My Seca II headlamp conversion

I'm curious if you can share more information about your gauge cluster? I was almost ready to go for an acewell or a vapor, but I like analog gauges and they just look right on a naked bike IMO. Are the FZR's an easy swap? What year(s) would interchange? My stock gauges are fine, but would look like crap in a naked swap. Trying to find that headlight too, easier said than done, hope you dont mind me copying you a bit your setup looks nice!

I've also spotted a maxim X gauge cluster on ebay, thats a liquid cooled bike, but otherwise would the gauges work??

 

The gauges are from an '80's FZ600. The FZ600 uses the same pulse generator as the Seca II so the tachs work. It also has the same size front wheel so the speedometer will be accurate. I don't know if the maxim uses the same pulse generator but I do know it has a different sized front wheel.

I did a lot of custom work to them. I removed the speedo/tach from the FZ600 cluster and built cans for them out of 16 GA steel. I welded the cans to mounts for the headlamp ears and then made a faceplate for the LED's. Here's a picture of what they looked like (I took this one from EBay):



The extra gauges are a Stem Captain clock and Stem Captain temperature gauge. They're made for bicycles but worked well with a bit of ingenuity. I used LED's for the indicator lights and added directionals. Lots of work. I wanted something a bit different and very easy to read.



The headlamp is a Delkevic knockoff of an SV650 headlight. You can find it on EBay from China, pretty cheap:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/200518641632?ss ... 1423.l2649

 

I wont make any claims at being the fabricator you are, but I think with this info I'll be able to make something that'll look respectable and most importantly function! Side bonus, FZ600 gauges are dirt cheap lol! I'm trying to keep my project seca cheap, but I've got a laundry list of things I want to do. I'll make a formal project post once I get it bought and get some parts gathered together.

Thanks for the help!

 

Just beautiful; clean consistent level of workmanship and detail. The ONLY thing I'd do differently would be to continue the stripe on the front fender.

I'd leave the single disc in front; the bike is so light does it really need a second disc, at the expense of all the extra unsprung weight to slow down the steering? I was all about adding the second disc to my 550 Seca (easier because the bolt holes are already there on the wheel) until I switched to stainless lines, and upgraded to a floating rotor and modern-tech pads. Then I realized I really didn't need the second disc at all, the improved brake is way more than the bike will ever need for what it weighs. I can almost pick the rear wheel up.

 

I'm going to dig up this old thread, exhume it, and breathe new life into it.

Here's the latest incarnation of my 1992 Seca II. Since you all last saw it, I've done a YZF600R front fork conversion, fitted a Honda Hornet headlight (CB600f), built a new pair of custom headlight/gauge mounts, installed Radian gauges and a Buell S1 fairing (cut-down). The bar-end mirrors are made by Napoleon. The YZF600 front fender was dreadfully large so I opted to modify a Ducati Monster front fender using a pair of GT1000 inspired mounts. I found a good deal on an NOS black tank and decided to flip-flop the color scheme. I've put about 7k miles on her, like this, and I'm loving it.

• 
  
  Mods to get it to the Naked stage:
  1. Cut-off and ground down mounts for fairing on sides of frame and below triple.
  2. Horn relocated to below the triple and it's mount cut off.
  3. Home-made fork tubes/headlamp ears to fit over the 41mm forks.
  4. Custom-cut 3/8" aluminum headlamp brackets
  5. Honda Hornet (CB600F or 599) headlight
  6. Buell S1 fairing, cut down
  7. 1986 Yamaha Radian gauges & indicator lights
  8. Yamaha XT350 Speedometer cable (2" longer than stock cable)
  9. Honda VFR700 clip-on handlebars
  10. Napoleon bar-end mirrors
  11. SV650 clutch cover (rubber thing that keeps dirt out of the clutch lever).
  12. All-balls taper headset bearings (required to fit the YZF600R triple)
  
  
  Mods NOT necessarily related to the N conversion:
  1. FZR600 rear wheel (18x4) w/ Brembo rotor
  2. V-star rear shock (2007 XVS650)
  3. Wheels painted black
  4. '97 style tail conversion
  5. Custom paint, GM Black Micah, by me
  6. YZF600R front forks, wheel & triple
  7. Ducati Monster front fender with custom brackets
  8. Dual front R1 gold-dot calipers with EBC HH pads
  9. Goodridge Shadow stainless steel brake lines (30" master, 18" crossover) with straight ends
  10. Shinko Podium 006 tires (120 front; 150 rear)
  11. Center stand added
  12. Engine crash guards added
  13. Clear signal lenses

Read more about it's ongoing transition.

 

Superb. The key to a good customization is for it to look like the bike came that way; with engineering and fitment equal to or better than original. You're there.

 

That looks soooooo nice!!

 

Holy hell, thats a thing of beauty. How was the front fork conversion? Was it just different bearings or more involved?

I like the little fork guards, where'd you find those? It's usually pretty tough to find them small enough...

Seriously, though. I've just been drooling over this for like 30 minutes. I'll also be checking Craigslist for a Seca II....

 

I believe they may have come on the front end, which is certainly not "small" especially in fork tube diameter.

 

Found some online, but have yet to locate them in the US.

http://www.wemoto.com/parts/picture/pw-701-001/

 

Found them!

http://www.traxxion.com/ConventioalForkGuardKit.aspx

 

The fork conversion was pretty straight forward. I used an All-Balls taper-bearing set specifically for the Seca II (P/N 22-1004) and then YZF600R triple bolted right into that without modification. A bearing swap is all that's needed.

The fork guards are stock YZF fork guards. You can get an aftermarket set made by Traxxion Dynamics which clamps on. I've used them on a couple of bikes and like them. They are expensive, though.

Triumph also makes a set for the Thunderbird:

http://www.british-customs.com/triumph-thunderbird-sport-fork-protectors.html

 

I have a few modifications I want to get done before the 2014 riding season. Specifically, I plan to repaint some of the components in graphite, SprayMax 2k the tail & fairing, rewire the CB600F headlight to run both high-beam and low-beam headlights at the same time, and fit R6 switches. But more on that later.

Here's a few more photos from late last year:

 

looks damn good.

 

Looks fantastic! Glad someone else tried the YZF fork conversion - great even for older XJ's.

 

Nice pictures, nice bike.

Roc

 

Gave the Seca II some much needed maintenance; new head gasket, valves, reground, new clutch, carbs cleaned, etc. I then fitted a Ninja 650R clutch perch and master cylinder (for adjustable levers) and replaced the handlebar switches with those off of a late-model R6.

To celebrate, I rode her to the top of Mt. Evans. Here's my XJ600 at 14,100'.

 

Nice subject and nice scenery!

 

I liked the previous red color scheme (kind of like a SV650 or Monster), but I like the black even more. Very hard to make it look this good (in black) without very good paint/bodywork.

 

I recently finished a 17" rear wheel conversion using an RF600/Bandit 600 rear wheel and GS500 brakes. It all fit into the Seca II swingarm without trouble, requiring only a bearing swap, custom right-hand spacer and a sprocket shim. I have a 150/6oR17 fitted in the rear and a 120/60R17 in the front (on the YZF600R wheel). This is a very worthwhile modification if you're wanting to open up a host of tire options.

Also, fitted an FZ6R shock which is a much better match for the YZF forks.