davidt8567
XS650 Member
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.
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.