Best ways to improve Seca 550 perfomance and rideability?

Made my own topic so i don't hijack others topics...
So, I'm interested all things that improve my seca perfomance and rideability.
I have noticed that pods ain't the ultimate answer for this
I'm aware that getting it run best as possible at factory settings (adjusted valves, clean/synched carbs etc.) is good start.
Cost effectiveness is important too. What things would be recommend?

Stainless steel brake lines?
Drilled rotors?
New front springs and rear shocks? Which brand?
Tires?
Gearing?
Weight reduce? There ain't propably much what you can do at this one...
Something else? I am all open for ideas

And yes, I understand that it wont ever perform like modern sportbike and that is not my goal, but I think that making your bike better ain't bad thing :idea:

 

Re: Best ways to improve Seca 550 perfomance and rideability

fitz i believe this one is for you. As far as i know you cant do much with engine performance they just dont make any performance parts. best way to gain performance is to shed weight . The bike is not to heavy to start with

 

SS Lines: YES.

Drilled rotors: YES, or replace with an EBC full-floating (drilled) rotor.

Shocks and springs: Yes and yes; I went with Progressive Suspension at both ends on the '83 and will be doing Progressive springs in the '81 this winter.

Gearing: If your bike came with 45/16, leave it; the early 550 Secas came with 46/16 and it was unnecessary. Anything taller and it won't have it's streak-flash-bam! acceleration.

Weight? The only real weight reduction is to start losing cool accessories or the collector box (gawd that thing weighs a ton.) But do that, and the "magic" goes away; the bike just isn't such a rocket without the stock system. I suppose it could be but it would be a lot of work.

I did everything on your list; also reupholstered my seats (and "upfoamed" one of them) plus went through the bikes front to back and top to bottom and they're both turnkey reliable, with the exception of the occasional rude surprise (like tach drive oil seals.) The '81 is nearly stock, the '83 got a lot of little "upgrades" (like a 150mph speedo in place of the 85mph unit.) Both got analog clocks and Halogen H4 headlight upgrades, with modulators.

At the risk of getting accused of not missing an opportunity to post pics of my bikes, here you go--- Daily Rider/Commuter, 1981 with 27K miles currently:




Weekend tourer, backroad blaster, "personalized," upgraded and modernized, '83 with 10K miles:




BOTH have stock exhaust systems (not easy but do-able) and stock airbox/air filters; white bike has Dunlop D404's, black bike has Avon AM26 RoadRiders.

Did I mention I really like the 550 Secas?

 

Thats what im talking about. Fitz i know all those black marks under the white one are not from you lol

 

No, and they're not what you think they are. They're not tire tracks; that's ageing "hot patch" wherein an intrepid patching crew dribbles hot tar on any cracks that have developed in the (tarmac, believe it or not) surface. TONS o'fun in the rain, where all the "snakes" of tar on the road are slipperier than the rest of the pavement.

That's a rural Michigan backroad.

 

I didn't think you would be abusing your bike like that.

 

When you ask those questions about a Bike that is 550cc's or less, ...

What you really need to do is ...

Get a bigger bike!

 

No abuse, but I do ride the living bejabbers out of both of them, that's what they were designed for. Once the "cycle parts" have been upgraded to modern standards they're a real joy, and truly better than original.

 

Those do look like squid marks !

Mikko - - how fast do you want to go ??

http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic ... xj550.html

Search all 26 posts - - save your nickels for a 600 motor, wedge or wing cut the crank, get some flat slide carbs, $400 cams and have the fastest 550 around.

Or rescue a 900 - - or just get an old R1
Or get an FJR !! Mine does 120 in THIRD !

 

Or go buy an early h1 jet it put a set of chambers on it should be enough to scare the heck out of you. especially in the corners lol

 

Or get your 550 running 100% the way it's supposed to, fit some lower handlebars and upgrade the suspension, brakes and seat with modern components. And still get 52-56mpg.

 

Im with you fitz like rick said if you want more performance out of it buy a bigger bike

 

i just go on a diet, it's cheaper than titanium bolts

 

Re: Best ways to improve Seca 550 perfomance and rideability

I know that many 550 Secas came with the factory fairing (not my cup of tea, but...) Does this help top-end speeds or is it a wash because it adds weight?

 

actually, I think fitz said that fairing made it unstable at high speeds

 

Hi there.

Here's what I improved on my 650 - some or all will have been mentioned above but here goes...

There's a few things you can do to improve ride and handling - that way you'll gain a bit of performance by being able to keep up good average speed.

Braided brake lines and decent pads, drilling discs is an option.
Decent rear shocks (Konis in my case)
Taper-roller head bearings
Pre-loading fork springs (I've used six x 2 pence pieces on top of the springs - any denomination of the right diameter will do)
Thicker fork oil
Decent tyres - Avon Roadriders on mine (or Roadrunners if you can still get them). I swear by Avon tyres on all my bikes

Make sure brakes don't bind and that chain (in case of 550) is well adjusted and well lubed

This will all make for a smoother - and faster - ride.

Nige

 

No, what I've said was I don't like what it did to the handling.

Stability at speed and the (ill-placed, for me) wind blast weren't the issue; the bloody thing was too big and heavy. As such, it adversely affected the steering precision and quickness, making it more difficult to "flick" the bike thru say, a series of tight right-left-right corners. Plus, it was "styled" to fit the goofy original tall handlebar.

I think the bike handles much better without it, especially with the improvements we've listed.

 

That's been said about the 900's original 1983 fairing, by Yamaha, so they made them frame-mount in '84 & up.
I haven't felt this "instability" in mine.

 

These I must get, current brakelines are propably original :roll:

Might drill them at work, any idea what material are those?

Shocks and spring might affect alot since current are originals, front end is badly sagged and rear shocks are what they are, this bike has seen some road...

Bike wont pull any better at sixth gear than fifth, thought that gearing would help little or is it normal?

I think I keep collectorbox, but got to get new mufflers since originals have rotted away... I think I will lose those cool accessories, plan is mod rear end (though weight reduction is pretty minimal since parts there are mostly plastic), smaller or no blinkers, alot smaller gauges, mirrors, take off passenger foot pegs. Don't know if that shaves weight, but it would look better to my eye :wink:

My current seat is horrible, some PO took off almost foam off to get lower seat height and it sucks water like sponge :evil: Have been thinking to make smaller custom seat. Headlight upgrade is on list too...

Don't mind at all though I've seen your bikes some times beforetoo, but those are so good looking and well built that I would post pics in every change too if those were mine :wink:

Me too 8)

 

Bigger bike would sure be more powerful, but insurance prices would get higher too and I like my bike more on small and nimble side 8)

 

I'm not looking for high speed since I can't ride very high speeds here anywhere (at least legally ). Looking more ability to accelerate, turn and stop better... 600 motor is on my mind if current one gives up for some reason.

 

This is my main plan

 

I'm working on with this, have lost almost 20kg (over 40lbs) in two years Weight around 160 pounds at the moment, not very much left where to drop anymore...

 

Thanks for tips, should check head bearings and look for better tires. Rebuilding brakes are high on to-do list too. New chains won't hurt too, but I think current could be still used for some more...