Sunday, March 16.

BREAKING NEWS

  • >>19-Apr-2010: XJ650 Hardtail Chopper
  • >>07-Apr-2010: The New Everything Yamaha XJ650 Site
  • >>06-Apr-2010: Hacked
  • >>23-Jul-2009: XJ650 Adventure
  • >>26-May-2009: Green with Envy
  • >>06-Apr-2009: HOW TO: Bench Synch your Carbs
  • >>30-Mar-2009: HOW TO: Install a Headlight Modulator
  • >>27-Mar-2009: Red Beast
  • >>12-Jan-2009: HOW TO: Test a Relay
  • >>11-Jan-2009: Silver Special Maxim

XJ650 Hardtail Chopper

I came across this chopper on my countless hours spent looking at pictures of Yamaha Maxim and Seca motorcycles. I really loved the clean look of this hardtail chopper. I had the misfortune of losing my muffler on a midnight ride into Istanbul, Turkey and I remember how loud it was. Looking at the missing muffler on this motorcycle makes me cringe thinking about the noise this bad boy must unleash. The owner of this Yamaha XJ650 hardtail is a g...

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The New Everything Yamaha XJ650 Site

Well after many hours in front of the computer I have given the Everything Yamaha XJ650 site a complete face lift. I hope you like the new look. T...

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Hacked

Over the weekend this site was hacked. I'm not sure why, it's not as if we have a huge following. I'm pretty sure it's the Honda CBR crowd jealous...

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XJ650 Adventure

I know alot of people just come to this site for the great 'How-To's" and to get ideas for their XJ650 restoration projects but I wanted to direct...

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Howto

HOW TO: Bench Synch your...

This is a "How-To" on bench-synching carburetors. I've noticed quite a people (me being one of them) searching for clear instructions on how to do this. At some point recently I came upon them, but I can't seem to find them anymore. So, I decided to

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Fuel

HOW TO: Bench Synch your...

This is a "How-To" on bench-synching carburetors. I've noticed quite a people (me being one of them) searching for clear instructions on how to do this. At some point recently I came upon them, but I can't seem to find them anymore. So, I decided to

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Electrical

HOW TO: Install a Headli...

Have you ever seen those motorcycles coming at you with those headlight modulators? The pulsating headlight makes them very noticeable to other motorists. Unfortunately, these units can be rather expensive. After doing some research, I've come up wi

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Engine

Readersrides

XJ650 Hardtail Chopper...

I came across this chopper on my countless hours spent looking at pictures of Yamaha Maxim and Seca motorcycles. I really loved the clean look of this hardtail chopper. I had the misfortune of losing my muffler on a midnight ride into Istanbul, Turk

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Chasis

HOW TO: Change your fork...

You noticed it sometime back, but ignored it hoping it would go away. But, it hasn't. In your embarrassment, you quickly wipe off your fork tubes when meeting friends for fear that they might say something. Worse yet, it's gotten so bad that your fr

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Travel

XJ650 Adventure...

I know alot of people just come to this site for the great 'How-To's" and to get ideas for their XJ650 restoration projects but I wanted to direct you to another side of owning a Yamaha XJ650... riding! As the administrator of this blog you can gues

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Ads

XJ650 Swarmed by Gypsies in Albania

Daily Deals

Red Beast

Posted on March 27, 2009 and filed under , . You can follow any responses to this entry through theRSS 2.0 . You can leave a response or trackback to this entry from your site

Nige UK XJ650 Seca Right ViewThe power of the Internet is amazing. We just recently placed a 'Submit Bike' button on the site and within a day I received a great email with pictures of a beautiful red XJ650 Seca and a request to show off this gorgeous red beast. The pictures alone are worth the price of admission but I was curious about the background of this bike so I replied with a few questions.

I was so pleased with the reply I received. The owner of this machine is from England (so some translation may be required for our North American readers) and he put this bike together using the best parts of two bikes. I found so many similarities in my experience with the Yamaha XJ that I found myself getting very sentimental as I was reading his response.

When I receive pictures of a bike or if I see one online that I like these are the typical questions that I ask:

What year is this bike?
Where are you?
How much riding do you do on this beast?
What was the hardest part about rebuilding this bike?
Why did you choose this bike?
Are you happy with your XJ?


