Thinking about buying my first XJ! (83 Seca 750)

What do you do about the exploding gas tank?

 

I just slapped one of these bad boys on the back glass and called it a day

 

You can never have too many Pinto's or XJ's...................

 

XJ yes Pinto... I think they built the car around the starter motor! I do like the AFB parking tag, we have a long USAF history in our family.

 

Very nice 750! Even nicer than mine was. I envy your stock exhaust.

Looks like it was standard practice to just bend the headlight bracket arms to mount the fairing. Lame. I ended up doing something to make it look less "hackish" on mine, but I forget exactly what. Might have just cut them off. Or maybe removed the bracket altogether.

Mine also had a burnt pin on the fairing connector. The wiring was a mess too. There were wires spliced in circles back to themselves. Got it all working, but would love to find a new connector as the plastic tabs on mine are broken so it's a pain to get in.

I had trouble with my headlight adjuster too. The square nut pops out of the bracket and no longer works right, making the headlight bounce all over. Looks like yours might have done the same. I was fortunate enough to find a "rectangle" nut from a counter top bolt that fit better and solved the problem. IIRC that is actually a 1/4-20 nut so I had one in my part bucket. Or maybe I re-tapped it to metric. But I don't think I did. See image for the nut I am talking about, though I don't think the one I used was quite that wide. That was 10+ years ago though, so memory fades. I just remember it was a perfect solution for the problem.

You even have the handlebar emblem. First one I've seen still intact.

I found a really long skinny funnel to fill the master cylinder. They are a pain to get to.

Mine was cheaper than yours to start, but by the time I got everything up to spec I'm sure I've invested at least as much. Good deal.

They are great bikes. Did an 1800 mile ride on mine last summer and it never skipped a beat. Enjoy it.

 

I use a 60CC syringe to fill the master cylinder and another with a short hose to pull the brake fluid thru the bleeder ports, they also work great when filling the forks as it's far easier to measure the correct level and I just screw the end in where the air valve normally goes and push in the oil. Works super slick.

 

My brake lines are infact original. So will be doing that! Been very off-put by the idea of working on the brakes after reading the nearly 2 dozen threads about the hell of doing so. Oh well!

 

Update: Brake lines are original. Will be replacing. Do I have to replace the anti dive lines???? General maintenance on this great running 6k mile bike is getting expensive fast!
Carbs, tank, and headers off. Bikes at my stepdad's at the moment and he's tinkering on it. Valve cover leaks, got a replacement and the "donut" washers.
Been bugging Len, I assure you. Should probably start another thread but this will at least document my journey real time start to finish.

 

Short answer is YES... I know it's more $$$ but unless you replace them remember to dress for the slide not the ride as they will eventually fail.

 

Our project bikes do get a little costly, the first one you do for sure will make you wonder why you even started it. The outcome and the path are why I chose to put myself through the refresh of these older bikes. The cost of the refresh also depends on your outcome. If you are going for showroom new and a show bike, yes, you are talking a lot of money. If you are talking a safe bike that runs good and puts a smile on your face, well, that should be a happy price you can live with.

The bike looks supper clean in the pics. You also have a very nice work area. I only had issues with the front brake MC when I did my last Seca, it just takes a lot of time, and you might learn some tricks along the way.

I see you have also removed the OEM petcock, good on you. I try to get away from the vacuum assisted petcocks any chance I can. For me it is second nature now to turn every carb bike's petcock to the "Off" position every time the bike is turned off. I mean anytime. Taking another fail point out of the fuel system just makes good sense. If the OEM is working correctly, well you should not have any issues either, until if fails.

 

I didn't remove it! Guess previous owner did. Good to know though, glad its done. They also had the updated fuse box in it when I got it. Unfortunately the brake lines are from 1982, so those will be replaced. Engine is being pulled, the paint on is looks pretty bad for a 6k miles bike (wonder if it is the original gauges even), so got some eastwood 2k primer and gloss black engine paint. Going to cut down the windscreen, the goober who installed it used automotive windshield adhesive on it so I'm afraid I'd destroy the whole damn fairing trying to take it off.