Looking for new bike... '81 seca R750RH for 2500?

Hi all,
New member here. I recently sold my 2000 st1100 hoping to downsize a bit and convert a bit of cash, and am on the lookout for a new bike. There is a 1981 seca R750RH for sale on the local CL for 2500.

First, here is what I want out of a new bike. Reliable, comfortable (close to standard), good mpg as I will commote with it, decent storage as I want to so some light touring, not too heavy, not too hard to work on for reg maintenance and minor repairs.

The bike in question has factory sport fairing, factory hard bags and cargo box,about 22k on the odo and has had lots of restoration work done on both engine and body. Haven't seen it in peron yet but plan to tomorrow.


Any thoughts on the price, questions to ask or things to keep an eye out for?

 

That's at the high end of the price range; for that it should NOT need the standard $800 worth of new tires, brakes, hoses; fork seals and shocks, etc., that come with "recommissioning" a bike of that age.

DO A COMPRESSION TEST. Can't empahsize that enough.

 

I just bought an 82 Seca 750 for $600. It's in origional condition with 35,000 kilometers and qualifies as a 'collector' in my province. It already had new tires, battery, seasonal oil change and brakes. All I did was redo the fork seals and some minor air leaking repair. So you must be looking at a gold plated model for that kind of money

 

No, Rick, you got a heck of a deal. Usually a $600-$800 bike requires another $600-$800 to get it safe and reliable again; more if you want to make it pretty in the mix.

For $2500 all he better need to do is wipe it off occasionally. Plus the bike in question has (I believe) the factory touring setup, which does increase its value. But for that price, it should need nothing. Anything it obviously needs has to come off the price.

After the compression test.

 

Gee my XJ750 only cost me $400 last fall :lol: all it needed was a bit of cleaning and a tune up. Of course I did replace a number of things but not because they needed to be just because I wanted to. :wink: It was easy to convince the wife they needed to be replaced.

 

most used vehicles have a "magic number" for value which is the cost of a bright shiny awesome one in beauty condition. Or it's the cost of that beater you could buy plus the cost of parts but generally doesn't include labor.
I first remember hearing about the concept as it pertained to DMC's. I wanna say the number quoted was $45k from the guy in TX still making "new" ones from NOS parts.
For the factory touring package (fairing and bags) with recent and proper maintenance (brake pads, valve adjust, tires, etc etc etc) $2500 USD is about what that number is for a 750 Seca. There are two in my area I've been drooling over on CL for a while now. One needs tires and valve adjust selling for $1800, the other is ready to ride in like new condition for $2400.
The factory bags and fairing are worth quite a bit since they were an option most original purchasers didn't spring for.

As for what you are looking for... Coming from a Honda ST, the wrenching while be uh... different. A little more often, some tasks easier, some more intricate.

Reliability? folks are amazed I'm on the road at all, I find my beat up and wrung out Seca to be positively bullet proof. A little bit of care and attention to a few key components and they're good for a bajillion miles.

Comfort? Upright seating position, sport tourer right in the middle of that genre. If you're really tall you may find your knees bent to high but I doubt anyone is that long legged to be an issue. I'm 6'2" and it's ok. I've heard grumbling about the factory bars being cocked inward too much for some people's taste.

The Seca has some neat and not-so-neat features. Many of which were new innovations at the time that modern riders take for granted, many are quirky oddities that never survived to be seen on modern bikes. Things I dig include the air-over forks and antidive. Dual disc was an uncommon thing then too.
Biggest pain in my side is the remote master cylinder operated by a cable. It hinders aftermarket bar options and ya have to search high and low for a funnel that's JUST right to top up on brake fluid. If the factory bar position isn't FULLY acceptable to you for comfort I would have to recommend it's a deal breaker.

Hope that helps inform your decision. Of course the most important opinion is yours.

 

Thanks all, and especially Militant_Buddhist for some good food for thought. I'll likely take a look at the bike tomorrow, or at latest this weekend and will update you on progess.

