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StanleyAtwood

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Greetings, humans. ✌ I have been tagging along on some of your discussions for the last couple days, and finally decided to create an account and hopefully immerse myself in the community. I recently completed an MSF course and am now prepping to snag my first ride! I came across a 1977 Yamaha XS650 online and fell in love with the aesthetic. Unfortunately, the motorcycle guide book I am reading specifically warns against purchasing late-70s/early-80s Yamaha models because of their bad electrical habits (overcharging, "cooking batteries and voltage regulators"). I know that I can't rely on a single book as my sole source of information, so I thought I would ask you guys if you've ever experienced consistent or substantial issues with these electrical systems. I am brand new to riding, unfamiliar with motorcycle maintenance and repair, and hesitant to purchase such an old bike in case it isn't right for me. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!
 
Hello!
I'm new to the XS650 world, but one of the best upgrades I've read you can do to your bike regarding electrical is the PMA upgrade by HHB. And the PAMCO ignition swap. Supposed to make you bike pretty reliable. I haven't done it myself but have my eye on it when i have the dough.
Other than that, this bike is supposed to be built like a champ and easy to work with.
 
StanleyAtwood said:
Greetings, humans. ✌
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Welcome to the forum, StanleyAtwood.
And welcome to motorcycling.

StanleyAtwood said:
The motorcycle guide book I am reading specifically warns against purchasing late-70s/early-80s Yamaha models because of their bad electrical habits (overcharging, "cooking batteries and voltage regulators").
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That's probably a fair assessment, given the number of threads in here covering that subject. The senior members here have written much on troubleshooting and repair, so it's a quite manageable issue.

But, the question comes down to you versus antique bike ownership.

The pragmatic approach would be to get a problem-free late model, so you can concentrate on and learn motorcycling, and the riding skills to survive urban combat.

Then later, once you've got your feet fully wet, you may consider ownership of a vintage bike, with its maintenance demands. A twiddly gearhead's heaven.

On the other hand, if you have competent mechanical skills, patience, self confidence, and prefer the deep end of the pool, you'll find plenty of help in here...
 
Welcome to the site. These do require a large dose of personal attention. The stock components, while subject to failure, have never left me on the side of the road.
My commute is 65 miles round trip and have done a dozen or so 700 + mile trips on 5 different XS's. From the early points ignitions to the later electronic ignitions if you take the time to perform maintenance and repairs these are fun bikes.
I don't own a PMA, but have done a couple rec/eg upgrades and make only drop in or bolt on mods. Never had a new paint job and don't care if they get a little dirty. All in all the last 12 yrs with the 650's have been one big grin. But being a new rider it may not be the bike for you.
 
Welcome i myself purchased a 79 650 18 months ago that had seen electrical problems which in turn had been compounded by atrocious work by previous owners, so i decided to tear down the bike and start again, new harness's, new PMA and new boyer ignition system, and voila good charging and electrical system, a couple of tweeks to the lighting relays means you don't have to cut into the main harness, the electrical work can all be done in a day, but it all boils down to how far you would like to go and time and money.
Good luck with it.
 
I think the pma is also total over hype. Both xs650 I have owned as good working order riders have had stock rotor and stator. I did upgrade the regulators to solid state. But other than that nary a problem.
 
CDNTX650 said:
I think the pma is also total over hype. Both xs650 I have owned as good working order riders have had stock rotor and stator. I did upgrade the regulators to solid state. But other than that nary a problem.
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For me it wasn't about hype it was about a reliable system at an reasonable cost and low maintenance, in the UK get oem parts for the charging system made it more economically viable with no maintenance requirements.
 
In general if you take your time and use consistent confirmed troubleshooting techniques the stock system is easy to maintain and works well. I have sent at least 15 XS650's from my garage with stock electrics charging properly, as well as putting on thousands of trouble free miles on my own bikes. I have (I think) 3 PMA type charging systems on the shelf, ready to install if needed, but have never felt the urge. The point is the stock system often just needs an inexpensive component or repair. If you dive into installing a PMA, troubleshooting the stock system FIRST so you get familiar with circuit design and testing and wiring diagrams, will improve your odds of a working charging system of any type. All things electric are strict masters about, knowledge, accuracy and attention to details.
 
