Who has the most and least miles on their XS650

[Orion61]

Just was thinking about this yesterday, so here it is, 20520 miles on the clock when arrived from USA. looked yesterday and 27777 miles. That will be 12 months in September we have our first anniversary.....I've had 6 weeks no riding due to fractured ankle (not bike related) so they're not bad miles for the year when you throw in a re-build as well....


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The xs should be a great bike for you there! The old Gals are tough as nails and that heavy frame will take some pretty hard knocks.
I have seen some of your "Civilized" Roads down under lol!
Another huge plus is the upright and at attention seating position. Unfortunately a drawback are some of your Summer Aussie Temps,
Hot enough to melt Diamonds.
I would install an external Oil Filter/Cooler, A major plus is you add 120cc Minimum extra oil, plus what ever the additional cooling brings.
A fact is the oil is kept cleaner, More oil equals less breakdown, and ANY cooling properties are better than stock cooling! Even 5-10 Degrees F
would make a difference.
I hope to see a post from you in 5 or 10 years with another 60,000KM on her.

 

[azman857]

I'm guessing my SG has about 30K miles on her. Kinda hard to know between the 3 speedo's thats been on her. I bought her about 5-6 yrs ago and have put half the miles on her. Done some mods on her too.There would have been more if my knee didn't give me problems.....Not motorcycle related as far as I know.

 

[txxs]

One of my XS2 had around 52000 miles when I bought it in 1984.
Still has around 52000 miles (resting in my garage).

 

[Royboy]

On the low mileage side of the ledger, my 77'D has 7340 miles showing and the 78' SR500 has just 4327 miles.
The SR sat covered in heated/air conditioned storage in Michigan for 31 years. Low miles on the 77'D probably has something to do with the long winters here and being forgotten in a barn for about 25 years,

roy

 

[Orion61]

This post has me very enthusiastic! I was thinking 40k was about it, based on MY experience, then again she was still running at that same amount of
miles. My 75 is sitting inside a heated building as it has for the past 13 years dry, with new oil when I stored her. I am coming off of some serious Health issues but I am doing MUCH better now. This Winter should provide a good time to work on her. I honestly miss riding the old girl, I bought her for $750.00 30 years ago from a Shop that buys used bikes and resells after tuning, cleaning changing fluids and tires if needed. My XS650B was a one owner bought new by a Dr. He had taken exquisite care of it, and I got a notebook full of Maintenance history, she NEVER went over 2000 miles between oil changes, There are 11000 miles on the odometer and those were easy miles. I see no reason to be challenging the others for the high mile Crown! One thing I always do, is go over and turn the motor over with the plugs out for long enough to get oil pumped up to the lifters a couple times a year to keep the inside coated and keep the pistons from sitting at the same spot too long.
I switched to Rotella T6 Diesel Synthetic on my Boulevard, and it seems to like it.
Is there a common consensus for best Synthetic? I ran 10W40 Rotella in the 73 that got me 40k so it can't be bad, and Synthetic should be better.
I am sure there are multiple oils that work fine, and have close to the same properties so be nice.

 

[jetmechmarty]

With synthetic, it might be best to stick with the stuff designed for motorcycles. Friction modifiers are not compatible with your clutch.

 

[Orion61]

Only the Synthetics marked economy mixtures have given clutch problems on the newer Synthetics, the rest are fine.
There are guys out there with close to 100,000 miles on their C50T 800's like mine with no clutch issues.
Have there been issues with the XS and the newer Synthetics on the market that you have heard of?
I appreciate you thinking about the possible issues on my bike tho... Another reason I like this site so much, guys like you!
thanks again,
Orion

 

[Orion61]

One of my XS2 had around 52000 miles when I bought it in 1984.
Still has around 52000 miles (resting in my garage).

I could hear her whimpering softly...."ride me, ride me, please".... "HEY! some new paint and oil would be nice too"...
"I've given you the best years of my life you @!%$&?!! And you leave me like this!!!" LOL.....

 

[Michaelo]

With synthetic, it might be best to stick with the stuff designed for motorcycles. Friction modifiers are not compatible with your clutch.

I am into mineral oil only, no synthetics here, change it every 1000 miles, which tends to come often

 

[Orion61]

Most of the bad mouthing of Synthetic (or any other kind of oil) comes from Motorcycle dealers themselves for a very different reason than you think.
Dealer oil and consumable sales are a large part of a Dealers profit margin and a huge money maker, the best way of keeping that business is to put
fear in the minds of riders and their new bikes. Friction Modifiers are usually added to the Synthetics labeled for Fuel economy, along with a thinner blend. Many independent laboratory tests on this subject have been performed, the answer is that Synthetics actually keep buildups off of wet clutch faces. If a clutch is worn before switching and has a heavy buildup then the better cleaning job CAN cause slippage, but only because the clutch was worn in the first place. A couple quotes are as follows..
"Many people have the perception that since synthetics are more slippery than petroleum oils (which simple don't reduce friction as well), that wet clutch packs in either their automotive automatic transmission or motorcycle transmission will slip when using "super slippery synthetics". Synthetic Oils are no more "slippery" than petroleum oil. AMSOIL Synthetic Oils simply have a more uniform molecular structure which reduces frictional resistance better than the irregular shape and size molecular structure of a petroleum oil. since the molecular structure is more uniform Synthetics resist disturbance of the film the wet clutch rides on.

Another statement that debates the Dealer statements:
Synthetic Oils will prevent deposit buildup on clutch plates, therefore keeping the face clean and able to do its job in preventing slippage.

And, since synthetics are superior cooling agents to conventional petroleum lubes, using synthetics will help wet clutches last longer, too.

Petroleum oils have low resistance to heat and allow varnish and glaze to form on clutch plates, which eventually leads to slippage and increased heat generation and eventually failure of the clutch pack.
Oil use in Motorcycles is a very Personal decision for people, often tracing it's roots as being passed down from Father to Son, I have seen some pretty heated debates on this on other sites. The Dealer mis-information is an admitted fact from former Dealer Employees who were told to say
those things to keep sales up. Some Dealers even put sales requirements on employees for consumable items to make it worse.
If you are happy with what you are using, perfect. I for one put a lot of time and research effort before I made my decision, so far my shifting is smoother and I have no problem with slipping even getting on it a bit doubled up passing etc. Synthetic oils are also evolving as the Auto industry does, and todays test tube oil is different than 1st gen oil.