My Yamaha XS650s and my XS650 Fantasies

Yamaha XS650 values have been skyrocketing the last few years. The early models in particular are quite valuable. However, they were sold in such large numbers over such a long duration that it is still possible to find some old junkers for pretty cheap.

I picked up the two XS650 specials below for a ‘bargain’. I put ‘bargain’ in quotes because they would only be a bargain to the right type of person, a person like myself, who likes a challenge and is handy with a wrench. Both bikes had a difficult time over the last ten years spending most of their time outdoors, uncovered, in the new england winters.

1980 Yamaha XS650 Heritage Special
1980 Yamaha XS650 Heritage Special

1981 Yamaha XS650 Midnight Special
1981 Yamaha XS650 Midnight Special

These Yamaha XS’s had an uncertain history. I bought them from a father and son who were given them when their neighbor died. I’m not sure if the neighbor was responsible for the butchering, or the father and son team, but someone did some shade tree work to these bikes and it didn’t turn out so well. Both bikes had a lot of snipped wires and some creative wiring. Neither had working electronics when connected to a battery. They were covered in lots of rust, didn’t have keys, were missing a couple parts,and had frozen everything – except the motors. The motors were rock solid, looked to be in good condition and kicked over with great compression.

I’m not much of a chopper guy, but I’ve always wanted to hardtail an XS650 and build a bar hopper. Something like this:

yamaha xs650 chopper
yamaha xs650 chopper

These Yamahas seemed like just the ticket, so I picked them up. There is a lot of debate over the best years of the XS650’s. By all accounts the electronic ignitions introduced in 1980 (correct me if I’m wrong on the year) are more care free than the point based ignitions of previous years, but there is something in the mechanics of a points ignition that has always interested me. I like to tinker, and points definitely allow for that.

The later model Yamaha XS650’s however had a different frame which was a little more ‘robust’ with many heavy gussets that weren’t present in previous years. This makes for a little more work to get the stripped down chopper look (if that’s what your going for).

Yamaha XS650 Hardtail Bobber
Yamaha XS650 Hardtail Bobber

All in all I was extremely excited to finally have a couple xs650 twins in the garage and had all sorts of sketches of what I envisioned. Unfortunately those plans got curbed a little earlier than I expected and I moved on to my off-road bike projects instead. An XS650 chopper is still in my future though. As well as an XS400 SOHC cafe bike similar to the one I had before.

1977 Yamaha XS400

ef

By ef

Hey, I'm Evan and this is one of my motorcycle sites. You can find more about me on my homepage, or visit me on Google Plus: +Evan Fell

20 comments

  1. i’am killing myself trying to find motor mount rubbers for my 1981 yamaha xs650 bobber . i have it mounted in a harley rigid frame and it’s mounted with no rubber and the vibration is killer ,any help would be great

    [Reply]

  2. Hi Joseph,

    So you took one of the most shaky motors in modern motorcycle history, put it into a rigid frame, and now you’re complaining about vibrations?! Haha! I feel your pain.

    Rubber mounts are indeed a bit tricky to come by. I assume you’ve placed calls to Mike’s XS and 650 Central yes?

    You can dampen the shakes by rubber mounting your foot-pegs and filling your handlebars with bird-shot or sand. That will help your limbs, but your *ss will still be numb unless you are running a solo spring seat.

    If you want to get the motor rubber mounted (obviously the best solution) why not do it yourself? You don’t need anything special to make a few rubber blocks with a hole drilled through them. You can use a standard soft rubber that is found on most import bikes for a variety of uses, or you can use a firm Delrin rubber that will shake a bit more, but will last a long long time without replacement or wear.

    My personal thoughts on choppers: The dirtier, noisier, shakier, the better. Choppers aren’t comfort cruisers, they’re just the opposite – the most uncomfortable and impractical bikes on the road. Learn to deal! 🙂

    Good luck Joe, let me know what you end up doing.

    Thanks,
    -Evan

    [Reply]

  3. Buell had the same problem with Harley motors when they put the paint shaker in their hot frame. They came up with a great motor mount for it that you have to (not) feel to believe. Check them out as a solution to you problem.

    [Reply]

  4. hey evan,
    i have a xs 650 for sale on craigslist in the baltimore, md website. The bike is about a 6 or 7 on a scale to 10. I am trying to get rid of it cause i have know use for it. I like what you did to yours and i was wondering if you might be interested in mine. Check it out and let me know if you are email me @ jrmyoakes@yahoo.com thanks Jeremy

    [Reply]

  5. Hi Jeremy,

    First off, there are several on there right now – how am I to know which is yours? And all 3 are overpriced in my opinion – so I’m probably not interested :)! Good luck with the sale, those are great bikes.

