AZ: New Member to XJ Bikes

A little bit about myself,

I am a huge automotive enthusiast and have a somewhat extensive background in drifting & autocross (on track, competition, etc..). I have been playing guitar for 10 years. I have other hobbies but just regular stuff like movies, games, etc...

Previous Cars(in order):

1989 Nissan 240sx Coupe - manual (no pictures)
1991 Nissan 240sx Coupe - automatic (no pictures)
1992 Nissan 240sx Coupe - manual



1995 Nissan 240sx - automatic





1990 Nissan 240sx Coupe - manual



1993 Nissan Silvia Club K's - manual







2002 Subaru Impreza WRX (pictured above)

I've only had my license since I turned 18 (am now 21) and despite this range of cars, none of them were ever wrecked or stolen. I just have a hard time "settling in", haha. Also, none of these cars nor mods were purchased by "mommy and daddy", just throwin' that out there

Anyways, enough about that.


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Motorcycle Experience:

I just purchased a 1992 SECA II XJ600. This is only my second bike. My first bike was a 1986 Kawasaki EX500. After being forced to sell that bike almost exactly a year ago, I've spent the last couple months searching for a new one. I really had no preference, it just had to be a sporty-ish bike. This bike came up among others and seemed to be the best bang for my buck, so I picked it up.

Specs

1992 Yamaha SECA II XJ600 w/ 28k miles
Custom lower fairing
Aftermarket LED lights here and there...
Horrible flat black rattle can job
Other hokey/un-tasteful mods/rigged things

What drew me to this bike in particular was a rebuilt motor. I went to school for collision repair, custom paint, and detailing so the cosmetics is really no issue for me. I am also mechanically inclined, although new to carburetors and some of the other components that are unique to bikes (not that carbs are, but some of the other stuff).



I have pretty big plans for the bike. I'm going to piece together a rolling chassis of another SECA II XJ600 using this bike as a reference. Then I'm going to swap the drive train and other bits over to the new chassis. The main reason for this method is so I can take my time on the rolling chassis while still being able to enjoy my bike!

I just got the bike yesterday, but I am going to spend the weekend tearing it down and cleaning up what I can. The previous owner(s) of this bike definitely had NO taste what so ever, and no skill in what they were doing (this thing is held together with zipties, tape, mismatched screws/bolts, glue, etc...) so I'm going to try and turn all that around ASAP.

Anyways, sorry for such a long intro!

- Robert

 

Very cool - Welcome - spend some time searching the site and reading the how tos. A ton of information available if you get stuck post it up. This is a very active board you usually get an answer in and hour or so....

 

Welcome Robert, can't wait to see what you do with it, keep us posted
Shaun

 

Thanks guys!

I have already been searching a great deal. Although new to bikes I have been a part of many forums for years. I will definitely be asking unanswered questions though!

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Day 1

I removed the fairings and tail last night to see what kind of mess was hidden underneath. What I found was a bit shocking...

One of the previous owners actually sprayed the entire bike flat back. I'm talking motor, trans, chain, sprocket, wheels, part of the frame, wiring harness, connectors, some bulbs have over spray, etc...






The LED lights that were mounted onto the custom fairing were wired into the headlight power wire with NO electrical tape, just exposed wires all twisted together... ridiculous.

One thing that I did like; The previous owner did absolutely NO prep work to this bike when they sprayed it, which means I can wipe off most of this flat black with brake cleaner and expose the nice red frame underneath. For now I will only be focusing on cleaning up the frame, though. The fairing need to much work to waste my time with. The front upper fairing is cracked where all the mounting locations are, as well as split down the side near the windshield. It's held together with zipties - to no surprise were also painted flat black. The side pieces for the tail are in decent shape, but the center piece behind the rear seat is cracked at one of the mounting holes, so it will need to be replaced. I will most likely just replace all 3 pieces.

 

Robert, welcome. Where in AZ are you? We have a few members out that way (I get out to Yuma once in a while).

 

I am located in Gilbert




p.s. so you were the one who stole "Robert" as a user name! Usually I luck out and it's not taken, hah.

 

So last night my dad backed into the bike and knocked it over onto the right side...

Broke the mirror, turn signal, and cracked the fairing and headlight... the fairing I'm not so concerned about but now I need to find new mirrors and a headlight... damn!

 

Well, fancy that. Got a friend of mine who lives in Mesa, and keeps wanting me to move out there and work with him. I might take him up on that offer one of these years.

 

Cool! Not the best job market currently... but I supposed this is the case anywhere

 

Robert there is a real good source of parts down on 16th street in Phoenix. Bobs cycle salvage They may have the stuff you need after the knock down. I go to Phoenix a couple of times a year on business and try to wander thru their yard. AZ is a good place to find chrome and steel parts cause of the no rust thing. Here in NC you can hear the rust happening :?

 

What I was hoping to do is this: as my current full-time employer has multiple locations in the valley out there, the thinking is to transfer to one of those. I'm targeting the east part of the valley. The friend in question does freelance computer work; I would be more or less catching his overflow.

Likewise here -- living about a mile or two from the ocean doesn't help.

 

Thanks for the tip! I have heard the name here and there and am definitely going to stop by there to look around.

East Valley is awesome. Stay away from Phoenix/Mesa and most of Chandler. The developments are mainly older and most of these cities are over run by gangs/poor living conditions. I literally feel scared in almost all of downtown Mesa and pretty much all of Phoenix. Additionally, I would say easily 50%+ of these areas don't speak English (it's nearly all Mexicans). I actually lived in one of the few "decent" parts of Mesa until I was 20 and have only been in Gilbert now for 8 months and it is 1,000,000x better. Queen Creek has a lot of new development but most of it has come to a halt. Houses are CHEAP out that way, but you are easily 30-60 minutes away from the city and there's very limited commercial (grocery stores, gas stations, no mall, etc...) so it wouldn't be worth it to me.

 

PS - I have been really busy moving into a new house this weekend, so I haven't done anything to the bike. I am going tonight to pick up a new tank and tail plastics though, once I get things rolling I'm going to move my build to the Modifications section, so keep an eye out!