has this 550 been chopped?

first off im calling dibs, so nobody better go try and buy this out from under me, haha.

i've been looking for a 550 seca to wrench on over winter and eventually restore into something my dad can ride.

so a few weeks ago i went to look at an 82 550 seca and it was just a mess.

it ran, started right up, but had a stuck float so it poured gas everywhere, the handlebars/forks seemed twisted, the plastics were all cracked and the side cover on the right side was half assed repaired, mufflers all dinged up, seat shredded, it was laid down, so it was all messed on one side and so the shift lever and foot pegs were bent, someone had used a screwdriver on the gas cap so that was all jenked, and overall it was just a mess. and. he wanted 400$ for it.

heres a pic:


ya, so i passed.

so then i came accross this one -

http://wausau.craigslist.org/mcy/3436561888.html

what I was wondering is if the seat rails are like that normally? or if they have been chopped?

also, how hard would it be to find a seat, side covers, and back fender? I know the side covers are hard to find, but what about the seat and rear fender? all he "says" its missing is the rear fender, seat, side covers, and chain.

he says the tank is good, but it looks to have some surface rust in the pics.

lastly, it doesent have a title, but i think here in wi. its not that hard to file for a replacement. I would obviously check into and make sure of that before i pulled the trigger for sure though.

what do you think would be a fair offer?

Thanks guys.

Chris

 

It has not been chopped.

 

I'd offer him $100 and if he says no, hand him $150. There's enough parts on it to make it worthwhile even if you decide not to rebuild that particular bike.

The right side cover is going to be the hardest thing to find.

 

WAS going to be. One of our forum members has corrected that issue: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=40313.html

So side covers can now be got; not super cheap, but certainly reasonable all things considered.

Seats are all over eBay; try to get the bracket/hinges and latch mechanism when you find one. You shouldn't have to pay more than about $20 ~ $25 for a decent, refurbishable example.

The stock rear fender and tail cowling will be a bit of a challenge, but again you should be able to find that stuff on eBay. There are actually quite a few parts to that section if you completely restore it.

Probably the most difficult thing to find will be a clean set of stock mufflers if you do a full resto. The front part of the system (head pipes and collector) are common with the 550 Maxims, and relatively easy to find; it's the mufflers that present a bit of a challenge.

The first bike isn't worth more than $150 if it's as banged up as you said, the second one, well... I'll go with what kaz said.

Provided you get good numbers with a compression test. I wouldn't clutter up the garage with either of them if the motor isn't solid. Keep in mind the 550s use 12mm spark plugs so you'll need a smaller adapter for your compression gauge. (Caught me out the first time I looked at one.)

 

I have the rear fender pieces with the tail light if you need them. I have a lot of spare parts.

 

this caught me too!!!

I had the 12mm adapter for the plug hole, but the wrong size spark plug socket - which size is it do i dont run into the same issue again?

THe lowest he said he will go is 125.

I saw a "complete" 550 seca exhaust on ebay a few weeks ago, and it diddnt even sell. however, the mufflers looked wrong. Its not too far away so i could also drive to pick it up.

in leiu of someone else trying to buy it from underneath me, im kinda scared to post the link, but i need the help so i guess i will anyway. just please people, dont be mean.

SHIT!

It went unsold the first time and i guess i diddnt message him quick enough gah!!!!!!!

First auction: http://www.ebay.com/itm/281024253767?ss ... 1423.l2649

Second: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0523144468

DAMNITT!!

so freakin cheap. but to make me feel a tiny bit better, are the mufflers indeed wrong? the headers and collector look to be correct though :/

 

I will DEFF bee hitting you up if it blows good numbers, thanks for letting me know!!

 

That was a good price for the exhaust system; however, your suspicions about the mufflers are true. Those were NOT original Seca 550 mufflers; not even Maxim mufflers. Aftermarket slip-ons of some sort.

The first bike (the pic you posted) has stock mufflers on it.

 

Thats what I thought.

Were the headers and collector correct though? Thats more the part I'm kicking myself about now. Usually the headers themselves will go for at least 10-20 in good condition individually.

As well as whats the correct spark plug socket size? Cant find that for some silly reason, at least where i've been looking, lol.

 

Yep, the headers and collector are the same, Maxim to Seca. THAT part of the exhaust system isn't that horribly difficult to find.

The 12mm plugs (D8EA) need an 18mm socket.

 

Awesome. I'll pick one of those up, the 750's have a diff size plug and one the two spark plug sockets that I've had for years fits them. Gotta love an excuse to buy another tool

 

well.....

I now own two XJ's!



Blew mid 120's accross the board, so the plant seems to be solid.

It's pretty rough and missing quite a bit, but I got him to come down to 100, so I'm happy. Tank is pretty good on the inside, some flaked on rust, but nothing that looks like it wont clean up.

I'll post another thread for it as a project, going to be a slow one with school and all, but thats okay for me.

Next time I have a few hours of daylight, I'm going to go through and make a list of everything it needs, and go from there.

Gotta hunt down the service manual for it, and some other stuff for starters.

Looking forward to the journey!

 

Mid 120's is happy, considering the neglect.

Good strike! Another 550 Seca rescued!

Here's some inspiration for you:

 

Seeing the pics of both your 81 and 83 are partially the reason I went on a hunt for a 550 seca in the first place

Truly beautiful bikes that I never get tired of seeing.

Question- for the paint, are those re painted white with red decals, then cleared over? Or Painted and peeled?

 

So, A 550 seca for $100? You'd better be really ahppy with yourself! I'm proud of you.....those can get pretty pricey, so ya got yourself a good find. For that kind of price, you'd have been crazy to walk away even if it didn't 'pass inspection'.

As you probably read by now, I picked up a 650 seca a couple weeks ago for a little bit more than what you paid.

Looking forward to seeing what you do with it now!

Dave

 

That's not a repaint.

Both of my 550s still have the original graphics. The stripes on the tanks were clear-coated at the factory; the sidecover and tail cowling stripes are just stuck on.

 

Dang, that's legit.

Let's be honest, why am I even curious about paint at this point in the game?

Bahahahaha


Paint's a long ways off

It's time to bust out the Kroil and start dousing every nut and bolt

 

Hmm...some guy on FB has one very similar to yours.

 

word on the street is you sent him this way - i suppose we wont beat up on him too hard once he comes 'round