Purchasing my first bike - '82 400 Maxim

[Fivyrn]

Hello!

I wanted to make an intro thread before I jumped into the rest of the forum. Mostly just to say hi but also to hear any comments or feedback.

I recently decided I wanted a motorcycle, but I have never been a fan of large bikes and quickly found that the 400cc-650cc range was perfect for me (in fact most 650cc's I see are too big for my tastes). It's not that I don't like to go fast I just really like the look and feel of lightweight bikes.

After some research I fell in love with the Honda CB450SC Nighthawk ('82-'86) but in my area there is only one in good condition (~5k miles, no issues, looks great) but the seller wants $2k for it which is a bit crazy. Everyone on the Nighthawk forums said not to pay more than $1500 and even that was too much.

So there I was sad and refreshing craigslist every few hours for a few days. I sent some emails after an '80 Honda CM400 for $1100 that looked nice and had low miles but didn't hear back when all of a sudden an '82 Yamaha 400 Maxim (which I believe is model XS400J? I am having a hard time finding a lot of information at the moment) popped up.

It looks to be in great condition, the owners wife has been riding it a little bit for the last 5 years. Only 3300 miles, tires have about 1200 on them, oil recently changed, he had the carbs rebuilt (new jet needles and seats, he says the old ones were pitted), only minor scratches from moving around the garage and normal wear and tear... and only $850.

This seems like a great deal, I am going to see it tomorrow and I think I am going to buy it. He has the Yamaha service manual for me as well. Here are some photos:

So what do you guys think? Good deal / bad deal / average deal / amazing deal? Anything I need to know?

I plan to really take care of the bike, I want to learn to do all the routine maintenance and repairs and I plan to go through all the systems to make sure they are clean and running well, and if not I will repair/replace them with as close to original parts as I can.

Thanks for reading, I look forward to talking with you all once I am an owner

 

[ace68]

Thats a cheap bike and looks to be in good condition.

Posted via Mobile

 

[RevrdMark]

looks in good shape, but always hard to tell from photos. Make sure to check the tank for rust especially since he just cleaned the carbs (may be a reason he cleaned them ie they were gunked up with rust) My XS is a little older but my fuse holder was pretty beat up and gerry-rigged together so might look there too. I have seen lots of post on here about the Carb boots being a bad spot on these bikes as well. Look for old cracked rubber there. But it looks like a good deal man. Its been like 80 degrees in your neck of the woods hasn't it? Hard not to buy a bike when its good weather like that lol!

 

[OliverB]

Welcome and that bike will be a great score if all checks out. Keep us posted.

 

[226dark]

I would say between good and amazing deal, and 3300 miles?!

I got a "deal" and paid $100 and someday when i'm really feeling like being depressed, i will add up the ACTUAL cost of the POS I bought. It scares me

Next bike will be more like what you are looking at, though i'll still tear it apart just for fun probably, HA.

Do you want some Craigslist comparisons?

Too much $ and 27k miles
http://madison.craigslist.org/mcy/2909170830.html

Same price, 13k miles
http://cleveland.craigslist.org/mcy/2866988726.html

Too much $, awful pictures probably intentional
http://syracuse.craigslist.org/mcy/2914833208.html

Same price, 14k miles, title issue
http://duluth.craigslist.org/mcy/2913492706.html

$500 (+ + + $$$) TLC? BCNU!
http://smd.craigslist.org/mcy/2798322811.html

because it is a PROJECT. At least he's honest
http://maine.craigslist.org/mcy/2800948652.html

This one gotta wonder, not much info
http://harrisburg.craigslist.org/mcy/2885729394.html

Too sum up. . . I would buy it

 

[Fivyrn]

Hmm I thought I was subscribed to email alerts for this thread but I guess not... Thanks for all the responses!

We went to see the bike today (this is my first bike and I am a total newbie but I learn fast and I plan to do all my own maintenance and repairs on this bike, my stepfather is a mechanical engineer and works on cars and bikes in his spare time and has owned 15 bikes) and it looked great.

The bad (not very bad): front of the exhaust pipes are blue and yellow, should be not too hard to fix. Front fender has a small crack that the owner sealed with super glue, small crack on a side cover, some scuffs on the gas tank, some spots of rust in the gas tanks, a few other minor cosmetic issues, it takes a long time to warm up (want to ask about this later in the post).

The good: everything else, the bike is in amazing condition and runs fantastically once it is warmed up. My stepfather pegged it at its spedometer's limit of 85, and we rode on it together and were over 75 (I only have a permit and today was my first day of riding).

As we left together to test it with two people I asked him what he though after we inspected it and he had tested it once by himself, he said "if you don't buy this I am going to, it is in amazing shape." The owner even threw in an extra old full face helmet that fits me decently so I can practice driving a bit before I get a new helmet.

First things I want to do is just clean up the bike, wash it, clean the seat, plastic, chrome, paint. What do you suggest? What kind of brush should I get? What should I get for the seat? Sounds like Armorall for the black plastic, wax for the paint, and chrome finish for the chrome... anything else? My next task is going to be oiling and cleaning the chain... what should I use for that?

I do have the Yamaha service manual, is this all I need or should I pick up Clymer's as well?

