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

Green with Envy

Posted on May 26, 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

Green Yamaha XJ650 SecaThere'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:
Yamaha XJ650 before restorationThe 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:
Green Yamaha XJ650 Seca in Australia
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
"Stuffing Muffler with Packing"

Harleigh polishing the forks
"Harleigh polishing the forks"

Steve repairing the tank.
"Steve repairing the tank."

Debbie scraping paint of edge of repainted wheels.
"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.

1 Response for “ Green with Envy”

  1. Derek says:

    I lived in Adelaide for two years and almost bought a KLR 650 to do some bush riding. I'm back in the us and wish i could have done some riding down there when I had the chance! Great bike! Green does look good on it. I striped the black off the rims and love the all aluminum look. The green on the rims would look too.. hint hint.. lol!

     

Leave a Reply

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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