New old one

[wingnut]

Brother inlaw just brought this home. One owner with 18K miles. I haven't seen it up close yet but he says its real clean. I'll be heading down to FL to help him with the carbs and its first light off in 10 years. 78 standards are just so cool looking He said he has tried to regester on this site but keeps getting a message that says the admin has denied his membership???

[TopCatGr58]

Very nice Wingnut!!

The notice I had posted about new registrants had expired, I just reset it to show for another month. IF he'll click on the Announcement, he can read about how he can get registered .

T.C.

[DGXSER]

Very sweet looking ride, is that an XJ I see beside it?

[jetmechmarty]

Single front brake might make it a XJ650.

[crazy steve]

Looks pretty clean in the pic; not too many missing parts, and most not that bad to find so this could be an easy restore except for OEM exhaust. I've always liked the '78s best, but I am partial....

[natemoen]

Very nice! Very clean!

[cywelchjr]

Yep, that's a nice looking bike. I like the 80's myself, but that's just a personal preference, and not even a really strong one at that.

[wingnut]

Yep that's John Doe (named that because the bike was DOA when we found it) parked beside the 78. Its a 650 that we bought out of a field in NC a few years back. That thing was a total basket case. If it had sat in that field another 6 month it would have been non recoverable. The exhaust on that 78 will be the biggest challenge. The PO cut the back of the mufflers off. Nice job doing it but they are still cut off. We have a plan similar to what we did on the Naked Boy project to at least quiet it down. Doug is sending the Admins a email so he can get registered on this site so he can tell the story of this old girls resurrection.

[xs11lover]

Congrats on the new 78, gotta love em. Nice and clean!

[XSive Okie]

Nice find! I'm not too big on red, but it appears to be pretty straight and OE. And I'll take any year and model of XS!

[cywelchjr]

I have to agree. I personally feel that the XS series were for their time the best series of machines that Yamaha ever made. They've made some nice machines since then, and in strict mechanical terms the new machines are better in many ways, but in relation to what they could do then to what they COULD do now, I think the XS line were more advanced and better built.

I really wish they still make "standard" motorcycles for the U.S. today. Everything is now so specialized that there are no generalized machines anymore. I want a generalized machine that is not necessarily a champ at any one thing but is decent at most things, oh wait, I have one, it's my XS.

[xs11lover]

Nice find! I'm not too big on red, but it appears to be pretty straight and OE. And I'll take any year and model of XS!

No that's not red...it's MACHO MAROON. The original and only 78 color.

[crazy steve]

I have to agree. I personally feel that the XS series were for their time the best series of machines that Yamaha ever made. They've made some nice machines since then, and in strict mechanical terms the new machines are better in many ways, but in relation to what they could do then to what they COULD do now, I think the XS line were more advanced and better built.

I really wish they still make "standard" motorcycles for the U.S. today. Everything is now so specialized that there are no generalized machines anymore. I want a generalized machine that is not necessarily a champ at any one thing but is decent at most things, oh wait, I have one, it's my XS.

I have to agree about the 'standard' motorcycle models and the sad lack of them. I've never been a fan of 'specialised' street bikes for an everyday, all-conditions rider. The standard XS was one of the last do-it-all motorcycles that offered the combination of performance, handling, 'traditional' styling (well, sorta; that square styling had to grow on you a bit Although now, that same styling makes the bike instantly recognizable and I wouldn't want it to look any other way ) and distance capabilities in one package. When Yamaha started the 'harleyfication' stampede with the introduction of the Specials, I knew the end was near for flagship 'standard' models...

There's a still a few out there; Triumph and Guzzi still offer 'traditional' bikes, and so did Harley until they dropped the 'standard' Sportster a few years ago. But these models, while having traditional styling, never got the performance upgrades that should have been possible given the advances in the art. What passes for a standard bike these days is usually a sport bike with some of the body cladding left off and the ergonomics 'fixed' so you don't have to twist into a pretzel to ride it. Not quite the same....

[trdriver71]

I really wish they still make "standard" motorcycles for the U.S. today. Everything is now so specialized that there are no generalized machines anymore. I want a generalized machine that is not necessarily a champ at any one thing but is decent at most things, oh wait, I have one, it's my XS. [/QUOTE]

There is still a yamaha that is considered a standard maybe some of you own one, the vmax is considered a standard.

[cywelchjr]

There is still a yamaha that is considered a standard maybe some of you own one, the vmax is considered a standard.

No, that sucker is a specialist. The only thing it does well at all is go fast in a straight line!

That's not a generalist machine.