michaelpthompson
XS650 Addict
What a great forum! Glad to meet you all. I was sitting on a friend's back patio, drinking beer with some friends, when one of them happened to mention that he had a 1975 Yamaha that he'd part with for $200. Not running, uncertain history, but $200? I mean, how could I turn that down?
Haven't had a chance to look it over in detail yet, it's St. Patrick's Day week and I lead an Irish pub band, so I'm a bit busy right now, but I'll definitely be posting pics soon and asking lots of questions. I'm not looking to do an original restoration or some kind of show bike, but just turn it into something fun for the weekends, and maybe commuting.
I read a lot of advice about manuals, and looked at eBay. There's lots of Haynes and Clymer, which I'll look into, but there was one very interesting one that I bought to get started. It's from Cycleserv publications. Don't know much about them, but it only covers two models, and years and looks like it will be more detailed than the ones that cover all 1970-1983. Any other recommendations for good manuals to figure out what kind of shape this is in and do something about it? Love to hear your advice and even start a flame war if necessary. (Just kidding about that last part Moderator.)
I used to ride thirty years ago, but haven't done so for a long time now, so I'm excited to get back into it. A little leery about riding a motorcycle in city traffic; there are a lot of bozos out there, but I want to do something while I'm still young and healthy enough to enjoy it. Looking forward to some great times!
Haven't had a chance to look it over in detail yet, it's St. Patrick's Day week and I lead an Irish pub band, so I'm a bit busy right now, but I'll definitely be posting pics soon and asking lots of questions. I'm not looking to do an original restoration or some kind of show bike, but just turn it into something fun for the weekends, and maybe commuting.
I read a lot of advice about manuals, and looked at eBay. There's lots of Haynes and Clymer, which I'll look into, but there was one very interesting one that I bought to get started. It's from Cycleserv publications. Don't know much about them, but it only covers two models, and years and looks like it will be more detailed than the ones that cover all 1970-1983. Any other recommendations for good manuals to figure out what kind of shape this is in and do something about it? Love to hear your advice and even start a flame war if necessary. (Just kidding about that last part Moderator.)
I used to ride thirty years ago, but haven't done so for a long time now, so I'm excited to get back into it. A little leery about riding a motorcycle in city traffic; there are a lot of bozos out there, but I want to do something while I'm still young and healthy enough to enjoy it. Looking forward to some great times!