what does sh mean ?

[duffin]

hey everyone ! i have a 1980xs sh650 special this is my first ever motorcycle and i want to restore it, does anyone know what ,if anything , sh stands for ? i want to make it like it was from the factory if possible it only has 8,000 miles on the engine the guy never rode it

 

[5twins]

Well, the "S" designates a "Special" model and the "H" would make it an '81. The '80s were all "G" models.

 

[duffin]

thanks for the info 5twins, but why would the the sticker on the neck say 1980 model year ? vin reads: JYA4M4 00 9 BAO ?

 

[duffin]

title also says 1980 ?

 

[5twins]

Just like cars, new bike models begin production in the fall of the previous year. If yours was made any time from about September of '80 on, it is probably an '81 model that was just produced in '80. Don't know why the title says what it says. Where did you see the "SH" designation?

 

[duffin]

i did not see " sh " anywhere ,but i fread somewhere that j stood for japenese ,ya for yamaha ,and that 4m4 meant it was a xs sh ?

 

[duffin]

http://www.merrittmotorcyclesalvage.com/yamahaidentification.htm by reading this 4m4 does say it is a 1981 but everything else says it is a 1980 what gives ? was "quality control" not that good then ! lol !

 

[I am Carbon]

your bike could have been 80 or 81 with your 4M4 in your case 80 but 81 mostly
XS-SH 80-81 4M4 4M4- 000101

 

[duffin]

could anybody tell me about any differences between a 1980 and a 1981 special ? the bike used to be black but he painted it red, i will be going back to original black

 

[650Skull]

the 2 main visual differences are the seat and rear brake. Seat on the 80SG has a gentle rise to the pillion seat, the 81SH has a definite step in the seat. 80SG has a disk rear brake on a mag wheel where the 81SH has a drum rear mag wheel. The only year the drum mag was made

 

[duffin]

thanks ! it has a drum /rear mag and the step seat ! now is the frame id # the same thing as the vin # probobly sounds stupid but there is no such thing as a stupid question ! right ?

 

[5twins]

'80 was the first year for the BS34 carbs. They had brass floats and a drain bolt on the float bowl bottom just like the previous BS38s. '81 carbs got plastic floats and a drain screw angled in from the side instead of the bottom bolt. They also have a nipple to attach a hose to next to the drain screw.

 

[650Skull]

Yes XS650's had matching no's

 

[duffin]

ok guys! thanks for the info , was there any performance differences or about the same ?