Fear

In my adventures of looking for a first bike, I have stumbled across a Yamaha called a Seca II. It looks to be an alright bike, just more of a standard than a sport bike. Just wondering if anyone has heard anything about them or has had any personal experience with them. Here is a picture of one just so you know what im talking about. Thanks everyone.

s2k7

Good bikes, i know a guy who has one with full exhaust, some carb work done, stage 2 jet kit.....its pretty quick. selling it like for 1200. I think he'll come down to 1000

CBR600F4

Are you kidding me? No offense dude............but my girlfriends dad owns one and lets one of his sons ride it.

I just rode it 3 days ago. Slow as hell, suspension sucks, and brakes are even worse.

Now I'm NOT saying that it's not a good beginner bike. It's a GREAT beginner bike. I just wouldn't say that they're anywhere near quick, exhaust and jet kit or not!!!!

Fear

I figured it would be alot slower than the other 600 cc sport bikes, but I might try to pick one up to learn on for a few months and then get me a better bike early next season. You have any information on the one your friend is trying to sell? Anyone know how they compare to say a ninja 500? Thanks for putting up with all the newbie questions.

xshanex

its probably around as fast as a similar year katana and maybe a tad slower. I read about a woman who used one for iron butt rides and she put 10's of thousands of miles on the bike and she said nothing but good things about it. For a beginner or just around town or commuter bike it would be a good call.

CBR600F4

I agree with Shane; but a Ninja 500 is 10 TIMES a better bike!!!!!!!!!!

Better bet in my humble opinion is to go with the Ninja.

xshanex

why would it be a 10x better bike though? I'd say its a tossup between the 2 with the ninja benefitting from being so common and having tons of spare parts

here's a review of the seca

Yamaha XJ600 Seca II
No surprises here. The Seca has been around a while, is a smooth, well finished piece of kit, offering rakish good looks with its slanted-forward engine and single-color paint scheme. Simplicity is the theme, and it extends to minimally adjustable suspension, a single front brake disc and that rounded off, air-cooled engine, a 600cc four-cylinder with double overhead cams and two valves per cylinder.

The 600cc Seca was no doubt the inspiration for Suzuki's Bandit, and comparisons are useful. Both offer semi-naked good looks, with half fairings and exposed engines. Yamaha offers a bright red Seca for those that like the panache of the Bandit, but also a nicely muted black, shown here, for those whose tastes run a little less loud. The rounded, air cooled engine makes less of an impression than the Bandit's powerful air- and oil-cooled mill.

The tastefully slanted forward engine is the most radical looking of all the test bikes' powerplants, yet it's one of the simplest, with just two valves per cylinder (a trait it shares only with the Sportster, which has been around far longer). Easing maintenance costs, those two valves are designed to go 15,000 miles between adjustment intervals, and when adjustment is needed, the shims are located on top of the bucket, so cam removal is unnecessary.

It is, however, a cold-blooded engine, requiring several minutes of warm up before the Seca will tolerate any rider at all on its back. Once it is on the move, don't expect superbike performance. "Gutless" complained one tester. Carburetion is by tiny 26mm carburetors, which explains the Seca's lack of top-end power. The low 10:1 compression and 9,500rpm redline explains the rest: It's a full 2,500 rpm lower than the Bandit's. Fuel economy, you'd think, would be sensational, given a significantly lighter weight (the Bandit is a good 30 pounds heavier, as is the CB750) and smaller carburetors, but that again is surprisingly average, at around 45 mpg, or about the same as the Bandit.

One of the only areas where the Seca bests the Bandit -- but an important one -- is in riding comfort at speed. The Seca's seat is lower by a good inch, allowing the rider to duck down beneath the fairing airflow. The low-geared Bandit buzzes its handlebars irritatingly with high-pitched secondary vibration at higher freeway speeds, while the Seca is much smoother at speed. Gearshifting is light and positive, perhaps the best of the lot, and the clutch action is easy.

In the bends, the Seca's soft suspension repays a smooth riding style. The rear shock offers preload adjustment only, the front suspension is non-adjustable, and both ends are too soft for serious bend swinging. Both front and rear wheels are narrow by sportbike standards, both come equipped with less than wonderful Yokohama 209 tires, and the rear tire is a comparatively rare 3.5x18" a size for which finding replacement rubber in years to come may prove more difficult than the more common 4.5 by 17 inchers used on the Bandit. But here's the kicker: the price is fully $500 less then Suzuki's red offering, although adding a centerstand -- stock equipment on the Suzuki -- will knock the Seca's price close to five grand. If low price with high style matters to you, then the Seca is the one.

http://www.motorcycle.com/mo/mccompare/valuebikes.html

CBR600F4

Compare that to this, and this is just the EX 500; not the R model...........



Kawasaki introduced the EX500 as a sub-$3000 sport bike, and wanted to capture the market for beginners and bargain seekers. With its vertical twin engine, simple steel frame, and single front disc brake, it appeared that the EX would be uninspiring in the performance department, but the numbers told a different story. The little 500 made a remarkable 51.76 horses at 9500rpm, rivaling the Honda VF500F and the Yamaha FZ600, both of which had 4 cylinders. The power to weight ratio was better than any middleweight, including Kawasaki's own Ninja 600. The single front disc, thanks to the lack of weight, had the EX stopping quicker than any other middleweight at the time. Kawasaki achieved such amazing results by producing a simple design that didn't require huge efforts to keep the weight down. All the four cylinder bikes had trouble shedding weight. Dropping weight normally means increased production costs. The little EX didn't have such issues. Ergonomically, the EX was quite roomy, even for 6 footers. The wide seat and tall bars, combined with the light weight, made for a comfortable ride. A few shortcuts were made in the suspension department, but the aftermarket had solutions for that. In 1993 the EX500 became the 'Ninja 500'. Changes included bigger wheels and tires, better brakes, stiffer forks and new bodywork. Other than those, the Ninja/EX has remained pretty much unchanged for its entire life-span. Torque is 31ft/lbs@7500rpm. Wet weight is 432lb's.


From here: http://www.mcreports.com/Pages/Indiv...Ninja-500.html

CBR600F4

One thing I forgot to write in here yet:

My girlfriend has an 03 Ninja 250, I've ridden it a few times. I've also ridden a Seca II..........................

I'd rather ride her 250 vice a Seca any day of the week and twice on Sunday!!!!!!!

s2k7

lol just goes to show you it's all in opinions....because i sure as hell wouldnt haha