Yamaha Seca 750, 1982 model

[02SE]

Man I remember the early 80's when Yamaha ran their sales ads in the bike magazines. Selling that bike and their other models at fire-sale prices, because they had imported so many.

Found it:

 

[vwmaniaman]

I had a black one that was a garage queen till I got it. Wife and I rode it till my son wanted it. Then I got a BMW750/6 and after that a Goldwing 1500. That SECA was awesome and wish I still had it. On the highway it averaged 54 mpg on premium gas. When it got to 4000 on the tach it was like a turbo kicked in though it didn't have one. Yours looks great.

 

[ChristianReske]

Looks like a HUGE contrast in expirience. I mean, A HUGE ONE.
European car oils maybe differ. What i wrote about the JASO MA standard was written here in numerous Motorcycle magazines and by oil manufactrueres itself. No Internet fourm "Expert" BLA BLA.
Is it true? I think so. I only use Dedicated JASO MA certified Motorcycle oils and have zero problems.

 

[Nessism1]

I never use MA oils, and I also never have problems. Just use a 40 or 50 weight oil, and there is nothing much to worry about. I typically use diesel oil. The only time I've ever had a clutch slip, I replaced the 35 year old clutch springs, and the clutch worked perfectly again.

 

[Nessism1]

Man I remember the early 80's when Yamaha ran their sales ads in the bike magazines. Selling that bike and their other models at fire-sale prices, because they had imported so many.

Found it:

View attachment 334091

I bought a Yamaha Vision, with the discount, back then. Rode that bike for several years through college. It was a leftover. Tank was all rusty (replaced under warranty). Good bike.

 

[KrisZ]

Most of the clutch slipping issues are caused by worn out friction plates, not incompatible oils.
I see many people rev the snot out of the engine when taking off, you don’t need 2-3k rpm to take off on a bike at normal speeds.
But people like to blame other things rather than themselves.

 

[KrisZ]

Looks like a HUGE contrast in expirience. I mean, A HUGE ONE.
European car oils maybe differ. What i wrote about the JASO MA standard was written here in numerous Motorcycle magazines and by oil manufactrueres itself. No Internet fourm "Expert" BLA BLA.
Is it true? I think so. I only use Dedicated JASO MA certified Motorcycle oils and have zero problems.

If there was written so much about JASO oils, then can you tell us what exactly makes one oil wet clutch compatible vs not compatible?

 

[Bonz]

Looks like a HUGE contrast in expirience. I mean, A HUGE ONE.
European car oils maybe differ. What i wrote about the JASO MA standard was written here in numerous Motorcycle magazines and by oil manufactrueres itself. No Internet fourm "Expert" BLA BLA.
Is it true? I think so. I only use Dedicated JASO MA certified Motorcycle oils and have zero problems.

I'm not quite sure what trying to say with respect to the motorcycle magazines and manufacturers, that's all marketing.

Experience IS the true indicator. Literally a billion+ miles have been ridden with Rotella T4, and it is not certified. It simply states it meets JASO specs.

With that, I have taken to the habit of using MC specific oils in my bikes for the most part. However in a 1982 UJM, a 20w50 in a car oil today is the better oil than any oil back in the day. Keep in mind, any 15w40 or 20w50 is not an energy conserving oil so there are none of the magic pixie dust modifiers that send people hiding under the bed.

With 2,500 to 3,000 Mi oil change intervals as specified back in the day, fresh oil is always in the bike that least once a riding season and fresh oil is the best oil when all else is equal.

 

[Pete in PA]

I'm never touching 15-50 oil again. Even in an air cooled bike. TOO thick. sapps power, didn't shift well at all.
Todays oils are so much better, I don't think thick oils are needed. Honda has changed to 10w-30 across the range, even for older models.
I used Stabil Marine and MMO with E10 gas over winter here in PA. Didn't even drain the bowls. Started right up after 4 months.

 

[Bonz]

I haven't felt anything like the power loss you're describing to the extent it's been described in your thread using 15w50 in a smaller bike, per se. Over the years those bikes include Honda CX500, Yamaha Vision 550, Nighthawk 550 along with many other bikes of a liter or more. Nice to hear in the other thread the new oil mixture you put in feels better to you. That's what matters.

 

[JWC86]

FWIW I’ve been using 15w50 in a bunch of bikes and haven’t noticed any issues with feeling less power or hard cranking when cold. I’m not saying it isn’t harder to crank than a 10w but it’s negligible IMO.

 

[Pete in PA]

I haven't felt anything like the power loss you're describing to the extent it's been described in your thread using 15w50 in a smaller bike, per se. Over the years those bikes include Honda CX500, Yamaha Vision 550, Nighthawk 550 along with many other bikes of a liter or more. Nice to hear in the other thread the new oil mixture you put in feels better to you. That's what matters.

Wondering if the PCMO 15-50 is thicker?
I warmed the bike before draining and it came out like syrup.
Per the chart for my 92, even 10w-30 is good up to 90F ambient, and oils have gotten way better.

 

[Bonz]

Was it warmed on a good ride, or on the centerstand? Oil will never come up to temperature idling in the garage per se. Getting the bike up to temperature on a ride in normal air temperatures is the correct way to begin an oil change. Hotter ambient temperatures are fine, cool ambient temperatures are not an oil change friend. Best to wait and have patience for when the bike can come up to a good solid operating temperature on a normal day from a good ride.

Seca 750 is 10w30 up to 60 deg F (59 technically which is 15 deg C) 20w40 down to 41 deg F. Bit of overlap.

Oil grades are oil grades, no differentiation from cars to diesels to motorcycles. Agree oils are much better these days.

 

[Bonz]

Wondering if the PCMO 15-50 is thicker?
I warmed the bike before draining and it came out like syrup.
Per the chart for my 92, even 10w-30 is good up to 90F ambient, and oils have gotten way better.

View attachment 334616

Thanks for the thumbs up on my post. Is that saying the bike was fully warmed up to operating temperature so the oil could evaporate off the moisture because it was hot enough, yet the oil drained like syrup?

 

[Pete in PA]

Thanks for the thumbs up on my post. Is that saying the bike was fully warmed up to operating temperature so the oil could evaporate off the moisture because it was hot enough, yet the oil drained like syrup?

Nope. I wasn't going to ride it again with that oil.

 

[Bonz]

With respect, improper way to do an oil change and state it drained like syrup. If it wasn't warmed up, what did you expect? The oil wouldn't come out much faster than if you poured it from the jug. No disagreement on shift feel, that is something we all have experienced one way or another. With my oci and Mobil 1 15w50, I did around 5,000 miles, sampled that, got the analysis back and ran it to over 6,000 mi. No issues with feel.

 

[Bonz]

Edit to the above post: ran around 4,000 miles and sampled, then to over the 5,000 mile mark but did not sample.

 

[Marrk]

A 750 Seca and an XS1100. That takes me back. I started in motorcycles in 1980. Looks small in that picture (Post 8 above). More like the 550.

 

[ZeeOSix]

Jaso MA was introduced somewhere in the 80s because the then new "Energy conserving" car oils starts to become to slippery for wet clutches and casue problems.

It was actually 1998 when the JASO T903 specs for 4-sroke cycles first came out.

 

[ZeeOSix]

If there was written so much about JASO oils, then can you tell us what exactly makes one oil wet clutch compatible vs not compatible?

The 3 different friction specifications defined in JASO T903. Not all wet clutches are designed exactly the same, so the JASO specs are designed to cover as much as possible all wet clutch variations. Will a wet clutch work with non JASO oil? … sure, but there's only one way to find out by making your cycle a wet clutch test machine.