Recommend me a manual

[CalsXS2]

I have an old Clymer manual for 70-73 models. It is literally falling apart. But I'm getting ready to tare into the motor, which is a 76. So just wondering what manual you guys like best for working on the motor. Thanks.

 

[jetmechmarty]

Factory Service Manual.

 

[hovel]

Factory Service Manual.

Yes ! The only way to go. Yamaha sells a re-print but I found that most of the photos did not reproduce well to the point of being useless. Honest-to goodness originals pop up on Fleabay and other book sellers from time to time and are worth the wait. It never mattered to me whether someone else got it a little greasy.

 

[CalsXS2]

What model do I want. I think the 76 is a "C" ? Would a manual a few years newer be ok. My carbs that I want to use are from a 78 IIRC. So I'm thinking I may want a manual for that year?

 

[5twins]

Yes, a factory manual and yes, good used ones pop up on eBay all the time. You can usually find them for around $20 or less. Be aware that not every year got a full manual. Full manuals only came out every couple of years with supplements highlighting any differences for the years in between. The '76 model was one that got a supplement, made to be used along with the previous last full manual for the '75 B model. Go to the XS Cafe and you can download all of them for free to get an idea of what you're looking for. But as Hovel mentioned, the photos in the on-line PDFs aren't the greatest. When shopping eBay, look for something like this, the full manual including the supplements for other years .....

 

[grizld1]

If I had to choose one engine manual, it would be Hans Pahl's The Yamaha XS650 Engine. Lots of clear and detailed color photos and system-by-system explanations of how things work, tear down and assembly procedures, and troubleshooting/inspection procedures. $31.95 in paperback from Amazon, and worth every penny and more. The 1978 factory manual is available as a free download from www.biker.net, thanks to the generosity of Jean Akers. Engine details are the same as for your '76.

 

[CalsXS2]

Thanks guys!!

 

[5twins]

As far as using '78 carbs goes, yes, the '78-'79 carb set is quite different than the '76-'77 set but none of these shop manuals go into great detail about tearing them down. About all you'll find is the jetting specs. A bigger help may be downloading a copy of the carb parts diagram. The carb chapter from the '78E manual is only 4 pages long so you might as well just download it and print it out.