What did you do to your Yamaha today?

Hi everyone, I'm a brand new to motorcycling, just got my license a few weeks ago and just bought a 1983 Seca 550. Today I changed the oil (previous owner had the spring on the wrong side of the filter) and adjusted the drive chain tension (looks like it's never seen chain lube in its life). I'm sure I'm in for some more surprises in the future but for now I'm having lots of fun riding this lovely machine!

 

First things first! Read this. All of this. It's a lot and bewildering, but read it all: http://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/the-information-overload-hour.27544/


Welcome to motorcycles and the forums!

 

Gave my Seca a "HOT SHOT" seems to help. Been getting hard to start probably time to pull carbs took them to church 2 seasons ago. In case you wonder what a hot shot is ...pull fuel line off petcock , drain float bowls. Fill a syringe with Seafoam or as I used Berryman B12 ...shoot it into fuel line till you fill float bowls let it set for about an hour or more . Reconnect fuel line put to pri and start bike it will smoke slightly . Worth a try still got a few good days left to ride

 

81/82 XJ650 Parts - Just about anything

 

was the washer there too? it is needed to keep the spring pushing the gromet into the filter

 

It was indeed. I almost missed it because it was stuck to the old filter but I was using an exploded view to see how it went together and found it.

 

A little late but worth a little right up-
Went for a ride Friday afternoon was supposed to go to Southern Oregon College but turned into going through Jackson Ville to Grants Pass and back via hwy.99. Basically 89 miles and fuel consumption for entire tank was 43 mpg round trip all on the back roads. Beautiful afternoon about 75 degrees. Was following a old full size van and usually I would be all about passing them but I thought it would be a nice subliminal brake to keep me under 60 mph. Thoroughly enjoyed it allowed to me see all the new POT farms along the way and a small flock of adult Turkeys. Kind of easy to tell brand new 8 ft. fences with big green bushes poking out the top. No hiding the Cannabis anymore here LOL. How times have changed in the Northwestern United States.

Monday through Wednesday it is supposed to be raining so I think I may just pull the carbs to check them and finally replace the original air box being as I have all the parts now from Chacal. This is also my last week before College starts up again for the Fall Term.
Ride safe people getting darker earlier and the dumb dumbs are out and about.

 

Almost harvest time around here, plenty of illegal farms hidden in the bushes. You can literally smell them from a mile away when riding the back roads.

 

Was finally able to start riding to work again and even did lunch with a couple other riders in my building... my 750 looks tiny next to the full size living room couch my female co-worker drives...

 

It always surprises me how small the 750's are. Doesn't FEEL small when your on it, but park it beside basically anything >600 CC's and it looks tiny.

Buddy I ride with has a yellow SV650 I've posted a pic of previously in here, and it always gets me just how much larger his 650 is. Wider, longer, taller, it's substantially larger and it's a small sportbike. When compared to a cruiser it looks positively tiny.

 

Looked at my bike lovingly as I walked by to ride a friend of mine KLR 650 to work. He keeps bugging me to do it so finally I did.
Seems to be missing some cylinders more like you give it throttle and it responds by saying hey just a sec LOL
Other then that as only the 3rd other bike I have ridden it was okay just meant for something other then I am used to I guess. Every bike has a purpose I suppose.

 

The KLR's real value is as a dual purpose bike. Slap on some on/off road tires, take it out on dirt roads, and it's awesome. I don't think any measure of off road tires is going to help our XJ's on dirt.

It's always nice to see how well our old XJ's compare to a lot of modern bikes

 

The KLR's real value is as a multi-purpose bike.
Tight twisty back roads, no problem. Add in some potholes and broken pavement, leave the sport bikes behind.
Touring, most comfortable bike I've ever had.
Commuting? add a top box and you're all set.
Top speed license shredder? Not so much, however this is a bonus
Scrape something up? Who cares, it's a KLR

 

Rain today.

Yesterday I "fixed" my two rear turn signal mounts. As happens, the rubber portion was cracked years ago, and they were "cockeyed." Periodic applications of black tape were temporary and obvious.

I used a small bit of wire pressed in the proper side of the "crack" as shims to straighten them, then used superglue to fix the shim in place, followed by black RTV to fill the crack and smooth out the groove. Looked pretty good in the end.

Someday I know I should just replace them....

 

Crafty! Or Hacky?!

Would love to see pics, sounds like a creative solution for what a lot of us probably have.

 

^^^. That is way too shiny.


Looks great!


So Seca's have extra rubber boot that extends out? My Maxim doesn't look like that.

 

This is the original on a xj550 Maxim (one owner). They are rubber so in theory they flex when hit. Mine cracked and sagged in their old age.

 

Monday's!

I saw the 550 in your signature and ass-u-med it was a Seca's... going to bed early tonight

 

Hehehe...

 

The 72 XS 650 ready to be removed from the grave

 

Pretty! I'd love me one of those.

 

That looks great. Could you do write up on the procedure?

 

Took the Maxim over to the local machine shop to have the stripped valve cover bolt hole fixed up. My wallet bleeds, but now there's a nice Keensert (Keenserts, by the way, are very cool) in that hole which will likely outlast the rest of the bike.

Edit: Broke my custom made windshield, too, because I'm a dumbass. I'm very sad about this, because I *loved* my windshield. Made riding at high speed way less exhausting. Pushing the bike, tried to step over the bike while pushing it to get around some stuff, leaned forward and stupidly pushed against the windshield... snap. *cries*

 

Ouch, hate that when you can't blame it on anything/ anyone else...

 

I brought 3 more home today and started them all. That's what I did to my Yamaha today

 

You go, man!

