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Found what looks like a mostly original bike for sale locally, the price seems reasonable. Currently riding a 1979 SR500, Sold my other bike 1990 Hawk nt650gt this spring, great bike just too modern for me. The xs650 was the current owners Dad's bike, he has had it 15 years since his Dad...

Hello, I just picked up an 81 650 special last night, and I love it already, plan to go through the basics and ride it this summer, maybe some minor cafe mods, and on to a more serious cafe style build this winter. The po installed the current seat setup and looks like he cleaned the bike up...

Hi... new to the forum and getting ready to start a new project with my 5-year old son (a bucket list item for me). Planning to pick up the bike this morning... anxious to start diving into it and documenting the process. Will post pics shortly. The bike is a 1974 650 that's been in storage...

Came over from xs400 forum same handle here that i use there. so hi guys. i have surfed this forum a lot and also chopcult. i have ridden on and of for years but never did a ground up build like im doing now. at the xs400 its under barnbuild thread those guys are cool like i know you guys are. i...

I have to confess that I have used the knowledge from this site since summer of 2013 after purchasing my bike. Added Pamco electronic ignition and advance, repainted the scratched up and rusting tank and sidecovers, added new exhaust and mufflers. Had one just like it when my first son was...

Hi all - I'm going to be posting quite frequently I'm sure over the next few months (years?) to help troubleshoot and get advice on a bike I'm hoping to pick up this weekend. Assuming everything goes as planned I'll have a '78 650 standard in my driveway by tomorrow afternoon (and worst case...

Hello all, I'm new to the site, just bought my first SX650, so will probably be asking a lot of, shall we say, "newbie" questions. The bike is a 79 special, the po said is was running albeit not well in the fall but now won't start. I'm wondering if anyone here knows of a good shop for our...

Hello everyone, My name is Pat and this is my first post. I just purchased a 1983 XS650 and plan on building a stretched and dropped bobber with maybe a board track vibe to it. I'm probably in a little over my head with this project so I searched around and found this site hoping to get some...

Hey guys i just bought my first Yamaha xs 650. Im about as new to motorcycles as they can get. ive only ever owned one other which was a 67 honda cb350. If there is someone near windber pa and could stop over and maybe tell me more about this bike id appreciate it or i can take some pics and...

Hey guys, just wanted to introduce myself. I recently came into possesion of not one, not two, but three 650's, one that's pretty much still together, and the other two are in pieces. I've been told they're circa 1984. Basically it's now my job to piece together one bike out of these three...

Hey guys. My name is Rob from CT and I just got my first XS650 special 1981. I am the second owner and as of right now it has 7,100 miles. It has been sitting for 9 years and I just brought it back to life last week.This is my first build and currently transitioning it into a cafe racer. I have...

Hey, My name is Shawn and I have recently aquired a pile of parts believed to be an '80 XS650. It was started as a cafe' project, but suffered the fate of the owner loosing interest. The mill had 29k kms but has a fresh top end and honed bores, lots of fresh, OEM parts as the previous owner was...

HELLOOOOOOOO I recently received a 1981 xs650 from my nephew. He bought it off e bay:doh:. It is a mess so the kid gave it to me to work on.I am a newbie to the Yamaha. The engine is missing all ignition stuff, carburetors, starter,which I am wondering if I can block and go kick only? will...

So picked up a 83 heritage special a couple of weeks ago, going for a cafe style build. Bike hadn't run in a while guy I bought it from had no idea, so I ran through all the baby steps (this site and everyone is awesome and a ton of help). So after I got all of that done and replaced all the...

Got my XS in the 70's when stationed at Fort Campbell. First bike my children rode on the back of before they were 3 years old. I went overseas and left it with my dad in AZ. He passed and it ended up with my Uncle in Las Cruces. He said come and get it and I am. I'm thinking sidecar for the...

Hey everyone, I've got a 1975 XS650. I've had it for over 6 months and finally decided to get on the forum. This is my daily driver, but we also got a couple 2 strokes, a couple dirt bikes, and an xs400 (all are 1981 and back). I think the PO was trying to go for a mix between a cafe and...

Hi Everyone, I've been lurking for a while as I was considering buying an XS650 for a cafe project. Seems like a great community of people here so far...lots of helpful people/info. I just picked up a 1979 XS650 last week in great condition - full motor rebuild & new tires 500 miles ago...

I bought a NOS 1984 XS650 Heritage Special in 1986 and I still have it. Here's my 1989 wedding photo Since then I have done the usual mods of installing tapered roller headraces and bronze swingarm bushings. Also, replaced the rototiller bars, some few tries at that, too low, too high...

Hey everyone FNG here from north central WV!! I've messed with a little of everything up to now and currently own an 82 fxr HD, 95 1200 sporty, and a scary little rigid cb750 drag/widowmaker project. But am far from a professional I screw up a bunch!! The guys from the 33 sent me here to...

Hi guys, new to the forum and new to motorcycles in general. I found an '83 heritage special in my area: http://www.kijiji.ca/v-street-cruisers-choppers/city-of-halifax/1983-yamaha-xs-650-original-condition/569423489?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true Owner is asking $2700. 35k miles, original...