Surprise Package

Don't be fooled by the US styling, Yamaha's shaft drive XJ750 'Seca' will match much sportier bikes in handling and performance. It does just about everything with flair, says Bob Berry.

THIS was fun. Cruising along at the US legal limit of 55 mph, visor up, on a glorious August Sunday. Sitting upright with arms comfortably outstretched to the high bars.

Short wheelbase and an upright riding position but the Seca can hold its own in the handling stakes.

It made a pleasant change to be able to peer over the hedgerows and stone walls of the Northamptonshire countryside. Humming along past stately Rushton Hall and gazing over the rolling estate grounds. "Lazee Sundee afternoon, got not time to worry..."
The bike was an XJ750 Yamaha Seca, a 1981 import owned by reader Gary Hesom who had emailed me some weeks before asking if we had ever featured this bike because he had trouble finding information about it.
The response was to ask him if we could test his bike. He replied that it wasn't in 'as new' condition but that's no problem for us - we like to test real bikes that are used. It's not a concours contest.
Gary's a lorry driver and a member of the Territorial Army. He was called up to spend three months in Iraq where he delivered tank engines to the troops in the second line, one back from the war front. He'd recently returned and agreed to drop off the bike on his way from Walsall to a wedding reception in Guildford where he was reuniting with mates he made during his war stint.
Sunday morning he and his wife turned up at the Old Bakery to repossess his Seca. But first the picture session and the road test.

Early model
THE Seca was launched in America in 1981 so Gary's bike is one of the very first. The Yanks loved its hi-tech specification and style so much that demand soon outstripped supply and it wasn't until the following year that we got it in the UK.
There again, the Seca - its name taken from the Laguna Seca circuit in California - was designed specifically for the US market while we got the XJ650 with sportier styling.
But both bikes were eagerly welcomed by bike scribes on both sides of the Atlantic and one American bike magazine launched a campaign to get the 650 sold there. Yamaha even went a step further and sold the 750 with the 650's styling in Japan. Talk about mixing and matching...

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Words: Bob Berry
Pictures: Terry Joslin

THE halls will be bristling with street specials and at the forefront will be the head banger's favourite, the ubiquitous Yamaha LC. The club is celebrating the 20th birthday of the RD500LC V4 by displaying several examples of the bike, ranging from standard to a highly modified RD500/YZR replica currently being built by Alan Kimber and to be unveiled on Saturday morning.
Visitors to the stand will also have the chance to see the club video and the opportunity to buy raffle tickets, the main prizes being two Pro-Am LC Club tee-shirts signed by racers Jamie Whitham and Niall Mackenzie - who started their careers in the one-make series of the early Eighties.

THEIR mates on the Aircooled RD stand are bringing along over 20 standard and special examples, including Martin Newlyn's 1978 RD400, recently judged 'Best in Show' at the BMF Rally.

THE Kettle Club will have 11 GT750 two stroke triples on display and will be paying tribute to the late Barry Sheene by making his TR750 race bike (owned by Jim Blomly) the centrepiece of their stand.

THE biggest club of all is the VJMC of course and they are marking their 21st anniversary will a mouth-watering display of 21 year old bikes dating, naturally enough, from 1982. There will also be a line-up of the 1971 range of Suzuki two stroke triples.
They have been touring various events this year with their raffle prize of a Honda F2 750-4 and the winning ticket will be drawn on Sunday afternoon.
THE mighty six-cylinder Honda CBX is 25 years old the owners club will feature every model type of CBX which should number around 12 machines.
These include most of the class winners at the recent CBX Euro rally which we reported upon last month - the star attraction on that weekend being the fantastic Turbo Moto-Martin owned by Paul Pursey.
That will be there of course and if you'd like to know more about it just turn to pages 46-51 of this issue for Brian Tarbox's Street Specials feature for the whole story.

ITALIAN owners can make a bee-line for the Benelli Motobi Club, Bimota Enthusiasts, Laverda Owners, Moto Guzzi Club, Morini Club and the Italian Motorcycle Owners Club GB.

FOR Brit fans, the Norton Owners Club have arranged a whole selection of machines spanning
the company history and the
British Two-stroke Club have a number of machines on their stand, including the Francis Barnett Falcon which starred in the hit TV show Heartbeat, displayed by owner Amos Clack.
THE Historic Honda Collection has been touring bike events this year with their classic machines and will include the Beaulieu Museum's ex-Hailwood Honda four at Stafford.

KAWASAKI are catered for by the Z1 Owners club, the GPZ Owners, and the Z1300 Owners, while the Suzuki Owners Club have a variety of machines, from small two strokes to GP-inspired road bikes and from their big four strokes.

WERE you 16 years old in the mid-Seventies? Take a look at the bikes you may have passed your test on (or couldn't afford at the time) on the Sports Moped Owners stand. Fizzies galore, of course, along with models from Gitane, Cimatti and Garelli - plus two of the truly ludicrous Easy Rider inspired Fantic Choppers.

ONE special FS1E Yamaha will be on the main Mechanics stand - the little moped restored by none other than guest star Jamie Whitham who recently retired from World Supersport racing. It'll sit alongside the 2002 Yamaha R6 race bike he was given upon his decision to quit.

THE Street Specials stand has a host of various Harris and Spondon chassied, big-bore machines to pore over, evoking memories of a time when, despite their building the best engines money could buy, the Japanese lagged behind in frame building.

ROAD racing memories of the Seventies and Eighties are kept alive by the FRC (Forgotten Racing Club) who will be showing a collection of bikes from that time including Roy Flower's Yamaha TZ750 and Simon Bartling's Waddon Rotax. The Earlystocks club have featured in Mechanics recently and will be displaying a selection of their twin-shocked race bikes based on the production bikes of the period.

The Racing 50 Club have promised to bring over a dozen of their diminutive 50cc racers.

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