Thats a super nice looking original, they sure do bring big money these days. All the hot Japanese two strokes do these days.
-
Enjoy XS650.com? Consider making a donation to help support the site.
XS650.com receives a small share of sales from some links on this page, but direct donations have a much greater impact on keeping this site going.
XS650 Road Test
- Thread starter Jim
- Start date
Thats a super nice looking original, they sure do bring big money these days. All the hot Japanese two strokes do these days.
These people make me laugh. They are asking a crazy amount of money for a bike and say it needs work. Carb turn, oil pump set up and break in rings. If I were selling this at top dollar I’d make sure it was 100% before selling. Found another one….Wow!! Nice one... at a crazy price too. Prolly realistic nowadays... but still crazy.
This made me laugh..... "But - it runs great now and will need time for the new piston and rings to seat."
Here's the drill on those engines... Putter around town for about 20min... drive out to the nearest country road and let here have her head. If the engines tight, and you're a lightweight like me, you should see a ton. Turn around, do it again then putter back home and viola... the rings are seated.
That one gets you a disc front brake, the R5’s had a drum. ( Which I actually think looked cooler )
Was prolly one of the best twin leading shoe drums ever made too. Damn near as powerful as the later RD disc.
Had an rd350 that I let go super cheap years ago because it needed a bunch of work, I was running out of space in my bedroom (being a bachelor was fun) and i was also broke. Regretted ever since, especially seeing the prices now.
Not really... although it's best done with 2 people. With new shoes in.... disconnect one of the clevis pins holding the tie rod. One guy pushes the rear lever 'till the rear of the shoes contact the drum. The other guy pulls the brake lever (handle) so the front lever (shoes) make contact. Then just adjust the tie rod until the clevis pin drops back in. Tighten everything back up, adjust at the handlebars for a good feel and done.
Done at the tie rod. After that the shoes will bed themselves in evenly.
What the factory said about setting the XS1 front drum in 1969. I've followed this procedure with new shoes installed and after a bit of "bedding in" the shoes was happy with the results. MM from vintage brakes had a few nits to pick with Yamaha about the linkage geometry....
Like early rear brake cams the cam on these has a rather sharp "break" On WJL I rounded that edge to somewhat match the later rear drum cam profile. I felt that was an improvement.
https://www.xs650.com/threads/wjl-aka-wrenchjohns-legacy-70-xs1-in-ggggarys-hands.55909/post-648526
Last edited:
Iirc that was the same book procedure for the R5. I like my way better. Here's why.... The book way has you spreading the arms apart until the shoes touch. In other words, one arm clockwise and the other counter-clockwise. But that's not the way they work. In use, they both rotate counter-clockwise. It always seemed counterintuitive to me to take out the slack (play) by spreading 'em apart when you're more concerned with the slack (play) in the direction they move in actual operation.
Least ways... that's how I was taught to do it.
I learned that as a kid at a Kawasaki dealership. Used the same procedure on Honda Super Hawks and 350's- 450's.... Suzuki Titans... you name it. No reason it wouldn't work on any twin leading shoe.
y'uh know, I can't figure out the difference in the two methods......
either method changes the length of the tie rod, since it floats between the two arms the tie rod sets the static clearance AND acts to equalize the shoes. 
Mebbie some of the other brands didn't have RH-LH tie rod ends?
For all my pics be darned if I have a good clean straight on shot of a front drum plate inside and out.
EDIT 6-2023 There is some confusion with what the factory service manual adjustment procedure means that can result in very poor front brake action.
I'm on my third XS front drum bike, prolly 4 thousand miles of riding including rally rides trying to keep up with desmoman. and am quite happy with the brake. It's not a modern disk set up but close to a stock XS front DISK brake in stopping power and feel.
There ARE some tricks to the set up and the factory explanation is (maybe) a bit misleading or can be misinterpreted.
I have firm lever and plenty of room between the lever end and my hand grip even when I have a set of fat soft silicone grips on.
The important point is that you do NOT use the arm between the shoes to adjust out clearance. That arm adjustment is only used when the the backing plate is off the wheel to set and adjust so both cams start camming the shoes out at the EXACT same time. The clearance from shoe to drum is set with the cable end adjusters only. Typically the cable adjuster is going to be out nearer it's maximum range even with new shoes. If with worn shoes you exceed both cable ends adjuster's range you could reclock both arms on the pivot shaft splines. I have not had to do that.
Note (repeat) you are NOT using the balance rod to adjust shoe to drum clearance. That is done with the cable end adjusters.
this first adjustment (best think of it as set up) is best done while the brake is open so you can view the cam acting on the brake shoe ends.The confusion comes from the manual saying freeplay. They mean freeplay in the linkage, the arm should not feel floppy, NOT the shoes being pushed out to the lining.
If you do use the double nut rod to set free play, the brake will feel very mushy, the lever will contact the handlebar before the brake is getting full stopping action. and the cams will be at different angles on the two shoes resulting in miserable brake feel.
Last edited:
By doing it the book way, the tie rod is pushing the arms apart to take the slack out of 'em....
Now, when you reconnect 'em and actuate the brake, the front has to pull the other direction.
In other words, the rear is pulling the same direction, but the front now has to reverse direction, thru neutral, and push the shoes out while pulling opposite from the way it was adjusted. . At the same time, the rear is already loaded up against any play and already pushing the shoes. In other words the rear is always contacting first with the front lagging.... uneven contact. With my method (my mentors), the front and rear contact evenly... simultaneously.... and in the same direction of rotation.
Now, when you
In other words, the rear is pulling the same direction, but the front now has to reverse direction, thru neutral, and push the shoes out while pulling opposite from the way it was adjusted. . At the same time, the rear is already loaded up against any play and already pushing the shoes. In other words the rear is always contacting first with the front lagging.... uneven contact. With my method (my mentors), the front and rear contact evenly... simultaneously.... and in the same direction of rotation.
Last edited:
Another great thread! Thanks for all those cool articles Jim! Pretty neat how that '74 Yamaha in Brockville is similar in paint scheme to my TXA. Looking forward to reading those articles.
I almost never see anyone riding a two stroke on the road here in Victoria.
I almost never see anyone riding a two stroke on the road here in Victoria.
As the twin yamahas progressed from R5 through the RD350 they became more tractable. The RD350 had a lot more torque down low than the r5 . The R5 would hit 6000 rpm and go berserk. The RD with the reed valves actually make usable power from 4000 up. The 400 went even more in that direction. It was a more practical bike that still made good power up top without the need to loft the front wheel so much.
I bought my 77 in Reno and rode it home to Texas. Was never below 90 in central Nevada. Averaged about 20 mpg on that trip. The 400 was my favorite until the RZ came along. Holy s00t that was a mad man machine.
My brother has a "grey market" TZ250. Very entertaining.
Rode an RZ350 ONCE.
