Post the most RECENT pic of you on your BIKE

Guess recent isn't REALLY a requirement. just some photo rifs mostly with XS's in the pics.
 

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Great hair on that one - although it would generate a pretty high coefficient of drag...
 
Not me, a life long friend, a few here have met John. Pic from 1975, I rode that bike to Florida for spring break.
this one was shot this summer. LOL
 

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View attachment 92889

Well, to ensure that I stay on-topic, here is a photo of my bike. It was shot just the other day (note the snow) - not that it matters when it was taken.

However, despite the fact that, young and impressionable people might be reading this, it is not a thread on motorcycle safety, and so I won't mention that in my entire 41 years of riding, I never have, and never would ride unless I am ATGATT. Call it a personal choice, call it cowardice, call it a lack of a love of freedom, call it a sense of "I don't give a damn about style", or call it a deep and professional understanding of physics and how impact mechanics works on the human body - I really don't much care.

In that same spirit of staying on-track, I will refrain from noting that to ride without proper gear would be a personal choice - a profoundly unwise one, but a personal choice, nonetheless. On the other hand, I guess it is one way of enhancing the gene pool - so maybe it's not so bad afterall.

Have a nice evening everyone.

Pete

Hi Pete.

Great looking bike indeed. Have you had any issues with it? I recall a lot of ppl said the bikes were problematic up until 77.

In re the gear, I suppose you all are right, I just prefer to ride how I ride.
 
Cool - is that the same bike?
Nah, I sold that bike right after the pic and didn't get another XS650 for 30 years, now the shed is thick with them. I just threw parts on a 71 barn find to stage that "40 years on" shot.
 
77: my '76-C was totally dead when I got it. The fuel system was a rusted mess and the electrical system had been butchered with solid copper house wire and Marr "marrette" twist-on connectors, plus two el-cheapo Radio Schmuck toggle switches on the headlight bucket (I never did figure out what those were for). Both handlebar switches were gummed up and most of the bullet connectors were corroded, or loose, or both.

Sooo...after much troubleshooting, I splurged on a new wiring harness, new handlebar switches, new rear turn signal stalks (all from MikesXS/XSDirect) and then did a lot more fiddling because the LH switch is actually for a '77 and later bike - but eventually, wah-la - all of the electrical stuff now works like a charm. I cleaned out and repealed the fuel tank with POR-15, rebuilt the carbs (including removing some cottage cheese-like stuff in the float bowls), and put on all-new fuel lines and petcocks. About 25 good hard prods on the kicker and away she went. Now it starts either on the first or second kick or within 2 seconds or less on the button. It doesn't smoke, leak or clatter and it sounds purrrfecto. The only tuning I have done is a static timing adjustment - haven't even synced the carbs yet.

As for the early bike-later bike thing - others will know a lot more than I, but as I see it there were about 5 distinct "generations" of XS650s:
1) the earliest drum front brake bikes (I think the years were '70-72 - but might have the wrong);
2) '73-75 with the stiffer frame, internal engine changes and front hydraulic disc with the caliper mounted on the front of the fork;
3) '76 with the caliper moved to the backside of the fork;
4) '77-'79 with larger 35mm fork tubes, self-cancelling signals (and is this when they switched to 34 mm carbs??);
I think that the '79 was offered as either a Standard or a Special model - but again, I might be incorrect on that;
5) the '80-'84 bikes which were all Specials and had TCI ignition systems, optional cast wheels, rear drum or disk option and a lift-off versus a hinged seat. Oh yeah, and plastic side covers.

I don't think that any generation was markedly more or less trouble than any other. The more complex electrical systems on the later bikes are potential hassles I suppose, but this was balanced by the elimination of the Kettering breaker points in favour of the TCI ignition system from '80-on, which didn't require any maintenance; the drum brakes on the first few years were not as powerful as the disc units, and the later bikes were emission controlled which meant that they were tuned very lean which could make them run hotter and possibly be a bit harder to start on certain circumstances.

A key point is that, except for some internal details related to the timing drive on the first generation bikes (up to '72, I think), and the 38 to 34 mm carb changes, the engines were largely unchanged for 14 years. NOTE: those timing chain details absolutely prevent swapping early and late model camshaft and cranks. Yamaha changed the number of teeth on the crank and camshaft sprockets - but the ratio obviously remained at 1:2 between them. For that reason, swapping only one of:
- an early crank or a later one;
...OR...
- an early cam for a later one;
...would mess up that 1:2 ratio and the engine absolutely would not run, plus a piston-valve collision would occur.

Anyhow, I'd appreciate corrections from more knowledgable gurus, but that's the extent of my knowledge and experience.

Pete
 
We are still sticking to bikes here, member? Lol
Hi angus,
not that Yamaha77 is a girl but the rule is:- if the topless lady is behind the bike, it's a bike photo, if she's in front, it's softcore.
And here's my latest bike photo:-

2007 Geezers on Wheezers tour when I was only 69. Northern USA. 105ºF.
XS11 & Sidecar. Me and my wife. Note to the safety bleaters:- posed shot.
 
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Here is a RECENT Wisconsin fashion shot. That's about as far out of the shed as the bike is going today.

It's full on walk like a duck season here, ice everywhere.
 

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Hi angus,
not that Yamaha77 is a girl but the rule is:- if the topless lady is behind the bike, it's a bike photo, if she's in front, it's softcore.
And here's my latest bike photo:-

2007 Geezers on Wheezers tour when I was only 69. Northern USA. 105ºF.
XS11 & Sidecar. Me and my wife. Note to the safety bleaters:- posed shot.

What a nice picture! You two make a really charming couple! and the bike color is awesome!!!
 
STUD!
The snow sent shivers down my spine. We havent had any real accumulation here, and thats about the only thing that would stop me from riding, so im not looking forward to getting any.

Hi Yamaha77,
I take my sidecar rig for a ritual ride around the block the first snowfall each year.
The chair keeps the bike upright but bike tires on snow ain't got no traction at all.
So yeah, STUDs is what you need for winter riding. About 100 of 'em in each tire.
M'buddy Travis studded up two new knobby tires for his Honda dual-purpose beater bike.
Sez the studs let him pull wheelies on sheet ice and claims he'll ride it around Saskatoon all winter.
I reckon he'll be OK down to minus 20ºC but will chicken out if it gets colder.
 
Hi angus,
not that Yamaha77 is a girl but the rule is:- if the topless lady is behind the bike, it's a bike photo, if she's in front, it's softcore.
And here's my latest bike photo:-

2007 Geezers on Wheezers tour when I was only 69. Northern USA. 105ºF.
XS11 & Sidecar. Me and my wife. Note to the safety bleaters:- posed shot.

Nice piccy Fred and a very cute chick on the pillion (does the wife know about her?). Ahhh, you did mention that the lady IS Mrs. Fred.

I also noted that you found "the hill" in Saskatchewan - very nice!

Question: where did you get the tank badge - classy!

Pete
 
Nice piccy Fred and a very cute chick on the pillion (does the wife know about her?). Ahhh, you did mention that the lady IS Mrs. Fred.
I also noted that you found "the hill" in Saskatchewan - very nice!
Question: where did you get the tank badge - classy!
Pete
Hi Pete,
doubtless my wife's beauty distracted you from reading all of that post's text. The hill our rig is posed on is in Northern Montana.
And while there are Hills in Saskatoon (about a half-column of us in the phone book) the Saskatchewan hills are way North of here and covered in pine trees.
The tank badges are $6 peel'n'stick items from the local Yamaha dealer.
 
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