another 650!

[stromin'taylor]

Well, after doing some debating over whether I made the right decision to by the Wee instead of a Triumph Bonnie, I came up with a solution to my angst. First of all, don't get me wrong. I love my Wee and I'm sure I would regret getting rid of it or trading. Haven't had it long enough or paid down enough to make it worthwhile anyway.

For all the good things about the Wee, like handling, power and just plain fun to ride, it is missing something that other bikes, especially older bikes, have. And that is "character". Something that most enthusiasts consider a very important part of bike ownership. Very few new bikes these days just don't have it. The last Jap bike I think had it was the Kaw W650.

Fortunately for me, my best buddie whom I've been riding with almost 30 yrs. bought a new Suzuki C50, which was also on my short list of bikes I was considering when I bought the Strom. Well, to make a long story a little less long, he decided to sell his other bike to me for a song.

It's a 1980 XS650 Special with under 11k miles and in very good shape. All stock. Right now it's having a charging issue which I'm sure is a loose or corroded connection. He had a new alternator and brushes put on last year. Also has a brand new back tire and chain which I helped him put on.I'm sure I'll have it going in no time. Picking it up Fri. or Sat. I'll use my trailer to get it home, Can't wait!!!

I've had two 650's in the past and love them! It ain't no Triumph, but it's as close as I'll get and still keep the Wee! Best $700 moto-deal I've ever made!!!

[mokusbajusz]

I know what you are talking about...

I had a club member who owned one XS650. It's an interesting bike for me, I mean I cannot decide whether it is ugly or cool. He also had almost permanent problems with ignition, starting, mpg.
But one thing is sure its block and pipes sound VERY COOL!:cool:

[d2mini]

I sold my bonnie for the wee. I know what you mean about character. Problem was, that was the only thing the bonnie had over the wee. Wish i could have kept both, but if I had to choose only one (which i did) it's the wee.

[stromin'taylor]

Thanks for the reply, guys!

I already know of some of the 650's shortcomings and potential problems. Luckily, there are numerous resources out there for the bike and how to modify and fix most of them. 1980 was the first year for CDI ingition on them, so at least I won't have to screw around with points!

Last year I adjusted the valves and cam chain tensioner on it and know most of the history of it, which is comforting as well. It's always been garaged and kept clean and good running order. I suspect the charging problem has to be the battery cables. I've read they aren't the best quality and the negative cable is grounded to a spot that is prone to corrosion.

Picking it up Fri. when my wife and I go down to have dinner with my buddie and his wife. A couple brews are definetly in order

I'll be updating and try to post some pictures at some point.

[Kawidad]

I've been thinking/looking for an XS650 for years as a home-made dually.

[stromin'taylor]

Kawi,

Good luck with the XS dually thing. Sounds like a good idea, but it would take some extensive mods to make it work right. Mainly frame and suspension items. BUT, let's see... forksprings, forkbrace, aftermarket shocks, 750 big-bore kit, and have somebody custom make some high-rise scrambler pipes...

An XS 650 Scrambler!! That would be cool!!!

C'mon Yamaha! Get with the program!

[indybob]

Hi Jay,
Tried to send PM but I'm not sure it went through. Just wanted to congratulate you on the XS 650. I know you've wanted it.

Would love to see it sometime. Maybe we can get together with the wives for a dinner and I can enviously look over the bike and be jealous that you now have another one in the stable.

Bob

[water warrior]

A used bike with a KNOWN history is hard to find. Good for you.

[larolco]

Well, to make a long story a little less long, he decided to sell his other bike to me for a song.

It's a 1980 XS650 Special with under 11k miles and in very good shape. All stock. Right now it's having a charging issue which I'm sure is a loose or corroded connection. He had a new alternator and brushes put on last year. Also has a brand new back tire and chain which I helped him put on.I'm sure I'll have it going in no time. Picking it up Fri. or Sat. I'll use my trailer to get it home, Can't wait!!!

I've had two 650's in the past and love them! It ain't no Triumph, but it's as close as I'll get and still keep the Wee! Best $700 moto-deal I've ever made!!!

Hey, I know what you mean. I've owned three bikes in my life that were unlike any others. Unique personalities with each one. Two of them were Specials - one a 1980 400, and I've still got a 1983 650 (which also has suffered with charging problems.) The third is the DL1000.

The 650 sounds just beautiful. I've finally got it reliable and now it sits parked since I got the Vee. Haven't decided what to do with it.

Check the fuse box assembly. I had all kinds of problems with charging - headlight would go out and shortly afterwards it would begin to misfire when the coils weren't getting enough juice. I replaced the brushes, which was part of the problem (I find it eats the outside brush much more quickly than the inside brush). But the root cause was a fuse. Visually, the fuse looked fine, but would intermittently, at a certain rpm/vibration, lose contact.

Lesson learned: test fuses for continuity before ripping an entire charging system apart and them replace them with high-quality fuses.

Of course, if it's been sitting for a long time (as the 11k mile reading suggests), you could have all kinds of electrical corrosion problems.

Check out mikesxs.com for parts

Keep us posted, eh?

[VtSTROM-K5]

Stromin'Taylor , Congatulations on the XS..I rode an XS-400 '77 vintage for 5 years and over 58,000 miles with out any major problems. 1 set rear shocks 6 fork oil changes,2 sets of points and 6 sets of plugs. plus oil & filters,6 sets of tires....You know what we used to call the XS-650 back in the days of my youth ?? the better Bonneville. It had character, power, oh and you didn't have to worry if it would start. YOMV ;):rolleyes:

[stromin'taylor]

Thanks for the positive replys, everyone! I've put almost 7000 miles on the Wee since the end of Feb. And I seriously doubt it gets that many miles next year!

