| Author | Message | ||
     Phelan |
After seeing the 650 Maxim on kneeslider I really got my eyes looking. Nice lookin' ride and cheap to mod. | ||
| Buellish |
Don't know about Maxim's or Seca's but I've got one of these in my garage right now.  Anybody know what kind of Yamaha it is? | ||
| Glitch |
Is that a Virago? | ||
| Svh |
My brother in law just received a Maxim 650 from his dad. Neat looking bike. | ||
| Beugs |
I have a couple seca turbos, do they count? | ||
| Phelan |
Not a bad lookin' bike there, but this is more my style http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2010/01/07/yamah a-maxim-transformed/ | ||
| 86129squids |
I've always been partial to 80's bikes- the Yammies from that era were all cool. One of my best buddies from high school had THE COOLEST parents- Dad had a 1978 GS1000S (yes, the Wes Cooley edition) and Mom had a Seca 550. My buddy managed to "borrow" Mom's bike one day, showed up at our other buddie's house... of course I said "can I try it?" At the time I was riding my first MC, a Suzuki TS125... My very first huge pucker moment, when I was transported instantaneously towards the dead end at the end of the street... somehow I didn't wad everything up. Except my shorts. ' Later on, I bought a 1987 FZ700 that needed some cosmetic work- got that done, rode it around a fair bit, LOVED that motor! Their first 5 valve hi-po motor, HUGE midrange, had about the equal cool factor as the new Honda V-4's... one day I planned to open it up on the way home, kicked it up to 135 and watched the telephone poles morph together, then realized my turn was coming up- grabbed a very measured handful of brakes, and gained a great appreciation of deceleration too... serenely made the turn and rode home at the speed limit in wonder. If anyone finds a Fazer, or a cheap RZ350, holler... heck, I'd appreciate a Vision, just for the funkiness. Also had a buddy who obtained a '78 Yamaha 750 triple with a Kerker header, easily in the top 3 best sounding bikes EVAAR. | ||
| Bcmike |
Owned an '81 Yamaha 750 Seca, my first 'superbike'. | ||
| Ducbsa |
Anybody know what kind of Yamaha it is? XV920? | ||
| Trojan |
Anybody know what kind of Yamaha it is? XV750 from 1981-82. They were a POS when new so I hate to think what it is like to ride now  Never really caught on and was a short lived 'street' version of their equally horrible Virago custom bikes. We tend to forget just how poor some of the old 'superbikes' really were until we see them again! | ||
| Bgbrd |
an XV 920 RH to be exact | ||
| Prowler |
The XV920 was unfortunately years ahead of it's time. Probably one of the best "cafe" type bikes available back in those days. The enclosed chain looked a little clunky, but in theory was a great compromise to the shaft (which came on the 750/920 Viragos) and allowed gearing changes. I've owned a bunch of Maxims over the years, my favorite was an '85 700cc air cooled (they had the 700cc "X" also which was water cooled and fast). One of the nicest, most comfortable bikes I've ever owned, wish I could have kept it. The Maxim 4 cylinder bikes sounded different than any other in-line 4, had a "turbine-like" sound that made it easy to identify without even seeing it coming. | ||
| Fast1075 |
Strange that this should come up. My Boss' son bought an '81 model 650 Maxim, fiddled around with it....then took off to college. 8 years, a degree, a wife and two kids later...he wants it fixed up to ride to work...holy cripes what a project...he left gas in the carbs....they look like tar on the inside...rust and corrosion...the never much good when it was new electrical system is a maze of bad connections...the front brakes will have to be completely replaced...he's gonna have a thousand dollar motorcycle that will be worth a couple hundred...  | ||
| Trojan |
The XV920 was unfortunately years ahead of it's time. Probably one of the best "cafe" type bikes available back in those days. The enclosed chain looked a little clunky, Years ahead of its time? Cafe style? Pardon? The XV750 version was roundly and deservedly slated by pretty much anyone who rode one when they were introduced. No power, terrible handling, frighteningly poor brakes, shoddy electrics, dodgy styling amongst other complaints from road testers. Build quality was pretty appalling too, but if something survives long enough it appears to get classed as a 'classic' regardless of how bad it was when built I thought all of these had been rounded up and burned, but obviously a few got away  I don't understand the 'Cafe Styling' comment, as this is as far removed from a cafe racer as you could possible get flat bars alone don't constitute a cafe racer | ||
