Author Topic: rescued a 75 Yamaha XS650 (Read 19043 times)

BeSeeingYou · « **on:** August 11, 2009, 11:27:17 PM »

deleted

Caminokid · « **Reply #1 on:** August 12, 2009, 03:44:12 AM »

I love those 650. Due to the fact that the cylinders run together thats why the vibration on the center stand makes it dance. That is why they have such good torque. I built one back in the 80's. I also had built a 77 750 SS. The 650 would whip the 750 off the line and down to the 1/8 mile. These are awesome bikes. Would love to have another one and build it up.

kirkn · « **Reply #2 on:** August 12, 2009, 03:50:31 AM »

Beautiful machine, and a great-sounding project. Now, I'm not a purist by any stretch, but it's nice to hear you're not going to hack it to bits to make yet another 650 cafe or street-tracker...

Keep the pictures coming.

It's funny you mention the dancing-on-the-centerstand. I'm working on a little CB200, and it's the worst stand-dancer I've ever seen. At anything over 2000 rpm, it'll walk all OVER the garage...

Non-counterbalanced 360-degree twin, I guess. I had an old Kawasaki KZ400, and it had dual counterbalancers, and that thing was VERY smooth. One of the nicest twins I've owned.

Anyway, have fun with the project.

Kirk

DavePhipps · « **Reply #3 on:** August 12, 2009, 06:06:39 AM »

That is one beautiful bike. You're right it's the best looking out of all the years.

cb650 · « **Reply #4 on:** August 12, 2009, 06:42:04 AM »

I used to have a 77 in hiskool. Loved it. A guy down the street had a nice bobber. Have seen a few around town this summer. Have you been to the xs650 site yet?

Roach Carver · « **Reply #5 on:** August 12, 2009, 07:16:52 PM »

i am jealous. this is a bike I had when I was in New Orleans a few years back

zoo mob · « **Reply #6 on:** August 12, 2009, 10:01:04 PM »

Like XS's for sure, only the standards though. Definitely on my list of bikes to own, just missed a beautiful 1970 XS1 by an hour a couple of months ago. Have fun with it, and show us lots of pics.

74cb750 · « **Reply #7 on:** August 13, 2009, 09:00:03 PM »

I owned a few of these. Nice bikes and the aftermarket pipes available
were awazuome.

mrblasty · « **Reply #8 on:** September 21, 2009, 11:52:58 PM »

Was there a XS650 special in 75 and 76?

hoodellyhoo · « **Reply #9 on:** October 23, 2009, 08:34:34 AM »

Making a socket out of JB weld and some pipe - never would have thought of that in a million years. Genius!

zoo mob · « **Reply #10 on:** October 28, 2009, 05:40:54 PM »

Looks like I'm joining you in the '75 XS650 club; just put a deposit on a complete, running '75, a '73 parts bike, and an extra motor for a smoking deal. I'm picking them up tomorrow, should be fun.

zoo mob · « **Reply #11 on:** October 28, 2009, 06:08:00 PM »

These are in fact local, but some of my finds have been a couple of hundred miles away. I'll post pics tomorrow after I pick them up.

zoo mob · « **Reply #12 on:** October 28, 2009, 07:44:32 PM »

Thoughts on the best xs forum?

zoo mob · « **Reply #13 on:** November 13, 2009, 09:17:19 PM »

What's the scoop on oil changes for these things, I sold the one I bought to a friend and he's looking to an oil change, which drain plug do you pull?

vorhese · « **Reply #14 on:** November 26, 2009, 04:45:59 PM »

Love the XS650. I've had a few. here's Delilah

Old Scrambler · « **Reply #15 on:** November 27, 2009, 01:38:29 PM »

I did a little custom work based on a friend's adaptation of a Mustang seat.........This bike is an '81 with obvious mods

Skonnie Boy · « **Reply #16 on:** November 30, 2009, 10:30:30 AM »

You've inspired me (once again) to dig into my own non-working tachometer. Quit on me somewhere around Joplin, MO. You rock, srust58.

Skonnie Boy · « **Reply #17 on:** November 30, 2009, 05:25:19 PM »

I replaced the cable with a new OEM one. The tach just bounces up and down with the bumps on the road. Sorry for the thread hijack. I'll dig into it this weekend.

78whiteorbs · « **Reply #18 on:** February 21, 2010, 07:02:21 AM »

Srust58-

Got a real nice looker of a 75' XS650 yesterday , awesome bike I really dig it . The starter is toast so it is kick only at the moment but I am hunting the bay for one .

The question I had for you was have you taken your speedo apart? I have a 10k bike but the face plate is loose from the vibes I guess:) I know on hondas accessing this face plate requires dremel surgery , do you know if I can access those faceplate screws without hacking into the guage? I have the dame bike as you but tank has a dent in the right side. It looks awesome though . How did your dented tank turn out? I would like to keep original but I seen new one on mikes xs for like 250$ .

78whiteorbs · « **Reply #19 on:** February 21, 2010, 07:05:07 AM »

Also I am doing up some replacement vinyl decals for the side covers as I work at a sign shop and have access to top quality printers and vinyl if you would like me to make you a pair let me know ok. Prolly at gonna do the dank decals too. Mine is dented in almost the same spot as yours was !Funny!

