Just Starting Out

- spent a few years working in the far north as an exploration geologist...can only work once everything has frozen over - so had summers off
- the houses had doors in the roof so you didnt get snowed in - looked a little strange in summer - almost stayed but ended up following my little head here...
- from the rockies westward and toronto eastward i found canada wonderful, did a lot of miles - the middle i found a little boring but with really great people
 
- yea, i have a soft spot for 500 singles... ....

- the sr and xs both have strong followings here in germany

I bet if we had anywhere near as many SR500s as XS650s, we've have a pretty good following in the states too. They aren't bad bikes for what they are and damn simple to work on. Don't need a battery, only one carb, kick start only, etc.
 
- the srx6 also didnt get a real good reception stateside, and, apart from a little gearbox glitch-that can be fixed-was a damn fine bike
- interestingly the xs sr srx all have strong japanese following

yamaha%20srx-6.JPG
 
I have an SR, had it for over 20 years. It's resting now that I got a 650. Had an SRX too. Only kept it a couple years and sold it. Had the SR before that and still have it now - that should tell you something.
 
thanks that would be great:thumbsup:never been to canada but hurd it was pretty up there:bike:

Sounds like it's time to organize a Northern Rally...Winnipeg is in the center of Canada and with the 80 to 90 F summers, it's a great place to spend a few days "chillin on some real cold beers".

Maybe I will have an XS650 to then !:laugh:
 
...spent some late summers helping harvest canola for friends with large farms in northern saskatchewan...some very nice riding in the old shield country there. forest, lakes, rivers...hard to beat the home made orchard fresh cherry pies i found in the southern okanagan-osoyoos though...
 
Those canola fields are beautiful up there. Saw them on a couple of road trips to Alaska.
 
- theyre fucking insane...watching the yellow flowers swaying in the breeze, acre after acre of them, stretching of into the horizon...enough to make you seasick
 
Well another week of searching and no luck.... I may have the bar raised a little too high, as I am not liking what I am seeing out there for bikes.

Went to look at a 77 yesterday and when I arrived the owner appologized and said it was a 78, no big deal, lets go see the bike.

Oh well my heart sunk again..... spray can paint job, 2 into 1 rusted out pipe....bent this and that and only 24000 miles on it..... tank was rusted, tires were shot (however I expect to replace tires). The fellow had let his son run the bike for the last couple of years. So I guess you could call it Bobbed, though we used to reffer to them as rat bikes..... how bad can it be and still have it on the road.

Oh well, I have got lots of time on my hands with being retired so I will keep turning over rocks.

ps: I hope the "grammer cop" isn't reading this post :laugh:
 
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Keep looking.. you'll find something. It's the best time of year to be looking for us people going into winter. Have you tried putting a wanted ad up on craigslist in your area? I did that a few years ago and got a couple of replies on my XS650 wanted ad. I ended up buying one of them at a pretty good price. When people are about to post a bike, a lot of times they do a search to see what prices they are going for on craigslist. Then they’ll run across your ad, maybe send you an email, and you’ll be the first to find out about it. Sometimes they won’t even list it since they are hoping that you’ll come buy it and make it an easy sale.
 
Hey Travis, checked out Craigslist...what a "gong show", not as organized as Kijiji or Ebay, however I did go through it...not much though.

In an earlier post, there was mention of the canola fields....took a photo of a friend ...he looks like an "alien". (photo taken in August this summer near Morden Manitoba.
DSCN2024.jpg


Going to check out another 77 XS, hopefully in the next few days.... it maybe the one.
 
Yeah, craigslist is only good when it's really popular in your area. Searching for the keyword "xs650" on Kijiji for the Minneapolis St. Paul MN area returns zero result. "xs650" on Minneapolis craigslist returns 13 results. :shrug:
 
Well I am looking at another one....found a 77 with 21000 miles on it.

Needs :
head gasket, gauges (cosmetic damage), new paint, starter is lagging and needs some TLC.

I am guessing when getting at the head gasket, I might as well pull the motor appart.... or not ?

Made an offer, so now I wait... the catch is !!! it's a 13 hour drive to pick it up.

Also stopped by the dealer today to look, again, at the new Triumph Bonny...wow, however I can spend a ton on an XS before I get near the cost of a new bonny.

Later guys
 
- 13 hour 1 way? - even if 13 hours return by the time you calculate your time would it almost be cheaper to get it transported

- as for stripping the motor down, do some simple tests first

- does it turn over? - if not why? - pistons siezed, kickstart jammed, gearbox siezed...the difference is that when you take the left casing off you will get some movement by turning the alternator by hand if the pistons are not siezed

- what compression do you get? - most important is that theyre relatively even-rhs is often a little lower-140+ is great but can also mean heavy carbon build-up, under 100 not so good ... problems in bore, rings, valves, but where?-you can often hear leaking valves, crankcases will pressurise a little if the bores are leaking-look for seal leaks esp the clutch pushrod or xs pressure in the crankcase breather tube or remove the oil filler cap and out a finger over the hole, or do a leak test...compressions should be tested without plugs and throttle open

- gearbox function can be roughly tested by hand without running motor-note that normally static gear changes dont work-get a mate to help, remove rhs case, bike on centrestand, turn the rear wheel while changing through the gears-keep a hand on the clutch to get a feel for the smoothness of the changes...if no wheel there use the chain to rotate the gearbox...be extra alert with 3rd gear

- read the plugs, best is a light tan colour, wet black is oil, dry powdery black is rich...there are charts available in most manuals

- drain the oil-look for metal bits and plastic bits-black plastic bits and alu filings usually mean stuffed cam chain guide, magnetic metal filings indicate deeper problems probably with tolerances or bearings, large pieces will usualy come from the gearbox or crank bearings

- these wont reveal bearing problems

- externals can be individually inspected-oil pump, alternator, clutch, starter, electrics...

- as this was just a quick reply i have probably missed something, still the point is that even if the motor is not running you can still get a reasonable idea about what youre dealing with

- spending a little time can save you heaps of unnecessary work but is not 100% reliable...you pay your money and take your chances :D

time for brekkie
 
Thanks for the feed back...

Well it's a 13 hour drive one way.... I am retired so it's money time are not exaxtly a factor any more.

The bike is running and is used regularly....

I gave the guy a pretty low offer yesterday, so I suspect he will not reply. Mind you, if that was me I would be bouncing back with a counter offer as this time of year, beggers can't be choosers when it comes to getting rid of a bike.

Oh well, let's see what happens with this one.......
 
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