New and Old XS owner

[VanDutch]

Looks like we have similar backgrounds. Crewed a UH-1N for a few yrs.... F-4C's, D's, E's and Recce's... and F-15's from prototypes up through Block42. Though most of my time was on F-111's.
Spent 2 months at the NCO Academy down your way in Bergstrom before they closed it... loved the place.


I feel ya...

Wow no shit!! So we speak many languages and maybe ran into each other Luke F15 - Clark F4 - U-tapao - Hueys
BUT this means we are some really ol farts..

 

[Mikey]

you can even bookmark things you see come up and save them for later rather than do what I used to do save every item to my favorites folder

 

[Jim]

Wow no shit!! So we speak many languages and maybe ran into each other Luke F15 - Clark F4 - U-tapao - Hueys
BUT this means we are some really ol farts..

Cannon, Mt. Home, Eglin, Upper Heyford... TDY's all over... Luke back in the 70's.... and yeah... really old farts.

 

[650Skull]

I’m glad my buddy referred me to this site as I finally just purchased a Special 2 which is very close to my Special I bought new in 79 in the same Burgundy color. Back then I paid $2000 OTD now I paid 3200 for a old 81’ inflation

I’m going to keep this stock other then maybe rear sprocket tooth and performance exhaust slip on?

I wanted to get advice on best sprocket for just easy putting and if I could make it a little louder for safety. Any suggestions would be appreciated,

Bike will arrive in 3 weeks as it’s being shipped and anxious to get to ride it. Being an old nam era vet I needed a bike that fits. I sold my Pan head, heritage and Valkyrie as they were getting too much for me to ride safely.

View attachment 208442

Welcome,

That's a real nice bike. Gauges show the bike has been looked after as does the over all condition and as for the price i think it reflects the overall condition, and if the internals are as good as the rest of the bike then you got a steal compared to the prices bikes seem to get on BAT.

If you do decide to change the mufflers i suggest changing the whole system. The muffles and headers are a one piece set, (as mentioned), the headers are double walled with the inner wall quite small. After market headers are larger and the right muffler will make the engine breath better but that does require jetting changes.

The reson for the full exhaust change. Just changing the mufflers will still leave the small bore header pipe, and the other reason is, if they were sold then they could fetch a premium price. very hard to find a full set of Special exhausts these days in any condition at all, and I'd bet those are in VG or better condition.

I think you will love this bike.

 

[650Skull]

Me again. There was a mention about gauge lights blowing with regular regularity.

I have an 83 and in the 15,000klms i didn't blow one gauge light. So maybe i was just lucky. Good Dampers on the gauges make a difference

The gauges have a lot of Rubber dampers on them. The bracket that bolts to the Crown, (dampened), and where the gauge cup attaches to the gauge, (dampened) and around the Bezel where the gauge attaches to the cup again, (dampened). The damper around the bezel will loose its dampening qualities making the gauge vibrate in the cup. This also destroys the bottom dampers where the gauge attaches to the cup...........These dampers can be bought, there are a couple of suppliers that are linked in the link i posted below

In the 4th pic, (BAT), i can see the Rev counter gauge damper is thin and protruding, (bulges), out from the cup and gauge. This looks like it is damaged. Compared it to the Speedo damper and you will see what i am talking about.

A link to gauges and some Shade tree repairs and links to rubber suppliers for new dampers

https://www.xs650.com/threads/70-83...damper-replacement-replace-face-decals.52013/

 

[VanDutch]

Me again. There was a mention about gauge lights blowing with regular regularity.

I have an 83 and in the 15,000klms i didn't blow one gauge light. So maybe i was just lucky. Good Dampers on the gauges make a difference

The gauges have a lot of Rubber dampers on them. The bracket that bolts to the Crown, (dampened), and where the gauge cup attaches to the gauge, (dampened) and around the Bezel where the gauge attaches to the cup again, (dampened). The damper around the bezel will loose its dampening qualities making the gauge vibrate in the cup. This also destroys the bottom dampers where the gauge attaches to the cup...........These dampers can be bought, there are a couple of suppliers that are linked in the link i posted below

In the 4th pic, (BAT), i can see the Rev counter gauge damper is thin and protruding, (bulges), out from the cup and gauge. This looks like it is damaged. Compared it to the Speedo damper and you will see what i am talking about.

