A mechanic first tipped me off to Yamaha XJs when I was searching for a decent used bike. They are quite reliable for a slightly older bike, fast and powerful for their age and engine size, and can usually be found for a pretty affordable price compared to new bikes. I checked out a few before finding the one I eventually bought. I really like the styling of the 1985 and 1986 model Maxim.

The bike was in "uncertain" condition when I bought it. It looked nice, but hadn't been run in over a year and I gather hadn't been running well (if at all) or the guy wouldn't have left it sitting so long. I wasn't quite sure what repairs might be necessary, but for $1000 I was willing to take a gamble (that's Canadian dollars for any international visitors to my site - roughly US$700). I bought it without a test ride (no license plates or insurance) and without even starting it (no gas in the tank and a dead battery). My brother-in-law was good enough to lend me a hand and the use of his pickup truck so we could haul it home and start working on it.

Unfortunately, the previous owner had left the petcock in the prime position, allowing fuel from the gas tank to flow down by force of gravity into the carburetors. Over time (prior to me purchasing it), the carbs began to overflow with fuel. Eventually, the entire contents of the tank made their way down the fuel line into the carbs. It had to go somewhere from there, and a good portion of it went into the engine where it seeped past the pistons into the crankcase. This was promptly coughed back up the first time I tried to start the bike. Gas poured out of the carbs and air cleaner housing making a big mess and ruining the $40 paper air filter. No wonder I couldn't even see anything through the oil level window. It was all just hazy black. I slid a drain pan under the bike, removed the oil drain plug, and emptied about 7 litres of this fuel/oil mixture out of the bike. It's supposed to hold less than three litres of oil so the majority of the solution was gas. I did two oil changes to make sure there were no traces of gas left where it shouldn't be.

I figured the carburetors were probably in bad shape so I pulled them off. It's not too hard to get them off but putting them back on is a test of patience. Those air cleaner boots are real buggers to squeeze back in. The carbs were actually pretty clean except for the float bowls which were really gunked up. Carb cleaner and elbow grease did the trick on those. I threw it all back together, crossed my fingers and hit the starter button again. The bike barely started. I had to hold the throttle all the way open and it still sputtered, coughed, backfired, and farted smoke out the exhaust pipes before eventually stalling after a few seconds. The engine was turning over so slowly the tach didn't even move.

It occurred to me that the gas I had thrown into the tank had been sitting in my jerry can for a year without stabilizer and was therefore quite stale. Luckily, I didn't put too much in. I went to the gas station with a clean jerry can, filled up with premium, added some fuel additive for good measure and threw this into the tank. The engine still sputtered and stalled on the first few attempts as the old gas worked through the lines. Once the fresh stuff got in, the RPMs began to surge erratically and I started getting readings on the tach. After a few minutes it was actually able to idle without stalling and rev up pretty good but I let it run for a good ten minutes before trying to ride it.

This experience led me to a new policy. I had always kept a can of gas in the trunk of my car just in case. It rarely gets used except for topping up the lawnmower and it's not much good if the gas is stale. From now on, I'm going to empty that jerry can into my car about once a month so I can put in fresh gas.

Despite all the hours of effort, I'd spent less than $100 on repairs and maintenance to that point. The bike already had brand new tires and mufflers so there was nothing to worry about there. Once I had it running, I brought it to the mechanic for some additional service and the safety check. It needed new brake shoes in the rear drums, a brake fluid flush up front, and new fork oil and seals. That's not too bad considering the bike's age.

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