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Winter project

2K views 12 replies 8 participants last post by  Chopper Scott 
#1 ·


With all the snow, I decided to pick up a winter project to keep me occupied when I couldn't ride. This is a 1982 Yamaha 550 Maxim. It sat for a lot of years so it needed a lot of work to get it running. Finally got it on the road today and it's really a fun bike to ride.

Happy Trails!

sanoke
 
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Discussion starter · #3 ·
MarkC said:
sanoke said:
With all the snow, I decided to pick up a winter project to keep me occupied when I couldn't ride. This is a 1982 Yamaha 550 Maxim. It sat for a lot of years so it needed a lot of work to get it running. Finally got it on the road today and it's really a fun bike to ride.

Happy Trails!

sanoke
Does the transmission shift more like a swiss watch as compaired to your Shadow?
Have you noticed while riding it a far less need to know what gear your in?
MarkC
Yes, shifting is very smooth. It's a six speed box so it's easy to keep it in the power band for any given speed. As for knowing what gear I'm in, I only need to make sure I get back to first before I stop.
 
Discussion starter · #7 ·
Spirited said:
MarkC said:
sanoke said:
With all the snow, I decided to pick up a winter project to keep me occupied when I couldn't ride. This is a 1982 Yamaha 550 Maxim. It sat for a lot of years so it needed a lot of work to get it running. Finally got it on the road today and it's really a fun bike to ride.

Happy Trails!

sanoke
Does the transmission shift more like a swiss watch as compaired to your Shadow?
Have you noticed while riding it a far less need to know what gear your in?
MarkC
Mark, sanoke only needs 2 gears for the kind of weather he rides in. :twisted: AND he is fooling talking about "POWER BAND" He can sit still and go thru the gears and not move two feet. Kidding, before anyone starts to flame me.
You know, there's actually some truth in what you say. Having six speeds means that 1st and 2nd are pretty low. It makes it real nice for riding across ice. It's like having a creaper gear. I can stick it in 1st, let the clutch out, climb off the bike and sprinkle sand on the road as I wait for the bike to catch up to me. :wink:
 
Discussion starter · #10 ·
droy said:
Hey John,
How did you come by buying the 500?

what all did you have to do to get it running.

bet ya got a good deal on it too!

droy
I'd been wanting to get something else to tinker with over the winter. I've got both of my other bikes running pretty well so there just wasn't much to do on them. I started watching Craig's List looking for an early 80's Japanese bike in the $500-$600 range. I wanted something that had fairly low miles so the engine and drive train would be good but that had sat for a while so would need a lot of little things fixed. I got just what I was looking for in the 550 Maxim. It has 14,000 miles and is basically pretty sound. I had to rebuild the carbs, replace some cables, clean the electrical connections and tune and adjust everything. I've still got a ways to go with it but it's running well at this point and I'm having a ball riding it. I can make it out of the neighborhood on the sidewalks with this one because the handlebars are narrow enough to fit past the mail boxes and the parked cars. Can't do that on my other two bikes.
 
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