| Phelan |
I don't particularly like any of the older twins except the Ducs and American bikes, and the parallelt twins. I love the look of these older inlines though, especially when cleaned up like the one I posted above. With marriage and expenses coming up in a year, I may have to pick up something like this to have a fun, cheap project until I can afford another Tuber. | ||
| Etennuly |
One of my closest riding buddies in 1980 or '81 bought a 750 Seca. I was riding a '79 Honda CB750F. That shaft drive was not well sorted out. When he accelerated the rear pushed up. He was in the 150 lb range so it nearly tossed him every time he got hard on the throttle. We went to the drag strip to run against each other several times. I was easily 50 pounds heavier than he was. There is a good chance he could have beaten me if that bike would stay on the track when launching. He was a bit of a nut case who would risk it all to win. More than once he went clear off the track out into the grass on the sidelines when trying to get off the line to beat me. I always gave him credit for not letting off the throttle while he was banging gears in the grass! | ||
| Prowler |
"The XV750 version was roundly and deservedly slated by pretty much anyone who rode one when they were introduced. No power, terrible handling, frighteningly poor brakes, shoddy electrics, dodgy styling amongst other complaints from road testers. Build quality was pretty appalling too, but if something survives long enough it appears to get classed as a 'classic' regardless of how bad it was when built" Trojan, hate to, but have to disagree with you on this one. The early Virago bikes were decent bikes, only having an issue with the starters, for the most part, after years of use. I find it a little amusing that Europeans (OK....Brits, mostly) back then had no problem bashing imported bikes, when all they had to offer (in particular, the brits) were slow/expensive/crappy "Chinese" build quality/worst electronics in history/etc. bikes. There's a reason that these companies went out of business. This stupidity still goes on today with "Top Gear", bashing USA vehicles and praise for all things European (at least they do it with some humor). I've owned BMW's, VW's and Mercedes and they all had multiple issues that rarely get mentioned (probably because the owners feel stupid for paying so much for these cars). The last car I drove over there was a piece of crap Fiat that had been voted "car of the year" by some euro rag, funny stuff. My Jeep's been more reliable than any European car I've owned. Regarding the styling of the XV920, It was noted many times that this particular bike had "European styling cues" and was targeted at sport riders looking for a V-Twin that was reasonably priced (I.E. not like a Ducati) I think it hit the mark, just nobody at the time wanted a V-Twin sport bike because they were so slow ..... including Ducati....compared to in-line 4's) (Message edited by prowler on August 17, 2011) | ||
| Mnrider |
Had a 92 and a 97 Seca2's they were good bikes but the headshake would start at 100mph and scare the crap out of you. | ||
| U4euh |
Very 1st street bike was a 82 750 with the two headlights and sport fairing. That turbine sound was one of the things I loved about it. Because of the rear end kicking up during acceleration, I swore that thing was torquier when I was two up. It was the bike I first drug a knee on, once and only once(scared the crap outta me. You had to get your gear selection right and stay there without any throttle changes. Rode the ever livin snot out of that bike. I was young and dumb! wish I could find another one like it! One thing all my riding buddies loved at the time was the tail light. Never could figure out why they all loved it, but looking back, it was big, bright, could be seen even from the side of the bike, and actually integrated with the tail section pretty well. Mine looked like this one, but in the Charcoal Grey color scheme:  | ||
| Trojan |
