Curious, was this Seca 750 that looks like a Seca 650...

I bumped into this Seca while snooping around E-Bay's British website.

http://r.ebay.com/VXGluA

Being a lover of the US XJ650RJ Seca I was curious, was this the OEM paint for this Japanese XJ750? Or is this a homemade paint job?

If it is OEM, beautiful bike. And another fine example of what cool bikes everyone outside the U.S. gets.

 

He doesn't know what he's got.

It's not a 750E (Jap 750 in 900 frame)

It's a 750A, Jap 750 in a 650R frame

The rest of the world got the 650R (4KO) in black, red, silver, blue, and (I think) white.
Since the 750A uses a 650 frame and tins, it also came in those colors.

And yes, that does look to be the original blue color from '81, although I would suspect a repaint because there are zero scratches in the tins, and the fact that he listed it as a metallic paint.

 

Good eye!

All I can add is that I don't think it's purely a Japanese home-market bike. I think it may be a "Pacific Rim" (Oceana?) market bike.

I do know that the 750 Seca as well as the 650"R" came in all sorts of nifty color schemes all over the world that we never saw. And it wasn't limited to those bikes.

The thing about the alternative color schemes for everybody else flat pisses me off. The 550 Seca came in one color choice per year here; check out this brochure and note the "country of origin" on it:




And for you 550 Seca owners, who has ever seen that grab rail? The Germans, Dutch, French, Belgians and the rest of Europe and probably the U.K.

It wasn't in the Yamaha accessory catalog here either.

 

So then I COULD stick one of my 750 engines into my 650R......Hmmm.......

I'm thinkin'.......I'm think-in'...........(son's watched Night at the Smithsonian too many times.....)

Dave F

 

Gotta be a Seca motor though; a 750 Max motor will give you goofy shifting.

As in, down for up. My Norton is like that though; not only right hand shift, but first gear is UP from neutral, and then it's "down for go, up for slow."

It was a racing thing from the '50s. More positive upshifts if you just have to stomp the pedal.

 

Actually, many factory racers still prefer the reverse shifting pattern. It also allows easier up shifts through sweeping left corners without getting your toes in the way.

And for anyone reading this that wants to try to fit the 750 in a 650 frame, don't forget to use the 750 carbs, or change the jets in the 650 carbs to 750 specs.

 

The whole 750 seca engine on the 650 seca has proven to be a pain (not impossible) but a few things that need to be worked out besides the carbs like the mechanical vs electronic tachometer.

 

Who needs a tach when the engine can free-rev to 12,500 ??

 

oh yeah.....I keep forgetting there's a shift cover difference between the 750 seca and the 750 maxim. I'll have to take a close look at my 750 seca and see what I can do to accomodate the difference. I have a couple 750 Maxim engines sitting on the floor, so it's not like I have to search out an engine. I'm going to study the linkages some, when I have time.

Dave F

 

Ha, I love it. I ask about color and enjoy how this topic went into other directions.

Back in the day, early 80s I remember riding my Seca 650 to Japantown in downtown Los Angeles and purchasing a few Japanese motorcycle magazines. They were really thick and about 8.5" x 11" in size. A photo of every motorcycle for the Japanese market was included. I couldn't believe how many motorcycles that we here in United States did not get. And the color combinations that they had were unbelievable.

Unfortunately said motorcycle magazines were lost to time just like that Seca 650 that I rode for over 10 years and 100,000 miles. Sigh.

I still love the silver/blue but would love to have one of these next to my 82 Kawasaki GPZ550.

 

That's the "Canadian Scheme" for the 650 Seca.

That decal package is readily available too.

 

Let the color differences continue. More color difference brochure spottings on ebay...

A lighter shade of Seca 550







Black and blue but not in the US.

 

I'm still struggling to figure out what to do, decal-wise, with my repainted 82 Seca 550. Nobody makes repro decals for that model.

 

Actually, they do. But they aren't very accurate at all. I'll see if I can find the source and post a link.

 

He didn't say it's a 750E, he just tagged it in the title 'cause he's a search-whore haha

The listing says it's a 750 with a 900 motor fitted :/ and 120bhp... I dunno...

 

Hey bloke! Welcome back! Where the heck have you been all these months?