New User Survival Guide

The basic forum. Want to show off your XJ or ask questions about it? Maybe you're not sure where to post? Put it here.
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New to XJRider.com? If you've not yet quite figured out where we keep things, want to learn how to use the site, or want to read-up before you jump in with that first post, well, you're in luck. You've found the XJRider.com New User Survival Guide.


What is XJRider.com?
XJRider.com is an inclusive on-line community of motorcycle enthusiasts who love, ride, maintain, modify and support Yamaha's XJ600, Seca II and Diversion motorcycles built between 1992 and 2004. XJRider.com was created by a group of Seca II owners who wanted a forum to share their passion for motorcycles, to discuss maintenance, repairs and modifications of those motorcycles, and who wanted to share the riding experience with others. The site was created in November of 2011 and has been living, breathing and evolving since.

XJRider.com is primarily a web-based, moderated and active internet forum, and is organized into four main categories:
  • The Welcome Section, which includes information which may be important to new users or which the site wishes to highlight.

    Through the Visor, which includes information which is focused on riding and enjoying the XJ600.

    In The Workshop, which is primarily focused on maintaining, modifying and otherwise working on the XJ600. If you do it in the garage, you'll likely find it here.

    The Classifieds, which encompasses all of the sites For Sale related activities.

    All the Rest, which includes anything not specifically or directly related to the XJ600. This may include information about other motorcycles, general riding information, etc.



Setting up your Avatar and Profile:
As a new users, the first thing you should consider doing is setting your avatar and editing your profile to include a signature. These are done in the User Control Panel. Your avatar photo can be any image type but must be 120 x 120 pixels or smaller and less than 20kb in size. Have fun and be creative when choosing photos for your avatar; they tell the board a lot about your personality and they are what's seen when we read your posts.

You should fill out your profile as completely as possible. Include information such as your location, the year of your bike, etc. This information will help us, help you.


Introducing Yourself:
Once you have your profile and avatar set, it's time to introduce yourself to the members of the forum. Visit the Introduce Yourself forum and post a new topic. This is your introduction. Within that topic, tell us where you're from, how long you've been riding, what some of your favorite rides have been, etc. Share photos of your bike if you have them. If you're new to riding and just excited to be here, well, say that too. Posting an introductiion is the best way to show XJRider.com what you're about and what your experiences are. It also helps the existing members of the forum get to know you and understand your abilities.


Posting on XJRider.com:
Searching the forum:
Before you post a new thread on XJRider.com, you should search the forum using the Search page and see if anyone has posted up similar topics before. There are many topics that are repeated and this will improve the efficiency of the site.

The Wall: Guides, References and How-to's:
The section of XJRider.com, referred to as The Wall, houses the guides, how-to's and reference information that we've collected over the years. If we've done maintenance, performed modifications or frequently used a specific bit of reference data, we've posted it to The Wall. When tracking down a problem, looking for a repair how-to, or looking for general information such as specifications, torque specs, or even an online manual, look there first.

The FAQ: Frequently Discussed Topics
There are several topics which are routinely discussed on XJRider.com: Naked headlamp conversions, causes of engine noises, tire recommendations, belly-pan availability, etc. When we notice that a topic routinely crops up, we often create a FAQ entry to provide key information for that topic. Before posting a new question or query, visit the FAQ and see if it's been answered.

Some things to consider when posting:
Once you've established that the information you are looking for is unavailable, it's time to post a new topic. Navigate to the appropriate forum, click on the New Topic button at the top of the forum and ask your question or share your information.
  • Use descriptive titles: Post titles are how the forum search system works. Posting accurate and descriptive titles will help others find the information in your post.
  • Provide adequate detail and include photos if needed: Use proper grammar, proper spelling, proper punctuation and be thorough when posting. Proper grammar/spelling/punctuation will keep you from irritating the pet peeves of the Admin and will also help maintain the professionalism of the forum.
Posting Photos and Video on XJRider.com:
Sharing photos, videos and other media on XJRider.com is encouraged and appreciated. We have a fairly well-written how-to on posting photos which will guide you through the process. XJRider.com uses a separate program, Chevereto, to run the photo gallery. When visiting the gallery for the first time, you will need to register a username and password. I recommend using the same one as the board for consistency. Photos must be a maximum of 1900 pixels wide and must be less than 8MB in size or they will not post to the gallery.
We don't host Videos on XJrider.com, unfortunately; when sharing videos, you'll need to use a 3rd party service such as Vimeo or YouTube.

Participation:
XJRider.com has a continually growing population of XJ enthusiasts who routinely check in and respond to questions, read stories and moderate the forums. One of the best ways to become part of this online community is to use it regularly, build on the topics and conversations, and provide good useful and usable information.

Have Fun:
Most importantly, get excited about your XJ600. Take photos when you ride and share them. Take photos when you take it apart and share them, too. Dream about modifying it, about riding it, about enjoying it. Talk about it to others. Represent it. That's what we're all here for is to have fun. Welcome to XJRider.com!


XJRider.com Specific Rules:
We don't have many site-specific rules, however, there are some that you should be aware of:
  • DO NOT share links to the online manuals and publications section within the forum or elsewhere on the internet. This information is private for XJRider.com members and if its linked to, bots and search-engines will find it and the secret will be out. Sharing this information will result in an immediate ban from XJRider.com. This is a zero-tolerance policy.
  • Do not email sellers in the For Sale section and ask them if they will sell you parts off of the bike they have listed for sale. Trying to take parts from a bike that is being advertised for sale is like stealing floor mats from a car as you test drive it. It's a no-no. Don't do it.
  • Be courteous to other users of the forum and respect peoples opinion. Do not get into mean-spirited debates, call people names or act in an inappropriate manner. Doing so will cause admin intervention which, at a minimum, will result in deleting of your posts and, at a maximum, could result in banning of the users involved.
  • Do not post content which contains nudity, is defaming to women, is racist or otherwise inappropriate. If you wouldn't show it to your 7-year-old daughter, it doesn't go here. No exceptions.
  • This is a public forum. It is searchable by anyone including law officials, the NSA, Google, spam-bots, etc. Keep that in mind when posting and do not share private information including your email address.
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