seca 650 project begins!

I've finally started working on my seca 650 today. Striped the wheels down and have them a few coats of dark silver metalic high temp engine paint, and a few coats of matte clear coat. Personally I think they look SO much better now....I'll be adding some yellow reflective wheel tape soon...
Let me know what you guys think..and also, the bike will get the same shade of silver with yellow stipe down the middle on the tank, fender, and rear. More pics are soon to come!!

 

Looks nice .... Keep the pics coming!

 

Also..While taking the front end apart I also found out there's no front brake pads lol. Good thing I'll be ordering new ones on payday..you just never know

 

What the feck! This just blew my mind! Every new owner needs to read this! Never assume the bike is safe until you've done the work to make it safe! Previous owners are monsters!

 

Might as well put new wheel bearings in since the wheels are off?
Silver/grey and yellow is a hot looking color combo in my opinion

 

The color looks good. You should pay some pics of the bike. Would like to see it from the start.

 

Ok guys I need some help! A few days ago I loosened and started to pull the rear axle out. I had it out far enough that you couldn't see any threads on the axle. I ended up leaving it like that for a few days and when I pulled it apart today there was gear oil in the rear brakes.Could it have leaked into the brakes from the axle being out slightly??? Thanks and ride safe.!

 

Yes the gear oil could have leaked out, but that would mean the oil seal on the output side of the final drive failed. The axle being out wouldn't have caused that failure, but it may have made it evident by not fully supporting the wheel and therefore placing a tilting pressure on the output shaft.

 

That's what I'm hoping happened. It wasn't leaking untill I left it for a few days. When I came back to it there was a puddle on the ground. I just don't want my new brakes getting soaked and not working!!.

 

All of my parts have finally arrived!!! I have a few new pics of my bars, levers, and switches, and grips that I just pre fitted real quick before final assembly!
There's plenty more new parts pics to come...

Sorry about the mess.

 

Here's the pics. The bars are some rental bars I shortened an 1 1/2 each side to make it easier to split lanes since I'll be using it for my daily commute

 

Front brake master cylinder set up lookin' nice.

 

Yeah I really like them. I used them on another bike I built about a year ago. They come in a few different anodized colors too. And theyr only around $50.

 

What is the bore size of that M/C?

 

17mms is what the specs say

 

The other setup I used it on was a twin disc setup also so I figured it would be ok for this bike

 

Not the best assumption to make. The piston sizes have to be within a particluar range of one another or you will end up with brakes that are either too reactive, or too mushy. You can think of it like needing to have sprocket sizes that work together well (on a chain drive bike). Change one sprocket by too many teeth and you end up with a dog of a ride, or one that will tend to flip over on you.
In your case the stock bore size (IIRC) is 17.48 mm, so you are close enough for it to work well.

 

Thanks for the info and the help so far. Its coming along pretty well. Tomorrow I'll be installing the front and rear brakes, and hooking up the switches. If I have enough time I'll install the intakes also. I'll get some before and after pics of the bike and all the parts installed.

 

Where did you source those parts? That setup looks really good.

 

I found everything on eBay.

Parts list: (ebay)

Heavy duty battery
Front brake pads (semi metallic)
Rear brake shoes and springs (kevlar)
Universal billet brake and clutch levers(black anodized)
Pro grip "superbike" grips
Universal handlebar switches
New gas cap with 2keys
New intake manifolds x4
EBay total price= $290.00

Used parts:
Rental bars (shortened 3")
Shinko 712 tires (like new)
Used parts total price=$70.00

 

Here's a little history on my bike in case anyone's interested...
1982 xj650r I purchased from a police officer.
The story behind the bike was it was an impounded bike years ago, that sat there until the police station wanted to see what happens in a motorcycle accident. They took 30 different bikes of all makes and wrecked them in different ways. They labeled the bikes with a number (see my gauges #20) then wrecked them. My bike was towed behind something up to 30mph then they cut the rope and let it slide to see how long it took to stop.
The bike did fairly well with only damage to the clutch lever, handle bar, blinker, ignition cover, and headlight. It still ran fine after the test so they held onto it for a few years before selling it to a tow yard. The officer I bought it from knew it ran good before so he bought it for a cafe project then lost all interest and bought a new harley.
I picked the bike up for $100.00 after hearing it run on starter fluid lol. And now with the help of you guys and your VAST KNOWLEDGE of xj stiff, it'll be running and looking like new again within the next 2 weeks....so thank you VERY much and I'll post some before and after pics as it comes along.

 

Here's the before pic a few of you were requesting. Like I said earlier. My goal is to have it up and running good in about two weeks.should be a fun challenge!!

 

Before....

 

Well. It's taken me a bit longer than expected but the projects coming along good since my last update...here's some new pics.

Before engine paint..
After engine paint..

How it's sitting as of yesterday. New headlight with built in led blinkers and brackets, cleaned and painted calipers and rotors, New brakes all around, New fuse box(square type), New intake manifolds, rebuilt and bench sync carbs, New rear blinkers.

