New member looking for advise

Hey all,
I just joined up and was thinking about finding a SecaII. I bought a new blue one in 1994, sold it a couple of years later but had such fond memories of it that I bought another blue '94 in 1998. Now in 2010, ( and 7 bikes later ) I'm starting to get those fond memories again. The classified secion here seems pretty thin on these bikes, so I'm wondering if any members have some advise on finding a decent SecaII '94 to '98. I'd prefer a '94 for purely sentimental reasons, but figure a '98 woud be better because it's the newest possible plus has some improvements over earlier models.
Thanks for any tips or leads.



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Hello and welcome to the site!

For used bikes, it really depends on your location - you didn't specify, so.... Here in North America, you're really better off with Kijiji, Craigslist, or Ebay; as well as your local used bike shops. Outside of NA, I wouldn't have a clue I'm afraid - hopefully someone else can chime in.

 

I did forget to mention my location, didn't I. I'm located in the norheast on Long Island. I've never heard of Kijiji, but I've looked through Ebay and Craigslist. No luck on either. I've never bought anything from Craigslist but it has always made me nervous... seems like the perfect place for thieves, con-men and criminals to operate with zero oversight.
Thanks for the reply, and yes, hopefully other members will find this post and know of somebody with a bike they're looking to unload, although I'm not even sure what a fair price on a obsure bike like a SecaII, that's 12 to 16 years old at this point would be.




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Here's the Kijiji link for New York:
Kijiji New York - Motorcycles

It's kinda like Craigslist, but run by Ebay...

 

seca II's go for around 1-2K

 

ravetrade will search all the various craigslists and save you the trouble of going from city to city searching each one individually.

That's how I found my 1982 Seca 750. I went to pick it up myself and rode it home (900 miles) so I got to look at it before I paid for it.

You can make craigslist work fairly safely for you if you take the time to do some research. Ask the seller who services it or who the previous owner was and contact them to get more info on the bikes's history. Ask for a walk-around video and photos of things in question, especially the VIN number, or maybe pictures of service receipts, tires, battery compartment, fork tubes, closeup of the seat, etc.

If it looks like the bike you want, but is too far away, add $300-500 shipping costs and see if you still want it. If you're still worried about the condition, call a dealer in that area and see if they'll go look at it for you for another $50 -100.

 

Kijiji being run by Ebay sounds like it wil be better than craigslist, thanks for the link. I'll check it out right now. I never heard of ravetrade either and it also sounds like a good idea.. Especially if I could get a local dealer to check out the bike beforehand. I would have never thought to do that but it's an excellent idea.
I figured about 1 to just under 2 k seemed reasonable. ( of course, $500 seems even MORE resonable )
Thanks for all the good advise... Just what I was looking for. Keep me in mind if anybody comes across anything. I will get the bike, I have no doubt, I'm pretty driven when I set my mind to something so now it's just a matter of when.



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No help to you but the secaII is called a diversion in the UK/Europe and is very popular. Rough models can be found for around £600-£800. I believe the later models are the ones to go for with twin discs on the front and a higher power engine. The very early ones were only rated at 60bhp.

 

I think a 900cc Diversion was available as well. I'd still go for the 600 though, I've always liked the mid-sized machines and believe the two old sayings: "light makes right" and "it's more fun to ride a slow bike fast than a fast bike slow"



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