My Seca II Scrambler Project

Two years ago, February 2013, I bought a Seca II from a kid at the Air-Force Academy. He had cut it up and dismantled it. I gave him way more than it was worth and hauled it home in the back of my Ford Escape.



I laid the parts out on the driveway and took note of what I had. The engine looked alright; had some dents in the crank plug and some rash on the fins. The carbs looked alright; had some damage to a couple of the slides. Most everything else was cut or ground in some fashion. I think Mister PO thought he'd build a fighter with it. Too bad he didn't possess the skillset to follow-through.




I planed to turn it into a faired touring bike. To do some updating. Fit a newer fairing and tail, install a 17" rear wheel, fit a more modern front fork, etc, etc. I made it far down this path and ended up here: A Seca II with an FZ6 front, FZ1 rear and custom tank. You can read more about this foray of insanity, here: http://www.xjrider.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=3040





I had hoped to ride this bike out to the Seca II Rally in Arkansas in May of 2013 but as the deadline for the rally quickly approached, decided it wasn't going to happen and took my other Seca II to the rally. I parked this one in the garage and left it there.



The bike sat in the garage for two years, waiting sadly for me to return. I had trouble finding the motivation. Given that I also own a fully faired Seca II, I couldn't see how I would use the bike. Too much overlap. Well, in April 2015, I was sick to tears of looking at the bike, sitting in the garage, and decided to do something different with it. Given the amount of dirt here in Colorado, I wanted a scrambler. Having owned many XJ's and having restored them, I had a mess of spare parts. This one would be a Parts-bin Scrambler.

I began the project by cutting off the rear tail that I'd built two years prior.



A new tail was built to suit the idea and support a rear fender and light. The fender came courtesy of an XS400 and the light, well, Wal-mart:




Little by little, the design came together and finally, I had a workable design:




Parts were reconditioned and I slowly became more and more disgruntled with the previous owner. The height of that disgruntlement came when I discovered that he'd damaged the starter gears, likely when he flooded it with his modified petcock. I split the cases and went through the engine, replacing the gears, the seals and the gaskets. I cleaned the cylinders and went through the top-end. When done, the engine began to look the part:




It was the same story with the carbs. Damage at every turn. I replaced all four of the diaphragms, rejetted it for altitude and fully reconditioned the carb set.



I continued to recondition parts and went through every aspect of the bike. After years of sitting on the garage, the bike was finally back together.





Finally, on June 15th, with lack of fanfare, the bike fired to life and ran for the first time since 2012.




With the bike running, I turned my attention to cosmetics. I painted the fenders and tank using Spraymax products:



And tuned the carbs using a monometer and Wideband O2 sensor:


Finally, this past weekend, I was able to get out and put some miles on the bike. 120 or so later, she's running well and feels like an older bike than she is. When I got home, I sat in he garage with her and we shared a short glass of Jack Daniel's No 7. A tradition I share with all the bikes I bring back to the road.



There is still much work to do. I am working on fabricating side-covers from ABS plastic and designing some brackets for the sides of the rear rack that will be cut from aluminum to mirror the headlamp brackets. If you want to read the entire story, you can find it here:
http://www.xjrider.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=6900

Thought you guys would enjoy seeing a bike put back on the road, even if it weren't a first-gen Seca. More to come on the progress of this one, someday soon. Stay tuned.

 

I love bikes with a good story behind them. Especially when they actually look good haha nice job

 

And for those looking for other gauge options, KZ1000p gauges will work with both the Yamaha speedometer and tach signal. That means, they should work on the Radian, Fazer (FZX), Fz, FZR, Maxim 750, and Seca II.

I'm certain there are other Kawi gauges that would work though my experience is solely with the KZ clocks.

 

The blue goo (or whatever it is) on the carb diaphragm is Hall of Fame type material. The PO is Dead, Long Live the PO!

Very nice rescue work, Radare. The spraymax paint is the bomb for do-it-yourselfers.