 

Tonight I'll be installing the new heavy duty battery and cables, and recovering the seat.it should be up and running...thanks for the help so far guys I'll post some more pics after its fully a ssembled and running.

 

sub'd

 

UPDATE!!!!............ITS ALIVE!!!!...
I just fired it up for the first time and for not having carb boots on it ran great. It started right up with Some choke and after some minor adjustment it idles nicely. I still have a lot of small things to do but this was my goal for the weekend.

 

Excellent. You will have a great bike that cost you little. And You can keep it in great shape on your own for many years.
Alan

 

UPDATE!!......1st ride on the bike!!!!!
Just got it road worthy and went for a spin around the block!! It's got really nice power and sound great for having stock pipes...here's some pics of how it looks now. I still have more to do to it, so I'll post more pics as I go.

 

1st ride

 

Finally got my tags and plate yesterday!..here's a couple pics of my seca and my wife's scooter...both bikes were bought for $100.00 each and rebuilt by us over the last few months.

 

That headlight sure looks small

 

got a question, source for the front master cylinder?

 

I'm 99% sure eBay. There was one there that looks identical to the one on his bike.

 

I Got it from eBay. Just be careful because you need the piston to be around the same side as the stock one (17mm for mine stock) or it'll feel really soft when braking. A few listings say 14mm, and a few say 17mm so contact The seller to check. The listing said 17mm but I think they gave me a 14mm. Not sure yet but it is weak. Gonna give the new pads some time to brake in then I'll pull the piston and mic it.

 

Be sure to really check the pics. Some have bad casting marks and are cheap quality. Some are really nice. As far as the levers go, their as nice as the way more expensive ones.

 

thanks, doin some browsing.

 

I love scooters

 

Update!
I've had a few problems since my last post.

My headlight melted where the bulb sits so I took it off and got 2 led light bars on it for now.
After installing my pod filters it wouldn't idle or run worth a crap so I drilled the jets out a bit and now it's running great. Fast throttle response, power all the way to red line and ZERO popping or stumbles that I had before.
I also installed blinkers on the rear and will be installing the front ones along with another round headlight tomorrow. I changed the bars to a set that I could use my bar end mirrors with. The bars have a almost stock bend to them so their pretty comfortable.

My question for you guys is what do you think my bikes worth value wise if I wanted to sell it? I found a 99gsxr so I need to figure out if I keep the xj, or sell it and buy the suzuki. Let me know what u guys think. Thanks

 

so are you running it with out the crank cover on the pick up coils? take the right side one and put it on the left, there is nothing under the left side.
if you could find the side covers for it it would be worth more.
crank covers are cheep on ebay. big dent on tank.
minimum price buck a cc ~650$
but in the end its worth what someone will pay for it. ask 1500 as it sits (replace the crank cover) cl has some stock real nice 650 and 750 near me for 1500 asking. I depends on what the going price is on the west coast for sililar bikes
I like the red high lights
I would keep it and keep fixing the cosmetics.
did you check the valve clearances?

 

apples and oranges but where do you think you stand compared to these 3 in your area?

http://sacramento.craigslist.org/mcy/5304161754.html

http://sacramento.craigslist.org/mcy/5306714668.html

http://sacramento.craigslist.org/mcy/5305347985.html

 

I bough a cover all ready and switched the other side over so the new one reads yamaha right side up on the new one. Someone here on CL was asking $1000 for the same bike with no papers no bill of sale either! And it was missing almost all body parts!!. So I was figuring with the body damage around 1200...? I haven't really ridden it more than about 30 miles yet so I think I might ride it to work for a week then make up my mind. No I didn't check valve clearances yet.

 

My main concern with this bike is will it be good to ride for my 150 mile round trip to work per day. I know it all depends on maintenance and that's why I've been replacing and fixing everything I can but it just kind of freaks me out knowing the age of the bike.

 

as 1500 settle for 1200. keep looking for the parts.
if you could tell buyer the valves were in spec and you sync the carbs it would go a long way to squeezing more money.
diy forum shows how to make a sync tool about 10$ depending which styke you opt for

 

Also.. I noticed a little bit of smoke coming from the breather I put on the crankcase vent...is that normal?? It might have stopped since I just did the jets but I can't tell in the dark. I was thinking maybe it was getting too hot being way too lean..

 

I have 35k miles on my XJ550H started with short trips then longer trips found a few bugs along the way. I did a 2 tank trip the other day 227 miles ( i did not ride far on the reserve.
ohm out your coils and plug wires as well as the pick up coils. check your output voltage.
you will find the specs here
The Ultimate Relay, Switch, Sensor, and Diodes Guide
I also carry the AAA card with motor cycle coverage.

 

You're seeing a combination of water vapor and oil mist. Totally normal. Run a length of hose up the frame rail and zip-ty the filter up as high as you can manage. That will allow the oil mist to settle out and run back down into the crankcase.

 

I like the AAA card idea that'll definitely be on my list....

 

think its running lean, look at your plugs, do a plug chop

 

Ok thanks...