1982 Seca Project Newb

[bentwrench]

I had thought of that, but there are 2 reasons I'm hesitant:

1) I don't know if it's legal in Ontario, and
2) In Ontario, we have these awesome highways that take your picture as you enter and leave, and then charge you for the distance you ride, directly to your credit card (if you don't pay, you can't renew your license.) With it mounted directly behind my butt, I can cover the number and ride for free.

 

[ksqrly]

WHAT THE F***!!! thats crazy. Im sorry you have to deal with that. I guess the only thing you can do is check with the dept. of highway safety. SO I have a question for you. I bought some tank emblems on ebay but the add said it was for an xs1100. The holes one the emblem said they measured the same space as the holes on my tank. DO you know if these emblems are interchangeable?

 

[bentwrench]

...maybe. I wish I could say more. I got some emblems that had the same measurements, but the holes were aligned differently, and the emblems therefore looked highly angled.

So I marked them with the right holes from my existing broken emblems, and drilled new holes. There's always a way around it.

 

[ksqrly]

HAHA very true. So I found this awesome little bike bone yard in my town and they had a bunch of xs400 parts. I got a new set of pipes that were in great shape and I figure out an answer if maxim tanks fit on a seca, and the answer is yes. Unfortunately, they didn't have any emblems.

 

[ksqrly]

So I was checking out your post(bentwrench), and I was wondering if you decided where to mount your battery.

 

[bentwrench]

On the swing arm. There's a flat spot just behind the pivot, and I just picked up a cheap AGM battery like this:

http://www.amazon.com/PowerStar-12AH-RBC4-SEALED-BATTERY/dp/B007QWPSUW

It doesn't save weight, but it's flatter, and hides behind the chain. I had to solder on some better terminals so it would hook up to the bike, but I just tested it last night, and it works! Time to start building a pan for it..

 

[bentwrench]

What I like about that spot is that there is a hole through the swingarm there that can be used to bolt on a battery box, without any destructive effects on the swingarm itself. Vibrations will be high, though...

 

[ksqrly]

I thought bout this Idea myself, but wont there be problems when the suspension moves up and down? I thought that might cause the wires to bend a lot and become more brittle.

 

[bentwrench]

Could be... I've thought about that myself. I figure I'll leave a fair amount of slack and see what happens. Worst comes to worst, I have to replace some wires.

I still dream about mounting it under the engine, behind the oil pan. If only I could weld aluminum...

 

[bentwrench]

It just came to me - the wire movement can be minimized with placement. If the wiring runs down to the pivot before then heading up to the fuse box / wiring harness, then the only movement is at the centre of the pivot (which moves less than any other part of the swingarm.) There will still be a couple of millimeters of up and down movement with the rear suspension, but it won't be much...

 

[ksqrly]

Good plan I think I might also try that

 

[ksqrly]

Fab and paint almost done. Maybe a week out and Ill have some pictures

 

[bentwrench]

Wow! Show pics of progress! It inspires those of us with small children to ignore our families and get out into the garage!

 

[ksqrly]

SO I am doing an exhaust at the moment as well as paint and fab and I may have cut the head pipes to short. I dont care about the noise. I love the rumble, but how hot is the exhaust going to be coming out of the pipe. It might blow on my feet. Also wondering if a short pipe will cause any performance issues. I get I might need to jump my jets up but does the loss of back preasure help or hurt performance. I have alwys thought more fuel and more flow equals more power. Am I right?

 

[ksqrly]

Also as far as jetting is concerned. I live in salt lake city, and it sits high at about 4200 ft above. So will I even need new jets? The higher elevation has less oxygen, so are my jets going to be ok with pod filters and free flow?

 

[bentwrench]

Exhaust is, to me, a bit of a black art. However, I would think twice before blowing hot exhaust directly on your boots. Might be a little warm and melty.

As for jets, to a certain extent, you won't really know until you try it. I think I've already directed you to the XS650 carb guide (if not, pm me and I'll send the link, or google it.) Our carbs are the same with different jets, and the guide has an excellent write-up on tuning the carbs after modifications. Mike's XS then has individual jets for cheap, so buy a bunch and experiment (that's what I did.)

 

[ksqrly]

Ya I read that a while back and I was thinking that since I am higher in elevation I wouldnt need bigger jets, but ya I guess ill just have to play around.

 

[ksqrly]

Parts are slowly coming in the mail.

 

[ksqrly]

I made a handle bar pad wrap out of the same leather that I used for my seat.

 

[ksqrly]

Good ol paint program. This is sort of the shape the bike will have when its done.