Traveller's new stablemate

[mikesim]

This morning I'm going to pickup a new stablemate for Traveller. I bought a '78 Yamaha XS650 Special. It is a survivor in virtually pristine condition with 14K on the clock. I have admired these bikes since they were new in '69 and now I will have one for my very own. I will enjoy riding it to our VJMC events.

Mike

 

[karl]

Nice, fellow I worked with has a number of those that he bought as projects and has since built a cafe racer and a trike for when he gets old...
Enjoy your "new" bike.

 

[Warren]

I had a 1977 XS650 standard since new. I sold it when I bought my NT in 2010. XS650’s have a cult following. I believe the XS650 society is still in existence and there is an online business devoted to providing any parts you might need.
https://www.mikesxs.net/

 

[ARKNT]

I had a 1975 XS650. I liked the bike back then and still get pulled toward them some.
I would want one that is still a stock standard model. Those bikes have a lot of character.
Enjoy the new toy.

Brad

 

[mikesim]

Having put ~100 miles on the new beast, I must say I'm impressed. Impressed with Traveller that is! Someone once said that "to appreciate your new bike, one must ride an old one" and that is very true. The Yammy is in excellent stock condition, but boy is it crude compared to the NT. It is the visceral riding experience that I remember back in the day but I forgot about how crude the brakes, suspension etc. were. One thing that is immediately apparent is the lack of a windshield. Riding at 70mph has me hanging on for dear life. As the years pass, one forgets how extreme the wind pressure is at speed. The one thing about the new (old?) scoot is that it has self-cancelling turn signals! A forty year old bike! It couldn't have been to difficult for Yammy to implement, so how comes 40 years later our bikes don't have this feature? I'll post some pix of the new scoot as soon as I remember how to do so.

Mike

 

[Warren]

Mike, you can upgrade the brakes and suspension. Dual disks in the front along with new brake pads, SS lines and and improved master cylinder, all available from Mikes XS. Suspension upgrades also available from MikesXS. Since Yamaha chose to rigid mount the motor in the frame to quell the vibrations you get from an unbalanced 360° twin they rubber mounted just about everything that attaches to the frame. All these years later most of those rubber mounting grommets have deteriorated or hardened. Replacing as many as you can helps with the vibrations which can be quite severe at higher RPM's. I had a small Slip Streamer Spitfire windscreen that I mounted on my XS650 that worked quite well. Its possible with a little time and money that you can turn it into a daily rider.

 

[DirtFlier]

For a long time, enthusiasts bought "Street Tracker" components to make their XS650 look like a Kenny Roberts, flat track, replica bike.

ps. I know what you mean about a bike from the 60s and 70s feeling primitive compared to our NTs.

 

[Sojourner]

Mike, you can upgrade the brakes and suspension. Dual disks in the front along with new brake pads, SS lines and and improved master cylinder, all available from Mikes XS. Suspension upgrades also available from MikesXS. Since Yamaha chose to rigid mount the motor in the frame to quell the vibrations you get from an unbalanced 360° twin they rubber mounted just about everything that attaches to the frame. All these years later most of those rubber mounting grommets have deteriorated or hardened. Replacing as many as you can helps with the vibrations which can be quite severe at higher RPM's. I had a small Slip Streamer Spitfire windscreen that I mounted on my XS650 that worked quite well. Its possible with a little time and money that you can turn it into a daily rider.

So just replace the brakes, suspension, motor mounts.......that's all ya gotta do....

 

[Sojourner]

Someone once said that "to appreciate your new bike, one must ride an old one" and that is very true. The Yammy is in excellent stock condition, but boy is it crude compared to the NT. It is the visceral riding experience that I remember back in the day but I forgot about how crude the brakes, suspension etc. were.

I had a '73 Beetle that I had made into a Baja Bug back in the mid-90s' when I was in high school and college. Then I got into the working world and got modern cars. A few years back I saw a '62 Beetle in a used car lot, and had a sit inside it.....smelled the smell of gas, oil, and old vinyl.....felt the lumpy seat that most of the horse-hair stuffing had fallen out of.......and thought, "yeah, I like my modern cars now....."

 

[Warren]

So just replace the brakes, suspension, motor mounts.......that's all ya gotta do....

That's only the beginning Going from points to an electronic ignition works wonders. New halogen headlight. Improving the electric starter which is very weak is not a bad idea although kick starting it is not bad. The two oil filters are a steel mesh and often get ripped so a spin on oil filter conversion kit is worthwhile. Its a given that you will need to rebuild the carburetors once a year. They don't like ethanol gas. I could go on and on but I don't want to depress Mike too much

 

[ARKNT]

One of my memories of my '75' was the front brake. In the rain you had to pump the lever a couple times to get it to work. The brake rotor had been drilled by the previous owner and I always figured that was why it acted that way in the rain. The pads must have ridden up on the water on the disk and it took the pumping to scape the water off. I think the drilled rotor would help in the rain but that is how that one was.

Brad

 

[Warren]

Drilling the rotors was more about removing weight. Those XS650 OEM SS rotors are thick and weigh a ton. I replaced mine with a new modern rotor and it weighed at least 1/2 of the original. The water issue is better solved with the right brake pad material.

 

[DirtFlier]

[...A few years back I saw a '62 Beetle in a used car lot, and had a sit inside it.....smelled the smell of gas, oil, and old vinyl.....felt the lumpy seat that most of the horse-hair stuffing had fallen out of...]

Sometimes going backwards to relive good times in an old car or bike can ruin memories. Along the same lines, many decades ago I went and revisited my elementary school on a visit to LA. I couldn't believe how small it was and how close the drinking faucets were to the floor!

 

[Sojourner]

Drilling the rotors was more about removing weight.

Actually, drilling rotors is for venting/cooling, same a rotor slotting, but drilling can cause stress fractures, so has fallen out of fashion over time.

Now, drilling out brake levers and whatnot on your classic Motobecane or Guerciotti bicycle is done for weight reasons.

 

[Warren]

The XS650 rotors from the factory were solid. Owners either drilled them themselves our sent them out to be drilled. The brakes did not have enough stopping power to be concerned about heat build up. Most of the owners drilled them to reduce weight or just because they looked cool although most were left stock.

 

[mikesim]

Thanks for all the offers to help me spend my money, but I think I will just leave the cruditity the way it is to remind me of "back in the day" The suspension is very bouncy so I think new shocks and a fork rebuild is in order. I have to admire how closely the Yammy engineers were able to emulate the Brit bikes though.... they even thought to include a teeny, tiny oil leak at the right rear crankcase. Talk about authenticity!

:wink:

Mike

 

[Miairhead]

I have a 84 BMW, I only upgrade the charging system and add some lights. I like old motorcycle like they are, I'm sure you did not buy the bike to make it fell like a new bike. Add new brake pad, tires, and other maintenance items and enjoy.

 

[Bear]

Mike, I have an 81 XS650 that I love dearly. It has a wild flame paint job and looks a lot like a cafe racer. Real fun to ride. I agree: the brakes are quite bad.

 

[mikesim]

I am going to attempt to insert a pic of the new XS650. I haven't been very successful in the past.

Mike

 

[Phil Tarman]

Mike, you got it...but it would be more visible if you hadn't downsized it to thumbnail size. If you do the same thing with a "normal" sized picture, it will show up as a thumbnail in your post, but can be enlarged. Like so: