Starting a bobber, where do I start?

I have just bought a XJ 650 seca with 9000miles and the previous owner has really taken care of it, the only problem is that I want to modify it to a bobber. This is my first bike and I use it every day, I wanted to start by lowering it and installing ape hangers but I don't know what to do or how to begin. I would really appriciate the help!!!!!!

 

Nice ride you have there. There's going to be a lot of upset guy's over changing such a nice Seca into a bobber. :lol: Where to start? Do you have any experience or know how use tools well? The reason I ask is you'll probably need to know how to weld and use a torch, grinders and sawsall use as well. Going with apehanger bars will result in longer cables and brake lines and maybe wiring extensions. Then of coarse you'll have to modify the seat, rear fender, tail light and possibly the foot controls. Seca motors are hotter, but Maxims are easier to bob. :wink:

 

Well, what I did to mine is replacing stock rear shocks with Honda Rebel's to lower the rear about 1½". This is an easy bolt on mod if you don't want to go rigid. Next step will be the seat. The easiest way I managed is to peel the cover from your stock seat, then carefully peel the foam and cut the pan to a solo seat. I cut mine with a Dremel and cutting wheel. Then reshape the foam to fit your pan and get it thinner. I kept about 1" of foam. Then go to your favourite upholsterer and have it covered. That's wher I am right now. The upholsterer charged me 40$... So if you're on a budget, you'll get a bobber / cafe racer seat for about 40$...

Next will be the handlebar...

 

For sure. That bike needs to have the rear brake checked, tire date checked, possibly front brake completely redone(hoses,calliper and MC seals) and then ridden. If you want a project bike, find something a in little less pristine condition.

 

Amen.

You said it's your first bike; have you ever ridden a bike with "ape hangers?" They're not for everyone. Plus there's a bit of modification required for that drastic of a change in handlebar height.

That Seca is in WAAYYY too nice of a condition to start cutting on it. If you want to hack something up, sell it to an enthusiast and find a Maxim to bob. Seriously. The Maxims had a different frame with a lower seat height and a "dropped rear" configuration that lends itself to that type of mod better than the 650 Seca.

 

Wow! Thank you very much, I didn't expect to get anwsers so quickly. Well, I thought about selling it but I really love the yamaha bobbers they have an unique look and style to the them and it took a long time to find this one. I live in Massachusetts and I am having a hard time finding a Maxims to modify, I would even trade my seca for a boober.

 

I have seen a lot of Yamaha Bobbers in Massachusetts on ebay recently. Have you checked cycletrader.com and craigslist too? I think the style of bike that you bought might make a better "cafe racer." I don't know too much about those, but it seems to have the look. The other thing is that you have a bike many people around here may be willing to trade for a maxim. But, if the bike is that good looking, it may be better mechanically than another bike you may find.

If you are going to bob this, the first thing is to strip it and look at what you have to deal with underneath. That gas tank probably doesn't have the typical bobber shape. (By the way, with my lowered rigid rear end, I lose more than 1/2 gallon of space in my tank that I can't use without gas spilling on me). My lowered rigid rear end is accomplished by losing the shocks and installing shorter lengths of steel tubing. I have a simple shortened seat pan with no springs that sits where the old one did. (I may change this in the near future). The old frame is sawed off to shorten the tubes in the seat area and shotgun shells (I dont know if they are real, but dont think so.) are stuffed in the ends. This is where you lose all the places that license plates, signals and the tail light were connected. So you will have to plan the placement of those out. Check your local regulations with the year of your bike and turn signals.

As I was spending a lot of time researching how to build bobbers, I was lucky to find this one that I posted in another thread:


I am going to post some more pictures in my thread: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=32012.html

 

Also, I highly recommend foot pegs up front like I have or forward controls. (I wanted forward controls, but I think I like the extra large foot pegs better. Not a big deal to move my feet to shift & brake. I couldn't stay in the normal shifting position for long though).

 

Lewis, post some pictures please.

 

By the way have you seen this thread:
http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=2 ... obber.html

(Its an'82 seca bobber).

 

I agree don't hack up such a good looking bike, find something that needs lots of work so you can make the needed changes

 

I started looking into what is a Cafe Racer and it is really interesting, but most of all I think my seca would look a lot better in this syle. If any one has any more info on Cafe Racers as far as what mods would be Kool, let me know.

 

plan on longer cables brake hose cutting and extending wires so the switches will work with ape hangers. the bike is way to tall to put ape hangers on it. and 2 nice but its your bike

 

It wouldn't be too hard to turn a Seca into a Cafe Racer. Easy way to do it would be to remove the plastic (lower) rear fender and install a cafe racer seat then change the handle bars to either drag bars or clip on bars.

 

"That Seca is in WAAYYY too nice of a condition to start cutting on it. If you want to hack something up, sell it to an enthusiast and find a Maxim to bob. Seriously. The Maxims had a different frame with a lower seat height and a "dropped rear" configuration that lends itself to that type of mod better than the 650 Seca."

Agreed. It is a nice SECA. Problem is, I don't think there is as many "enthusiasts" out there as you may think. On a pretty regular basis I can stumble onto a post on here where someone says "it's too nice to hack. Sell it to an enthusiast." Nobody on this forum has said, "It's too nice to hack. Sell it to me." I can safely assume if someone is a enthusiast, then they are a member of this here board. If the members aren't beating the door own trying to rscue this poor bike from a horrible, horrible fate, then what makes you think someone else will want to? The botom line is these bikes are old Jap Bikes and old jap bikes are a dime a dozen, whether it's a Yamaha, Honda or Suzi. Don't take my word for it. Go check Craigslist. Old Jap bikes arent exactly fetching a king's ransom.


So here's what ya do: List this bike in "buy, sell or trade". Let the enthusiasts have their chance to buy it. When it doesn't get that "it's to nice" price, cut it up. If you do get a fair price, sell it and find yourself a cheap not so good of shape other jap bike on Craigslist, maybe a maxim and cut it up.

 

I say whether you go the bobber or cafe route, disregard what everyone here says you should do and do what you'd like. Then just ride.