They did that too, except for that its main competition was the Ducati 900SS. Talking about the TRX850 here.....I would love to see Yamaha introduce a new parallel twin "CR"
to complete with the Triumph Thruxton and the RE Interceptor.
-
Now taking nominations for the 2025 XS650 Calendar! Nominate an XS650 you think deserves to be in the calendar.
-
Enjoy XS650.com? Consider making a donation to help support the site.
XS650.com receives a small share of sales from some links on this page, but direct donations have a much greater impact on keeping this site going.
What's a Yamaha XS650"CR"?
- Thread starter MagnaXs
- Start date
-
- Tags
- cafe racer build
Those are nice. I’m too tall for it.Yamaha did indeed build a Cafe Racer in the early 80's, the Yamaha 550 Seca. I uncrated and rode our first one at the shop, took it for a spin and loved it.
It just didnt sell very well for some reason...the Specials were still selling way more often.
At any rate, that's a gorgeous bike you have there...very nice.
View attachment 248791
VERY nicely done.
Congratulations on bringng your vision to life and thanks for sharing it.
The bike has great lines. Very clean and the details are evident throughout.
Personally I love cafe builds and this example stands out.
The color scheme, the accents, it all comes together quite well.
You have me wondering if that is an oil pressure or oil temperature guage?
That is one of the better oil cooler mountings I have seen. Kudos.
As Mailman mentioned...
We would absolutely love seeing any of your pics and insights regarding the build.
Many members post a "build thread" after the completion of their project.
Often the shared information can help other members with their own projects even if it's just inspirational.
The bonus of that great looking bike is being able to enjoy how well it rides...
Hopefully you will get many, many miles of enjoyment for all your diligence and effort.
Congratulations on bringng your vision to life and thanks for sharing it.
The bike has great lines. Very clean and the details are evident throughout.
Personally I love cafe builds and this example stands out.
The color scheme, the accents, it all comes together quite well.
You have me wondering if that is an oil pressure or oil temperature guage?
That is one of the better oil cooler mountings I have seen. Kudos.
As Mailman mentioned...
We would absolutely love seeing any of your pics and insights regarding the build.
Many members post a "build thread" after the completion of their project.
Often the shared information can help other members with their own projects even if it's just inspirational.
The bonus of that great looking bike is being able to enjoy how well it rides...
Hopefully you will get many, many miles of enjoyment for all your diligence and effort.
Last edited:
They also tried to make a "Scrambler" version of the Bolt, with XT500 inspired tank graphics. Not a great seller either . Too long, too low, too heavy, too much rake, not enough suspension travel, not enough power.
The Scrambler design was Greg Hageman’s.
For the production model SCR? I thought it looked quite nice, but the specs were still 99% cruiser, so not something I would consider buying.
Yes. He won a Bolt custom contest with it and Yamaha copied it. It looks cool and it's a nice cruiser for a tall guy.
MagnaXs
XS650 Member
Thank you Mailman for your generous praises.Wow! What a beautifully done bike. The first thing that caught my eye was that XS750 gas tank with the early Yamaha tank badge ( nice touch ) , another nice detail is the rear set pegs that look like factory mounts and the factory rubber covers. The very clean way you mounted the oil cooler, triple discs, and on and on, it’s just a super clean looking build. Well done!
View attachment 248794
Did you take any photos during your build? They would be interesting to see.
Yeah, my post seems to be generating a lot of positive response, so maybe I should follow your suggestion and dig up some photos from the build process for interested members.
MagnaXs
XS650 Member
MagnaXs
XS650 Member
Thank you Bluzplayer for your kind compliments.
Mystery solved
... It's an oil pressure gauge. These XS650's don't require much pressure but it's reassuring to know that the oil is indeed flowing.
And yeah, just as soon as I find the time I will be posting some close up detail pics as well as some of the build process.
Cheers
Mystery solved
... It's an oil pressure gauge. These XS650's don't require much pressure but it's reassuring to know that the oil is indeed flowing.And yeah, just as soon as I find the time I will be posting some close up detail pics as well as some of the build process.
Cheers
MagnaXs
XS650 Member
Thanks Vincent, very nice of you to say.Yamaha did indeed build a Cafe Racer in the early 80's, the Yamaha 550 Seca. I uncrated and rode our first one at the shop, took it for a spin and loved it.
It just didnt sell very well for some reason...the Specials were still selling way more often.
At any rate, that's a gorgeous bike you have there...very nice.
View attachment 248791
Yes, I would love to see some close-up pics of your rearsets. Looks like you made the footrests from stockers?
I guess since a certain MoCo made an XLCR ( which I still think is the best looking model they ever made), Yamaha could just as well have made an XSCR. 
Stunningly beautiful ! Well done mate!What's a Yamaha XS650"CR" you ask?
Well, it's the XS650 based "Café Racer"that Yamaha could have/should have built in the late 70s !
Yamaha could have, because they already had most of the necessary parts on their parts shelf.
And, Yamaha should have, because café racers are sooooooo Kool.
Unfortunately the Yamaha designers at the time were busychanging the already awesome
XS650
into something . . . "Special".
And, after over 40 years of waiting for Yamaha to get with the program and still nothing, I decided I would build one myself.
The criteria that I focused on for the build was ... that it incorporated as many period-correct Yamaha parts as possible ... it had to be
comfortable to ride ... and it had to look like it could have originated from the Yamaha assembly line.
So this is what I came up with. What do you think?View attachment 248777View attachment 248776View attachment 248775View attachment 248778View attachment 248779
MagnaXs
XS650 Member
Yeah, I can't understandI guess since a certain MoCo made an XLCR ( which I still think is the best looking model they ever made), Yamaha could just as well have made an XSCR.
what's stopping them from creating a retro, air/oil-cooled, parallel twin to take a bite out of the Triumph and RE market.I'd gladly offer my services as a designer ... if that's all that's stopping them.
MagnaXs
XS650 Member
Thank you! I'm glad you like it.
MagnaXs
XS650 Member
One of my build criteria was to re purpose period correct stock Yamaha parts as well as retain all the rubber vibration isolation features ... hence the XS850 footrest brackets. I also had to extend the kick start clamp in order to clear the brake pedal and the foot rest without bending the lever into multiple angles.
Attachments
Last edited:
Look at the little tuning fork in the baffle....now that is a first!
I think the old fashioned F86 fairing knecapped the Seca. The GPz was steamrolling everything by that time.
F86? Please explain more
Edit: I had to Google F86, and found the Korean war era fighter jet. I guess you find the Seca fairing to be inspired by the nose of that plane?
Kawasaki GPZ 550 had a power advantage over all other 500/550 models, and when the GPZ 600 came, few were close ...
Last edited:
