83 Seca 750-where do I start?

Hi Everyone,
Really nice forum, here. Lots of information to wade through, but before I do, I have to ask about a situation I have found myself in...

I just inherited a Yamaha XJ750 Seca that has been sitting for about 8 years, with gas still in the tank! Where should I start?

Things I know are bad:
Battery
Tires
Fork seals
Fuse box
Gasoline in fuel tank smells like varnish.
Carbs gummed (assumption)

Is there any chance of getting this thing going again, without spending a fortune?
Thanks!

 

Start:
Carbs and gas tank!

Fortune:
Define what a "fortune" means to you!

 

How much of the work are you going to do ... and how much will you have to farm-out?

What would you charge per hour if you were restoring this bike for someone else?

How long do you expect to take before you'll have the bike ready to ride someplace?

Rip Van Winkles can pose some very difficult challenges. Have you got the tools and skills to work-around difficulties as you run into them?

It would be nice to hear that the bike was laid-up right and wouldn't need all the fussing-around you're going to have to do. Good luck. As you find things in sad shape or bad condition; could you do "Before and After" pics,, please?

 

There ya go...start by defining "fortune"

 

If you are concerned about money-------Since you got the bike for free.
If you have the background to work on this. I would get a battery for 30 bucks, Pull the tank and clean it out. Pull the carbs and follow Ricks Old School Carb Cleaning. Get it running for least amount possible and make a decision to go further or not. If it becomes too big of a project you could always sell it as a running bike (even if it runs poorly) and make your money back with no problem. Good Luck

 

I guess the most basic definition would be, "More than I would pay for a similar, but working, bike."

I really have no idea what these bikes are worth, if anything. If a running bike sells for 500.00, I probably won't bother, but if they sell for 1000 and up, I probably would fix it up, or at least try to get it running.

I have very little experience working on motors and such, but I do take things apart and put them back together as a vocation. I'm an Electronics Tech by trade, and I have lots of tools, I'm just not sure I have the ones I need for this project...

I like MN-Maxims advice: Clean the tank and carbs, and get a battery. Then go from there.

Thanks everyone. I'm sure I'll be posting here regularly, if I decide to proceed with this.

I'm off to see if I can find "Rick's carb cleaning guide".

 

Have you tried charging the battery yet. Slide it out and make sure the fluid level is up to the mark in all cells. If not, fill with some distilled water. (tap water works as long as you let it sit in an open pan for 24 hours.

Don't worry about the tires until you get the bike running. Then figure on a couple of hundred if you take the wheels off yourself and take them in to have tires mounted balanced and then you reinstall. This is a maintenance item and shouldn't be included in the cost value of the bike. imo

Again I wouldn't deal with replacing the fuse box now unless it's bad and stops you from getting the bike started. If it needs work now, it may be something that replacing some end clips might be enough for now.

As for the gas, remove the tank which should be 1 bolt and a fuel gauge quick connection and pour the old out. Is there rust in the tank? deal with that before putting in new gas. Clean out the filter screen on the petcock valve on the bottom of the tank.

As for the carbs, there is probably a varnish layer in the float bowls. If you can remove the bowls and wipe them out, I would try to try to start the bike with the new fuel with seafoam mixed in. If the carbs are plugged then it won't start and you'll have to rebuild. If it starts then the seafoam will help eliminate the varnish and it saves you a step.

Depending on the shape of the bike you inherited, and the time of year it is, I would venture to say that you could invest $1000 into your bike and be money ahead. However if it's got like 75,000 mi and been dropped several times it might be better to part it and buy a running one. I'm guessing it's worth it to put some effort into making it run.

 

I definitely have some rust in there. A quick google search finds me about a hundred different ways to clean a rusted gas tank. What's everyone's preferred method? Right now I'm leaning toward muriatic acid...

 

I have tried a few diffrent techniques on mine. My latest cleaning I used the eletrolisis method followed up with a rust convertor, Ospho. It did a nice job inside but was time consuming.
I would stay away from using the tank cream epoky kits, I have heard that they can peal over time if not applied perfectly.
Just to get the bike up and going I would put nuts and bolts inside the tank and shake em around. Its a bit noisy but will loosen up the big rust which could cause fuel delivery problems. After shaking the nuts and bolts around get em all out and flush with kerosine. Its tough to get the inside of these 25 + year tanks perfect but with some effort they can be put back into service.

I just spent about 20 hours on my bike over the last two weeks getting it up and running after seven years and I can tell that it was well worth it.
These old Secas are really great bikes, they handle great, have allot of power and are comfortable to ride.

 

Truer and more correct advice, on both counts, has never been spoken.........

 

I copied this off the nighthawk forum They had a good discussion on what to use and between the rocks, nuts and chains methods, I liked the chain idea though I've not had to use it.

Re: rust and filler in tank. what to do?

A length of swingset chain works like a charm - and all you have to
do get one end out and the rest comes with it.

Do NOT use Kreem - it's lousy. Use the Por15. I repeat - use Por
15...that is, if you want your efforts to last.

Do not skimp on your prep-work - it is key. Once you're sure that
you've shaken all the rust loose, shake it it some more.

Take your time thru the rinsing, draining and drying steps. No such
thing as over-kill in preparation.

Temperature, relative humidity and airflow will affect your final
dry-time. So will a hair-dryer on "cool" - if nothing else, it
gives us impatient folks a feeling like we're accomplishing
something.

Effort and patience will be your best friend.

Hope this helps.

 

I think the idea here is to see if this thing runs. He is going to do the minimum to see what happens. Battery is mostlikely been frozen or sulfated so bad it won't come back anyway. So get a new one, temp the fuse panels bad fuses with a couple of ATM style fuses and some female spade push on terminals. Use the proper size fuses there was a 20 and the rest were 10's. You can always buy the fuse block from chacal if you want to invest in this bike.
Back to your tank. You could use anything like an old lawn mower tank or something. Since it has bad tires and such, you shouldn't go far anyway. Up and down the alley or a short trip around the block. You will have a whole afternoon into those carbs anyway.
Take your time and get those carbs as clean as humanly possible (I'm not kidding) make your adjustments and reinstall. Hook up the IV bottle with some gas and see if she runs. If it starts and runs and sounds good you might get the bug to go further. So see if it runs for a few hours of your time and 35 to 45 bucks. Good luck

If you don't want to spend alot on carb dip and carb spray. I have boiled my carb parts in lemmon juice. Sounds weird but it works. Don't put the brass parts in there though it will turn them black. The aluminum looks like brand new though. Make sure you can use a air compressor and a good air nozzle with a small tip to blow out all the passages really good.

 

Thanks, everyone. Good points all around. It hadn't really occurred to me that I could substitute a bottle or something for the tank. I was assuming I had to clean the tank first.
Such a simple thing, but that could really affect my time spent figuring out whether or not to go on...