    -Evan

    [Reply]

  6. I have a Yamaha 1982 xs 650 I picked it up for 500 bucks. It runs but needs a new battery and both carbs need to be replaced or rebuilt. What is the best way of restoring this bike?

    [Reply]

  7. I’m just starting on my Choppper/Bobber project being built from a really clean 1981 XS Heritage,I hate to alter a stock bike but I also have to have a Hardtail,remember STRAIGHT PIPES SAVE LIVES,and if they don’t lock their doors at the stop light you haven’t built it radical enuff.

    [Reply]

  8. Hi Evan, Kirk Conway fron Kansas,
    one of the sweetest Yamahas to come out of the factory was of course the XS 650,
    reliablity, good design, tough, and comfortable,
    Ill Take the Candy Green 1970 model,
    classic look’s,
    fond memories of them in my old neighborhood,
    total parts availability,
    you just cant beat this bike!!!!!!

    [Reply]

  9. @Adam – Restore it very carefully with lots of love! If you have any specific questions I will be more than happy to help you out. You can ask them over in my forums: forum.evanfell.com

    @Mark – While I can appreciate your desire for a hard tail, I respectfully disagree with your ‘loud pipes save lives’ slogan. In my opinion, attentive riders save lives. Loud pipes more often than not reinforce a negative stereotype of motorcycles as irreverent and careless individuals. Loud pipes do more to harm the image of the sport than most any other factor – in my opinion of course :). Ride on!

    @Kirk – I completely agree. The XS650 is a fantastic machine all around. One of the best Japanese motorcycles ever built. Mike over at MikesXS has done a tremendous job keeping their legend alive.

    [Reply]

  10. Great to see you share my passion for all great old bikes but the XS650 is my heaven on earth [most of the time!],
    Have two registered @ this time, ’81 SH ‘Tourer’ & ’74/’75 ‘Adventure’
    I’ll see if I can post some photos up for you
    Cheers
    Baza

    [Reply]

  11. I have a pretty rare, I think 1981 XS650 Heritage with bad paint from leaving outside. At 59 and having a bad back, I am interested in selling it.

    Last year I shipped out a 1972 in near show room condition to a guy in New Zealand of all places who finished to better than showroom if thats possible.

    Maybe someone here can help me figure the pricing or a better method than eBay???

    Bill
    865 228 5158 cell/text

    [Reply]

  12. Hello,My winning number is 201x4F000A20xx. It ooks like my number will be current in may. I opted for the adjustment of status because I have been living here in the US for the past 6 years. I sent packages and pay dv fee(375) to the Missouri office and got the receipt. The last correspondnce that I received fromm KCC indicated that because I opted for AOS USCIS will be handling my case.My question is the following: If my number becomes current can I go ahead and send in the I-485? Or am I supposed to receive a certain document from Uscis before I can do it?Thank you!

    [Reply]

  13. en ce qui concerne Rita, il ne faudrait pas exagéré quant à son talent (de chanteuse)… la comparaison avec Piaf ou Billie Holiday est parfaitement scandaleuse… une gueularde et provoc, un point c’est tout… désolé ma C(l)opine… hihihi… on est loin de Frank qui nous manque…

    [Reply]

  14. nota de rodapé: os comentadores a que me referia eram os primeiros 5.Não os restantes, claro!!! se ha coisa que este blog tem de alto gabarito, são os seus leitores.B Cool: pois era, tens razão o documentario seguia o Obama na altura em que ainda concorria contra a Hillary, não estava decidido se ele seria o candidato (das anteriores eleiçoes). Mas foi muito giro observar o sistema.

    [Reply]

  15. I just want to mention I am just new to blogging and really savored your web blog. Probably I’m want to bookmark your blog post . You absolutely have terrific well written articles. Bless you for sharing your web site.

    [Reply]

  16. Ok that's just weird.Chief Wansum Tail is sad. The Beetlejuice dress itself is really cute, but not as Beetlejuice. Gah.Can I just take a sec to bitch about the large number of "sexy plus-size costumes" that are basically just bigger versions of the midriff-baring "sexy costumes"?? Hi, I am plus-sized but that does not mean by measurements are just bigger than a skinny person, my proportions are completely different!

    [Reply]

Leave a Reply to Blue

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *