XJ Compatibility

Hello!
Just bought my first bike yesterday, a 1982 XJ650 Seca. It's a great looking bike and just needs a few items replaced.
I found a parts XJ650 Maxim on CL and am wandering what the engine differences are. Is the difference between the maxim and the seca only body? or is there other things to be aware of?
We are wanting to replace the speedometer and cable, one of the mufflers, the turn signals, and maybe a few other things if the parts are nice enough.

 

I dont know what all is compatible between the two. However i just got done doing a bobber project on my 82 650 seca and have a bunch of parts left over. PM with a list of what you need if the parts bike doesnt work out for you.

 

Welcome to the site Leejones !!
The muffler is a no-go, unless you want to swap the whole exhaust and do minor modifications to the rear hangers.
The appearance of the turn signals is different, but will work.
The minor engine differences are - cams - YICS? - shifter position - overall gearing - paint?.

If it's cheap enough, buy it, and sell the remains.

 

Awesome, thanks for the tips.
What about the speedometer, though? That is the most important thing as the one on the bike I got is busted.

 

Almost any Japanese speedometer will work, but I don't know if this will fit "factory". Some one else will have to tell you that.

 

The instruments on the Max and Seca are different, as is the FRAME. It's not just the "bodywork," you can't swap a lot of those parts between bikes-- they won't fit. The entire instrument cluster might transplant, (do they both have mechanical tachs?) but the styling is different, you can't just pull the speedo off the Max and drop it on the Seca.

You could transplant a Maxim motor into a Seca and vice-versa, but the shifter setup is different, among other things.

Quit worrying about the speedo right now and go check your rear brake shoes for delamination. You don't want to wreck the Seca before you even get started.

 

Time, which cams are designed for performance? I'm thinking Seca but had to ask. Thanks

 

Yep, but only sorta. The 550 Secas have different cams (as do the 750s I believe) than their Maxim brethren; but the 650 Seca was different in that it was a world-market non-YICS bike, that we got to see for one year but was around a while for everyone else. You can't really compare it to the YICS-engined '82 650 Maxim.

 

The Maxim 650 's cams have less lift, and I think duration also, making them "milder", also in theory, making more torque at the expense of peak HP. An idea of mine is to put the 650 Max cams in a 750 Seca and see what kind of gas mileage it would get.