Got another Yamaha! XS650

[mharrington]

Traded my DT250 and some $$ for this. Its a 1980 XS650 Special with a 75 tank and low handlebars. 29,000 miles and owned by a great guy since 90. I will clean the carbs out soon and put in a new battery. Will be a nice smaller bike sitting next to my 1100!

[mharrington]

Another. Came with the pan foam and cover for a 1975. Ill add it later. I plan to really work on it over the winter.

[jetmechmarty]

Be careful with that XS650. They multiply. I'm up to four of them!

The are several forums and at least one email group dedicated to the XS650. There is no shortage of resources for that bike.

[rpgoerlich]

Had the same problem with the XS11's multiplying early on...

You'll like the XS650 for those close quick trips. I regularly use mine for my 50mi/day work commute as it gets 54mpg compared to my XS11 @ 34mpg.

[mharrington]

I originally wanted to do the street tracker think realistically ($$) I will just do only what the 650 needs and some additional TLC and call it good. I do like owning a bike with so much new part availability as well as 2 of Yamahas hits from the 70s.

[jetmechmarty]

Last summer, I rode my XS650 the length of the Blue Ridge Parkway (including Skyline Drive) and back again! I'm over 6'4". It wasn't comfortable, but it was a blast just the same. You can get away with twisting the throttle all the way to the stop while exiting a corner on that bike. I just love it! I've had mine since new.

[jetmechmarty]

Came with the pan foam and cover for a 1975.

Just the foam and cover? The 1975 seat pan will not fit your bike. The early Special and Special II seat pans look identical to the XS650 standard pan, but they are not the same and do not interchange. The seat cover may fit.

[mharrington]

Just the foam and cover? The 1975 seat pan will not fit your bike. The early Special and Special II seat pans look identical to the XS650 standard pan, but they are not the same and do not interchange. The seat cover may fit.

Will the 1975 foam and cover work on the 1980 Special pan? I normally do not like the "King/Queen" seat on my bikes but this one is not outrageous. If I have to use it it will be OK.

[fredintoon]

Frankenbike!

[QUOTE=mharrington;341712]Traded my DT250 and some $$ for this. Its a 1980 XS650 Special with a 75 tank and low handlebars. 29,000 miles and owned by a great guy since 90. I will clean the carbs out soon and put in a new battery. Will be a nice smaller bike sitting next to my 1100!

Hi Mike,
nice bike but it looks to be a mix'n'match.
Fork gaiters are aftermarket.
If the motor is blacked out from the factory it's from a late model Heritage Special.
If the seat hinges up instead of lifting off, the seat & frame are '79 or earlier. The chrome grabrail & fender-mounted rear light say that too.
As do steel side panels instead of plastic ones.
I'm not knocking the bike, it's what I'd have done to build the best possible XS650 from all those 14 yearsworth of Lego-swapping XS650 parts.
For further upgrades, swap in a leftside caliper from an XS750/850/1100 Standard and switch to stainless steel brake lines.
The deep-groove aluminum rim wire wheels from a '75 will fit, as will the 7-spoke cast wheels, if you prefer those aesthetics.
The finned replaceable oil filter holder from MikesXS that plugs into the engine case looks trick, too.

[fredintoon]

Swingarm bolt warning!

The stock XS650 swingarm bolt is necked down to M14 and the skinny end can snap off at highway speed with scary results as it works it's way out to fall off onto the street.
This is not an urban biker legend, it happened to me, twice.
A 1980 Suzuki GT1000 swingarm bolt has a full M16 thread and will coincidentally fit right in or MikesXS sells a full M16-ended replacement that, unlike the Suzi part, has the proper grease passages in it.

[jetmechmarty]

If the seat hinges up instead of lifting off, the seat & frame are '79 or earlier. The chrome grabrail & fender-mounted rear light say that too.
As do steel side panels instead of plastic ones.

Almost true, but not quite. The 1980 Special II is the exception. It has all of the above.

[mharrington]

Thanks for the tips and compliments. The bike is indeed a mix and match. The seat on it now hinges open. The PO did tell me the bike is a 1980 Special with a 75 tank and 1 (one) 75 side cover. (He included the other non painted 75 side cover.) I noticed the bellowed fork seal covers look to be from an older model. The PO owned it for quite some time and included a file full of literature and club news letters from the "XS650 Society".

[jetmechmarty]

From the photos, your bike is a Special II. If it's a 1980, the tail light, metal side covers, and side hinged seat are all correct for that bike.

[fredintoon]

Almost true, but not quite. The 1980 Special II is the exception. It has all of the above.

Hi Marty (and sorry, Mike),
so, it's a Special II with a Standard gas tank, eh?
Yeah, I'd forgotten about that particular XS650 configuration as it's a one-year-only model and I've never actually seen one.

[jetmechmarty]

Yes Fred, it should have chrome steel wheels, as the '79 had aluminum rims. Our friend Jack on the 650 list has an '80 Special II that he bought new. It looks like he bought it last week. It has extremely low mileage.

I just found it!