A link to gauges and some Shade tree repairs and links to rubber suppliers for new dampers

https://www.xs650.com/threads/70-83...damper-replacement-replace-face-decals.52013/

good eyes and on point. You always see something later so i’m sure i’ll fox or replace items like you see. Thanks and did check your helpful link!

 

[VanDutch]

Welcome,

That's a real nice bike. Gauges show the bike has been looked after as does the over all condition and as for the price i think it reflects the overall condition, and if the internals are as good as the rest of the bike then you got a steal compared to the prices bikes seem to get on BAT.

If you do decide to change the mufflers i suggest changing the whole system. The muffles and headers are a one piece set, (as mentioned), the headers are double walled with the inner wall quite small. After market headers are larger and the right muffler will make the engine breath better but that does require jetting changes.

The reson for the full exhaust change. Just changing the mufflers will still leave the small bore header pipe, and the other reason is, if they were sold then they could fetch a premium price. very hard to find a full set of Special exhausts these days in any condition at all, and I'd bet those are in VG or better condition.

I think you will love this bike.

Appreciate your input and complete exhaust makes sense plus could easily change back if desired. Either way sounds like I will probably need to rejet it a bit richer even with stock. Wonder if the header although larger dia. would it create more heat? I cant remember if undisesirable heat comes off the stock pipes. I always had that issues with my harley’s even though they had heat shields. I get the mention of better flow so i’ll look into it. I’m a little confused whom makes the best overall performance and looks for aftermarket pipes as so many comments have different opinions which all certainly have their own experience. But again thanks for your comments, it’s nice to feel I belong to a cool group of guys that love their XS

 

[650Skull]

Appreciate your input and complete exhaust makes sense plus could easily change back if desired. Either way sounds like I will probably need to rejet it a bit richer even with stock. Wonder if the header although larger dia. would it create more heat? I cant remember if undisesirable heat comes off the stock pipes. I always had that issues with my harley’s even though they had heat shields. I get the mention of better flow so i’ll look into it. I’m a little confused whom makes the best overall performance and looks for aftermarket pipes as so many comments have different opinions which all certainly have their own experience. But again thanks for your comments, it’s nice to feel I belong to a cool group of guys that love their XS

Factory Headers being double walled don't colour. Aftermarket single walled headers will, (they will colour).

Aftermarket headers are usually slightly to large for the XS650 motor/head, That is ok, because reducers are added to the exhaust outlet on the head or else it will lose power. This is the norm the get the best performance form the motor especially of the motor and head has had some work done to it. Plenty of time to get into that.

Do some searches and play around with the search wording, will bring up more/less threads on a search. Tech menu has a lot of info.

 

[46th Georgia]

I

That's why you'll want to keep a log on the bike. Write it all down - oil changes, carb jetting changes, everything. My memory isn't terrible but even so, I could never remember all that stuff, especially with 3 or 4 bikes, lol.

View attachment 208456

I always keep a "Tune" log on anything I modify. Last time was on a 302 Ford with a 600 Holley. Every change, and there were a ton, was noted with remarks. I got the air fuel ratio (with a meter) so close, you could feel the weather change. All in all, it feels good when you figure it out.

 

[Kevin Werner]

Welcome to the madness. On bike price. A The less you pay the more it's gonna cost. B That $ seems pretty fair. C You have selected a fine Marque for your intended purpose. Ride it once, change the oil and then enjoy.

 

[jetmechmarty]

Big pipe solution…

 

[5twins]

You can get the whole system, headpipes and mufflers, from that YamahaXS650.com site. Here's a link to the headpipes .....

https://yamahaxs650.com/product/xs-performance-chrome-1-5-od-headpipes/

..... and the mufflers I mentioned with the 1.5" inlets. They'll fit the headpipes perfectly without the need for reducers .....

https://yamahaxs650.com/product/commando-style-megaphone-muffler/

This Commando muffler is, in my opinion, one of the best mufflers available for the 650. They look great, perform good, and sound wonderful. They're slightly louder than stock, but not too loud, and have a great, throaty sound .....