Checking out a 650 Seca this week (warning - numerous pics)

Hello all,

Bike newb here. I have been working on cars for several years now but have just begun to dabble in the world of motorcycles. Sometime this week, most likely tomorrow, I will be going to look at (and likely buy) an '82 650 Seca that hasn't run in years. The owner is a middle-aged guy who I believe has owned the bike since new, and his story is that the carbs gummed up a few years ago and he just parked the bike and pretty much forgot about it, deciding recently to sell it since he has no desire to get back into riding.

This particular bike racked up close to 22000 mi before crapping out, and has since been kept indoors and under a cover. Time has taken its toll on the bottom half of the bike, with plenty of rust on the exhaust, rear shocks, front fender, and a little on the frame (see pics). Given all that, what will I likely have to put into this bike to make it roadworthy again? Obviously the carbs will need to be pulled and cleaned, fluids flushed and changed, the tires will probably be dry-rotted, the exhaust's probably trashed, and I'm sure the gas tank will be a rusty mess inside. What else should I expect as far as the engine, brakes, and suspension are concerned? Provided I buy the bike, it'll be a full-on winter restoration project so I'm prepared to be very patient and hopefully get it all done right the first time.

Pics:







More at http://www.nyisles.net/seca/ (in the interest of saving bandwidth, I only hotlinked the ones I thought to be most important).

Thanks for reading!

 

Welcome to you Nyisles, looks like a good candidate for some TLC! If the parting price is low enough (I wouldn't give more than $300 USD for it) I'd snatch it up. You WILL need to rebuild the brake system including new lines and caliper kits. Be ready to replace the pistons as well. Fork seals may/may not be in need of replacement. Tank, well, it might be ok if he put any stablizer in the fuel before storage, but that is probably not the case. A company called SUDCO ( http://www.sudco.com/ ) sells a fine product (Rustol) that is inexpensive for cleaning out the fuel tanks rust. Check out their website. Another option is POR-15. They have a fuel tank cleaner as well. Be prepared to part with a large sum of money for parts and material to whip this one up to scratch. New tires might be needed, I'd consider replacing all axle grease seals, new plugs, airfilter, get an in-line fuel filter in there too. You may get away for less than $400 in parts but I'd hedge my bets and place it closer to $600. Best of luck to you, I hope you find this is a rough diamond and clean it up for cheap.

 

Hi Nyisles, it looks like a lot of work ahead of you if you buy it.
Have you checked if the motor will turn over or not?
How much money are you willing to put into it?
I would be thinking of the worse case situation of.....

wheel bearings - tires
brake lines (change to SS) - fresh brake fluid - caliper seals ? brake pads ?
master cyl kit ?
fork seals/oil
exhaust system ?
carb clean - new shaft seals - float valves ?
intake manifold rubbers ?
fuel tank repairs ? the liners that Robert were refering to Sudco or POR-15
fuel supply valve repairs ?
spark plugs
adjust valve clearance ? may need new shims !
engine oil and filter
gear oil for rear end
may need new seals ?
may need new piston rings / bearings / valve job ?
battery
rust clean up and paint

and what else???

I think Robert is too low on his estimate of $400 - $600, but it depends on the condition you want to get it back into!

I purchased my 750 completely dissmantled (even the engine), it came with some new gaskets and new tires, but was missing the exhaust and other parts.

I paid $250 for mine, and I've put over $1000 into it now. I put in new bearings & gaskets, rings, SS brake lines, caliper kits, used stock exhaust system, fork seals & oil, used carb diaphrams, new carb shaft seals, new battery, new clutch cable, and ???? other stuff can't recall.

Just wanting to let you know that the more you dig the more you will find.

Good luck

 

Re: Checking out a 650 Seca this week (warning - numerous pi

I was just saying this on a different post there’s always something you can do on a 25 year old bike but that’s a good part of the fun. IMHO I would before I buy it if the current owner will let you do a cold engine compression check. Of course you need to be able to turn the thing over but with the investment in a cheap battery may give you some insight into weather you need major engine work, this is not perfect but it will give you a general idea what your getting into. If you don’t have a compression gauge you can hold your thumb over the plug hole if each cylinder can push your thumb off when you crank it over it most likely got enough compression to start (don’t get too excited like everyone has said you still got a long way to go) you also now know if you need a starter, starter solenoid, or worse yet a starter clutch, cause if turned over those can’t be too bad. 2 other things 1st make sure there is oil in the crankcase 2nd don’t crank it over a ton without the plugs attached and grounded the ignition system doesn’t like it very much.

 

Thanks all for your comments so far!

The owner's asking price is $300 so I wouldn't be surprised if he'll let it go for a good bit less. If I can take it home for $200 and spend around $800 on repairs, I'll be more than happy with the deal. I'm much more concerned with the bike's running condition than its looks, so all technical fixes take precedence over cosmetics.

Question regarding brake rebuilds - I was looking on oldbikebarn.com at their caliper kits, and the ones for the XJ650 only come up as single-caliper kits. There is no "Seca" option on their menu, so what kit would I have to get? Does the Seca use the same front calipers as the 750, or would I have to buy two of the single-caliper 650 kits?