop myself from looking around. Some of the bikes that have grabbed my attention are the Honda CB & CBX750, Kawasaki GT & GPZ750 , Suzuki GSX750 and the Yamaha XJ's. CB 750's ( single cam ) are really expensive to buy in good nick . CB 750's ( Twin Cam ) are petrol guzzlers . Kawazaki 750's of that era have a valve recession issue that modern fuels would exacerbate ( I have a GT 750 with 130,000 km on it in my shed ) . The Suzuki GS and GSX 750's are the pick of the chain driven UJM's in 750 capacity from the 70's and 80's . The Yamaha XJ 900 is a gem of a bike but finding one without 2 million km on it might be a bit of a drama , they were used and used well by most who owned them back in the day , should you find one with less than 100,000 genuine km on it jump on it if the price is reasonable .
I was preferably looking for a 750 but I have the opportunity to take a look at an 83' model XJ900 and was wondering what people thought of them.
Which brings me to my Questions.
Even though they are old do they still make a good reliable touring bike?
What sort of problems do they suffer and what should I look out for?
And any other info that you think may be of use. XJ 900's are known to be one of the most reliable , well designed air cooled engines to come out of Japan . As a general rule , 300,000 km between major engine work is rule of thumb . Of course that all depends on who has owned it and how they have maintained the bike as with any motorcycle .

Also I may consider looking at Club rego down the track and was wondering what the requirements are with that in NSW
Bikes must be 30 years old to go on club plates in NSW. There is a Japanese classic bike club that is very active in NSW and there is likely a branch in your area . I can get contact info for you late next week if you can't find it on the net , I work with a guy who is a Jap classic member ( owns a Suzi GSX 1100 and an Xs 650 yam ).

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

[MODNROD]

I can't add much to the above, other than I've owned 1/2 of them, and ridden with mates that have owned the other 1/2!
Kwaka 750s valve seat recession can happen sometimes, but on mine (did well over 100K, and it had 60K on it when I got it), I just redid the seats every 40-50k, so it's not really serious.
Honda CB/Ks are great bikes, but today they are expensive, parts are available but expensive (even on Ebay), and realistically nowadays they're slow and ponderous. The amount of work it took me to get into the 12's on mine was A LOT.
I've been chasing mates down at the drags for nearly 30 years now who were riding Skuzi GS and GSX 4s. They give me the shits, coz they go like the clappers, for a UJM they sort-of stop and corner, and last forever. Aftermarket support is enormous thanks to all the racers, so they just add cams, a lock-up and flat-slides, then happily run without missing a beat for years. They hardly ever break, and will run time after time all day, bloody things.
A friensd had an XJ650Turbo back in the day when we were up in the Territory, after blowing it up a few times, he jammed an XJ900 motor in it, used the turbo system, then ran that poor old thing for over 10 years and 100s of low-11sec passes without a break, it had over 150000km on it when he finally retired the old girl due to too many cracks in the frame. The old XJ9s are a ripper UJM.

These old girls are great fun, they're getting a bit long in the tooth now, but find a nice one with low km's (like under 100K!), and any of them will do the job for you well.

[oz_airhead]

I concur with all of the above. With anything that old I'd watch for rusty fuel tanks - mate rusted his XJ tank out whilst he had it only a couple of years from new. The insides are not painted, and if they have been left to sit, rust. Second hand good tanks would hard to find I would guess.

My hazy memory seems to recall the early XJ 900's had a slightly smaller engine capacity than the later one, and so they (later ones) had better bottom end power.

I had a GT Kwaka and had problems with the tank cracking at the rear mount, as it was flimsy. I only had it for 40K, so can't comment on valves, etc.

I'd try and find a good GS 850G, GS1100G and add those to your list, as well as the GSX 1100. Big Katana's are crazy money, but the 650 was shaft driven, and not so desirable, so cheaper - if you can find one.

FJ1100/1200 were good things as well, but 16" wheels limit tyre choice.

HTH

OZ.

[trokel]

Thanks everyone for your input so far. It makes me even more keen to check this bike out. Sounds like the biggest problem is the tanks.

itsgunnahurt - When you said you had to buy a new tank, did you mean a Second hand one or is someone reproducing them?

Oldfatbeerman - Your comments reinforce what I have been thinking of late. Currently I have been looking at anything I could find that fits the criteria and price range but admittedly the research that I have been doing has been pointing me towards the GSX & the XJ as being the better pick. About 18 years ago I had an early GPZ 750 and it had heaps of problems way back then so it is unlikely I would buy another one unless it was an absolute bargain.

oz_airhead - I quite like the look of the FJ1100/1200's. I was looking at getting one back in the mid 90's when I got rid of my old GPz but I ended up buying a CBR1000 instead. I came across an 1100 here locally a couple of months back an took it for a test ride. It wasn't a bad bike but I decided it wasn't quite what I was looking for.

