Drive it or worship it: Good Tire Advice

[Calliway]

Ride it. Just bloody ride it. What is the point of a nice clean bike if you just look at it. All of the tires mentioned are good tires. You dont have to have worry much on these bikes about sport bike levels of grip. Just a good brand of tire and away you go. Regular oil changes away you go.

 

[Smorg]

Love the Avons on my ‘76

If I see a cheap nighthawk I'd snatch it up

 

[Smorg]

Love the Avons on my ‘76

I put on 2,000 last summer after mid August, and that was with a fractured hip

 

[Vincenthdfan]

I just bought a pair of 1980 Specials last year that were both around 7,000'ish miles.

The thing I love about them is I can ride them both till my heart's content and not worry about mileage, even though one of them is in show room condition.

I have the first three years of the XS series...70, 71, 72 and Im paranoid to ride any of them too much because they're irreplaceable and I looked a long time for them.

So, it really nice to have a couple of riders with no concerns of mileage...so much fun to ride the 650's.

 

[Smorg]

These bikes love to be ridden. Regularly. Bike kept in good condition in original condition hold their value better than a restored bike.

Value for money is what you have now with low mileage bike. If the maintenance is kept up, oil changes, servicing with regular detailing there is no reason the engine can't do 50,000 miles. some have done more than this with good care an a lot have done less with not so good care.

The only thing that may catch you is the front cam-chain guide. These do de laminate and the engine ha to be removed to take the head off to get at the guide. My thinking is, that it is because the engine hasn't been used regularly in turn the guide rubber dries out and gets brittle. With regular use they seem to last a lot longer.

The bottom oil strainer. has a tendency to blow a hole in it. Letting the engine warm up and riding sedately for the first couple of miles till the oil thins help to save the strainer. Do check the bottom strainer as a preventative and maintenance issue. Lot of info on repairing the exiting strainer rather than buying a new one as the problem will happen to these as well. There are some aftermarket ones, (mainly Heiden Tuning), that offer a different tyled one that don't seem to have any issues.

If you done 4-5000 miles per year an kept the bike for 5 years with regular maintenance and no engine dramas and kept in good condition, you could expect to get more money than you have invested in it. May even come out even after spending on, tyres, brake pads and chain and sprocket.

Get a volt meter to keep an eye on your charging system. The rotor is 40 years old and the rein could be breaking down with age. Then again it may lat 20-30,000 mile but it would pay to keep an eye on it. If the rotor does go bad a member here does excellent rewinds for a good price and that is all that will usually go wrong with these bikes. Brushes are a wear item but with ssuch low miles you wouldn't/shouldn't have a problem for years. Keep the battery in good condition, a bad battery is one of the main culprits to causing the rotor to be overworked leading to overheating.

Ride the bike and enjoy it.

how big a hole needs repairing. I just purchased an engine oil pan with a slight hole in it.

 

[EricVentures]

Just purchased a 1980 Xs650G Special II, 3500 miles, 2 owners and real clean! Working on maintenance, and riding the thing! Like everyone else is saying, have fun and enjoy.

I'm thinking of running Dunlop 404's or possibly a 80/20 dual sport like the Shinko 705's , it currently still has the original tires!

 

[jetmechmarty]

I'm thinking of running Dunlop 404's or possibly a 80/20 dual sport like the Shinko 705's , it currently still has the original tires!

Choices have become limited at that price point. I’ve chosen the Dunlop 404 and I have no issues with them. They’re quieter than the Pirelli Route 66 I had been running.

 

[cra-z1]

I like the Shinkos also but prefer the Avons. Lately they have been hard to get and I heard they are stopping production this year. Anyone else hear that?

 

[Raymond]

I like the Shinkos also but prefer the Avons. Lately they have been hard to get and I heard they are stopping production this year. Anyone else hear that?

I hadn't heard that so looked it up - MCN says the Avon factory, the last m/c tyre production facility in Britain, will lose at the end of 2023. Holy crap!

 

[40north]

Question 1, Daily Rider or Museum Piece. I got super lucky and got my 1981 XS650SH from a Harley shop owner's brother after his stepdad died. It had only 1081 miles on it and had been stored indoors the whole time, so it was cosmetically perfect. Tires didn't even dry rot but looked brand new. I put like 1200 miles on it so it has just over 2300 miles and now I am faced with a dilemma. Do I keep it as a museum piece and ride it minimally? To do so I'd have to buy another bike for my daily rider and keep it for my classic toy. If I ride all year, I'll likely put on 4-6 thousand miles on the bike. My other option it is to ride the piss out of it. My Uncle says I'm crazy "It's just a bike it's not like an old hot rod car, an old corvette or Cadillac." I have had some people say I should have kept the mileage under 2,000 to keep the value up. Others said just ride it and enjoy it is the best value and it wasn't worth much anyway. BTW I paid $1600 for it, and 700 in mechanical work before purchase. Nothing after.

Question 2: I need new tires. Bought the bike in Mid Augst and still got over 1300 miles in despite a broken hip (from tubing at very high speeds at Bull Shoals lake) on my bike before end of season in Northern Illinois. Recklessly, I did it on 40-year-old original tires. In my garage on the center stand I can see the cords in the tires where the rubber wore through completely. I will probably have it towed to a shop and the tire replaced rather than drive it there. I don't have a tire machine and while I have done some smaller things to my own bikes including carb disassembly and cleaning in an ultrasonic tank, diagnosing and replacing Fuse boxes, petcock replacement, clutch cable replacement, I haven't replaced the tires myself before. I have seen how hard it is getting car tires on without a machine, so I just pay my bike shop to replace my tires. With my other bikes I just let the shop pick what tire I needed, and just took the bikes there and picked them up when repaired rather than request a specific tire. The Owner of Pete's Cycle in Loves Park, Illinois has been working on bikes since the 1970's when he was into motorcycle drag racing and his sons have been raised with wrenches instead of baby bottles, so they have taken over his shop (in a good way) he is still there also. So, I have the Tubeless tires I believe since I don't have the spoked rims but rather the Mags. If anyone could recommend a tire, I would appreciate it. It would be awesome if anyone reviews information on one or more tires. If there is one to stay away from that would be great to know also. I have had the same mechanic for a long time now, and while I do trust him 100% he works on all sorts of motorcycles while the great people on this site are extremely knowledgeable about my motorcycle.

I like the idea about how much you care about what the kids get, and wonder if any of them would appreciate it. I'd add, much depends on how old you are and how long you expect to be able to ride it. Neh, for myself, I'd pay close attention to the mechanical indications, like the engine internals, as others mentioned, and ride it with nice tires and frequent oil changes, not too hard, but a lot, and reasonably sober...they will endo. Take care and don't smash her up. (I haven't heard from my kids in years, I'll leave my stuff to my brother in law, or to the church down the road.)