78whiteorbs · « **Reply #20 on:** February 21, 2010, 11:55:35 AM »

So you just pry up the crimping slowly eh?
I will give it a try then . The bike runs pretty good fired up from a cold engine at 30 degrees the night I got it on the seond kick and idled perfect. I have ridden it about 2 hours total and so far am very pleased. Do you know about warming these bikes, what does it say in the owners manual ? The fella I got it from is gonna mail me the owners manual but I am guessing it's a little different than what I am use to . I dumped in some carb cleaner with some high octane and it rocketed through the gears. Have had one cylinder drop out though , I was running about 90 miles per hour trying to test her out in top gear and loss of power. I pulled over and Stopped to see what was up. Not sure but it sorted itself when I took back off. This bike has KN pod type filters(I have the original air boxes which unbelievably for a jap bike are metal!) so I am wondering if it was fuel starved or something ,maybe the jetting isnt right for the pods but It runs perfect just cruisin so far. Here's the pix:
And I'll make some extra decals for you . The fork seals are good , no weeping so far. Minus the starter , the dent , and the faceplate, this bike runs better than any old bike I have owned

78whiteorbs · « **Reply #21 on:** February 21, 2010, 11:56:35 AM »

one more

78whiteorbs · « **Reply #22 on:** February 21, 2010, 12:34:30 PM »

The dual petcocks had me confused as on one side or the other the plate that says on /off/ reserve is flipped so it looks like on one side it has to be up and the other down but it makes sense to me that you should be able to read both name plates so one was just screwed back on backwards. I noticed there are no overflow tubes on these carbs , there is a right angle plastic nipple fitting that looks like were you would attach a line for the over flow do you know how this comes stock? These parallel twin engines are new to me .This tank was creme coated so I wonder if a little piece might be in the bowl being sucked up now and again . Gonna drop the bowls maybe next weekend and have a look. Do you know what chain this bike takes ? Can I use a o-ring chain>? How hard are they to remove? last chain I hack sawed through , it was a continuous link chain on a cb550 , replaced with a non-o-ring masterlink chain. The Chain tensioners have never been move on this bike

Low mileage, I like it ! Chain is a bit weathered though . Hopefully I can pick up a cheap starter and worry about the tank cosmetics down the road, from ten feet it's not that noticeable. I noticed the handle bars on the dented side are slightly bent to so I am gonna put on a new set. Might go with like superbike bars and maybe a bar end mirror. The vibrations move teh current mirrors all about ,it just seems useless cause there!
Nice someone on the SOHC forum has one of these bikes the xs sites is kinda not very active . You'd think xs's would have as big a following as the cb's But I guess 69' was just to good a year for Honda!

goofy3392 · « **Reply #23 on:** January 31, 2013, 10:42:09 PM »

Looks great! Im really thinking about using that paint.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

Skonnie Boy · « **Reply #24 on:** February 03, 2013, 11:31:48 AM »

Looks great. Always had a soft spot for the old Yamaha twins.

Why is it that the toxic stuff always works better?

Retro Rocket · « **Reply #25 on:** February 03, 2013, 03:26:37 PM »

Quote from: srust58 on January 31, 2013, 10:59:15 PM

Quote from: goofy3392 on January 31, 2013, 10:42:09 PM
Looks great! Im really thinking about using that paint.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

I am pretty happy with it. Goes on fine with a brush....good enough for a frame anyways...maybe not for a tank and side covers. Spraying would give the better finish if needed. Just take the proper precautions...it's toxic.

Hi Steve, what the UV resistance like with that POR15 hardnose..?

Retro Rocket · « **Reply #26 on:** February 03, 2013, 04:34:29 PM »

Cool mate, if its a marine safe product it should be fine, watch out for those hurricanes mate....

PS, why were you towing a boat in a hurricane..?

Retro Rocket · « **Reply #27 on:** February 03, 2013, 05:44:06 PM »

The window thing is something to do with a pressure drop or something like that {barometric pressure} . In 1974 i was 11 years old, a massive cyclone {southern cousin to a hurricane} went straight over us, and many others, our house went under water to the guttering, not real keen on doing that again....

Actually, they said that the cyclone had turned into a rain depression by then but i don't think anyone told that to the cyclone...

Its quite eerie being in the eye of one of those huge storm systems. Google, 1974 Brisbane floods.... At the same time cyclone Tracy devastated Darwin....

grepper · « **Reply #28 on:** March 04, 2013, 11:16:47 AM »

Nice to see another xs650 fan.
I have a couple myself. 79 Red bobber, 80 Special (sold), 78 Green standard now restored. Plus I have chopper project in pieces. I’m a regular on xs650.com

RAFster122s · « **Reply #29 on:** March 22, 2013, 06:53:00 PM »

Those are nice and you probably got a nice deal.

If the liner were done right, it may not be a problem. Depends on your fuel. The stuff they blend sometimes isn't good after sitting for extended periods. It causes all kinds of problems in the fuel lines, carbs, and tank.
The POR stripper works very well but it can ruin your paint if not careful.

The market on parts will turn as the weather improves and more people get the itch to have a bike or a bike back on the road.

David

seanbarney41 · « **Reply #30 on:** March 22, 2013, 08:43:11 PM »

Yep, I would go ahead and use the tank liner...but keep a close eye on it. From what I have seen, Kreem will fail gradually. It will start to peel in large chunks that won't fit through the tank strainer. When you see any of it start to lift, it's time to strip it. You can probably catch it before anything starts floating around in the gas.

ncollar · « **Reply #31 on:** February 06, 2014, 06:06:14 PM »

I found this article in Home Made Tools. When I seen the picture, it took me back to the mid 80's. I had a 650 Twin, one of the fastest bikes of it's day. I had a friend that did a little grinding on the over head and would she fly after that. I was tearing the 750 Suzuki up. Wasn't many that would get me. But that was the day anything over 750 was not heard of. Then came my wife and the bike had to go. It was her or the bike and I could not have both. Well she my wife now for 37 years, I do not know but I think I made the right decisions.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Nelson Collar

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Author Topic: rescued a 75 Yamaha XS650 (Read 19043 times)