What did you do to your Yamaha today?

I went to get milk. It's weird how far away the grocery store is when I ride the Seca. A 15 minute trip took almost two hours.

 

Forgot to put the battery on a charger when I went on vacation for 9 days. Got home today tried to start the bike. It started the second I hit the start button.

 

Put a new rear tire on the 700, and got inspected.

 

Reinstalled carb rack on latest project, 1981 SECA 750.

 

All cleaned up for the new head gasket

 

Installed the used stock exhaust system i bought a couple of weeks ago, got rid of the old worn out 4-1 system.
What a difference in sound-sweet
Rebuilt the petcock -thank you BigFitz with the forum posting.
Included in that rebuild was that little plastic disc in the vacuum port.
Now runs on RUN, and not PRI, and installed a new inline fuel filter.
All parts ordered and delivered wickedly fast from Chacal.
No other place to get parts
Don't waste your time. Order from Len.

 

I added some LED lights to the rear. Blue that are just above the plate (always on) and two red below the plate that are wired to the brake light. Much more visible at night.

Also fabbed up a light bar for the front and wired 2 larger LEDs to the accessory light switch. Almost don't use the high beam now. Rewired the accessory light to come on with the high beam.

Put on a set of Bridgestone Battlax BT45 dual-compound tires before setting off for Canada on a 2000 mile camping trip. Great handling and good in the rain. Good center wear, too.

 

Absolutely nothing......enjoyed looking at it.....running perfect......lol

 

Rode in the rain.
Realized that I no longer have apprehension about rain.

Proper gear, awareness of different conditions and adjustment of driving tactics.

On a related note- RainX is great . . . for rain, not so much for road spray.

 

I rode it for the first time this year. Let's hear it for above freezing temps in Michigan! Filled the tires, checked the pre-load, replaced the battery. Next is getting the carburetors cleaned... where was that stickied post?

 

Finished the conversion of my winter project 82 XJ750 into a "GS" dirt slinger. Rode it for the first time today around the farm road and sent rooster tails of mud into the melting snow banks. Amazing what a set of knobbies can do for traction! Custom rack made out of 3/4" steel square tube to carry ammo cans.

 

Pics or it didn't happen!

 

Absolutely nothing

 

I finally installed the new brake lines that I bought from Len last year.
The existing lines were the originals from 10/80.
First ride of the year. Temperture of 10 C.

 

Oh ye of little faith! Three months of hard work and you won't take it on faith?!?

Fine, here you go. It's not clean 'cause I was running it around the farm in the mud.

Bear in mind that this started as a $300, non-running barn find. It was ugly to start with and neglected by POs.

 

Checked out my local motorcycle graveyard and found a seca 650 gas tank and picked that up and some soft, sparkling and crack free set of carb boots for 75 bucks. The tank has light surface rust in a couple spots on the inside and 2 small fixable dents.

 

Hey Buddy mind telling which model is the motorcycle? coz I was actually looking to buy 1

 

That's an xj750 Maxim

 

Started up the Maxim for the first time this year. Just puttered around the yard. Now to check the valve clearance and get state inspection. Of course, that little sticker never stopped me from riding before.

 

The two copper washers that I forgot to order came in the mail today, so I spent my time after dinner torquing the head nuts down properly. Cams go in tomorrow, with this year's riding to commence by the weekend. I might even make some time to write things up and post them. The frame repair came out great, and I needed a smaller peice of patch than I thought I would (sorry no pics were taken during the repair process as my time was short).

 

I dreamt about mine...

I also got my new front brake pads for the 750. still waiting for other parts.

FU

 

ignored it... hoping snow will go away!

 

Started the 700.....started right up. Gotta wait til snow is gone and roads are clean before I'm willing to go out for a spin.

 

I did the final buttoning up of the engine after ensuring that oil was flowing to the head sufficiently. Then I put all the other stuff back on and fired her up! She's running almost as good as new; I just need to do a runing carb synch and she's good to go. (note to self: do not mistake the #1 synch screw for the #1 intake boot clamp screw).

My wife said that everything would be sure to work perfectly since it's been thunderstorming all day.

 

Oops! Lol

 

Installed the two shims to bring the valve clearances into spec and fitted the frame to the engine. Started some of the re-assembly.

 

I went for a very enjoyable 14 mile ride. No oil leaks, no ticking from the primary chain; it was absolutely worth the four months of downtime.

 

Woke up the 700 today.... Started right up, but found a leaking.... maybe i should say running.....petcock. Good thing I have an extra fuel shutoff valve! Time to get a rebuild kit.

Started the 900, too.... First touch, started right up

 

Checked valve clearances for the second time since I bought it, ordering gaskets from chacal

 

TShirt weather today, Running sync, color tune, Vroom Vroom

 

I finally got the parts I needed to finish up the front brake rebuild on my 750. then I fabbed up some front turn signal mounts, reinstalled the mufflers with their new rubber isolators. buttoned up a couple other loose ends and it's almost ready for the road.









FU

 

today I bled the front brakes and actually rode it up and down the street. then I swapped it out in the garage with the 550. now I can start tearing the front end off the 550 and start the radian wheel/front fork swap.



FU

 

Whoo HOO!!!!! Onward with the riding.

 

Went on my first decently long trip of the year this past weekend! A little short of 800 miles from friday afternoon to sunday afternoon, with about 450 being western Virgina mountain twisties. If anyone is every around Tazewell,VA, do yourself a favor and hit the 33-mile Back of the Dragon, IMHO it is better than the Tail. Time for an oil change and back to the mountains in 22 days!

 

Last Sunday, checked valve clearances, corrected #1 Intake, put carbs back on, went to roll bike out of garage - front brakes locked up. Pulled apart caliper, cleaned, reassembled. Pulled master cylinder, cleaned (that realllllyyyy tiny hole appeared to be plugged ) reassembled. Bled breaks, found that putting a real long clear tube on the bleeder and sucking on it works really good.

Went for a quick ride . . . Think my funky hanging rpm thing is still around. Borrowing Morgan Carbtune to verify running synch.

 

Sprung for my own Colortune plug and tuned the dirt project bike. Then balanced the carbs with a homemade rig using baby bottles and ATF. Worked great and runs very smoothly now. Starts with the touch of the starter button without hesitation and settles into a nice 1100 rpm idle when it's warm.

Finally got the registration and plates from the DMV (after nearly 7 friggin' weeks!!!) and went for a ride before all the mud dried from the back roads of Central Vermont. Handles great in the slop. It's heavy but tracks the front wheel and is easy to keep moving in the muck (2nd gear and wind it up!). It's really dirty but I'm happy with the results.

 

Adjusted the engine timing on my 650, swapped out a few shims to put in spec, reinstalled exhaust and carbs.

 

- Ordered TruGel batt.
- Ordered Colortune 14mm set (umph!)
- rebuilt/cleaned carbs thoroughly; idles/runs soooo much better
- replaced aging coils with '97 Suzuki Katana coils; runs excellent!

 

Pulled the non dented no inside rust tank off my seca 750 along with the 4-1 best 100 bucks i ever spent on a parts bike

 

Valve shims and a compression test. 120 /120 / 130 / 130. Also ordered a Carbtune. The anxious waiting begins!

 

Not so much to, as for...



It didn't all get done today either. I have around 20 hours of labor and think-time into the project so far. I figure on another 10 to 15 until it is finished and road-ready. My one self-imposed constraint was to use scrap wherever I could. There's no sense in stockpiling it forever, and I need to make room for an old lathe.

 

Installed a used, stock fleaBay exhaust system that the seller insisted came off an XJ750. HA!!! Should have known better.

The headers were fine but the center collector mount bolt was 1/2" too far forward and the can mounts were 3/4" too far back. I removed the center mount hardware, left the rubber, and fitted a big washer on top, a new bolt from the bottom, and double nuts to lock it in place. Then I drilled new holes in the can mounts and threw in the stock bolts. Sounds nice and I swear it runs better.

 

It's going to rain today so it's steering head bearing day. Yay!

If all goes well, maybe I'll do both bikes......

 

Bought a can of carb cleaner and parts are getting dipped for a good cleaning on the 550 seca.

 

Rode to work. After working I rode home...varoom, varoom!

Gary H.

 

I made the mistake of stopping at a dealership today. The Super Tenere' fits me pretty well, and they have a 2013 for $4000 off MSRP. Luckily I'm in Ohio or I'd have written a check already.
So today was another for instead of a to.
I bought a set of soft tiedown loops, and did not buy a new motorcycle.

 

Great fortitude and control! I, too, loved the Super Tenere' and I rode one. Maybe when I'm done bashing the XJ through the New England woods......

Did the steering head bearings in both XJs and took the dirt conversion out for a test ride. Holy crap! What a difference! No shake at any speed. Look, ma, no hands! Tightened it a bit after a good 200 mile slog in the mountains.

 

Walked past the fleet on way to big invitational ball tournament .... Ok maybe next weekend ...sigh
But we are in finals tomorrow beer garden, ladies with short shorts and oh yea did I mention BEER !
And more BEER
And if we win we get a cheesy trophy and we win BEER
Ps the waiting list to get into the tournament is about 5 years

 

"My drinking team has a baseball problem."

 

Yes we do to but it's not really about ball it more seeing old friends and having a good time
A bunch just went home we play early tomorrow ( it's a holiday weekend) we have played 4 games already and we hurting minimum 2 games possibly 5 if we go all the way!!
But our team does party year round
How does that new song go ....
It's all about the beer bout the beer bout the beer!