First ride with the Seca900, impressions

Got on the Seca900 this afternoon for the very first ride, roughly 50 kilometers, mostly on regional routes and highway.

The feeling was good. I was amazed at how this big Seca feels like a light bike. It handles very easily, I found it responed quickly when I countersteered to avoid small potholes of cracks in the pavement.

Acceleration is sort of impressive but not as much as the Maxim-X that I previously owned. BUt this Seca definitely feels like a powerful and predictible bike.

I'm not very happy with the brakes, though, they are NOT as powerful as I would like them to be, but hey, these are 30 years old lines. Forks don't perform very good either, I can feel a discrete but distincitve "clunk" every time I use the front brakes or when I ride over a small bump. There was some oil on the left fork at the end of the ride.

Speaking of oil, I have a small drip coming from the refill cap, I should replace the o-ring in there. Other than that, I wonder if these Secas are supposed to come equipped with one or two horns, the one I have is pathetic. Oh, and I will have to figure how to reset the hour on the clock!

Here is the ride, by the way:

 

Stop riding now! Replace the lines, rebuild the calipers and master cylinder, refurbish the forks (it sounds like they don't have much, or any, oil in them).

 

Thanks for the advice. I didn't want to ride it on a regular basis before I fix it anyhow. I just wanted to know what was the general feeling and if the transmission would work well (1st to 5th gear, up and down).

Front brake lines are definitely 30 years old, there is a hardly readable "/83" on one of them.

 

Check for rust in bottom of tank in the corner near the seat. Also carefully examine the frame for cracks in the seat loop where the frame joins. Fusebox may need replacing. These are great handling bike when set up properly. Braided lines will help but it will never be up to modern bike stoppers.

 

My most modern bike is a 1995 Magna. It stops better than the Seca, of course, but I don't think I could do stoppies with it (only one front disc).

Fusebox is on my list. I didn't see any cracks on the frame. I bet the only way to see that deep in the fuel tank would be with a snake camera (or whatever you would call it).

Thanks for your advices.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Ullman-2-3-Light-Inspection-Mirror/sim/B001H8ZPJK/2

 

Nice little gizmo! Thanks

 

The rust in the tank will often show up just on the lowest point on seam near the seat, since yours has been painted it may have been nicky'd[Bondo?] over and the fuel not have eaten through yet.
You set the clock by having your ignition on and holding down the respective button hour or minute Hard.

 

The way I understood the story of the bike. it was repainted by the owner previous to the one who sold me the bike. So this paint is at least 4 years old. I don't know if that means there is no rust hidden behind the new paint...

 

Just be aware ALL the 900 tanks rust,inevitable through poor design,the lowest point in the tank is actually below the tap so you have a lovely little trap that never gets drained.

 

SHould I drain the tank on a regular basis (let's say 2 times a year) to get rid of any water down there? Like step 1 -drain the fuel through the petcock on RES, step 2 - turn the tank upside down and drain the rest of gas and any water through the gas cap, step 3- drop some methyl alcohol in the tank to dissolve or gather any residue, give it a good shake and drain the same way.

Does it sound correct?

 

To drain water and rusty "silt" in any tank:
Remove tank and stand on end. (leave a gallon in it)
Get 5' of clear hose or even garden hose.
start a siphon and poke the end of the hose around into the bottom corners. You will vacuum up all debris and water.
You can filter the gas, re-fill and shake the tank, and siphon again.
Pour the old gas in the wife's car, or save for the lawnmower.

To start a siphon the smart way:
Cut a 1 foot length of garden hose,
have the 5 foot length in place (bottom of tank and catch pail)
stuff a rag in the remaining gaps in the filler hole,
Blow a big lungful of air into the tank.
You only need to make 1/2 PSI of pressure to start the siphon.

 

Thanks for the procedure.

I have an electric drill small pump that could be very handful for that kind of job.

I'm not sure if putting the petcock to PRI will drain the tank down to the reserve upper level or to the lower level possible (almost empty). Do you know it for sure?

I'd think that leaving less than a gallon wouldn't be that critical if I use that pump instead of the siphon method.

 

Prime runs the tank down to the same point reserve does

 

So there will be a very small amount of gas left, maybe half a litre, right?

 

When you replace those lines (which expired around '88) with Steel, you'll find the braking much much better. ^_^

 

no idea on the actual amount that will be left

 

Yes, there is a small amount of gas in the tank that is below the level of the petcock. That's just the way it is. Assuming that some one does get an even smaller amount of water in the tank, the water will get trapped in the water 'wells'. The gasoline will float on top of the water, keeping the water away from the screen towers of the petcock. A conscientious schedule of Seafoam, star-tron, etc..... will make sure that the water gets up into suspension so that it can harmlessly get burned up. The problems really start when water is not intentionally removed. It can slowly build up. When this happens, a couple things become evident:

1. rust at the lower corners, points, seams, etc...

2. water levels can eventually get high enough that the water level is so close to the petcock that it allows a 'stream' of water to be sucked in along with the gas, and you end up with a 'water in the gas' scenario.

I will occasionally pull a tank off, drain it, dry it, vacuum/blow out any dirt and dust, refill and ride happy without any water in the tank.

Dave F

 

Hey Dave

Is this tank draining and cleaning something you'd say you do once a year?