I am thinking about selling my Seeley which is a 250 rather than a 200. I have been fairly reliably informed that it is a Kondo conversion of the original engine. This apparently involved much more than simply a bigger bore ( I think it was 'stroked' as well) and reputedly is a very well engineered conversion and very sought after. However before I very reluctantly take the plunge and advertise it I wondered if anyone else could confirm this or tell me otherwise. I would not want to mislead anyone. I might not be able to bring myself to sell it at the end of the day because I just love this bike so much but I would like to know a bit more about it.

Any info very much appreciated. Hopefully I've attached some photos.

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd207/b...resnov07041.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd207/b...resnov07003.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd207/b...resnov07012.jpg

I am thinking about selling my Seeley which is a 250 rather than a 200. I have been fairly reliably informed that it is a Kondo conversion of the original engine. This apparently involved much more than simply a bigger bore ( I think it was 'stroked' as well) and reputedly is a very well engineered conversion and very sought after. However before I very reluctantly take the plunge and advertise it I wondered if anyone else could confirm this or tell me otherwise. I would not want to mislead anyone. I might not be able to bring myself to sell it at the end of the day because I just love this bike so much but I would like to know a bit more about it.

Any info very much appreciated. Hopefully I've attached some photos.

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd207/b...resnov07041.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd207/b...resnov07003.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd207/b...resnov07012.jpg

What is the engine number? it should start with RS

Scrumpy

What is the engine number? it should start with RS

Scrumpy

It begins with TE as I believe all Seeley engines do.

Just had a proper look this time! Yes it does begin with RS.

Without going out to the shed and having a look that looks like a TLR/RTL top end you have on your bike. I may be wrong. If you dont need to sell dont sell. Not a good time to sell at present. Keep it, you know you want to.

PS. Who made the silencer ??

Edited November 17, 200718 yr by bo drinker

Yes, Japanese tuner Kondo did 250 conversions for the RS200 motors, which is what the Seeley uses and they have a good reputation. You're right in that it has to have the stroke altered as well as a larger bore to get 250cc, therefore the conversion was quite a lot of work as the engine had to come apart, rather than just an overbore.

It's unlikely, although not impossible of course, that anyone in the UK would have had a Kondo conversion on a Seeley but Honda did use 250 Seeleys in the SSDT ridden by Lejeune and the Jap rider whose name I can't remember right now. Could it be one of those? Unless someone did their own conversion using TLR top end. None of which matters anyway. Fact is, it's a 250, not unique but rare, nice bike, keep it if you can.

It would be difficult to find anyone who knows for definite whether any Seeleys were offered from new with the 250 conversion. If it is registered, try tracing the previous owners through DVLA (if they will do that) and see if you can turn anything up that way - maybe Honda UK could be among previous keepers.

Edited November 18, 200718 yr by Woody

PS. Who made the silencer ??

I don't know who made the silencer it was on when I bought the bike. It is a well fabricated job.

Yes, Japanese tuner Kondo did 250 conversions for the RS200 motors, which is what the Seeley uses and they have a good reputation. You're right in that it has to have the stroke altered as well as a larger bore to get 250cc, therefore the conversion was quite a lot of work as the engine had to come apart, rather than just an overbore.

It's unlikely, although not impossible of course, that anyone in the UK would have had a Kondo conversion on a Seeley but Honda did use 250 Seeleys in the SSDT ridden by Lejeune and the Jap rider whose name I can't remember right now. Could it be one of those? Unless someone did their own conversion using TLR top end. None of which matters anyway. Fact is, it's a 250, not unique but rare, nice bike, keep it if you can.

It would be difficult to find anyone who knows for definite whether any Seeleys were offered from new with the 250 conversion. If it is registered, try tracing the previous owners through DVLA (if they will do that) and see if you can turn anything up that way - maybe Honda UK could be among previous keepers.

What about Colin Seeley himself? He is still alive and kicking (I actually interviewed him on stage at the Scottish Show in March this year), however he is not happy just to part with information willy-nilly. He usually charges a fee to research his records, however that fee is donated to the charity that he set up for pain relief in memory of his first wife, The Joan Seeley memorial pain relief trust, I think it's called.

He told me that he had been approached by a Seeley Honda owner who wanted his bike dated and said, "OK it will be

Would you have any contact details for Colin Seeley, Big John?

The seeley framed 250cc bike lejeune (& hattori (?)) rode in the 1980 SSDT was the RS250T, it used another type of cylinder (external oil pipe to be used because the big bush cut through the internal oil channel).

I believe those engines have never been for sale.

I think this is an individual/shop conversion rather than a Honda works bike: why would they use the cylinder of their new tlr in a +/-4 year older (design) bike?

Edited November 19, 200718 yr by tlrs

Looks like the Seeley I had about three years ago, bought it off a guy who had been using it for green laning. Can't tell you anything about its history prior to that, but it did have the original handbook with it, which I think gave some details about its origin. I assumed that the cylinder was a later conversion because I don't think that "large finned" type was available until the mid 80's. The compression ratio seemed too high to me, perhaps it's off the 250RS road bike.

It's certainly got a lot more poke than a 200 making it much more responsive with none of that hesitation you sometimes get, for example with the TLR's. It'll also pull a tall gear very well which makes for fantastic grip. As for too high a compression ratio I suppose it depends on what you're used to.