 

nice build and story to boot. can never go wrong with some Jack Daniels either

 

Does anybody believe that the bloo gooo would fix a carb diaphragm? That is crazy!
Enter now! You may have already won:
http://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/previous-owner-masterpieces.57929/

 

It's not the best thing to use, but it does work in a pinch. Liquid electrical tape is preferred over that stuff though (looks like it's blue RTV, but it may be Hylomar or some other company's equivalent). The PO just went crazy with the stuff; you only need a little bit to cover any holes in the diaphragm.

 

Po would have had better luck with a Trojan!

 

They are known to leak too! On an unrelated topic, anybody want to babysit my newborn when he arrives in Oct?

 

Excellent work, I love how its all just sitting in milk crates, then boom! 2 years later its a work of art. Getting me that motivation I need to get to work!

 

Working on finishing touches now. Made side covers and front frame infills using ABS plastic. Still have to finish and paint them.

For below the seat:




To cover the coils (these will get sanded down and will look a lot like the below-the-seat covers when done):




And the rear covers, sitting on the bike. I'm waiting on a set of coupler nuts and M6 studs from McMaster-Carr before I can get them completed and attached:




Also, ordered a new Yuasa battery for it. The Everstart (Walmart) battery that is in there now, died after only one season. The Yuasa's seem to give me four or more seasons.

And ordered a set of #100 mains and #20 pilots. This combination works great at my altitude, just a lick under 6k feet, and still works at 14k feet when I decided to visit the top of Mt. Evans. More, soon.

 

That looks sweet! Nicely put together.

 

Finished the side covers. Well, at least their construction. Bodywork and paint to follow.

 

Just checking--- you DID say 'unrelated', right?

 

Shaped and sanded. I'm headed to MN for a week but when I get back, I'll get a coat of 2k high-build primer sprayed on them.

 

I think they look good as is! Kinda a graphite/carbon fiber (minus the fiber) or alien metal thing! How did you make them? Lots of the older Secas and Maxims need new covers, and original ones are hard to find! Would this process work with compound curves, or is it flat and corners only?

As for that, the wife says he's related to me...

 

They weren't difficult to make. I used flat 3/16" thick ABS plastic sheet and ABS pipe cement. The ABS plastic can be heated and molded to shape, so it would be conceivable to make pieces with compound bends/angles or other shapes. For my covers, I kept them simple. I cut them out using a combination of my bandsaw and table saw. I trimmed and shaped them with my Dremel and sanded them with a palm sander. You can read more about it, here.

Here are the pieces I used:




As glued together:




After trimming:




And after sanding:

 

Thanx, dood! I think they look excellent, even without paint.

 

Pretty good day for the project. First, the new YUASA battery came so I charged that up and installed it. The #100 and #20 jets came too, so I installed those and tuned the carbs to match. Oh, and I finished and installed the side covers. They look good. The bike's pretty much done and ready for shakedown.

I took it out for a short ride this evening and had fun. Enjoy some photos.

 

I really like the looks of it. That would look good setting next to my 97 vmax! Your bike has made me change the direction of build on my 79 xs750. I was going to do a hard tail bobber but not any more.

 

i like the 'ride into the sunset' photos. a good ending to a great build story.

 

Took the bike out yesterday for a good ride including a half-dozen miles of dirt and gravel roads. Found a small oil leak on the clutch arm but otherwise, bike did great. I'd forgotten how well those Kenda Cruiser tires do on dirt/gravel.

Here's a short video from the ride. Enjoy.

 

I recently bought a second set of wheels for the Scrambler and fitted a pair of IRC GP110 tires (4.6x17 in the front and 5.1x18 in the rear). I think it looks great.

 

Very nice looking!

 

Very nice indeed. I love seeing a bike brought back to life that was nearly terminated by a PO. Doesn't cost much to strip em down and cut em up. Unfortunately that's when they realize they're too far in.

 

Wasn't SnoSheriff looking for dirtbike ideas? This looks awesome! Really unique build.

 

Here's a shot of the rear:




And while I'm here: I'm thinking about replacing the signals with something smaller and less stick-out-ish. Any ideas?

 

your front fender is VERY close to your front tire, you'd better not go play in the mud.

Nice bike by the way.

 

I have a Ducati Monster fender that will be fitted once the weather warms up here enough to paint it. Should restore the proper clearance.

 

He's got that covered; just didn't post about it here.

Smaller signals that don't stick out as much.... hmmmm

Late-model FJ1200 rear turn signals come to mind.

 

Looks Awesome! Now all you need is a red "Scrambler" emblem for the tank.

I discovered these Dot legal ones from K&S and I think they will work well with your theme:

For the front -
http://www.ebay.com/itm/K-S-Black-I...s-25-7701BK-/172000890688?hash=item280c0d4f40

And for the rear -
http://www.ebay.com/itm/K-S-Black-I...s-25-7700BK-/172000890671?hash=item280c0d4f2f

They also make them with chrome housings and clear lenses if you like that style.

Tony

 

Awesome idea. I ordered a pair from edecals using your idea as a base. Here's what I came up with. I kept them small (.75" x 5.5") so that they will fit along the ridge in the tank.

 

Also, here it is with the Ducati fender. I know, I know; it's not as good looking as the metal one. It's true. But once it's painted, I think it'll look alright AND it gives me much more clearance than the metal one.

 

Nice!

Much better clearance on the fender. Probably not much you can do about crap getting slung up onto the exhaust.
Is that just a standard high heat paint on it?

Tony

 

Yeah, it is. I used to have really good luck with Rustoleum BBQ paint but have had flaking issues with the latest formulations. This current coat is VHT header paint but its also flaked. I plan to have the exhaust sandblasted in the spring and repaint with VHT or Duplicolor high-temp paint and see if that helps. Eventually, though, I do have plans to fit a set of Stainless headers and a pair of Thruxton mufflers that I have on the shelf.

 

That looks good.
For a glimpse into my mind: I think it'd look better if it read' "Lambelresc"

 

Reason why I ask is that I had ceramic coating done on the current set of headers that are on mine at the moment, and they still look great. However, it cost a good bit a few years back. And now that I'm fabricating a custom exhaust, I plan on trying to keep the overall cost within reason and thought about using this inside and out:
http://www.eastwood.com/ew-hi-temp-internal-exhaust-coating-w-extension-tu.html?reltype=3
You would definitely have to blast any old paint off and make sure the bare metal is prepped properly before using.

I sense the verdict is still out on the turn signals?

Tony

 

New signals (thanks to xHondaHack's suggestions), revised front fender, custom side-bars for rear bag mounts and an FZ6R shock install later, here's how the bike sits now:





And a couple of recent photos showing it NOT in the garage:

 

Pretty, pretty. Now go get some mud on it


I think what I like about your machine the most is how it's subtile, tasteful, and really doesn't look far off from what Yamaha could have done if they had chosen to.

 

Glad you liked my suggestion.

That bike just oozes cool......

Tony

 

It's been a good while since I've had an update. Recently, I decided to replace the steel rear rack with a cut aluminum one to carry the design of the headlight brackets and side mounts through to the rear. I drew up the new rack in Solidworks, converted it to a CAD DXF file and sent it off to Big Blue Saw for cutting:


The rack ran $140 for 3/8 6061 aluminum:




I mocked-up the rack to make sure I liked the look of the side-brackets. they looked good so I decided to mount them:





My drill press wasn't tall enough to fit the rack into, so I had to get creative. I added a strip of pine to the edge of my old worn-out shop table and then clamped the rack using screws and more wood. I leveled the rack to ensure it was straight.

Then I removed the bolts holding the drill press to its base and rotated the base so it was out of the way. That gave me room to get the press over the rack. I leveled the press and screwed it to the table.



That worked and I was able to drill the first two holes, straight and in proper alignment. I then oiled up an M5 tap and tapped the two holes. I clamped the side piece in place while doing this to ensure the tap went in straight.



The edge pieces are held on with two M5x25mm socket cap screws.



I repeated this process for the other side. Once done, I washed the cutting-oil off the rack and then gave the aluminum a grain to match the rest of the aluminum parts on the bike:



It's cold-as-crap here in Denver right now but when it warms up, I'll get it mounted.