Trojan, hate to, but have to disagree with you on this one. The early Virago bikes were decent bikes, only having an issue with the starters, for the most part, after years of use. I find it a little amusing that Europeans (OK....Brits, mostly) back then had no problem bashing imported bikes, when all they had to offer (in particular, the brits) were slow/expensive/crappy "Chinese" build quality/worst electronics in history/etc. bikes. By the time this was launcehd the Brit bike industry was finished, so there was no particular axe to grind on that score. The problem that most people here had with the Xv was that it was badly made and just didn't in the US it was good, but here we like bikes that go round corners, and this didn't do that very well at all unfortunately. Even compared to some of the other bad handling bikes of the time this was still at the bottom of the heap. If the Bonneville and other Brit bikes were of 'chinese' build quality then the XV was the equivalent of North Korean I'm afraid. Rose tinted glasses tend to make our old bikes seem better than they actually were, but in truth bikes of the early 80's were pretty shoddy. I lusted after my first bike for years (a 1974 Ducati 250 single) until I saw another restored one last year. It was horrible and I don't know why I ever liked it! | ||
| Bcmike |
For you XV920 fans. http://uncrate.com/stuff/classified-moto-xv920-mot orcycle/ But I prefer this! http://uncrate.com/stuff/dp-customs-naked-cafe-mot orcycle/ | ||
| Biffdotorg |
First bike was an '81 650 Maxim. This thread brings back great memories. Smooth inline 4, shaft drive and snuck under the 700cc insurance radar! All my buddies were buying the cheaper chain drive 550 Maxim's and Kawi 550 LTD's. I happened upon a body shop selling this bike with minimal miles for $700. Sold it many miles and years later for quite a bit more. It started the addiction for many in those years. I can't imagine how many were distributed in the US. | ||
| Prowler |
I owned quite a few of the early to mid '80's Yamaha's: (XJ400 Seca/Maxim, XJ550 Seca, XJ650 Turbo, XJ700 Maxim, and an '85 FZ600, absolutely one of the best handling bikes you could buy at the time). I thought then and still think today that the build quality was very good. I had minimal issues with my Yamaha's when I had them (in fact, can't think of any problems that any of the bikes had to go back to the dealer for, exception being the XJ650 Turbo which had some fueling issues). In particular, my favorite bike of the time, an '85 700 Maxim, I think was an outstanding bike for what it was made for. No rose colored glasses required, thanks. During the early/mid 80's, the japanese bikes were put together vastly better than any Euro bike. The Moto Guzzi's, Ducati's, Cagiva bikes were incredibly slow and crude by comparison, and were usually seen with exposed parts actually rusting on the showroom floor (witnessed this myself). The overall build quality and electrical components were pathetic. Doesn't really matter if they handled well, you couldn't trust them to get you anywhere, as reliability was sad at best.............Trojan, those are probably the bikes you're referring to when you say they look better through rose colored glasses. They were crappy bikes even back then, although they're fun to look at now. I wouldn't hesitate buying a used mid '80's Yamaha (that's been cared for) and riding it anywhere. You're certainly entitled to your opinion, but I ACTUALLY OWNED these bikes and stand by my comments. Great bikes then and you still see lots of them on the road today. In 1974 I was lusting an RD350, amazing bike with incredible handling and speed for a 350. Was blowing away everything alse at the track.....well until the TZ750......... (Message edited by prowler on August 18, 2011) | ||
| 2008xb12scg |
Phelon if you ever get up to California I have an 82? maxim in the garage looking for a home. It needs looots of work.. but runs. | ||
| Phelan |
Thanks Thomas, I'll keep that in mind! | ||
| 86129squids |
Prowler- IIRC the Seca 700X was what I referred to as the "Fazer"- had the same motor as the FZ700, just in more of a UJM configuration. On a similar note- anyone seen an XN85 anywhere for good money? (Yes, I'm insane just for askin'...) That's one of my all time fave lust objects. BTW, someone here relatively local may have a Kenny Roberts edition RZ350 for sale- wish I had the scratch for it... |