The message I'm getting is that I should expect cherry factor 11 for the price. Talking to the guy on the phone today he explained all the work he had done on the bike pretty thoroughly... bought it from what he described as a "18 year old who fancied himself a bike mechanic", and since then has rebuilt and synched the carbs, replaced the fuel tank (PO had dubiously "fixed" a pinhole in the previous tank), new paint, replaced tires (couple year ago but he says plenty of life left), new brakes front and rear, new oil cooler, K & N air filter, new side covers, and new 4 into 2 MAC exhaust system. Sounds like he did all or most of the work himself and has receipts to prove it.

Thanks again for the advice so far, as well as any forthcoming, I will update the thread after seeing the bike.

Purkolator

 

Sounds good.

Be aware tires on bikes should be changed every 5-6 years regardless of use.

 

Hi again all,

Took a look at the bike today as well as a short test ride. Plan on taking a longer test ride in the next day or two. The bike is in very nice shape. Very clean and the current owner is obviously very knowledgeable about bikes in general and has definitely done his research on these models. In fact, the owner said that he had gotten lots of help from someone on an XJ forum... he mentioned the tag XJ_wizard and was from Florida, but it seems that is a designation on this site. Anyone want to fess up to providing a bit of help to someone restoring a 750rh in Washington state within the last 2 years?

Anyhoo, it did start up a tad rough (he said it had not really been ridden much in the last couple months) but seemed to clear up and run very well once warmed up. Aftermarket exhaust sounded nice and throaty. Gauges all work fine and there with no real rust or peeling paint. Tires look in very good shape. All electrical works including the aux light in the fairing. Last compression test was done after he bought the bike and came out something like 132, 126, 132, 130. I'd likely have another done before making a decision. It comes with a couple of big bins worth of spare parts including 2 extra tanks, 2 top boxes (1 factory but no mounts), extra forks, lots of carb parts, several body panels, spare front fender, spare new brake pads, plugs, etc, all the parts for the Maxim master cylinder conversion, etc, etc (literally 2 big rubbermaid tubs full of parts).

So, in general, it seems that this bike may well be worth the asking price (or at least close to it). Agree? Disagree? I need to take a longer ride to determine if ergonomics are going to be good, but on first ride it seemed pretty good. I like the very neutral upright position.

Here is a pic of the bike for the heck of it...
Seca 750RH

Thanks again for all y'alls help!!
Purkolator

 

A syringe and a piece of tubing (aquarium air line in my case) will solve that in a hurry. I keep one strapped to my brake fluid can because my funnels are always running away while no one tends to touch the syringe.

 

Ok, did a bit of sleuthing and it looks like the seller is a member of this forum. If anyone knows him and can offer opinions of his skills in restoring bikes would be lovely. PM's are fine if you'd rather. He seemed very knowledgeable, thorough and friendly in person. Just looking for more data points.

 

Compression test is easy, especially if it's in such good condition. You remove the tank, unplug the TCI, make sure the battery is charged. Since you're pulling the plugs out, you might get to see if there is any evidence of anything going wrong on the plug too.

I know a guy who bought a really nice looking Seca for top dollar. I was drooling all over it's original goodness, until we did a compression test and found one low cylinder and one really low one.

It's not unusual for these bikes to be a little hard to start if they've been sitting for a while. The next day it should start right up cold without any issues. If it has trouble the NEXT day...then you've got carb issues - easily fixable - but should reduce price a bit.

 

Purkolator, I would just have to say that if you love the bike, the style, pretty much everything about it, it will be worth it. Just keep in mind that for that kind of coin, you could buy something alot newer with less miles, but if it's not what you really like, then this would make you happier and be worth it. But like mentioned above, for that kind of money, it should be turn-key and road ready with no future expenses needed, lol. Just like a classic sports car, price is high, but we get what we pay for, even if it's the charge that we get from whatever it is.

 

Thank you all for your great advice and information. Passing on this particular bike but may well keep an eye out for another Seca as they seem like great bikes.

best,
Purkolator

 

I also like the Secas (do ya think?), but for that price you can get a much newer Suzuki Bandit 1200, a first-year Suzuki DL650 V-Strom, a mid-90's Triumph Sprint or many other very good candidates. However, for $1500...