 

Thanks for the update. I think the suggstions from the folks on ADVrider make sense, but I like how the rack turned out as it is now.

 

I set out this afternoon to get the Scrambler from my garage in Denver to my workshop in Broomfield. It was in the low 50's for the first time in a while and it seemed like a good idea.

When I got to Denver, I realized that there was about 4" of snow in the driveway. Well, what'cha gonna do? So I pulled the Scrambler out anyway.




The battery was mostly dead so I improvised a jumper cable using some Romex and the XJ fired to life after a few attempts:



The ride out of the driveway in Denver was the most precarious. The street was hard-packed snow covered with a melting layer of slush. Super slippery. So I shoveled the sidewalk from my house up to 44th St (which was clear as its plowed). I then rode the bike up the sidewalk that short distance until I reached the curb. When there was a break in traffic, I slipped the clutch, hopped the curb and hoped for the best.

The ride to Broomfield was uneventful until I got to the driveway. Here, about 3" of slushy snow covered the driveway. The XJ did just fine as I covered the 800 or so feet of driveway from the street to the workshop.


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I've been chasing an oil leak on the left-hand side of the bike. I replaced the stator seal, its o-ring, the primary chain oiler o-ring, the output-shaft o-ring and the shift-shaft o-ring and yet the leak persists. So the first thing while at the workshop was to start tracking down that oil leak. I used a tracer dye and a UV light to help follow the leak to the source. I added the dye to the crankcase:




I then let the bike idle near the garage door for about 10 minutes to mix the dye into the oil.




After 10 minutes of idling, I could see oil dripping off of the side-stand mount, but none coming from any of the sources listed above. The stator, output shaft, shift shaft and crankshaft seals were all dry with no evidence of oil. There was some evidence that suggested the neutral switch might be the culprit so I pulled it off and had a look:




Upon inspection, I noticed that the sensor was cracked on one of the mounting bolts and had a slight warp to it. Not entirely sure its the cause of the leak so I'll look again after replacing it.

I also started the process of modifying the rear of the frame and the ABS covers for the rear rack:

 

That rack fits so nicely. Super tight! I love how it follows the lines of the seat. Feel like the crash guards are blocking the view a bit, though...

 

I'm late to this party . . . Just went through the whole thread.
Generally I prefer a stock, old school bike . . . but my goodness - 5 stars for this ride!
The whole story of pulling pieces out of the rear of an Escape and making it into what it is today is beautiful.

 

I am strongy of the opinion that Yamaha could build copies and they would be the new hot bike for 2017.

 

Really nice of you guys to say. Thank you!

BTW, I'm working today on converting the tail and headlight to LED. The tail is easy; since its a trailer light, you can buy copies of the existing light which 24-LED's built in. Super bright. The headlight will require replacement; I bought a TruckLite headlight for it and will convert the Delkevic housing. Hopefully the modern lighting won't detract from the look and feel of the bike. More on that, later, with pictures.

 

sort of like the FAST version of the Scrambler 950 they built off the Bolt platform!

 

The LED tail light I ordered cam yesterday so I worked on fitting it today. Had to modify the bracket and rewire the thing. I'm quite happy with it.

Modified bracket and new gaskets cut:




New LED tail light installed:





I bolted on the new tail assembly and fitted the rear rack this afternoon. The rack went on without a hitch and I think it looks good:






Here are some photos of it outside in the light:




This is what the new LED tail light looks like when on. The photo is deceiving; its quite bright.



And a quick video showing the light in its glory:




I also installed the pair of Progrip 698's and I like 'em:




Here's how the bike sits as of this afternoon. Looking good, I think:




Oh; also, the Trucklite headlight came. The level of quality in it is amazing. I can't overstate that. Now the problem is, it won't fit in the Delkevic headlight housing that's on the bike. So I need to find a housing that fits a sealed beam headlight (H6024). Any help/suggestions in a 7" headlamp that will hold a sealed-beam headlight? Any experience with the EMGO housing (Kawasaki replica)?

 

Exceptional work!!