xj650 seca for sale - I am considering buying it

I was asked to consider an xj650 Seca that is near me....the fellow would like an offer, but feels that if the offer is too low, then he will keep it have have me restore it for him instead.

My question.....(I am not well-versed in the value range of a 650 Seca) so what would a be a'reasonable offer to make? The bike is in decent conditin, runs, but needs carb work. He 'just paid $300.00 for a new exhaust system".........the way I see that is..." why would you have paid $300. for a plain black 4-int0-1 non-original exhaust', but that's just me--
It does need tires, and general restoration, but can be a respectable bike pretty quick, otherwise.

Is the 650 SEca a rarer bike, or not? ,etc...... any guidance would be helpful on this one.

This one does have a title, too.
Thanks,

dave

 

well... a couple of years ago i paid 320.00 for a Seca without a title but it did run although weakly. A rare bike? Maybe not so much. Most of the ones you see are i pretty sad shape as was the one i got. BUT.. i have always liked the look of the bike and was considering buying one in 83 but went with a Honda 750 Sabre instead. The V4 motor is what sealed my decision.

 

Just like the 900 seca. The 650 seca was a 1 year model in 82. That puts the bike in the colllectable market. But it also puts the bike in the hard to find parts market. The biggest problem you will run into finding parts is the bodywork. As that is bike specific. Nearly all the mechanical parts are interchangeable in the 650/750's.

The title gives a lot of value over being just a parts bike. You can easily figure on $600-$800 to get the bike back into prime riding condition.

You know how much fun trying to find an original exhaust system can be.

Compare the bike to the Midnight Maxim that I got from you. Then go from there.

Ghost

 

I paid $600 with the carbs done 100%, but still in need of some major attention. Non original paint, headers not chrome, non original signals. If you've forgotten what I started with, you can check the first page of my build thread.

As far as parts: left and right side covers can be found, for a price, although not as high priced as a 550 Seca.

Headlight, if you want an original 8", is gonna run you about $200 because they only come up once a year or so. They were only used on this bike and one year on the XV920. But it can be replaced with a 7" from any 650, which is what I have done for now.

Rear fender, about as hard to find as the sidecovers.

4-2 exhaust, almost impossible, but I believe the 650 Max will fit, although I haven't actually tried it yet. Probably easier than tuning for the 4-1.

Good speedo and tach, not likely, but you can replace with a late 70s XS (140mph!) which takes the same style can. The redline on the XS is 500 less, doesn't bother me. The nice thing about the XS gauges is they have more holes for backlights, much brighter.

Keep in mind that it is non-YICS, so valve covers etc. from an 80 or 81 650 Max are interchangeable.

Tank, near (but not) impossible to find one in good condition. 5gal capacity.

Dual disc, so brakes will cost like an XJ750. Get the pads from Len, or you'll get sent a set for a Seca Turbo. Len is the only one I've found with the correct pads. Luckily I was smart enough to order from him in the first place.

That's all I can think of right now, any questions just ask.
Len should have just about any other part you may need.

Oh, although mine doesn't have it right now, it should have the quick disconnect tank also.

If it has original paint in good condition and runs (good compression), 600-800 would be a reasonable offer, IMHO.

As far as rare, I have one, Fitz lives 60 or so miles from me and has one he is resurrecting, and there was one on CL about 6 months ago over in Saginaw. These are the only 3 I have seen in a year in the state of Michigan.

 

i think you should get a coffee, set down at the table and ask yourself.
do i need another motorcycle?

 

EVERYBODY needs another motorcycle. You don't have just one, now do you? I have as many as I can cram in my garage.

Back to 650 Secas. I gave $400 for mine, "non-running" but with 150lbs compression across the board. Sorry paint, dented tank, some road rash and rusted pipes. But ALL THERE including the stupid toolkit and chain lock.

I replaced a broken spark plug boot and got it started the following weekend, but it was peeing gas all over itself so I shut it off.

Resurrection going slowly, but I did locate a road-rash free left muffler and a straight 8" headlight bucket. Found a straight, solid rust free tank and rebuilt and installed a correct petcock; and got ahold of a set of the rare cast horizontal finned Seca case guards.

They have an interesting combination of pre-YICS motor with a full collector-box exhaust system, unlike the pre-YICS Max's. Very few parts actually interchange with the 650 Max, the Seca is essentially a nearly pure Euro-spec bike that fell off the boat here for one year, minus its oil cooler.

How rare are they? Sorta, but getting moreso. Granted it was a one-year bike, but Yamaha brought a whole heck of a lot of them over, and it took them a year or three to sell them all. CLEAN ones with solid sharp original paint are rare indeed. Most of them have suffered some form of multi-owner abuse, as have most 1982 era motorcycles. Heck of a lot more rare than a series I Maxim; not as rare as a 900 Seca or the aforementioned XV920R.

I always planned to repaint mine however. The stock USA paint scheme brings new meaning to the term DRAB. Reminds me of my mom's dull metallic blue '66 Pontiac. I like the red Canadian scheme however. And those decals are available.

BUY IT. You always wanted one. $400 if it's solid but scruffy, $800 if it's reasonably clean but needy; both figures assume good compression. "Non-running" is only someone else's loss, as long as it blows good numbers. But you of all people know that.

 

When I bought my turbo seca (for $250, mostly complete but in horrible shape), the guy was also selling one of those hard-to-find CLEAN xj650 secas.

Seller was cleaning out because he had a sport bike, his wife's bike (he was also trying to sell) and one of those famous kawasaki 2-stroke triples (I forget which one) and wife said he could only keep 2 (2-stroke and sport bike). Said something about needing the brakes rebuilt and not having done it before. But it looked really clean, $1200, told myself I didn't have the money for that (little did I know what restoring a Turbo Seca would cost :lol: ). I still regret it, man it was pretty.

 

go for it, thats 8 more shims for the pool

and when you do.... pics are a must!

obviously

 

The 8 inch headlight could probably be sourced fairly easily from here. They were on the xs1100, sr500 and I think some xj 900 models. Pm me to start the ball rolling

 

Ok.......here's an update:

I just got off the phone with the current owner, and it looks like we have reached a verbal agreement. I am supposed to pick it up around the middle of next week, just before Thanksgiving.

So, if all goes well.............I'll have some pics to show once it's safely here and tucked away for the winter.

Dave F

 

Ok, for the inquiring mind who want to know................

The 650 seca came home this afternoon and is now snoozing in the shop where it's nice, dry, and warm.

It needs work, but it does run. It will be some time before she's ready for the road. I'll take my time. There are other projects in line first, so this will give me time to source parts, etc....... in the meantime.

Dave F

 

I think I would buy it. I am new to riding and picked one up for 1200.00. I have put some money into it, but everywhere I have ventured out, people come up and ask me about the bike. It made the cover of one of the mags back in the day and there is so much more to this bike as I research it on the net. "ride on"