1981 XJ550 Seca Cafe / Brat project finished

Well sort of finished as I have a few more plans.
I picked this bike up a few years ago as a non runner for £100. It's a US model that was imported into the UK.
It had been sitting outside for about 5 years so it was a bit of a mess. Several parts were missing and the wiring harness had been hacked up. I wanted to get it to be usable without spending a fortune so a restoration wasn't practical. Parts for these are not that common here.
I stripped it down to the frame and made a bit of progress. It then got put away for a while as I was working on other projects. I spent the last few months in the shed getting on with it and finally got it finished.

A summary of what I have done :
The frame has had the usual cafe cut and hoop
Forks rebuilt, all wheel bearings, swingarm bearings, steering bearings, brake shoes, chain etc replaced
Carbs overhauled
Engine stripped and rebuilt with new rings, valve seats ground etc
New wiring harness -I used the minimal wiring diagram from this forum and then modified it for what I needed
I made a fibreglass seat pan and then learnt to use the wife's sewing machine to make a cover
Fuel tank stripped to bare metal and cleaned out the rust from inside
Front brake upgrade using R6 4 pot caliper
Tiny LED rear lamp mounted in the frame
Loads of other bits. I have lots of photos of the build if anyone wants to see them. I'm not sure how many images I can upload but here's some for now................

 

Bike looks awesome! However, I don't think my old rear end could live with a seat that thin though?

Like the white lettering on the Roadriders (My favorite tire BTW).
Also planning on Hagon shocks for my next build. A little pricey compared to the Progressives I've been trusting all these years, and would like to know your opinion of them?

Tony

 

Thanks Tony. The seat is a bit firm but not as bad as it looks. The Roadriders are great, I need to replace these as they're old and starting to perish. I think I will go for the same again. I haven't put many miles on it yet but I'm happy with the Hagons so far, pretty firm but a decent ride. I'm thinking of getting Hagon progressive springs for the front as the originals are really soft.

 

Like the idea of the optional adjustable dampening offered, and would have to make sure I don't get ones too stiff.

I would be looking to upgrade the front as well.

Tony