1982 XS650 Heritage Special - worth?

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tom_o

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I'm Tom, I'm 16, and I'm going to look at a 1982 Yamaha XS650 Heritage special tomorrow, was wondering what a rough value of a bike for that year. I already own a 06 Kawasaki ZX6R, but before I bought that I looked at some of the XS650s, and loved the bobber style, and I finally found one on craigslist for what I thought was a decent price.

It's a 1982 Yamaha XS650 Heritage special, with 12,500 miles on it. I talked to the guy today, he says it runs good, had the carbs rebuilt and no problems with it. He's asking $1500, but its been on craigslist for a while so I can probably talk him down a bit.

It looks good in the pictures for a 30 year old bike, a little dirty, but I'm sure it can all be cleaned off.

http://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/mcy/3330272182.html
 
Last edited:
Welcome aboard!
Looks like it was owned by a mature rider due to the accessories....wonder if he's the original owner. I would be checking the charging system on this one and hearing it run. If the headlight brightens when the bike is revved and there are no strange engine noises or smoke, I'd say 1500 is the top price. Some of us would be doing compression tests for that asking price.


Prices have been a bit weird lately.....eBay has a 'buy it now' for just under 7 hundred and it seems that craigslist bikes are all 15 hundred and up.
 
I'm going to have him start it up and run it a bit, I'm going to try and take it for a test ride if I can. I'm not real familiar with older bikes (my bike is only 6 years old), anything specific I should look for?

I'm definitely going to try to talk him down a bit, if everything checks out on it.
 
Nice looking 82. On the right side. Mileage isn't high or low. But around 15K you will be looking at a front cam chain guide and chain, gasket, etc. You might ask about bits of black plastic in/on the sump filter.
1500 would be the high mark for me. I'd rather find it for 1K. Unless I didn't have one and then I'd be sleeping on his driveway for first dibs.
 
weekendrider said:
Nice looking 82. On the right side. Mileage isn't high or low. But around 15K you will be looking at a front cam chain guide and chain, gasket, etc. You might ask about bits of black plastic in/on the sump filter.
1500 would be the high mark for me. I'd rather find it for 1K. Unless I didn't have one and then I'd be sleeping on his driveway for first dibs.
Click to expand...


I plan on tearing the bike apart over the winter, so that isn't a big problem.
This is a project bike for me, no real time line as I have another bike, I'm going to take my time and build it how I want it. I'd like to get it for around $1000 too, have to see how much the guy moves.
 
Why don't you try riding the bike? You may not like it enough to invest all that time and money.
For 1500 I'm riding till it's broke before I fix it.
 
weekendrider said:
Why don't you try riding the bike? You may not like it enough to invest all that time and money.
For 1500 I'm riding till it's broke before I fix it.
Click to expand...

I'm going to try and test ride it, if I don't like it I'll thank the guy for his time and go home, if I like it, I'd like to know what common problems I should look for on these bikes.
 
tom_o said:
What should I be looking for?
Click to expand...

Just being anal here....the airbox/side cover that says 'Heritage Special' has a lower cover just below it. It's specific to the '82 and '83 HS models only. Look closely at the pic and you may discern it...it's merely aesthetic in nature- no function save to cover a space...come to think of it, there is a small plastic box behind the lower right cover that could hold some things- but, there should be one on the left side too and trying to find replacements can be challenging.
 
The lower right box should have a chain with a combination lock to lock up the bike.
iirc the combination is the key number.
 
If it runs and charges good, isn;t damaged or missing parts on the left, it's titled and registered, 1000-1200 would be pretty fair I would think. You're in New York, so the season is pretty much done, might be good leverage for ya. In the tech section is a "buyer's guide" for these bikes. Read it over before you go look. If you are wondering what something looks like, search the site. Good luck.

http://www.xs650.com/forum/showthread.php?t=367
 
I'd say if it runs good 1000 is close. but it's late in the year, buyer's market. In sillyfornia it might bring 2K+ long ride to get it there this time of year.
 
I would say 1500 if it has a title, starts on first kick, compression is good to go etc..and provided that other side isn't trashed. I've seen some similar condition bikes listed for a lot more but like Gary says, a grand maybe even 1200 if it's as clean as it looks in person.
 
tom o welcome to the board.
Where in NY are you?
The stock lock that goes in that box is no a combination lock it uses the same key as the rest of the locks.
I know of an 81 that's availible as well as a 79 that maybe.
Leo
 
I'm in Newburgh, and the bike was forsale in Newburgh aswell.

Went to look at the bike this morning, and now it's sitting in my garage. The bike started up good, everything looked good and took it for a ride, it felt good. It needs a little work, but no big deal to me. I ended up paying $1150 for it, fair for both of us.

Will upload pictures soon.
 
IMG_0989.jpg


IMG_0990.jpg


IMG_0993.jpg
 

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