New owner of 1982 XJ 650 Seca

Hi everybody. I just want to introduce myself. My real name is Anthony, but everybody calls me Paco. It started sometime back in high school and never went away. I'm 27, and this is my first street bike. I've ridden dirt bikes all my life, so hopefully the transition won't be too hard.

I recently bought an '82 XJ 650 Seca that has around 6000 miles on it. It is in excellent condition. I am kind of a short guy (only 5'5") so the Seca seemed like a good choice. My best friend has an '82 650 Maxim, and I've had my eye on it for years. I appreciate the smoothness of 4 cylinders and shaft drive. Now soon we'll be able to cruise together on our XJ's!

I'm in WV and I'm admittedly pretty much a noob at street bikes. All my experienced friends keep telling me it's pretty much the same as a dirt bike but obviously with more power, and less of a turning radius. I am gonna take the WV written exam next Saturday, so hopefully I'll be street legal soon.

Any advice for a total beginner would be appreciated. I am also prepared for any ribbing that may come to a beginner. I just wanted to let the community know that I selected the XJ out of respect for the machine and I hope to log many happy miles on it. I uploaded a pic of it to my gallery if anyone would like to look at it.

Cheers,

Paco

 

dude. No worries. Ive had a maxim for a week now, finally got it together, and rode it around for 3 hours straight tonight (which i promised i wouldnt do, i dont have my MC endorsement yet...) Having only riden dirt bikes before I was nervous at how it would be. Its as easy as cake. A real easy ride. However, this bike is much top heavier than I would like really, lot of upper back strength is used at stop lights to keep it balanced how you want. But other than that I love it.

 

dude! thats a cherry bike! welcome to the site and good luck on your test!!

mike

 

Welcome Paco. Best advice I can provide you with is get some formal training with an MSF or similar organization just as soon as you can. Your skills and chances at staying alive will both improve. Glad to hear your as thrilled about your XJ as the rest of us. Welcome aboard.

 

the best Advice i can give, is to get out and try stuff. You can leartn a lot form a manual, but you'll learn the most from actually doing it. Go have fun and err on the side of caution. see i've never ridden a dirt bike in my life so i can't offer any comparison for you, i imagine they're very similar though. I like the color used for your bike, if you have the name or id# of it i wouldn't mind knowing it. And finally welcome to the site. We have probably as much fun b.s.ing about our bikes than actually riding sometimes. Well at least I do.

 

Thanks for the replies, guys. I pick the bike up next week, and I've got the manual to study for the test. I've been taking the online example test and I've passed it every time. Most of this stuff is common sense.

I don't know what the key is for that color, but I'll ask the guy when I pick it up, because I'd like to have it too. I thought it looked great. I'll let everybody know how she handles. Luckily I live out on a farm and the road to my house is paved and 2 1/2 miles long. A perfect place to practice without worrying about tags or licensing. I'll also take some more pics and post them.