MODNROD - These old girls are great fun, they're getting a bit long in the tooth now, but find a nice one with low km's (like under 100K!), and any of them will do the job for you well

.

Problem is with motorbike odometers you never really know how many times they have been around the clock.

[enz0]

tyre life on the old XJ's is meant to be fairly impressive as well

[gunnabuild1]

Rust in the lower tank is common as said earlier.
Yes they still make a good reliable touring bike.
Have heard of problems with the fusebox [old style glass fuses] but I've never had it happen to one of mine.Simple fix replace it with a new one.
Other than that the usual stuff when your looking at any old bike,Has it been maintained or abused my 900 is kicking along just fine and I've had a couple of 750's in the past never had any dramas with them that couldn't be blamed on my own laziness,I'm a dont fix it till its broke kinda guy.
Curious about the classic rego question as it pertains to Qld if anyone knows anything?
If you want information overload http://xjbikes.com/Forums.htm

[trokel]

What options are there if the fuel tank is rusted? Does anyone reproduce them or is the only options to try and find a second hand one ( probably hard to find if this is a common problem) or get it repaired (how successful is that to have done?).
Are they interchangeable between models - Will one of a 650 or 750 fit?
I did a bit of searching but didn't find much.

[Oldfatbeerman]

There are likely none available new due to demand in the past so I'd find one that has rusted out and have it repaired or repair it myself , depending on the degree of difficulty with the sheetmetal forming needed . Sheet metal is relatively cheap to purchase and gasless mig welders are cheap to buy , so an owner repair is not out of the question depending on ability to work with your hands and transform thoughts into actions.

The Kawasaki tanks of the era rusted out as well as breaking rear mounts Too . At least mine did .

[itsgunnahurt]

Originally Posted by trokel

itsgunnahurt - When you said you had to buy a new tank, did you mean a Second hand one or is someone reproducing them?

I owned this bike from about '91 until '93, and being at uni I had no money, so I got the original tank repaired, as it was a cheap option. I think they used one of those epoxy type repair kits. At the time, the repair and repaint was a couple of hundred, and I priced a new (unpainted) tank for about $700.
However this tank rusted through again about 12 months later so I lashed out for a new tank, by this time the price of the tank was closer to $900, and still needed to have it painted.
I guess the XJ750 tank would also fit, as the bikes were almost identical, whereas the xj650 was different a different shape.
Don't know if you'd still be able to get hold of a new tank seeing this bike is now almost 30 years old.

As mentioned above, the engine capacity of the 900's was increased from 853cc to 891cc in '84. Even though the original was good, the increase made it better.

Prior to the XJ, I had an '84 z750... this tank developed pin hole rusts spots along the bottom edge of the tank. Then suddenly all these spots opened up and fuel literally p*ssed out through the paint from almost everywhere at once!

[RoadBandit]

Main issues with XJ900's and all the XJ's of that vintage are carbs needing a rebuild,time consuming but not too many dollars if you're patient and are reasonably mechanically minded.

Sticky brake calipers (easy rebuild) and by the sounds of it, driveshaft universal joints. I never had one let go on me but sounds like the odd one goes. They're not rebuildable either which is a PITA.

I had an XJ900F (87 model) for about 10 years. Went everywhere and never had a fail to proceed.

I have recently bought an XJ750RL, same chassis as an XJ900 but with a 750 Seca motor.

Lots of info over at XJBikes.com
hope that helps....

[fallingoff]

mates got one in his shed
in syd
do you want me to ask him
if for sale

cheers

q

[ditchwitch650]

Originally Posted by trokel

What options are there if the fuel tank is rusted? Does anyone reproduce them or is the only options to try and find a second hand one ( probably hard to find if this is a common problem) or get it repaired (how successful is that to have done?).
Are they interchangeable between models - Will one of a 650 or 750 fit?
I did a bit of searching but didn't find much.

i've had 2 of them, thye are great cheap bikes, good power 250k's+ heaps of grunt for 2 up loaded shaft drive was spot on

the only problems i had were the front forks were a little soft and the rust in the lower rear corners of the tank,
i got heavier fork springs from the wreckers (fj1100 maybe)
i fixed both the rusted tanks with dev-con ($15) had 1 bike for 2 years without it failing

[AL-58]

I had an '83 between '87-'89. Great bike, sold it with 140,000kms on the clock still running like new. Had the rusty tank too (the bubble in the paint burst 1 hr out of Ceduna). Only ever non-normal issue I had was the voltage reg. Earlier XJs had more 'stuff' (antidive forks, better quality shocks, cast alloy footpegs, highly adjustable handlebars) the equipment on later ones got stripped by Yamaha to help keep the price down.

FJ1100 another great bike but tyres are difficult to get these days (16" both ends). You'd need to look at the later 1200 with 17" wheels. A mate sold a very well looked after 1100 a couple of years ago cause he could no longer buy tyres (It was a babied bike, average 3,000kms a year it's whole life from new).

Al