| Author | Message | ||
     Fravel |
Does anyone have any experience with one of these motorcycles? My little brother just graduated high school and is looking at buying this one as a nice starter bike. We went and looked at it last night and the bike is in really nice shape with lots of new parts. The guy selling it did a nice job fixing it up. Any insight on this motorcycle would be great. http://www.auto-rv.com/Browse.aspx?AdName=BHI41250 26 | ||
| Liquorwhere |
I had a friend in college with a Seca, I was riding an RD 400D then, and it seemed to be a good bike for him, didn't have too many issues, he was a part timer on the bike, I would damn near ride in the snow, but when he took it out it seemed to be a decent bike, actually had pretty good power....if the price is right, would be a nice first timer. | ||
| Krassh |
Real reliable bikes. Good write up here http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/XJ650.htm with plenty of XJ650 specific links at the bottom of the page. | ||
| Jaimec |
That was the second motorcycle I ever owned. I sold it to a buddy of mine with 30,000 miles on the clock. There is only ONE problem with that motorcycle, and that is that Yamaha only sold it in the States for one year so parts and accessories may be hard to come by. It sold well in Europe and Canada, but since it wasn't a cruiser... well... you know. The engine is the same in as the Maxim 650, which was a very popular and long running model so engine parts (shims, filters, etc) should be easy to come by. The riding position was "sporty" but no where near as extreme as today's bikes. Large fuel tank (5.2 gallons) and decent mileage gave you an easy 200 mile range. Long, flat seat made long distance touring comfortable. Large, flat tank top is perfect for mounting tank bags. I replaced the stock headlight bulb with a 55/100 halogen which REALLY lights up the night with that HUGE headlight it has. I was very upset that the bike only lasted a year in the States. It was a very good, all-around, do-anything motorcycle.  | ||
| Etennuly |
A good buddy of mine had a new '80 750 Seca. I was riding a new '79 CB750F super sport. They were about even in all respects. They were dependable, fast, fun, inexpensive to operate, looked way cool. The biggest thing that I saw that left my Honda ahead of the Yamaha was the new at the time Yamaha shaft drive. It worked and was dependable and all of that, but the suspension worked against itself during hard accelleration(which was all the time for us back when). On the drag strip, when my bike would squat in the rear and lift in the front, his would push up in the rear and lift the front putting him totally out of control. Speed and quickness wise they were about even, but on the strip he couldn't get it out of the hole and I always smoked him. Overall if it runs well and is in decent shape, it should make a good first road bike. The manufacturers came out with the 650's back then for insurance purposes. If I recall bikes of 700cc's and up were a fair bit more expensive. That is still a quick - fast bike. I always like to see them start on a dirt bike, but now days the school programs are the ticket. Don't forget to school him on gear. | ||
| 86129squids |
+1, if ya gotta cook with rice, the tuning forks folks do good work. +1 on parts availability, +1 what Vern said about shaft drive. Knowing Vern, I doubt your little brother will flog it like a young squidly Vern did in his youth, nothing wrong with shaft drive otherwise...  +1 on schooling and on proper riding gear. All beginners should ATGATT and T-CLOCS. Good on ya for going after vintage rice- I still dig many bikes of this era. Can't find anything like them now... | ||
| 86129squids |
Oh yeah- surely there are online forums dedicated to the XS and Seca lines- just run a series of searches with different keywords relating to them and you should hit pay dirt. | ||
| Edgydrifter |
I have an '82 XJ550 Seca, the little brother to the bike you're looking at. The XJs (both Seca and Maxim) are fun, reliable bikes that can survive a lot of abuse. When I got mine, the fork seals were blown, the brakes bareley operable and the intake boots were so cracked that the idle wouldn't settle below 2500 when the engine was warm. Despite these and other issues, the bike would still do over 100mph on level ground and worked great as a commuter and weekend tourer. Because they're cheap, reliable, easy to work on and entertaining, it isn't surprising that the XJs have an enthusiastic following. There are lots of clubs for them and several online user groups. My favorite is the XJOG mailing list on Micapeak ( http://micapeak.com/mailman/listinfo/xj-owners ). Those guys have seen everything, ridden everywhere, and repaired anything that can be repaired--usually right in their own garages/barns/basements. Very friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. | ||
| Jaimec |
The '82 XJ550RJ SECA was the FIRST motorcycle I ever owned. Put 10,000 miles on it in one summer, but got T-boned by an idiot pulling out of his driveway right into me as I was going to a friend's house for a Labor Day BBQ. That's when I gave up motorcycling "forever." Yeah, we see how well THAT worked out, right? Anyway, that XJ550RJ was probably the WORST bike for a beginner like me. I would've been better off starting with the 650 I think. The 650 had a nice, flat, predictable powerband. The 550, on the other hand, was two COMPLETELY different motorcycles. Under 6,000 rpm it was a nice, tame commuter. At 6,000 rpm you got a major KICK in the ass as it came on cam. The bike would suddenly just LAUNCH itself, the exhaust note changed completely and suddenly your tame commuter became a shrieking missile hurtling down the road. Damn but that was FUN!! I've had considerably faster bikes since... but none gave that impression of SPEED that the XJ550RJ gave me in those days. | ||
| Jaimec |
By the way, in 1982 you were still SEVERAL years away from Ronald Reagan's "Harley Tariff." The only problem with the bike was the "Joan Claybrook Speedometer." For those of you too young to remember THAT genius from the Carter Administration, all vehicles sold for the street had speedometers that only went up to 85 mph. They had this idiotic idea that you wouldn't go any faster because you'd be too nervous of how fast you were really going. Two problems with that: It was ridiculously easy to extrapolate your actual speed by looking at the tachometer, AND if I looked down and saw "85" I'd think "Okay, I'm not going that fast after all." I remember there were ads in the magazines selling clear plastic overlays you could put on your tachometer and gave you your actual speed without you having to do the calculation in your head! | ||
| Edgydrifter |
See that's the beauty of the XJ. EVERY single XJ owner knows who Joan Claybrook was/is. Few others do. The XJ is a rolling history lesson. "Damn but that was FUN!! I've had considerably faster bikes since... but none gave that impression of SPEED that the XJ550RJ gave me in those days." I agree, Jaime. On a newer, cleaner bike, one expects to hit triple digits no problem. On the little XJ, that voice in the back of your head starts saying "hey, this contraption could blow apart any time now" whenever the speedo is pegged and the tach is still climbing. That's exciting. | ||
| Reepicheep |
I had a Yamaha Radian, which was a great little parts bin special that shared a lot of parts with those bikes. Nice motor, terrifyingly bad suspension and brakes. Fun bike for sure. If you calculate out the proper rider weight for the Radians factory suspension, the rider must weigh about minus 70 pounds.  | ||
| Tom_b |
Having owned a 650 maxim and a 550 maxim i can say they were the most reliable, bullet proof bikes i've ever owned. I beat the snot out of both of them. they are both still running and on the road. The 650 i would regulary ride at 95 mph for 2 hrs. several times a week for a year. Never a problem | ||
| Ronbob43 |
My new when I bought it 650 Seca was the first step in my progression to my 2009 City X. The next two steps were a 1988 Honda 650 Hawk GT and a 2001 Yamaha SV 650. None of them were the powermaster of their day but they all handled well while being a bit different from the mainstream machines. | ||
| Skntpig |
Ronbob...I think Suzuki makes the SV 650, not Yamaha. That is unless you mean the 650 VStar (XVS 650) | ||
| Mark_weiss |
XJ650 was a great bike. Decent suspension, low maintenance, good performance, slightly Euro-styling (low bars, flat seat, big headlight). One of my favorites. Mark in AZ |
