Seeley 519 CB750

[surffly]

Well this is now take two on the great Seeley engine swap of 2015!
First thing was to take the old hunk out of the Seeley. Every person that has ever taken a motor out of a factory frame would be AMAZED how easy it is to get the motor in and out of the Seeley. I know that you can remove the head with the engine still in the frame, so I assume that extra room makes the world of difference.

Dog being the ever helpful hand.

And now stripping down the stock bike.

I am getting good at this part.

No pictures of the stock bike 100% stripped down. Honestly I was just in a zone of getting junk done so didn’t take many pictures.

Just dropped the Seeley right over the engine and presto! Right in!

Much nicer engine.

Now that the heavy lifting is mostly out of the way I need to get all the lines, wires and bolts installed so that I can then run the engine in the Seeley frame for the first time. Might even get extra ballsy and run the bike on the Seeley tank too.

Either way the project is marching forward nicely

 

[john83]

Nice. Sometimes you gotta bight the bullet and back track a bit to make some forward motion.

 

[grandpaul]

That's nice.

I REALLY wish I had some shop time; who knows, I just might, soon...

 

[Tune-A-Fish]

Yeah, I cant peel myself away from Mericas got talents either.

 

[grandpaul]

Yeah, I cant peel myself away from Mericas got talents either.

TV ain't my problem.

9-hour-a-day paycheck job, plus 4-year-old special needs boy, plus 9-year-old girl, plus wyfe who gets very little leftover of my time = no shop time.

Bad enough, once I find myself with an hour to kill, I walk out in the shop and don't know where to start. 2 restorations in work with everything on the shelves waiting, 2 regular riders needing major tune-ups and new batteries, 2 rolling projects I need to spend some time on so I can sell them more completely assembled, 6 exterior roof corners on my recently relocated shop needing proper trimming out to keep out the rain (not to mention several power outlets I need to install so I can put away all the extension cords).

... don't even get me started on fast-growing lawn that seems to need mowing EVERY SATURDAY, and of course, the "honey-do" list...

 

[Tune-A-Fish]

TV ain't my problem.

9-hour-a-day paycheck job, plus 4-year-old special needs boy, plus 9-year-old girl, plus wyfe who gets very little leftover of my time = no shop time.

Bad enough, once I find myself with an hour to kill, I walk out in the shop and don't know where to start. 2 restorations in work with everything on the shelves waiting, 2 regular riders needing major tune-ups and new batteries, 2 rolling projects I need to spend some time on so I can sell them more completely assembled, 6 exterior roof corners on my recently relocated shop needing proper trimming out to keep out the rain (not to mention several power outlets I need to install so I can put away all the extension cords).

... don't even get me started on fast-growing lawn that seems to need mowing EVERY SATURDAY, and of course, the "honey-do" list...

Hell I had you for old retired eccentric rich dude with too many motorcycles to decide what to ride.

 

[grandpaul]

Hell I had you for old retired eccentric rich dude with too many motorcycles to decide what to ride.

hee hee

I WISH!

Although, I do consider myself rich; decent job, decent house, nice family (other than the typical crazy uncle, etc.), nice truck, and NO DEBT. (...and the old bike collection)

 

[surffly]

I dont live where the garage I use it. Makes things hard.

This month I am SCUBA diving every weekend so I will need to get cracking after work a few days.

Looks like the bike isnt going to be at MidO this year....

 

[surffly]

Nice short and simple update.
I bought an oil cooler for the Seeley.

Seems to be leak free. Has the needed amount of junk and wear for this project too!

Figured that this bike would benefit from some cooler oil. I tend to not have much mechanical empathy so this can only be a good item to have. The long block will remain basically stock, and honestly I have never had a problem with a SOHC overheating so maybe it is overkill.

Either way I won it fairly cheap on eBay and it is going on the bike.

Need to figure out some lines and how to best mount the cooler.
Is there anything crazy to know about running one of these? I have never used one. They seem very straightforward.

About how much more oil would you think this would add to the system? Any need to “prime” the loop or something?

 

[surffly]

Part of the fun of this project, for me at least, has been doing research and learning the history of this bike and others like it. Well while doing some digging on this project I stumbled across some old pictures of my bike that the PO had posted when they found it. Nothing ground breaking as far as information, but very cool.

The bike was found in much the same condition I got it in. The motor that was in the frame was a locked up K1 engine. The bike also had alloy wheels. 18 inch front and rear.

Not sure if you can tell from the pictures, but I was told that the rear hub is from a CB550. I do not know why that would have been done.

The side stand is a known weak point on the Seeley frame. Many owners have talked about the tab breaking off. Mine clearly had done the same at some point. The PO removed the sleeve from the frame before I got it.

Just a little slice of the history of the bike. Like I said, nothing crazy.
Nice to have as much info as I can find together with the bike.

Have been lucky to get some other leads on the original history and right now working on getting more information. Will be sure to share it as soon as I have something firm.

 

[xb33bsa]

so wahtya figger slam the seat down frat on the flame,and pit a cr500 monishock in the back ? ;D
maybe a sinngle crab and racing clam ?
srsly tho i love the flame it sure looks well made i imagine maybe the 550 hub was a lil smaller/lighter than 750 ?
the gas tank for sure is correct for what an endurance bike ? it seams huge, personally i would go for one that is slim and svelt

 

[Tune-A-Fish]

still have the wheels?

 

[surffly]

so wahtya figger slam the seat down frat on the flame,and pit a cr500 monishock in the back ? ;D
maybe a sinngle crab and racing clam ?
srsly tho i love the flame it sure looks well made i imagine maybe the 550 hub was a lil smaller/lighter than 750 ?
the gas tank for sure is correct for what an endurance bike ? it seams huge, personally i would go for one that is slim and svelt

Yeah the 550 stuff was used for weight. This bike is very light for what it is.
My understanding is I have the smaller of the two tank options!

 

[surffly]

still have the wheels?

Wheels and forks went to a different home.

 

[surffly]

Been slightly slow going, but I am still moving along. Have a few mini projects that I moved to the apartment to get done too.

Lost three weekends to my new hobby, SCUBA!
Going through a PADI class and getting certified.
Also been swamped at the office.

But enough of the excuses, im happy with the pace.
Back to the bike

Had some time in the garage and thought a quick update would be nice. I am very close to starting the engine in the Seeley frame for the first time. Almost all of the wires are run and connected. Just a few more small things need to be addressed before she runs.

The drag pipes are just temporary until I find a suitable exhaust for the bike.

I like how much stock the bike has. For now I am running the stock airbox, carbs, pegs, controls ect ect. If not for the HUGE tank/seat I bet one could confuse this for a stock SOHC CB750.

Will be sure to update as soon as it is running.

 

[surffly]

Great news!
The Seeley now runs!


I am chalking this up in the win column.
I know I know. I mainly took a running bike and swapped everything into the Seeley frame.
But it still counts as a small win.

Sticking to the plan of getting it running with the stock parts as much as I can.

Really need to find a suitable exhaust as the drag pipes are silly.
The hammer was a much needed tool. Always is.

I ran the bike off an "IV" fuel tank, was going to see if I could clean the petcock in the Seeley tank and run it off that, but I saw that a VRT Corrado was trying to eat my friend. Since it is his garage I use I figured I should save him.

After that the celebratory beers started.

Ordered a bunch of parts last week that have been slowly trickling in so I hope in the coming weeks I will really start to cross stuff off the list.
While the Seeley will not be at MidO this year, I will be there. Hope to see some of you at the races.

 

[john83]

Even a small win is still a win.

 

[grandpaul]

Don't despise small beginnings.

Keep up the good work.

 

[surffly]

Starting to think about "clip ons"

I have used Tarozzi products before and really like them.
They also offer different styles that I think will help integrate then onto the bike better.

Running a GL1000 front end so need 37mm. Decided to look at clip ons because the OEM Honda Gl1000 top triple has a lot of pull back so bars might be more work then needed. I figured I will shave the top mount and be done.

Main question is this.
What bar would you run?

Low rise?
http://www.fastfromthepast.com/55-0018

Straight?
http://www.fastfromthepast.com/59-0018

Offset?
http://www.fastfromthepast.com/58-0018

Not looking for anything extreme. Figured the offset offered a lot of adjustability, and that I might not need the rise.

What do you guys think?

Also plan to piece together parts for the rearsets from Tarozzi as well, but that is down the line.




Also need a good option for a fork brace.
Telifix looks like the best option.
Superbrace is nice, but might be to much bling for the project. I also think it is priced a bit much at $200. But at the end of the day that is a drop in the bucket for these projects.

 

[canyoncarver]

If it was me, the low rise. Nice adjustments and you won't be laying on your wrists as much.