Stanley,
Welcome to motorcycling! It has given me 45 years of sweet enjoyment, and I hope 20 more.

I tend to agree with TwoMany; starting with a reliable late model Yamaha, like a 650 Star from the early 2000's (there are loads of them around, for cheap) would get your pavement joy going real well for your first year or three, then you could get an XS650 to work on alongside.

I agree with all the above commentary, and will just add that you have a very supportive community here at this forum that will help get you through any snags you encounter.
 
StanleyAtwood said:
Greetings, humans. ✌ I have been tagging along on some of your discussions for the last couple days, and finally decided to create an account and hopefully immerse myself in the community. I recently completed an MSF course and am now prepping to snag my first ride! I came across a 1977 Yamaha XS650 online and fell in love with the aesthetic. Unfortunately, the motorcycle guide book I am reading specifically warns against purchasing late-70s/early-80s Yamaha models because of their bad electrical habits (overcharging, "cooking batteries and voltage regulators"). I know that I can't rely on a single book as my sole source of information, so I thought I would ask you guys if you've ever experienced consistent or substantial issues with these electrical systems. I am brand new to riding, unfamiliar with motorcycle maintenance and repair, and hesitant to purchase such an old bike in case it isn't right for me. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

Whoever wrote that motorcycle guide book, really has poor knowledge of these bikes. Any vehicle, car, truck or bike will have electrical problems when they are 35+ years old. Actually the XS650 electrical system was manufactured with high quality Japanese components, that have lasted very well. I did replace the rectifier and regulator with more modern components, but the stock components were still working when removed, just not working well. I continue to use the stock alternator,and stock starter motor on my 1978 model. I bet you can't say that about Chevrolet,Ford,Dodge or Harly-Davidson vehicles from the 1970's.

Vehicles from that time used mechanical voltage regulators, which worked quite well for the first 10 or 15 years. Because they had springs and contacts etc., as they aged, they could go out of calibration, and the voltage would no longer be regulated properly.
The regulators could be adjusted, but most lads did not know how to do it, and did not take them to dealers.

Many of these bikes received almost no electrical maintenance, infrequent oil/filter changes, and yet they survived until the alternator brushes were too short, regulator voltage out of calibration, and the battery was dead.

This site has a number of lads that bought these bikes new,and still own then today.
They have done the proper amount of maintenance, and they have found these bikes to be very reliable.

If you don't enjoy reading a repair manual and doing some mechanical and electrical maintenance, then don't buy motorcycles that are more than 15 year old. If you just want to ride, buy a newer bike.
 
Welcome to the site. Since you asked, I am in the "get a reliable modern used bike" camp. You may find that you prefer riding to wrenching. Also guaranteed your first bike will suffer drops and falls and its better to do that with a disposable bike than with a classic.
I would be suggesting a small cc item, a Honda 125 or 250, or a similar sized enduro type bike to get your feet wet, as it were. Maybe even a KLR.
 
Hi Stan and welcome,
most folks reckon that the 1977 XS650 is the best looking model of all of them.
I hope your guide book has soft enough pages for it's bathroom use because it's full of lies.
The XS650 electrics were the best available back then although the potential for the bike having had 39 years of poor maintenance since it left the factory has to be taken into consideration.
If it were mine and had electrical problems I'd swap the stock alternator/points system for a 1980 or newer stock no points system (it bolts right on, most XS650 parts swap between years and models like LEGO) before I'd go the PMA/Pamco route.
But that bike is most likely older than you are and will need a fair amount of TLC to be reliable.
As others have posted, a beginning rider should start with a small capacity bike until he's confident about his riding skills.
I's say get a small capacity dual purpose bike to learn on riding back roads and trails AS WELL AS the XS650.
 
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