Usually I get back fairly brief answers that are too the point and I have to add some flourish to the interview. In this case I was pleasently surprised. The owner of this bike uses the moniker 'Nige' and here's the reply I recieved to my questions (I have added some translations in parenthesis):


Nige's Response

I got my first one (which ended up donating the engine, braided brake lines and a few other bits) from a friend who had it laying around (in bits, of course). I paid him £150 ($215USD) and then it sat around for a couple of years until I got tired of looking at it.

Just as I was ready to throw it in a skip (dumpster), I found another one on ebay (for which I paid the princely sum of £90 - $130USD) which is basically the bike in the photos. It had only had two owners, wore the original dealers number plate and showed a genuine 16000 miles on the clock. Unfortunately it had sat outside for a time - with the head and barrells off (which let the rain in).

Nige UK XJ650 Seca Front ViewI figured I could save/build one bike from the two wrecks - which is what I managed to do at the back end of last year. The tank and some other bodywork bits were sourced from yet another ebay seller. Powder coating was done locally, new tyres, wheel bearings and some taper-roller head bearings went in, I painted a few bits, polished a few bits and put it all together again. I was very pleased/relieved when I eventually got her to fire up, and the motor seemed OK.

I bought the first example because:

a) I like older bikes, and
b) it was cheap.

I bought the second one because I wanted to end up with a complete and decent bike which I could ride - a task which the first one on its own could never really live up to. I also have a flat-track Triumph Bonnie (which I've been "developing" over the last 23 years) and a Daytona 955 in the garage, but must admit that the XJ is now a very firm favourite (even though its not a bike I took much notice of back in the early 80's - when I was really a Suzuki man).

Yes, I like the bike very much, its especially good in the twisty stuff which is quite a surprise, and comfy too. I like the fact that the XJ has such an apparent following for what I originally considered a bit of an oddity here in the UK (I think it was much more of a hit in the 'States, even though it was developed for the European market). I've only covered about 400 miles on her so far (longest continuous trip being around 140 miles) but looking forward to many more when the better weather arrives. I'm in West Yorkshire in the UK. The most frustrating bit of the build was stripping/rebuilding the front brake master cylinder and calipers, and getting the brakes to bleed. Everything else seemed relatively straightforward (but remember, I had two of a lot of things so could choose the best parts for refurbishing).

I'm delighted and flattered that people seem to like her, especially as she was built on a budget. Its only the second Yam I've owned (out of sixteen or seventeen bikes over the years) - until last weekend! I've just bought my next project - an '86 FZR 400, with a 600 motor in it. I plan to build this as a track bike but it will take a while, as its a bit of a mess.

Nige UK XJ650 Seca Left ViewHappy riding and restoring to all XJ owners and thanks for providing the sites and forums where we can share our interest in these older bikes.

By the way, Elvis, I take it yours is the Green Cafe-racer-style Seca. Tell me a little about it and how long have you owned it?

Regards

Nige

You can see now that I didn't need to edit this at all. It's true the Yamaha XJ has a great following and it's always good to see someone else get hooked by this bike.

If you would like to send pictures of your bike in to display to the world go to the home page and select the 'Submit Bike' button or click here.

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Recently Commented

  • Anonymous says:
    How would I get some of these parts cause I would like to do this but different color
  • Anonymous says:
    Excellrnt got bike fired up after 3 years and wiring harness replacement. Works on turbo
  • Anonymous says:
    Great how to thank you for the information
  • Anonymous says:
    I need to replace my flasher for my signals, any idea where i can get a manual?
    [[More detail]]
  • Elvis Glazier says:
    Some borders are harder than others. This year I did the remainder of Eastern Europe plus Turkey. I...[[More detail]]
  • Derek says:
    I lived in Adelaide for two years and almost bought a KLR 650 to do some bush riding. I'm back...[[More detail]]
  • Derek says:
    Nice looking xj. I'd love to do that ride. I've done the whole "across America"...[[More detail]]
  • Anonymous says:
    excellent article! thanks for taking the time to post it!!! in reference to the ? about 10w-30 I...[[More detail]]
  • Anonymous says:
    Air pressure in the shocks?
    Adjust it on the center stand or on the side stand? good blog.
  • Mark Lyons says:
    The article on how to change fork seals is excellent.
    I plan on performing this soon on my...[[More detail]]

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