There are a seemingly infinite number of different types of motorcycle enthusiasts in the world, but it takes a very specific type of person to see something in pretty rough shape and know they need to have it. Of course, making good content for the Internet is surely a part of the decision-making process—but even so, there’s only so far down the path that factor might take you.
Folks, this is a barn-find 1976 Benelli Sei, spotted by Brick House Builds on a Facebook Marketplace ad less than an hour after it was posted for sale. As BJ of BHB tells the story, there was but a single photo, of this sad machine tipped over and slowly becoming one with all the leaves, mud, and general barn debris all around it. It was, of course, filthy—and you could barely see enough to know what you were looking at. Still, the sight of the width of that engine and realizing it was no mere four-cylinder is what spurred him to hit up the seller and go check it out in person.
As the story goes, this particular Benelli Sei had belonged to the seller’s brother-in-law, who stashed it in that barn well over 20 years ago. Both the tank and the exhaust are missing, but most of the rest of the bike appears to be in pretty complete shape. The previous owner appears to have maybe been taking things apart to paint them, but then life got in the way and the project languished in his BIL’s barn, instead.
In any case, with the help of both the seller and a buddy, BJ managed to get this Sei successfully loaded into the BHB van for transport back home. The wheels weren’t turning on their own, so the next morning, BJ worked to free the brake calipers because he thought the pads were probably stuck. It took some doing, but thankfully, after unsticking the brake pads, the wheels were able to turn freely and he was able to roll the bike out of the van without too much trouble.
Now, if you’ve been following any of BHB’s projects, such as the CBX or the CB750, you’ll know that BHB already has a lot of projects lined up and waiting for their turn on the workbench. So, the next part is an assessment of the new bike on the block, seeing what kind of condition it’s in and figuring out what the end goal is for it.
After a bit of a clean, BJ discovered an engine case crack that had been buried under all the caked-on mud, on the side that had been laying on the ground in the barn. It’s not irreparable, but it does mean more work will need to be done if it’s going to run anytime soon—even though BJ suspects that it’s probably not seized.
Some further examination makes it clear that this particular Sei is destined to either be a vintage race build, or possibly a parts bike. Either way, it’s headed off to the warehouse to patiently await its turn in the workshop while BHB works on some of its other projects. It’s not every day you see a Benelli Sei, but it’s always cool to see something kind of cool and rare like this get pulled out of the debris and turned around. Hopefully, if it is a project bike after all, we get to enjoy the videos down the line and see where it all goes from here.