 

Nothing like binging on xj's

 

It sure does feel that way. Now I have 2 550 secas, 2 750 secas and a 750 maxim which I'm now thinking will be the bike to go to my son over the 550 I originally planned on. The maxim is in much better shape. My wife and I also have our Harley's and I also have a zg1000 Connie. I need another garage. It is more than full now

 

... accepting donations ...

 

I know the feeling, 2013 Yamaha Stryker, 2015 Yamaha FZ07, 1983 Virago 500, 1985 XJ700, 2016 challenger scat pack, Chevy sonic, 93 suburban, f350 crew cab work truck......single car garage. The struggle is real.

 

One owner '83 XJ550 Maxim. It is the only motorcycle I've ever had, and ever will have!

 

^^^ just sayin'...

 

Got to work on my original valve cover - cleaned everything out (including layers of old RTV and sealant like tree rings around the aluminum) - roughed it with 220 grit to prep for a nice fresh coat of paint to get ready for the final upper end pass when this one gets reinstalled with a nice, brand new gasket and donuts.


Funny, though - currently I'm using a valve cover and gasket from a spare motor (the one that was on this motor was really terrible), and after the trip to the machine shop I had to reassemble it in the parking lot to ride it home. No rtv, sealant, not even grease, old used gasket from another motor. Not even a tiny bit of leaking on the way home or today's commute to/from work - turns out having 12 valve cover bolts makes a difference =) Much more pleasant than having oil leaking from by the exhaust manifold blow onto your leg while riding.

 

whats up im nick i have a 1982 650xj and this morning i had to take the tank off and take the shitty fuel filter rig the previous owner had going into the petcock and replaced it with a bubble/screen filter, runs great now too bad the previous owner knew nothing about bikes like''it takes gas to run''

 

Was riding to work yesterday and caught a quick yellow flash and felt something hit my helmet. Had the visor open one small click but didn't feel anything hit my face. Got to the office and found this in the helmet, dead and stuck to the vent:

 

That and sneezing into my helmet while on the freeway are two of my riding fears.

 

I looked at a rough-but-running 650 Seca last night and will spend the day wondering if I should buy it or not.

And, if I do, do I use it as a parts bike for my current 650 Seca or fix it up?

And, if I fix it up, do I go factory or something a bit more fun?

 

I'm a huge fan of a factory Seca 650. If it's not too far gone, has a clean title, and fairly complete my vote is restore it. Where are all these people finding these 650's lately? I have yet to see one close enough to get it.

 

Current owner's had it 8 years and has done little with it. It's been stored covered outside. Seat cover is shredded. Lots of rust in some places (e.g. headers, carb hats, light rust in the tank) some things look great. A PO painted tank, fender and side covers dark grey and blacked out the engine and carbs. It's got a 4-into-1 with a Kerker muffler. No battery, started with a spare and ran with enrichment on. Last ridden in 2016.

If I have fun, I won't cut anything but was thinking of some custom pieces, like luggage mounts, and a contrasting color scheme. I've always liked black, brown, and cream.

Using Google or Bing, search for "Seca 650 site:craigslist.org" and then save an alert for that.

 

Factory of course, its only a one year model

 

I trailered home the fraternal twin to my 650 Seca.

 

Trailered home an 83 750 midnight maxim that officially has been added to my collection today

 

It's that time of year. Kijiji is crowded with bikes people are trying to get rid of before THE WhITE STUFF flies. So many bikes, so little money/space/time. Just today someone listed a 2010 Shadow with 137km. That's about 15 miles per year, or "Rode it twice, figured out I don't like it, and sat on it for a while."

 

~GIDDY WITH GLEE~

All caps glee, even.

Installed the last shim from Chacal (god bless his soul), re-checked all my clearances (all in spec, yo!), took the bike out for a nice "Get It Toasty" ride, then busted out the toys purchased some time ago but as of yet not used: A Morgan Carbtune Pro and a Gunson Colortune plug. I've never synced and colortuned a 4 cylinder bike before. I didn't touch tuning on my 4 cyl CB900 or my 440 twin, and my sportster just had the one carb. I had no idea of what I was doing short of what I've read here (which has been immensely helpful!) and doing some quality RTFM.

Before tuning, took a quick video because it looked damn cool:


After syncing and colortuning:


Sadly, I wanted to take a quick video of a snazzy bunsen blue plug, but my phone's battery died I'm absolutely flabbergasted at how much better the bike runs after very minor adjustments - leaned out cylinder 1 & 4 and fairly slight sync adjustments. Purrs like a kitten, roars to life with gusto when you give her some throttle. I mean, it wasn't bad - a little rough after replacing 2 of the 3 out of spec shims, as that clearly upset the balance it had - but wow, even with just small adjustments, made a hell of a difference.

A way, way easier process than I expected, to be honest. I really thought I'd struggle with it, but (as is often the case) a good information resource, clear directions, and using the correct tools and taking the time to set things up properly made it a piece of cake. Best, it was a ton of fun.


A huge thanks to everyone here - your posts over the years have created an awesome resource that gave me the information and confidence to do this (without fear!) knowing that if anything went awry, help was a forum post away. Thanks guys!

 

I spent the day assessing the new bike and making of list of things that would need replacing. The new 650 Seca is serial number 003250, where the other is 005695. Does that mean I just brought home my child's elder sibling?

 

just need the other 2444 Secas and you will have a homecoming

 

^^^^

 

Indeed it is that time of the year were everybody trying to dump there bikes. As usual not enough money or enough space-
Someday I will be able to expand my collection!!!!!!

 

I just went out to get another bike for my collection today, a daily rider, but my gut told me to turn around and not get it. So yes, lots of bikes out there temping us people that have very additive tendency for buying bikes.