1981 SECA 550 - 2013 build

Starting my project, its going to take a long time,but as the old saying goes, "sooner you start, the sooner you finish"

My goals
fix some issues






Must do
1) Value Cover Gasket leak
2) Exhaust is leaking/cracked
3) New Battery
4) Front brake
a) Does not hold pressuer
b) Needs new rotor/pads
5) Rear brake pads
6) Front and rear tire. (current ones at least 15 years old)

Should do
7) Replace lines/hoses
8) Replace some screws
9)


Want to do
10) Club-man handle bars
11) Turning singles back/front
12) Replace rear light bulbs with LED's
13) Add LED's in engine area
14) Paint bike
15) Shine bike up

 

Must do:

CHECK AND ADJUST valve clearances.
Replace 30-year old brake lines.
Clean and service carbs; wet-set float levels.
Vacuum sync with YICS blocked.

Oh, and you'll need to replace the tach drive oil seals; it will start leaking within a few hundered miles after the bike goes back in service if it isn't already.

 

Getting the old gas out



Then the tank



God the lines are old after 32 years




Charge up the new battery


Parts


Got the spark plugs out. Telling me i have a problem with Oil. I might of over filled the last time, but I also had a valve cover gasket problem so there will need to be additional investigation here.


Value Cover gasket off


engine looks in good condition





Clubman Handle Bars on, will need to do something about indicator lights. I plan on replacing these with new LED small lights, just not sure about location yet.

One problem I ran into is when I put the new handle bars on I have a problem with both the choke and throttle control. Also the front brakes are off.



Bike is starting to look good,

 

Thanks for the information.

i think your right about the tack drive, i am seeing a little oil around that area, but I am not yet sure where its coming from. But a good place to check.

1) valve clearances is check and good. I think that it was serviced about 7/8 years ago, surprisingly still good. Bike is extremely low miles. Only 11k.

2) Brake lines are a must.
I am looking at options of replacing the whole front end with a R6. I have seen some people do it with great results.

3) Clean and service carbs; wet-set float levels. - I am thinking of re-jetting and then getting ride of the airbox. what do you guys think?

4) Vacuum sync with YICS blocked. - Not sure what this means/is. Are there any post on this?

Thanks for the feedback much appreciated.

 

4) Vacuum sync with YICS blocked. - Not sure what this means/is. Are there any post on this?

Here's a good place to start:
http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=14757.html

Chacal sells a YICS blocking tool. I made my own but it was rather time-consuming.
There are TONS of threads regarding this....just type YICS into the search bar.

Clean looking Seca, BTW.

 

3: KEEP the airbox and get it properly set up, stock, and it will absolutely scream. Start mucking about with the intake or the exhaust collector box and you will start giving away performance.

Tach drive oil seals (not in the books) http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=19538.html

Also not in any of the books: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=31872.html

Throttle and choke cables can generally be cleverly re-routed to take up the excess. The clutch cable is a different story. I put low 'Euro' bars on my 550 Secas; and discovered that the Seca 750 clutch cable not only has the proper "inner cable to outer sheath" ratio it is an ideal length for lower bars.

You can replace the whole front end; or you could simply upgrade and rebuild the brakes and install a new set of fork springs. Makes a world of difference.

Oh, and you're going to need a service manual. Clymer decent, factory better. Best is both.

 

Thanks for all the feedback I will research everything in detail.
This build will take me a long time. I can only work on it on the weekends, and maybe every third weekend or so, Young kids and work.

Anyway, this is my first build so lots to learn.
I got the bike about 9 years ago, and have tried to keep it in as good shape as possible. I am only the third owner, and I am pretty sure that the second owner just flipped the bike so really second owner. I tired to keep it stock for as long as I could, and I am trying to keep everything as simple as possible so that if someone ever wanted to bring it back to stock it would be possible.

I have everything for the bike included the original chain lock that came with the bike and uses the same key as the ignition. But I got the bug so here I go.

I check out your projects, love the mirrors.

Is ok to ping you if i have questions??? btw I am in NYC how about you?

best.

 

Just saw each of our locations next to our screen names. LOL :?:

 

You can certainly ask me 550 Seca questions all day.

My black bike had 7100 miles on it when I got it; I've more than doubled that since it went back into operation.

If your valves were in spec at 11K, a previous owner either knew their stuff or could afford to take it to the dealer.

The oily plugs would be completely unrelated to a valve cover oil leak.

When you replace the valve cover gasket, be sure to replace the "donuts" on the hold-down bolts. They are what actually press the cover down; the bolts have stop collars on them to prevent overtightning.

Look in "XJ FAQ Suggestions." I've done quite a few how-to articles, all done on one of my 550 Secas.

 

I believe the oily plugs are from the bike getting over filed with oil and I am not sure how much other damage that did, but will be doing some investigation into that

as for the donuts. ya I forgot to order those when did the change. Luckily I will not be running the bike for a few weeks and will make sure to order those before I do.

i will review your other post, I saw some interesting things you did the gauge cluster as well. I think I want to see if I can add some LED to that as well.

Thanks for all the insight.