This is a 1983 XJ650 Maxim Special. This bike is pretty close to stock with the exception of the silver upholstery on the seat. This motorcycle was exported from the United States to England back in 1989.

I spend far to much time searching the Internet for anything to do with Yamaha XJ650 motorcycles. My love for this motorcycle is obsessive. I come across pictures of these beautiful bikes all the time and I've seen a lot of custom builds. Some good, some bad, and some ugly.

Here's a rebuild that really caught my eye. The builder's attention to detail really stands out on this motorcycle. Notice the custom battery cover and license plate holder. The frame and rims are painted to match and rear fender has been modified to accept a custom rear brake light and turn signals.

This is one awesome ride.







I never thought I could like orange this much but it really stands out on this 1981 XJ650 Maxim

This beauty is from Germany. It's not too often you run across a Midnight Maxim in such beautiful condition. This motorcycle really shows how nice a stock 1981 XJ650 Maxim can look.

This has got to be one of my favorite motorcycles. Mainly because it's mine. But also because I know that no detail was overlooked in the building of this custom Yamaha XJ650 Maxim Cafe Racer. This bike was built for a 'round the world trip starting in Europe. The entire bike was stripped down to the frame and built up from scratch.



Reliability was the number one priority when this project began. The exhaust has been ceramic coated, the carbs fully disassembled and balanced, and the engine rebuild from the crank up. To conserve the charging system the OEM tail light and turn signals were replaced with LED lights.

Some of the unique custom features include a oxidized copper color powder coated frame (including pretty much every bolt, hexnut, and even the springs on the shocks) and the parts that require some wear resistance have been coated with a black SandTek (center stand, kick stand, etc.)

To top off the build a custom paint job featuring a beautiful Canadian Maple Leaf surrounded by a candy green with metalics. This motorcycle turns heads at a distance. Up close this motorcycle blows minds.

For the trip, 50mm ammunition cases were converted to panniers. The heavy duty nature of the cases made them ideal for the task and gave the bike an even more uniques look. The drab army green was a great contrast to the bright green paint job. This bike looks fifty years older than it really is. When you see this 1981 XJ650 Maxim Cafe Racer drive by you will notice it.

Most of my posts are about me and what I have been doing. While they are typically motorcycle and XJ650 related sometimes they are more of a rant to keep me out of the clock tower with the bottle of Southern Comfort and the high powered Italian assault rifle.



I go through pretty much every motorcycle website that has anything to do with Yamaha Maxims and Secas. Recently, I checked out a build page titled "83 SECA 650 Cafe Project". I have seen some nice rebuilds and some crappy ones but never one that deserved to be praised publicly, until now. When I clicked on the link the first picture I saw was this (the before shot):

I have thought about doing many things with Yamaha XJ Motorcycles, but I have never had much more than my imagination and a few images of other people's bikes to work with. Most of the ideas I've had from other people's bikes consisted of small tidbits. Maybe the handlebars off this bike, the paint off this bike, the fenders off this one, or the seats off this one. A collage of parts from many different bike only tied together in my imagination. When I saw the finished product of this guys bike I was floored. It was basically everything I had imagined in a bike only it was REAL!

I have been staring at this bike for a long time now and I have been busy with the bike I'm taking to Europe. I am so focused on the Europe trip that I don't really have time for anything else. The reason I started this blog was so that I could keep my friends in the loop and not come out of this project looking for new friends. One of the most common comments I get when I explain to people what I'm doing is, "Why don't you just buy a new bike?" or "You're going to ride THAT through Europe? Are you crazy?" Well let me show you what my bike could look like and ask me if I'm crazy.

This bike was built by a guy in St. John's Newfoundland who goes by the moniker 'Ease' his real name is Evan King and he has made one of the best London Cafe Racer inspired XJ650 I have ever seen. Take a look:

Pretty amazing! Tell me this is not an absolute eye turner. Although this is not the look I'm going for on the Maxim I'm taking to Europe, it is the look I have in mind for my Yamaha XJ750 Seca. This picture has inspired me to start working on both bikes simultaneously. That and the fact that I'm a sucker for punishment.But seriously I think when I get back from Europe I will work all winter to make my Seca look like this guys bike. Then maybe I will drive it across Canada next year. Whistler, British Columbia to St. John's, Newfoundland.