Ive just managed to get my hands on a very cheap '81 xj550. She's a little rough at the edges and runs a bit lumpy but I reckon she is worth spending some money on and getting her put right.

The clutch makes an awful racket, which seems to fade a bit when you pull the clutch lever in and the gearbox makes a nasty chattering noise at idle engine speeds when cold. The 5th & 6th gear wines like hell when cruising at around 40 - 50mph.

The front brakes have been modified and something else has been put on, but they have been "washered" out to fit, and the front wheel has a spacer in it aswell, which makes my forks run slightly out of parallel !

The Carbs are slightly out of balance, but thats an easy fix.

What I cant seem to find, is an online source other than ebay for spares. I realise its an old bike now, being 28 odd years old, but I need to find a good reputable dealer who can possibly lay his hands on bits and pieces at good prices.

Im looking to maybe "streetfighter" it a little and maybe recreate that popular look from the '80s - custom paint, 4-1 short pipe, straight bars, headlight conversion you know what I mean, but I need to make sure she runs well and is safe before embarking on the big-spend.

If anyone can give any advice at all, it would be very much appreciated.

Heres a pic of the bike in its current form:

Bike looks good, lots of potential but lots of work to do do, have you tried wemoto site and m&p and mps to name but a few.

...Paul

Ive just managed to get my hands on a very cheap '81 xj550. She's a little rough at the edges and runs a bit lumpy but I reckon she is worth spending some money on and getting her put right.

The clutch makes an awful racket, which seems to fade a bit when you pull the clutch lever in and the gearbox makes a nasty chattering noise at idle engine speeds when cold. The 5th & 6th gear wines like hell when cruising at around 40 - 50mph.

The front brakes have been modified and something else has been put on, but they have been "washered" out to fit, and the front wheel has a spacer in it aswell, which makes my forks run slightly out of parallel !

The Carbs are slightly out of balance, but thats an easy fix.

What I cant seem to find, is an online source other than ebay for spares. I realise its an old bike now, being 28 odd years old, but I need to find a good reputable dealer who can possibly lay his hands on bits and pieces at good prices.

Im looking to maybe "streetfighter" it a little and maybe recreate that popular look from the '80s - custom paint, 4-1 short pipe, straight bars, headlight conversion you know what I mean, but I need to make sure she runs well and is safe before embarking on the big-spend.

If anyone can give any advice at all, it would be very much appreciated.

Heres a pic of the bike in its current form:

Thats a gd looking bike you got there, gonna be a labour of love that one, more internal work than external, maybe joining the VJMC might be a good route, If it were mine I would prob keep it stock tho', but each to their own

550Rs are absolutely beautiful the way they are...

i wouldnt change a thing if it was mine...

im a member over at another XJ forum (if youre interested i can pass that info on) and theres chaps all over the world on board there...

we have a member whos got just about every part you may need to restore that to factory new...

great looking bike. one thing i noticed is that the Seca model in the state had straight spoke wheels while the Maxim had the swirly spokes...

again, great looking bike...

Ive just managed to get my hands on a very cheap '81 xj550. She's a little rough at the edges and runs a bit lumpy but I reckon she is worth spending some money on and getting her put right.

The clutch makes an awful racket, which seems to fade a bit when you pull the clutch lever in and the gearbox makes a nasty chattering noise at idle engine speeds when cold. The 5th & 6th gear wines like hell when cruising at around 40 - 50mph.

The front brakes have been modified and something else has been put on, but they have been "washered" out to fit, and the front wheel has a spacer in it aswell, which makes my forks run slightly out of parallel !

The Carbs are slightly out of balance, but thats an easy fix.

What I cant seem to find, is an online source other than ebay for spares. I realise its an old bike now, being 28 odd years old, but I need to find a good reputable dealer who can possibly lay his hands on bits and pieces at good prices.

Im looking to maybe "streetfighter" it a little and maybe recreate that popular look from the '80s - custom paint, 4-1 short pipe, straight bars, headlight conversion you know what I mean, but I need to make sure she runs well and is safe before embarking on the big-spend.

If anyone can give any advice at all, it would be very much appreciated.

Heres a pic of the bike in its current form:

Hi

The clutch noise is down to bad carb adjustment ... when you set the carbs make sure you have a yics tool as if not you will get false readings from the guages and dont forget to spend a good time with the mix screws.

The wine in high gears stands a chance to be the cush drive rubbers ... let us know how you get on

Regards Jim

how cheap did you get yours for? i just picked up a 1983 550 seca for $250 but needs work also like paint and lots of cleaning. will post pics soon.

Ah man, I usd to have an 81 XJ550 Maxim but secretly lusted after the Seca version like you got. I ran hell outta mine for almost 17k before I sold it when I moved to Florida, great solid bike, needed nothing but tires and oil changes.

Good looking bike ya got there, good luck getting it squared away.

how cheap did you get yours for? i just picked up a 1983 550 seca for $250 but needs work also like paint and lots of cleaning. will post pics soon.

Actually, I paid 400 pounds for her. I think that was cheap, cos I love the damm thing already.

I paid a grand for mine, she's pulled apart but not forgotten, lovely ride.

This post is 5 years old so the chances of a reply are slim to none. As he has not been back online since then.