first xs 650 ever!

[davidt8567]

Hi,

I'm new to this forum, but have loved motorcycles all my life. My last bike was a 2005 suzuki intruder, which I lost in a divorse. Since then, it has been hand to mouth for me as far as survival. Each summer for the last four years, I go to bike shops and drool over the latest, and even the used bikes that I can never afford to finance,

However, a new glimmer of hope came the other day, when while on my daily route, I found a guy selling what he said was a 1996 yamaha. I immidiately noticed however on closer inspection that the bike had a kick start, and had the old school tach and speedometer cluster. The seller said he was selling for a friend, and only knew it was a yamaha...
"1996 I think".

I looked the bike over well, and determined that the front brake cable was broken, but other than that, the bike looked in good condition, with no dings, new looking tires and the exhaust looked like brand new! It is missing the battery, and the gas tank and carbs look like they may need some attention, but the rest of the bike was obviously garaged and was last on the road in 1984! according to the sticker on the front forks.

So....I held my breath and slowly asked him what he was asking for the bike. he shook his head from side to side slowly, and finally said "for you....I'll take 300.00 bucks.

I almost did a happy dance right there on the spot, but opted for a casual...ok.

I later saw the old fellew the next day when he came out with the title, and that's when i found out it is actually a 1977 yahaha xs 650 in what appears to be decent condition. Finally, there is life again with a motorcyle, and I'm so exicted....well sort of.

I need to ask the owners of the 1977 650's what issues am I facing with this bike, and what are the odds this thing will crank having set since 1984? (19,278 miles) what things do i need to do first before even trying to crank it. and do i need to replace anything first like "points" haven't ever even tried to tackle points on a motorcyle. Is the motor even still in good condition. oil was full, and didn't appear to be bad or black, or smell bad....

anyways...any feedback from experienced 650 owners would be really appreciated. as i said before, i'm really exicted as i love these old school bikes, and hope to restore mine back to show room likeness over time. p.s. i will post some pics as soon as i get it picked up.

thanks for reading and responding sincerely david.

 

[XSJoel]

Check your valve tolerances, change the oil and filter, air filters, clean the carbs, do any points adjustments (never had a points bike), change the spark plugs and see what you got. If it starts, sync the carbs and then check your timing.

 

[deadchef]

congrats on the find! pics?

Posted via Mobile

 

[xjwmx]

A lot of people squirt oil on the valve stems and a bit of oil in the plug holes. You don't want to start it up with the oil film left from 1984. Then maybe turn it with the kicker a few times and check for sticky valves or other weirdness. You shouldn't have a front brake cable, broken or otherwise. Figure out what that is

 

[Kingwj]

Tach cable probably hanging. Also bike will not run without a battery so don't even try kick starting without 12+ volts available to the ignition circuit. The following is from the XS Triple site, lot of good information that pertains to any old bike:

http://www.yamaha-triples.org/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=1365&mid=10271#M10271

 

[nj1639]

Nice score!
My '77 came with a stuck engine, 7 thousand miles on the clock and had been parked since '84/'85. Got the engine freed up and then I set the points aside after tryin' half heartedly to make them work......swapped out the entire ignition for the stock TCI along with the carbs. She's a one kick starter with the original plugs still in.......
You may be pleasantly surprised by what you've acquired, best to ya and get them pics up.

 

[Mister Mellow]

Welcome, David! Good deal, running or not. I hope you get good news from the previous owner about why it fell out of active duty so long ago. I paid the same for my '77, with 24k on it. It was running when the owner decided to do a freshen-up restoration, around 6 years ago, but he got diverted part way through and it became a garage ornament. I did as recommended above and dropped a bit of light oil on the valve stems. I also squirted a good ounce or so of oil in each cylinder, and eased the engine through several revolutions and put the plugs back in. That was just for peace of mind because I can't get to it right now.

Best of luck! Let us know what you find, and post some pictures if you can.

 

[Mister Mellow]

Double post

 

[XSLeo]

Start by reading the stuff in the tech section up at the top of the page. Scroll down to the maintaince and trouble shooting section and read the new to me xs650 and the rest of the things in that section. Once you find something wrong scroll to the section covering the problem. Read those things.
Good luck with your bike.
Leo

 

[davidt8567]

Thanks for the advice and well wishes on my bike...it's been a while since i last posted, and since then have replace the points, timing advance, total new front brakes, both carbs cleaned and rebuilt, and new battery. after draining and cleaning the gas tank, draining the old fuel out, i finally got the bike to crank...smoked black smoke for a few minutes, then cleared up. would only run on choke though. Finally ordered 2 new carb rebuild kits from mikes xs. found out that the left carb. had a plugged main jet and that is why it would not idle...new kit is now installed in both carbs. will put on new carbs this weekend, and now only needs two new tires to be completely road worthy.

p.s. picture of bike is posted on home page.... thanks to all

 

[Sub xs650]

I like the seat old school likin

 

[XSLeo]

On your carb kits, they are put together with generic parts. The jets and other brass parts may or may not be right for your carbs. Often the gaskets should be all a carb rebuild/cleaning needs. Just compare what your parts in the carb are to what they should be. Look on the charts in the carb guide.
Get the brass parts clean, inspect for wear, replace the worn parts and reinstall.
Leo

 

[davidt8567]

Leo,

the carb rebuild kits were pretty good from mikes xs...the gaskets and most of the needle valves fit well...except for the fuel cut off needle valve for the fuel bowls...i just took out the new needle from the new one and replaced it with the cleaned up old bolts that screws in...the replacement one was a few milimeters too large and the floats were too stiff and would not move up and down as needed....everything else fit just fine.

I really learned alot about rebuilding cabs on this one, and found that a dental pick for teeth works really well for wallowing out old crusted jets...also wd-40 works well for sraying into jets to check for obstructions...and always have a good air compressor for blowing the jets out...btw, this was my first carb rebuild.