This is my fourth XS, not 3rd as I said earlier. I forgot about one, Had 2 '75 650B's and a '72 XS-2. The friend I bought it off of, was his 3rd, He had a '78, '79 and the '80 I bought from him. Hey it's only fair I should have it. I'm the one who found it for him in the first place for $500.LOL He put about $400 in it. Sold it to me for $700. I just could'nt let this one slip by! When I had the other ones they weren't classics. Now they are and this ones a keeper.

I'm feeling guilty already for the neglect the Wee will recieve.

Damned MBD!!!!!!

[stromin'taylor]

Just thought I'd post an update on my recently acquired XS 650 Special. I reported that it had a charging issue. Well, come to find out the battery was no good. Only 2 yrs. old, but my buddy didn't ride it enough or keep it charged enough to prevent sulfation. Put a new maint.-free Yuasa in it and have not had any problems at all and usually use the electric start.

Took out the plugs to access the air screws and richened them up a bit and synched the carbs. Runs like a champ now! To make it a little more comfy on the road, I swapped the original buckhorn handlebars for a more standard bar. Similar to the Strom, but not quite as high or wide. This model has a 3-way front fork pre-load adj. and I stiffened it up to the middle notch to cut down on brake dive.

The last and the best thing I've done was change the gearing from 17/34 to 18/30. I first did the front and was pleased, but still wanted lower revs on the highway at 60-70 mph, so put a 30T on the rear. Now it's tuning 3500 @ 60mph. A drop of about 800 rpm's.These motors are pretty smooth until about 4000 rpm's. Now I can cruise the highway in relative comfort. As any of you know that has owned one of these can remember, the gear ratios really suck. 1st gear is about right with a large gap to 2nd, and then fron 2nd to 5th, the spacing is real close, making it feel like you need another gear. Why Yamaha chose to put such a close ratio tranny in a torquey bike like this we'll never know! Now 1st gear is rather tall with that big gap to 2nd, but I'll live with the compromise. An added bonus is that now it feels even more Triumph-like.

Very happy, indeed!

Poor, lonely Wee-Strom sits in the corner giving me dirty looks every time I go in the garage!

[iron_llama]

Man, I love the looks of those vertical twins. One of these days, after I win the lottery and all my problems are solved, I'd love to chopper an XS650, or maybe a KZ750. There are a bunch of XS650 resources out there, I know a bunch of the guys on XS11.com have one.

[PackMule]

If you are looking for 650 parts try www.mikesxs.com and if you want to look at a lot of 650 projects go to www.650motorcycles.com. I think two of the nicest bikes on the site are at post 475. As soon as I get my shop space set up in the next couple of weeks, I plan on starting work on my old xs2.

[stromin'taylor]

packmule,

Thanks for the tip on mikesxs, but I've already ordered from him. Got new handlebars, rear sprocket and badges for for the tank and sidecovers. Had my order in 4 days. Good service!

Going to order a few more tidbits after X-mas.

Love thise bike!!!

Jay

[larolco]

I've had excellent service from MikesXS, too, but I have noticed that their rubber parts are not top quality. Gear shift and foot peg rubber is very soft and wears out quickly. I've also ordered sprockets, valves, seals and a few other assorted items from them and been quite pleased with the products.

[PackMule]

I've noticed the same with the rubber parts too. They seem old or just cheap.
There is another place in Pa. that sells nos parts. I can't remember the name right now but I can look it up when I get home to night and I'll post it.


Rich

[stromin'taylor]

It would nice to have an NOS source. I think alot of mikes stuff is lower quality reproductions. But that's still better than needing something and just not having ANY resource available. I've heard their carb rebuild kits aren't the best either. Glad mine's running fine and don't need tinkered with!

Yeah, Rich, if you could post that NOS source sometime, You would be helpng me and afew others out as well! Thanks!

Happy Holidays everyone!

Jay

[PackMule]

Here ya' go....Speed & Sport in Bloomsburg, Pa.
www.yamatopdog.com
I haven't been to their web site in a few years. Just checked it out and it is much better. Best to call when looking for a part 'cause their inventory can change really quickly....that is no part one day and then a new load from a auction comes in and they have 10 of what you want.
Hope this place is of some help!

Have a great holiday

Rich

[brad sanders]

I rode one of these wonder bikes for about 3 years, I put wheels off an older 650 yamaha (aluminum with spokes 18/19 inch junkyard parts bolted right up) just to get rid of the chopper affect of the stock wheels. then some low flat track type bars. raised the gearing, pealed the heritage special insignias off the the sides,at this point it looks like an older xs sort of. oh yeah i had a seat guy cut up the seat and re pad and recover it to be regular flat seat, to get rid of that silly looking king/queen they come with. you could slide it pretty good in the dirt if you picked the right kind of dirt. i put about 13,000 miles on this bike with no problems, i put brushes in once, just in case. it did seem to lack power, handling, and comfort,and brakes, but still fun in a dumb-ass sort of way, and longer shocks on the back end help quite a bit . ALSO , a fresh set of tappets can help reduce time between valve adjustment, roller tappets out of a Lc4 will fit, making a quieter motor. but the engine comes out of the frame to do this. people hate it when you pass them on a tight backroad with a bike like this, but the first thing to drag on corners is front of the header bracket, hence the front tire will be the first one to go!!!:( :( i never crashed mine but was close once or twice. brad

[larolco]

He, he,

I noticed my XS crying today, as I bolted on my V's new skid-plate/crash bar assembly. The tears, oddly, looked a lot like 10W-40....

I think it needs a new owner. I can't see myself riding it anytime soon, and it's a shame to just let it sit. I think it spent most of its life doing just that. Maybe I could talk my wife into buying it! :p