Most of my posts are about me and what I have been doing. While they are typically motorcycle and XJ650 related sometimes they are more of a rant to keep me out of the clock tower with the bottle of Southern Comfort and the high powered Italian assault rifle.I go through pretty much every motorcycle website that has anything to do with Yamaha Maxims and Secas. Recently, I checked out a build page titled "83 SECA 650 Cafe Project". I have seen some nice rebuilds and some crappy ones but never one that deserved to be praised publicly, until now. When I clicked on the link the first picture I saw was this (the before shot):
I have thought about doing many things with Yamaha XJ Motorcycles, but I have never had much more than my imagination and a few images of other people's bikes to work with. Most of the ideas I've had from other people's bikes consisted of small tidbits. Maybe the handlebars off this bike, the paint off this bike, the fenders off this one, or the seats off this one. A collage of parts from many different bike only tied together in my imagination. When I saw the finished product of this guys bike I was floored. It was basically everything I had imagined in a bike only it was REAL!
I have been staring at this bike for a long time now and I have been busy with the bike I'm taking to Europe. I am so focused on the Europe trip that I don't really have time for anything else. The reason I started this blog was so that I could keep my friends in the loop and not come out of this project looking for new friends. One of the most common comments I get when I explain to people what I'm doing is, "Why don't you just buy a new bike?" or "You're going to ride THAT through Europe? Are you crazy?" Well let me show you what my bike could look like and ask me if I'm crazy.
This bike was built by a guy in St. John's Newfoundland who goes by the moniker 'Ease' his real name is Evan King and he has made one of the best London Cafe Racer inspired XJ650 I have ever seen. Take a look:
Pretty amazing! Tell me this is not an absolute eye turner. Although this is not the look I'm going for on the Maxim I'm taking to Europe, it is the look I have in mind for my Yamaha XJ750 Seca. This picture has inspired me to start working on both bikes simultaneously. That and the fact that I'm a sucker for punishment.But seriously I think when I get back from Europe I will work all winter to make my Seca look like this guys bike. Then maybe I will drive it across Canada next year. Whistler, British Columbia to St. John's, Newfoundland.
1 comments:
Hey, how is it going? I am working on a similar project. I am transforming a 1983 Yamaha into a cafe sytled bike. I am not sure if it is a xj650 or 750. When I look at parts diagrams I find some parts on the 650 diagrams and some on the 750. That is besides the point. What I currently need is a picture of the collar or spracer on the front axle. Well if you could take a few photos of the front wheel assembly that would help. I Had put the assembly together and measured the gap for the spacer. I came up with a length of 21mm. I went to a shop that had used parts and found a spacer that measured 21mm in length and the OD and ID matched the bearing seal and the axle rod. When I put the assembly together though the disc rotor rubs the wall of the groove on outerside, meaning the that if you are sitting on the bike, it is rubbing the wall of the groove to the left side of the rotor. I should also mention that the rotor is on the left and is a single rotor. I could use any help I can get. I don't have a manual yet but there is no telling if the manual is goint to have the information I need. Thanks ahead of time for any information you might be able to give. My email is mtmccaleb@gmail.com
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