And now about the cold-bloodedness... from a cold start you have to run this thing with the choke open for about 5 minutes before you can even roll on the throttle a little bit, if you try before that it just dies. When I was first practicing in a parking lot for my first ride it was after my stepfather had just ridden it an hour from were we bought it to my neighborhood so it was well warmed up and ran great. Later that evening I tried to run it from cold and man the choke needed to be out for so long, eventually after 5 minutes of warm up and 5 minutes of driving with the choke open I closed it and it seemed ok, but then I had it off for about 5 minutes and when I started it without the choke it died after about a minute of idle, also when I got home I left it to idle for a bit and it died.

Is this just how it is? Or can I check something? Could there be rust/grime in the petcock filter that could be causing fuel flow issues? The carbs were "rebuilt" last year, they replaced the jet needles and seatings because they were pitted but I don't know if they did anything else, do I need to take apart the carbs and check the floats? I would love to get this bike to run a bit better in the first half hour of starting it but I am not sure where to start.

Thanks a lot guys and I look forward to joining the community!

 

[ace68]

Hmm I thought I was subscribed to email alerts for this thread but I guess not... Thanks for all the responses!

We went to see the bike today (this is my first bike and I am a total newbie but I learn fast and I plan to do all my own maintenance and repairs on this bike, my stepfather is a mechanical engineer and works on cars and bikes in his spare time and has owned 15 bikes) and it looked great.

The bad (not very bad): front of the exhaust pipes are blue and yellow, should be not too hard to fix. Front fender has a small crack that the owner sealed with super glue, small crack on a side cover, some scuffs on the gas tank, some spots of rust in the gas tanks, a few other minor cosmetic issues, it takes a long time to warm up (want to ask about this later in the post).

The good: everything else, the bike is in amazing condition and runs fantastically once it is warmed up. My stepfather pegged it at its spedometer's limit of 85, and we rode on it together and were over 75 (I only have a permit and today was my first day of riding).

As we left together to test it with two people I asked him what he though after we inspected it and he had tested it once by himself, he said "if you don't buy this I am going to, it is in amazing shape." The owner even threw in an extra old full face helmet that fits me decently so I can practice driving a bit before I get a new helmet.

First things I want to do is just clean up the bike, wash it, clean the seat, plastic, chrome, paint. What do you suggest? What kind of brush should I get? What should I get for the seat? Sounds like Armorall for the black plastic, wax for the paint, and chrome finish for the chrome... anything else? My next task is going to be oiling and cleaning the chain... what should I use for that?

I do have the Yamaha service manual, is this all I need or should I pick up Clymer's as well?

And now about the cold-bloodedness... from a cold start you have to run this thing with the choke open for about 5 minutes before you can even roll on the throttle a little bit, if you try before that it just dies. When I was first practicing in a parking lot for my first ride it was after my stepfather had just ridden it an hour from were we bought it to my neighborhood so it was well warmed up and ran great. Later that evening I tried to run it from cold and man the choke needed to be out for so long, eventually after 5 minutes of warm up and 5 minutes of driving with the choke open I closed it and it seemed ok, but then I had it off for about 5 minutes and when I started it without the choke it died after about a minute of idle, also when I got home I left it to idle for a bit and it died.

Is this just how it is? Or can I check something? Could there be rust/grime in the petcock filter that could be causing fuel flow issues? The carbs were "rebuilt" last year, they replaced the jet needles and seatings because they were pitted but I don't know if they did anything else, do I need to take apart the carbs and check the floats? I would love to get this bike to run a bit better in the first half hour of starting it but I am not sure where to start.

Thanks a lot guys and I look forward to joining the community!

Well done you lucky man.

 

[RevrdMark]

Someone else might have another opinion, but if it runs well after its warm i don't think there is an issue with the petcock or fuel delivery. You might try opening up the idle jet on the front of the carbs a little (I think the setting for them is between 3 - 3 1/2 turns out from closed) that may help. It doesn't sound like from what you described that you would need to crack into the carbs. I had an old 82 Suzuki GS650 that i had to open the choke on to get started every time and once it started i closed it and it was fine, i kinda' just learned to live with it. Sounds like you have alot of fun ahead of you, and your step father can teach ya alot.

One last thing... I know it can be expensive but don't skimp on your gear if you can help it. Even low speed crashes can do big damage if all you have on is jeans and flip flops. This is my shoulder and helmet after an off i had last spring going only about 15mph in full race leathers at the track.

 

[ob269]

Nice bike man, good score!

also, Mark, I know what you mean about wrecking on pavement. I wrecked my old dirt bike on pavement(was doing a wheelie and decided second gear was a good idea lol) i didnt end up with a trip to the hosp. but it hurt like HELL!!! i crushed my ankle between the pavement and the footpeg and sprained the shit out of my right wrist.. Very hard to throttle with left hand..

 

[Fivyrn]

So does anyone have a list of essential supplies and a good place to get them? I am thinking mostly about cleaning supplies and cans/bottles of stuff, not tools.

 

[ThePsuedoMonkey]

I've gotten most of the essentials at Meijer. Simple Green, Lucas oil, buffing/polishing/cleaning brushes & cloths, handheld oil pump (for the chain), etc. are a good start imo. Grab a bunch of oil filters so you don't have to pay individual shipping (every distributor seems to be online only with a similar price). Other than that, pretty much the only other thing to make sure you grab is a few gallons of elbow grease!