The big Seca is one of those bikes that should have been a hit, but missed the mark with buyers. After just a year on the market in the US, Yamaha withdrew it from the showrooms?despite a slew of positive reviews.
Intense competition from other Japanese makers, the arrival of the FJ1100 and consumer distrust of shaft drive were the primary causes of the Seca?s downfall, but the big XJ is now regarded as an under-appreciated classic.

Motorcycle collector Mike Martens is a fan of the XJ900, and in 2015 he tapped top builder Greg Hageman to transform his Seca into a café racer.
?I’m back with that beauty again, as Greg has just reworked the bike,? says Mike. ?The inspiration for the refresh was a carbon fiber fairing left over from a busted project.?
If you?re a long-time reader of EXIF, you?ll know Greg. He?s been a regular on our pages for ten years now, going back to his days at Doc?s Chops?and this Yammie proves that he?s lost none of his skills.
?We did catch some eBay luck along the way,? Mike says. ?The Seca originally had a small fairing mounted to the bars. Yamaha later offered a ?high speed? fixed fairing, and I found a new-in-box version online.?

Greg took the bracketry from the Yamaha kit, and adapted it to suit Greg?s carbon fiber Powerbronze fairing. ?And BOOM! The look of the bike was completely changed,? says Mike.
There was nothing wrong with the handling of the Seca, but this one gets a boost via new forks?lifted from a late 80s FZR1000 sportb...