1974 Yamaha Tx500 Help

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Bfahy54

XS650 New Member
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I was just given a free to me 74 TX500
The bike is in pretty good condition with only 2500 original miles and was last registered in 78. The original owner gave it to my father back in the early 2000’s and my father is selling his house so he dumped it off on me. Is there any value in these? Regardless I plan to get it back on the road (pending registration battle) but just wanted to see if there is any market for these things. It seems to be a 2 year US bike without a crazy big following?
 
Do a compression check before you invest $$$ ... toss in some Marvel Mystery oil... kick it over. Let it work its magic... then do the test.. I recall they had a tendency to crack the heads between the valve seats.... 😎
 
No, not very popular at all, but a good source for 650 parts, lol. Actually, I think they made them for about 5 years ('73-'78).
 
Here are a couple of restoration done on here.

recent poster....Made2care.
https://www.xs650.com/threads/big-tx500-project-any-help-appreciated.64979/
He managed to pick up a good parts bike he used the better parts off to redo the other. yea apparently the early ones cracked the head between the manifolds. A remedy was to put on a later head from a 76-78 when Yamaha fixed the problem.

Aus-TX500 project. This was done in Ausralia, in the end he did have problems but you may find the thread worth a read
https://www.xs650.com/threads/aus-tx500-resto.33248/

If your mechanical it is a time thing and they weren't a bad bike. As i mentioned Yamaha soveld a problem in 76 and they went for another 2 years. Another guy on here got a 76 XS500 and loves it
 
The ‘74 TX500 is a pretty bike. I believe it may outperform the XS650. As motormike said, the cylinder head is prone to crack. That was fixed with the later models. A later model head is a direct bolt on.
 
I don't know where you're located in New York but I carted no fewer than 3 of these off to my dealer's boneyard, and they're just sitting there. I'm sure you could get parts off them for a song. The last one was a '77 so would have that upgraded head .....


XS500.jpg


Van-Bike6.jpg


I can provide you with contact info if you're interested.
 
5twins said:
I don't know where you're located in New York but I carted no fewer than 3 of these off to my dealer's boneyard, and they're just sitting there. I'm sure you could get parts off them for a song. The last one was a '77 so would have that upgraded head .....


View attachment 263337

View attachment 263338

I can provide you with contact info if you're interested.
Click to expand...
Is that a Yamahauler?
 
It can be any kind of hauler I want, lol. Last bike in it was a Suzuki GS450 (another freebie I stripped for parts). This is my first van. I always had 4WD pick-ups. I needed a pick-up for work, and the 4WD to get there in the winter sometimes, lol, and also to get around job sites. I was a union Ironworker so we were usually one of the first trades on the site, and it was often all dirt (or mud, lol). Now that I'm retired, I didn't need the pick-up anymore but still needed some way to occasionally haul a bike, so I decided to try a van. I got a minivan, a Dodge, and I'm quite happy with it. The mileage is great, close to 30MPG. I checked the box lengths on all the minivans available, and this Dodge was the longest. That was cool because I'm a Mopar guy anyway, having had Dodge trucks for the past 25 years or so.

And to give myself even more length, I modified a HF wheel chock to fit up between the seats .....

Van-Bike3.jpg


Van-Bike4.jpg


So far, it's fit every bike I've tried, but sometimes you have to remove a luggage rack if one is installed, sissy bar too. I like it.

Van.jpg


Van-Bike5.jpg
 
5twins said:
It can be any kind of hauler I want, lol. Last bike in it was a Suzuki GS450 (another freebie I stripped for parts). This is my first van. I always had 4WD pick-ups. I needed a pick-up for work, and the 4WD to get there in the winter sometimes, lol, and also to get around job sites. I was a union Ironworker so we were usually one of the first trades on the site, and it was often all dirt (or mud, lol). Now that I'm retired, I didn't need the pick-up anymore but still needed some way to occasionally haul a bike, so I decided to try a van. I got a minivan, a Dodge, and I'm quite happy with it. The mileage is great, close to 30MPG. I checked the box lengths on all the minivans available, and this Dodge was the longest. That was cool because I'm a Mopar guy anyway, having had Dodge trucks for the past 25 years or so.

And to give myself even more length, I modified a HF wheel chock to fit up between the seats .....

View attachment 263366

View attachment 263367

So far, it's fit every bike I've tried, but sometimes you have to remove a luggage rack if one is installed, sissy bar too. I like it.

View attachment 263368

View attachment 263369
Click to expand...
Nice van. The cylinder heads for the TX500 and XS500 1973- 1975 had a two piece head. They were also a source spot for oil leaks. In 1976 the head was changed to a one piece head, this was much better. The earlier heads had trouble spot of cracks developing from the spark plug to the exhaust valve seats. Another trouble spot was the tensioner chain for the balance shaft would stretch and needed adjustment or the sprocket on the crankshaft would wear, if I remember correctly. If maintained they were a nice smooth engine.
 
5twins said:
I don't know where you're located in New York but I carted no fewer than 3 of these off to my dealer's boneyard, and they're just sitting there. I'm sure you could get parts off them for a song. The last one was a '77 so would have that upgraded head .....


View attachment 263337

View attachment 263338

I can provide you with contact info if you're interested.
Click to expand...
I’m in westchester but I travel all over the state frequently. Send me a message with more info if you can!
 
5twins said:
It can be any kind of hauler I want, lol. Last bike in it was a Suzuki GS450 (another freebie I stripped for parts). This is my first van. I always had 4WD pick-ups. I needed a pick-up for work, and the 4WD to get there in the winter sometimes, lol, and also to get around job sites. I was a union Ironworker so we were usually one of the first trades on the site, and it was often all dirt (or mud, lol). Now that I'm retired, I didn't need the pick-up anymore but still needed some way to occasionally haul a bike, so I decided to try a van. I got a minivan, a Dodge, and I'm quite happy with it. The mileage is great, close to 30MPG. I checked the box lengths on all the minivans available, and this Dodge was the longest. That was cool because I'm a Mopar guy anyway, having had Dodge trucks for the past 25 years or so.

And to give myself even more length, I modified a HF wheel chock to fit up between the seats .....

View attachment 263366

View attachment 263367

So far, it's fit every bike I've tried, but sometimes you have to remove a luggage rack if one is installed, sissy bar too. I like it.

View attachment 263368

View attachment 263369
Click to expand...
SPEED BLOCKS!
 

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