Things To Know Before Buying A Yamaha XS650

I hope I could provide some information that I know that I wish I had know when I was buying my motorcycle. The XS is one of my personal favorites and will stay in my collection for a long time.

[brucegoldsmith]

I own a '75 XS650B... bought it when I was 21. That was 45 years ago and I still ride it regularly. It's the most civilized motorcycle I own. Great video!

[doug-muise]

Don't forget the swing arm bearings. They are plastic bushings and there are brass upgrades available. Also the stator brushes wear out. There are replacements available.

[jetmechmarty]

I’ve had an XS650SK since 1983. Today, my garage is full of them.
‘73 was TX650. The ‘74 TX650A got a frame change and longer swingarm. ‘76 got linked carburetors. ‘77 got thicker fork tubes.

[johnreese]

i had a 75 xs650 back in 1980. my neighbor bought it new and sold it to me in 80 for about $500. I sold it a couple years later for about the same. Well recently, i got nostalgic and wanted to get another one. i found a 75 xs 650 inoperable (but with great paint and no rust) in Portland Oregon. I bought it for $3000 and paid to have it shipped down here to Houston. I don't do my own work, but luckily there are some great mechanics down the road. Cost me a bunch of money to get it up and running. Almost everything has been replaced except the engine itself. Anyways, I'm loving it. It is quite the conversation piece out at the biker hangouts.

[tdeloriea]

First street bike I ever road. I was 17 and it was 1979 when a friend took my dirt bike and I took his XS650. It was pure bliss to ride it that day. Totally illegal as I didn’t have a motorcycle permit or license just my car license. Still love seeing them. The thing does vibrate a lot more than I remember when I’ve gotten a chance to ride one in modern times. It’s pretty obvious why we all moved to 4 cylinders. lol

[lplp]

I have to also make mention on a known neutral issue, The clutch leaves a lot to be desired while it is next to impossible to find neutral after engine has reached normal temp. at a stop sign. I know well by owning a 1982 Heritage Special. I also have learned how to make noise out of money. But have to admit I just love this old machine.

[phillipmitchell]

Great bikes! Pre-computer designed & over-built, bulletproof, dependable engines. Big advantage over the British bikes in this way, altho they didn't handle as well as Brit. bikes. One tweak in '76 that helped the handling a bit was moving the disc brake caliper from in front of the fork to the rear of the fork. Also, the plastic swing-arm bushings deteriorated too quickly. The brass aftermarket replacements cure the issue. I had two 74's (Cinnamon Brown) & loved them. Many ills were cured by '77. 'Would love a '77 - '79 Standard XS650 (not the Special) & electronic ignition conversion.

[billie]

You don't necessarily need the lining that protects the tank from rust. Clean it out with a method and put some 2 stroke oil fuel mixture inside and swish it around to stop flash rusting and keep the bike dry and filled with fuel when stored

[maxstuder]

Bought 1984 the XS 650 Heritage Special. Still have it. Great video. Thanks.

[kirkbowman]

Used to own a 1980 special and I rode the hell out of it and never had a problem, then I wiped it out into the side of a car and severely bent the forks. A work buddy told me his dad has 1978 and I snapped it up for a G note. The tank was rusty so bought a big box of washers and kerosene and “shook it all night long”, front brake was seized but re-built with new line, reservoir pads and caliper. Runs great but undoubtedly needs new cam chain and tensioner.

[asdfghjklkjhvbvcvjhvlyhb]

My dad had the 75/6 in 70`s, he loved it.

[motormikeb]

The Xs2.... the most handsome of the series... had the brake rotor attached to the fork..not the wheel... this was changed in 73' on the Tx650.. both 72' and 73' used the combination starter-decompression for the electrical stater... the small lever opened the left exhaust valve and turned the start on... this system was dropped in 74' with a better starter. Yamaha is credited with the cruiser style with the introduction of the Special series. (1978) These machines have a huge following ...parts not a problem.... I have 3 in the stable Xs1, first year, 75' Xs650 Police and a 82' Special 😎

[lorcandonohoe]

Bought my XS2 650 new in 72. Very reliable compared to the several Triumphs I owned.
Was looking to buy 750 Triumphs Trident - unable to source new .
XS2 650 has an awesome sound - loved the Growl at start up from the starter.
Handling in corners was not as solid as the Triumphs.
Front disk - lugs on bracket did not fit tight into rubber sockets on wheel, resulting in a
slight twitch when applying the front brake.
Sold it in 75 and bought a new Suzuki GT 750 triple liquid cooled . What a stunning
machine . Enjoyed the trip down memory lane . Thank You.

[corndog]

Hey, I had one of those, a co-worker gave it to me about 1988. I put a dirt track front tire on it, K70 Dunlop I believe, and every day going to work outside Salinas, CA (a hotbed of flat track racing at the time), I'd stop by this little dirt lot and do 2 or 3 laps around this oval. Big time fun before work. On the way out of town, through Spreckels, CA, there was a set it railroad tracks, as nd if I hit them at 75-80mph, I'd catch a little air, maybe 6 inches, but at that speed, I'd cover maybe 30 feet in distance. The last time I ever rode that bike, as I came down from that little jump, the engine locked up, I got the clutch in before anything happened, and I coasted to a stop. I leaned it in a telephone pole, then my boss pulled up. After work, we picked it up, I pulled the carbs off it, and there was a piece of cast iron liner inside a carb, plus there was a crack from the exhaust port down into the center cases, I think it dropped a cam chain. But I must have rode it a year or two without doing anything to it. I'd get another if the price was right.

[JohnMcClain-pt]

I bought seven or eight of these as barn stored in the early nineties. A little TLC and they all ran great. I swapped out the electronic ignition on them for points and that cleared all the problems. I was kind of poor at the time and fixed them up to sell and wish I never had sold them. I'd love to have another these days if the price was right. Very much like a Triumph and more power with reliability. I currently have four Triumphs, one running and three in the process of rebuilding. They are great on the twisties, as are the XS's.

[johnwalshire]

My '79 WAS $1100 - NEW. I treated it poorly, ran the hell out of it for two years, and it froze up ... top end bearings flattened out. It had a little over 60, 000 miles on it. Several times (6-I recall) it had 2-1, 000 mile days in a 4 day weekend. The single longest straight ride was a little over 1, 300 miles. Dropped the rear seocket two teeth and it was sluggish off the line but got 70mpg. My daily commute was a little over 100 miles a day. I treated the '82 better and my hard riding days were over. My son has it now.

[carlsmoot]

A 75 XS650 was my first street bike (after moving up from dirt bikes). I bought it from a fellow sailor (yes I was in the Navy at the time) who had repainted the tank, but otherwise it was stock. Had a great time with the bike for about a year, then had to go on deployment. While away, I left it with a different friend who decided that another man's wife was desirable. When I came back, I found out my bike had been torched by the husband who thought it belonged to my friend. I have fond memories of that bike and have sometimes considered buying another, but I had since discovered Honda Super Sports and never really went back.

[garrysmith]

Great review. Really like the styling, I see quite a lot of these getting imported into the UK from the US. 👍

[pappacharly]

After reading your headline I thought you would tell something of typical failures like clutch (especially shock absorbtion), swamp oilfilter, plastic bearings in swingarm, different crankshafts in different countries and so nevertheless it´s a very good video about the XS 650 (even this Triumph can´t walk back by damaged main stand and contact with both tyres on asphalt!). I like this XS-type too and if you care for it, it will keep you running many many very big fan community it gives worldwide. With parts and everything you need for this bike....also for customized and tuned ones 👍

[Kirsty-tbqp]

I have a 72 XS-2, cafe'd in 77 , I'd love the original covers, tank etc but very hard to source in my country (NZ), i've collected enough to make it look like a 75 (tank, covers, foot-pegs etc ) but the 72 side-covers are so pretty . My motor is tight, not a rattle to be heard Dave nz