Seca II??

[chimera]

Going to check out a 1998 Seca II.  6k miles under $2k.

Anyone here ever ride one?  Thoughts?

[chornbe]

PM member "Chips". I believe he rode one for a number of years. I rode one for a few hours about 20 years ago. I don't remember details, but I remember it being a comfy bike with lots of neutrality to it.

[Tyrroneous]

Um, yeah...I've got a '96 with 43k on it.  They are very basic in every respect: motor, suspension, brakes.  But that is not necessarily a bad thing.  They are easy to work on and fairly robust.  Power is not overwhelming by any means, but its enough to outrun most cars and cruise at highway speeds without feeling like its going to blow itself up.  In fact, when in a good state of tune, the motors are pretty darn smooth.  

Now, if I could just figure out what is causing mine to intermittently drop a cylinder.  

[chimera]

Thank you for your responses.  I bought the bike.  Very well maintained with recent full tune, jet kit, fresh filters n oil, good rubber, clean.

Not a fast bike but WAY better brakes and handling than my 85 Magna.  Different ergos too (duh) which I am finding I like better.  Less "hunchback" than the cruiser.  Rode it home approx 50 miles and despite the traffic enjoyed the ride greatly.  Have since put another few hundred miles on and lovin it!

[MadMax96]

They're great reliable bikes.  I was surprised to find how smooth they run... not to mention the great mileage.  

I picked up a '96 that sat for years with 950 original miles for $1700 a couple of summers ago.  It was really for a friend who needed a bike as daily transportation (owns no car).  He ended up flying into Chicago and he rode it home to Seattle.  I did about 1/2 that trip with him last summer... time constraints wouldn't allow the whole way for me.

He still rides it to this day and I think it has over 6k miles on it.  He has the luxury of walking to work so it's usually only ridden on the weekends and for trips out to Richland, WA to visit family.

Here are some pics of it shortly before it made the trek to its new home.  It has the factory chin spoiler and cleaned up nicely.  It had those garish decals along the fairing/tail and chin spoiler.  I removed them all but cut out the "Seca II" emblem from the front decal leaving it behind... didn't want it totally nameless.


http://www.the-continuum.org/Site-folder/2007-FullMoon/source/20d_3054.html

http://www.the-continuum.org/Site-folder/2007-FullMoon/source/20d_3055.html

[chornbe]

If it wasn't for a supremely awesome engine the Magna would have died within the first year of introduction, IMO. Horrible handling and ergos. Glad you're loving the Seca.  

[AutoXer]

They are good bikes, in my view.  I had a '92, rode it 12 years.  Very comfortable for me (short & fat).  Fast enough (though it was a "slow" 600cc bike, it was still faster than a Vette in the quarter mile).  Brakes were so-so.   Headlight sucked on low beam (no spread to the sides), decent high beam though.  Repairs?  None - nothing but oil changes.  Original battery lasted 11 years!!  Easy to work on - I love open bikes, especially those that have an attractive engine to look at (later models had the blacked-out engine that ruined that).  Great gas mileage (52-60 mpg - I miss that!)  

Replaced it with what I consider was its successor, the FZ6 - MUCH better brakes, faster, controls work smoother, but not as comfortable, less storage space under the seat, and only 46-50 mpg.

jZ

[MilleArp]

Going to check out a 1998 Seca II.  6k miles under $2k.

Anyone here ever ride one?  Thoughts?

Yes, rode one for a bit in the very late '90s.  Good basic bike.
Clutch action was a little grabby, but do-able.
Most of the power is up top, so be sure it has revs when leaving a dead stop.  
It makes a neat growl at WFO above 8k (the "power hit", such as it is).
Look inside the fairing on either side of the headlight.  If dropped, those fairings cracked VERY easily, and many are patched up.  If so, no biggie, just a cosmetic issue.  Waddaya want fer under 2 grand???

 

Under 2k?  Everything works on it?  Good rubber?  Oil's been changed?
Buy it!

.

[goodhawk]

rode one ( Yam Seca II - 600 ) - I think it's the model , half fairing, tube frame, classic UJM sit up position --  cross country 15 years ago or so - excel. bike for that , great tank range , decent performance ( I was thinking slowest inline  4 ever ). excel. general ride around bike

[scott-sts]

The Seca II was the SV650 of it's day insofar it was inexpensive with zippy performance.  There was even a race series for it.
It's an I4 so you will have to rev it up  to get some speed out of it but for under 2K, it's comfortable, reliable and easy to ride.

[USMCUSAFbiker]

I had a 1992 SecaII, and rode it for about 3 years (02-04) in Colorado. Got to where I outrode many riders on bigger, newer bikes. It is not a powerhouse by any means, but it was comfortable and upright. It is what I learned to streetride on and thanks to the older group of riders I started riding with for keeping me safe those first couple years.

I also had times that I wanted to throw it away. I ended up having to open up the engine after shops told me it would be $800 just to open the motor and then asked me if I had the Haynes book for it. The starter idler gear (connection between starter and motor) teeth decided to strip off, not once, but twice. Luckily both times it happened at home, because if not I would have been stranded somewhere both times. Mechanics told me that they had never seen that happen before, they said the starter teeth were supposed to strip 1st. But it was worth the time, and not the money back then (over 1/2 the cost of the bike, according to the shops), so I did it myself.  The 1st time it took me 4 months, and the 2nd time only 2, so I got better. I think the issue I had was an exception, because this was an issue no one else had. But that is what annoyed me about the bike, and that is probably why I feel that I got less fun/usage than it cost me in hard work/repair.

Tyrroneous - I had the intermittent cylinder drop too, I couldn't ever figure mine out either. I cleaned the carbs within an inch of their lives, and the valves were in good shape. When I opened up the motor everything looked good. So it is either a wiring issue or some kind of interrmittent ground fault somewhere.

[hizzle30]

I got mine two summers ago, 97 and its done me just right all in all aspects.  Has great Sound with the aftermarket vance and hines, nice to have sporty soundin bike starting out.  Great on riding positoin and gas mileage. only problems is i need the clutch looked at it slips when its very hot.  its been two years and i want to get a little bit more HP but its perfect for my almost anyone and runs forever if you treat and maintence her right

[Flightar]

I had a 92 and it was a great bike. Very simple but still great...replaced it with a 97 YZF 750R, which itself was replaced by my current 04 VFR.