My Seca II Scrambler Project

With every good upgrade comes the need for new custom parts. I sat the Triumph fender in place this evening and realized the bend on the stock XJ fender bracket isn't right. I noticed the same thing when I put the Ducati Monster fender on there earlier this year. Just too flat.




So I drew up a new one that will accommodate the bend in the Triumph fender. It'll also raise the fender a bit higher up off the tire allowing more clearance for rocks and junk to pass with the tire.




Flattened out (so I can actually make the thing):

 

I do like the look of the Triumph fender better.
The new fender bracket/brace looks nice. Maybe make one out of heavy cardboard and play with the height a little before committing to metal.

 

You and I are on the same page, K-moe. I mocked it up in paper/coardboard last night to verify the mounting holes were correct. Today I'm going to head to the shop and see if it fits the Triumph fender and the mounting holes on that fender line up with what I'd measured.



I can get 6 of these cut from 304 stainless for right-around $100. For that price, it might not be worth the time to actually cut it out myself. I may go that route so that I have a few to play with. I do have a set of wheels with street tires mounted and it'd be good to have my metal fender on its own brace for quick swapping.

 

I don't know how many of the XJ's, XV's and XS's used a monoshock, but . . . for you shock enthusiasts out there, lets talk rear shock modification for a moment. The recommended replacement for the Seca II (by me, I rule) is the FZ6R since its a direct bolt-in affair and gives all the benefits without any of those nasty side effects (like impotence). For my Scrambler, however, I could use a bit of extra height in the rear with the bigger dual sport tire. I bought a compressor so I can pull apart the shock in hopes of replacing/modifying/changing the top mount to get a bit of extra height.

Any of you done this or have any ideas of what to use to gain an extra inch or so of rear height? Given the geometry of the rear supsension, I need between 3/16 and 1/4 inch shock length to raise the tail 1". I thought about Heim joints and I also thought making a new end that is a bit longer (about .25" to get that 1" tail lift).

Ideas? Guidance?

 

How about a 1/4 inch spacer between the upper or lower spring seat?

Tony

 

I'd rather see links made to raise it.
Less screw-up potential.
I'm not sure if anything is commertially available in terms of a longer eye-shank, but it should be fairly cheap to have one made if you go that route.

 

The shock has a travel limit. A spacer will just increase spring preload.

 

I had part of a model generated from when I did the rear-wheel swap on my other XJ (it has an RF600 rear wheel on it). I took that model and began modifying it to be more representative of the Scrambler. Specifically, the rear suspension geometry. This will allow me to better understand the overall impacts of toying with rear shock length.

 

I also bought a spring compressor so I can disassemble a few spare shocks I have and see if they can be modified. The one in the picture below had an oil leak and hemorrhaged when I pulled it apart.

 

It's been ages since I've posted an update. Not too much to report. Most notable is the addition of saddlebags. These are a set of Willie and Max bags I picked up for not-much on eBay and mounted using 16 gauge steel plates. The bags secure through the frame mounts for the side guards.

 

Love to see it out in the wild!

 

You keep making me want to push the limits of how many motorcycles my wife is willing to tolerate.

 

I've managed to sneak in 5 without my wife noticing. But I have them in a dedicated workshop so that helps.

 

Taken this past weekend. I had the Scrambler out on a ride to diagnose some electrical problems (I think I had a dead cell in the Yuasa battery as a swap seems to have fixed it).



There's a growing list of things I want to do to this bike when winter gets here, including reworking the headlamp brackets to bring the headlamp closer to the speedometer, building a new gauge bracket out of cut aluminum to better match the rest of the custom parts on the bike, and then some maintenance items including a new chain and sprockets.

I also had the idea of adding a tank rack. I have to repaint the tank (after damage to the righthand side from it being knocked over last year) and I'm considering adding standoffs to support an aluminum rack in the tankbag area. We shall see.

 

I wonder if yamaha saw this bike and decided to build the xsr. I love this bike!

 

One word... BEAUTIFUL.

 

I just read through this thread today and I'm seriously impressed with this build. Awesome job on this bike radare, it looks fantastic and I'd love to take it for a ride to see if it is as good as it looks.

 

If you ever find yourself in Denver, I'll be happy to let you take it for a spin.

 

It's been ages since I posted an update. My apologies for that one. This past Memorial Day weekend, I took it on a 4-day, 1400 mile ride to Utah and New Mexico. In preparation for that ride, I did a few upgrades:

I modified a Yamaha Venture center stand and welded tabs to the frame to use it. I painted it with 2k black paint. While I was at it, I painted the mufflers, too.












I had a set of stainless steel headers sitting in a box and decided to install those. These are made by Delkevic.




I always freeze on long rides so I decided to install some heated grips too. These were stolen from my other XJ. I don't ride it much anymore, anyway.




It had rained and rained and rained all week leading up to the trip. It even snowed a few days prior. I spent the entirety of Thursday working in the rain. I planned to leave Friday and really didn't want to start out the trip in the rain. Just before sunset, the clouds cleared. A good omen, I think.



Here are some photos from the trip. I rode just about every type of road you can think of; interstate, highway, rural and dirt. I rode in a host of weather; rain, snow, sleet, hail and sunshine. The bike did well and I had a great time.

 

Thanks for the update.
Add some brush guards (the full coverage type) and you will eliminate the rest of the cold hand problem. Wind is the enemy.