There's only one thing I like better than seeing a nicely restored Yamaha XJ and that is seeing before and after pictures of a fully restored Yamaha XJ. Everytime somebody clicks the 'Submit Bike' button on the blog I am absolutely taken back. I started blogging over at Elvis on the Move to chronicle my motorcycle trip across Eastern Europe and I just got the bug for blogging. I'll be honest though I do go through writing spurts followed by long stretches of writer's block (read: laziness). That's why I love it when reader's want to put their material into my labor of love. This true gem comes to us by way of 'Down Under' and I absolutely love what Debbie has done to this beautiful Yamaha Seca.

Let's start by looking at how the bike started out:
The bike was in pretty good shape to begin with and the engine was strong. Most of the rework was cosmetic. The first thing that caught my eye when I saw the before and after pictures was the small rectangular box next to the rear shocks. I immediately sent Debbie an email asking what this was and to my surprise I was told that it was the gas container for gas pressurized shocks. Brilliant! I don't profess to know everything about this bike but I know alot and I had never heard of the Seca ever coming with a gas assist suspension in the rear. I want one.

The fruits of a month's worth of hard work took form in this classic looking XJ650:

I truly love the color they chose for this ride, but then again I'm a sucker for green. Debbie has written me a few times regarding this bike and I can hear the passion she has for this machine. I knew I was going to feature this bike the moment I saw it so I asked her to give me some details.

"We paid $A2700, which included 12 months registration/insurance/roadworthy certificate, new tyres, new battery, fully serviced motor, shims done, oil changed, new air filters and new spark plugs. Really, other than the shocks and a bit of work on the carbies, the rest of our costs were on cosmetic improvement, and that was about $A600. It's really hard to find a bike like this in Australia that's in good shape and learner legal. Most (and there aren't many) are sold unregistered and need a lot of work. We didn't have time for that - we still have a Triumph Trident T160 to complete, and it's a true labour of love!

The Harley belongs to friends. They bought the bike in Sydney, (eastern side of Australia) in January and stored it at our place until last week, when they drove over from West Australia (over 3,000 kilometers) to collect it. We live in an area well known for fantastic motorcycle roads, so we took the bikes on a few rides before they left. Victoria is the south east state of mainland Australia. The photo with the two bikes was taken next to the Murray River near a tiny town called Walwa. Google it!

We're really happy with the bike. It runs well, handles great, and compared to the costs to restore the Triumph, as cheap as chips! A few friends have said the Yamy might blow the Triumph to the winds! We'll have to wait and see about that!"

In the last email she sent me over some pictures of some of the work they did. It looks like it was a whole family affair. Take a look:


"Stuffing Muffler with Packing"


"Harleigh polishing the forks"


"Steve repairing the tank."


"Debbie scraping paint of edge of repainted wheels."

Debbie confided in me that she would like to find another XJ650 to restore for her daughter. I can't wait to see how that one turns out.