'82 650 Seca - Getting ready to sell

[850 Combat]

I bought this about sis years ago. It ran well, needed steering bearings badly, it had an aftermarket 7" headlight (they came with a cool 8" light) and lets see, the right hand switch pod was badly corroded inside. I did a little fixing on it, and it has been part of my loaner fleet. It hasn't really been used since '08 when my brother in law went with us to the Redwoods. It is a lot sportier than a GS. It will run about the same as a GS850 as far as all out speed and accelleration, but its trying harder to do it. It actually works pretty well. I would like to see how it stacksup to a 650G. Its a little more modern, having a jackshaft with the alternator and ignition on it rather than on the crank ends. I would say fit and finish is above GS standards, but then it came with loose ball bearings for the steering. Go figure. Today it got oil and filter, and a lot of cleaning and inspection. Its charging. Its running really well. A guy from work wants to fly in and ride it out. Its a great bike, but I need to get rid of about six bikes to make room for a useless sports car. I'm getting $1300 for it.







I'm going to loan him some soft luggage and some gear. I'm making up straps for an old Eclipse tank bag now. Goodness knows where the straps are. Remember those?

[Buffalo Bill]

Love those Secas…

Nice!
I restored an 82, 750 and 550. Awesome sound from those pipes.
Was hoping to find a 900 Seca, but that's a rare bird.
Nice design period for Yamaha.

[UncleMike]

What's the useless sports car??

[850 Combat]

I'm wanting an Esprit S4S. I may get more rational and buy an Elise, but I'm leaning toward the S4S. After I get more space.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Esprit#Julian_Thompson_redesign_.281993.29

https://www.facebook.com/EspritS4S

It lost all of its comparison tests in car magazines, but what it did always get points for handling like a race car. I've always liked Lotus.

http://www.caranddriver.com/comparisons/1995-acura-nsx-t-vs-dodge-viper-rt-10-ferrari-f355-lotus-esprit-s4s-porsche-911-turbo-archived-comparison-test

The last and the best of the 4 cylinder Esprits. 300 horse was a lot from a 2.2 liter back then.

[UncleMike]

Some of us still consider it a lot!

Gotta love-a Lotus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylj0eQrU_Js

[850 Combat]

Some of us still consider it a lot!

Gotta love-a Lotus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylj0eQrU_Js

I could go with an S4, but that only had 264 horsepower stock. The S4S had 300, but only for 60 seconds, then went back to 264 like the S4. I just need a place to park it. I can't imagine needing the whole 300 for a continuous 60 seconds. The S4 and S4S look the same except wheels, and the suspension is better on the S4S. Plus, the S4S is the last of them. The V8 twin turbo was a lot less friendly for owner service.

I have loved driving every Lotus I have ever had. One like this seems nice. An Elan would be a way better investment. The S4S EPA'ed at 17 city 27 Highway. It also ran 13 flat at 108 in a Car and Driver comparison.

http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/4483035868.html

[UncleMike]

Love that color.

[Vmass]

I could go with an S4, but that only had 264 horsepower stock. The S4S had 300, but only for 60 seconds, then went back to 264 like the S4. I just need a place to park it. I can't imagine needing the whole 300 for a continuous 60 seconds. The S4 and S4S look the same except wheels, and the suspension is better on the S4S. Plus, the S4S is the last of them. The V8 twin turbo was a lot less friendly for owner service.

I have loved driving every Lotus I have ever had. One like this seems nice. An Elan would be a way better investment. The S4S EPA'ed at 17 city 27 Highway. It also ran 13 flat at 108 in a Car and Driver comparison.

http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/4483035868.html

I love an exotic car as much as the next guy and have always been attracted to the Ferrari Mondial. The maintenance costs are what keeps me from pulling the trigger.

As the Lotus ad above shows, you can easily spend the value of the car in maintenance and repairs. Typical, with most older vehicles, I guess.


With that said, if his facts on the Lotus are correct, looks like a great deal if that's the car for you!

[850 Combat]

Actually, I don;t want that one. It just happens to be the only S4S advertised in Craig's list in the USA at the moment.

[Big T]

I love an exotic car as much as the next guy and have always been attracted to the Ferrari Mondial. The maintenance costs are what keeps me from pulling the trigger.

If you've never seen Top Gear, look up the one from 2011(?) with the worst cars ever

The Mondial is prominently featured, especially the part about where is changes petrol to fume without any internal combustion (the fuel tank rusts out and leaks)

V8 Ferraris are a maintenance nightmare. You have to pull out the engine to do anything more than check the oil.

[ShadowFocus603]

Is that your Screaming yellow SVT in the background? I have an 04 Pitch Black EAP SVT myself. Killer cars.

[850 Combat]

If you've never seen Top Gear, look up the one from 2011(?) with the worst cars ever

The Mondial is prominently featured, especially the part about where is changes petrol to fume without any internal combustion (the fuel tank rusts out and leaks)

V8 Ferraris are a maintenance nightmare. You have to pull out the engine to do anything more than check the oil.

That was their first Unibody, too I believe. It was a learning experience for them.

Still, its hard to argue with the beauty of any of the 308GTB family, and the later ones with FI will probably run regularly. I understand that the suspension is a maintenance nightmare, too. The guy I sold my first Elan to bought a Mondial Cabriolet. It was pretty new, and pretty cheap. To buy...

Everything rusts out in England though.

The worst thing on an Esprit is the Renault transmission. It has a balky linkage, and its marginally able to handle the torque. It is also why the V8 Esprits were so detuned to deliver on;y 350 hp.

[UncleMike]

Any way to beef up that transmission?

[850 Combat]

Is that your Screaming yellow SVT in the background? I have an 04 Pitch Black EAP SVT myself. Killer cars.

I've had that SVT for more than two week now. Its in great condition. I just put in a new water pump, timing belt, idler pully, tensioner, and serpentine belt tensioner. Timing belt replacement was almost due. now I'm not worried about it. All the yellow ones have the Euro Appearance package, which has really cool Recaros like yours. Its pretty fun to drive. I'm thinking of getting the ECU tuned to stop the hanging RPM between shifts, and to completely disengage the traction control when I push the traction control button. I was going to get Tom's Tune, or FSWerks. I'm leaving the car stock. Any ideas on the tune? I'm going to put in an aftermarket filter element, and that is about it. Maybe some motor mounts. Cosworth already did all the easy simple stuff for power in the SVT. The head flows well and has big valves. It has a pretty free flowing intake and exhaust. The SS headers are pretty darned cool looking, and are well designed. There might be 4 or 5 horsepower in a loud exhaust and a cold air intake that sucks up water. I'm not going there. I'm Super 7 on the two Focus forums.

The cars are dirt cheap. This one has no rust or anything like that. No curb rash on the rims. Bone stock. They will be done depreciating soon. I don't expect to lose much on it, if anything.

Any suggestions?

[Nessism]

I remember reading a Cycle or Cycle World test from back in the day where they took one of these Yamaha's and a GS650G on a little tour as a comparison test. They liked both equally, but in the end said touring on smaller bikes like these, without a fairing, was less than a full success. Adding wind protection will increase comfort, but it will also suck up power on the road. The take away being that smaller bikes like these can't measure up to a full size touring rig if you hit the open road. No big surprise there I suppose.