NEWBIE SECA 750 CAFE BUILD

Hey everyone,

I have been on this website for about a year now so I owe it to you guys to show you my build. I wouldn’t have gotten this project off the ground with out the wealth of information on this site. So the story, I bought this bike in Ontario last year where I was finishing up my last year of mechanical engineering so I didn’t really have the time or facilities to work on the bike. It is a 1982 XJ seca 650 with 50 000 kms, but has a 1984 750 engine, tires, suspension, perhaps brakes and who knows what else. The previous owner said it was running good when he last used two years ago, but didn’t have time to ride anymore and neglected to do any storage maintenance so it was running rich when I picked it up. I have never done a project like this nor done any serious work on a bike before, but I did do some minor work on snowmobiles in highschool and with the aid of this site I was confident I could get this bike running and aimed to build a cafe racer! So I finished school in May and got posted to nova scotia where I have been working on the bike ever since. I first cleaned the carbs and upon opening them found one of the main jets just sitting in the bowl. How this happened, who knows, but I suspect that why it was running rich. Anyways, after cleaning the carbs, bench sync, valve adjustment, and some gasket replacements I got the bike running pretty solid! I have been riding it quite a bit, especially within the last month. I have made it my daily driver because I own a gas guzzling truck so I have been trying not to interfere with riding time, but find it hard to not work on the bike. My goal is to build a cafe racer with a mixture of old school and modern styling. So far I have:

rebuilt front brakes
clip on handle bars
bar end mirrors
led turn signals
integrated led taillight
built my own fiberglass seat ( first time fiberglassing)
painted the tank, fender, and seat blue ( first time with a gun)
wet sanded and waxed
wrapped headers
painted exhaust
replaced the air box and installed pods with a stage 3 jet kit from 6sigma. I did that this weekend and after some tweaking it seems to be running pretty strong. Not quite as strong as with the airbox, but I feel like I am on track. I have just been experiencing a stumble sometimes at 6000 rpm ( riding video to come).

Sorry for the long speech, but here are some before and after pictures. I will post more specific build pictures as time permits. Thanks for reading!

 

https://scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hph ... 8281_n.jpg

 

Nice work matching the wrap and seat colors. I like it when people tie a color scheme together. I just used a 6sigma kit on my Maxim, too. Good stuff.

 

Good Work.

 

Thanks for the comments guys,

I am glad you like the matching seat and headers. I thought it would add some character to the bike. I am sure it's not for everybody, but glad you like it.

Here are some short clips of the bike accelerating. Please comment if you have any concerns about how the bike is running. Audio is poor, but I will try to get some better footage. There is also a rattle at 2:22, I hear it when accelerating hard sometimes, but never hear when just reving. Perhaps not engine related?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE8KZVcp_MM&feature=youtu.be

 

I heard it earlier in the video too. It seems to coincide with the clutch lever flopping around. It'd be a good idea to replace it.

 

You put marbles in the final drive, didn't you? Only oil goes in there.

 

adj the valves?

 

Thanks guys,

I adjusted the valves 2000 kms ago so I would/hope think it's not that. Good catch on the clutch lever k-moe, maybe that's it. The nut for the lever came loose just before that ride and it keeps coming loose. Maybe I should locktite it?

I am also still waiting on the proper crank case filter and am just using a small breather I found at canadian tire for now. Could this cause a problem?

 

Thanks again guys! That rattle was the clutch lever. I attempted to get some video clips with better audio, but didn't have much luck. The bike still stumbles sometimes at 6000 rpm. 6sigma is suggesting that I need to raise my needles more. I already have two shims on the needles already, what do you guys think?

As promised, here are some build pics:



Shaping a mould. I used spray adhesive to hold pieces of the pink insulating foam together and then shaped it using knives and sanding blocks. I then covered the mould in aluminum foil tape, waxed it and then fibreglassed it. It was my first time fibreglassing so as you can see it first came out pretty rough:



but after adding another layer and a lot of sanding it turned out like this:

 

Currently working on cleaning up my drive shaft. Does anyone have recommendations on what type of paint to use? Is the casing aluminum? If so, i was thinking zinc chromate and then vht roll bar paint?

Any input would be appreciated. Thanks

 

Hey lhicks,

good looking cafe you got there!

I got mine powder coated matte black! because I want durability & look, you may consider that!

kinen1

 

Thanks kinen1, I unfortunately don't have the funds for powder coating. This is my first build, but someday I hope to have the funds and skill to do things to perfection and not cut corners. I decided to go with the vht roll bar paint. It has an epoxy in it and left an almost powder coat like finish. We will see how its holds up and pictures will come. Here are some older ones from my build:

Here is a temp seat pan. I know riveting to the frame is not the best way to go, but I do not have welding facilities and am hoping this will be only temporary. Any suggestions on what I can do to reduce rusting in the mean while?


Prior to painting. I road it like this for a few days and got a lot of looks. I kind of liked it like this



My air pod set up. I bought 54 mm ebay cheap pods and mounted them to flexible couplings. I believe this may have helped produce a more laminar flow to the carbs. The bike seems to be running okay, but is now put away for the winter.

 

Thanks kinen1, I unfortunately don't have the funds for powder coating. This is my first build, but someday I hope to have the funds and skill to do things to perfection and not cut corners. I decided to go with the vht roll bar paint. It has an epoxy in it and left an almost powder coat like finish. We will see how its holds up and pictures will come. Here are some older ones from my build:

Here is a temp seat pan. I know riveting to the frame is not the best way to go, but I do not have welding facilities and am hoping this will be only temporary. Any suggestions on what I can do to reduce rusting in the mean while?


Prior to painting. I road it like this for a few days and got a lot of looks. I kind of liked it like this



My air pod set up. I bought 54 mm ebay cheap pods and mounted them to flexible couplings. I believe this may have helped produce a more laminar flow to the carbs. The bike seems to be running okay, but is now put away for the winter.

 

Some updates:



Rear tire painted in duplicolour bronze rim paint. I love the colour, but don't know if it will go with the overall look of the bike.



Rear frame painted with VHT rollbar paint.

 

I am also replacing the rear brake shoes, but could use some help. As mentioned, the bike is a 650, but has a 750 engine, tires and perhaps suspension and brakes. Therefore, I do not know what brake shoes to order. Will either fit? I know the 650 and 750 have different part numbers, but from looking at some pictures they both seem to have 341 stamped on them.

Here is what I removed from the bike:

 

looks nice. Len at XJ4Ever might be able to help with the brakes.

 

What size forks? I want clip on handle bars for my 81 Seca 750