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71 xs 650
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mcintosh34
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Joined: Apr 30, 2009
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Location: Mitchell Indiana

PostPosted: April 30, 2009, 6:17 pm    Post subject: 71 xs 650

Ok guys. I have this 71 xs650. Ive read that its not the best option to convert to a street tracker. The bike has been in my barn and not ran since 83. Is there any real reason, other then a little more money and a lot more work to keep me from doing this conversion. I welcome any comments.
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bryant
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PostPosted: April 30, 2009, 7:03 pm    Post subject: Re: 71 xs 650

Where did you hear that? I think they make awesome street trackers, especially considering they were used as flat trackers by so many people! Actually, they would be my first choice in making a street tracker since the harely xr750 is a bit harder to get parts for.

Just my two cents!
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jayel
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PostPosted: April 30, 2009, 7:03 pm    Post subject: Re: 71 xs 650

mcintosh34 wrote:
Is there any real reason, other then a little more money and a lot more work to keep me from doing this conversion. I welcome any comments.
none really, the handling won't be the best has the small dia. front forks, flexi frame and the short rear swingarm, but if you're just going for the "look" it's already a stripped down model (doesn't have all that pesky safety stuff and E-starter to get rid of) just save all the stock stuff so you can put it back on later if you want to restore it to original

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Last edited by jayel on April 30, 2009, 7:05 pm; edited 1 time in total
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tacoswild
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PostPosted: April 30, 2009, 7:04 pm    Post subject: Re: 71 xs 650

Probably not a good candidate for a custom project. They're fairly rare and valuable as far xs650s go. $3000+ in good condition. ($6000 if they're all minty). If you have the original exhaust pipes still those alone are probably worth enough to buy a later bike for your street tracker project.

Get us some pics of the current condition. If it's already a basketcase then go for it, but if there's some valuable parts left you'd be better off restoring or parting it out.
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tacoswild
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PostPosted: April 30, 2009, 7:09 pm    Post subject: Re: 71 xs 650

I should mention they're also more expensive to maintain so unless you have a particular interest in keeping a classic bike going you'd be better off with something newer. Go to mikes and try to buy rings for a 256 engine. ha! Or where he says the 70-73 bikes didn't have gaskets on the choke body so he doesn't sell one. uh... okay. Told him that was bogus info but it's still up there. You'll be spending a lot of time on ebay if you want to rebuild a 256 bike.
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bryant
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PostPosted: April 30, 2009, 7:14 pm    Post subject: Re: 71 xs 650

ouch. didn't know all that. If its in good shape i'd sell it to one of these "stock freaks" and buy a later one, punch it out put a bigger cam, do some head work, bigger carbs, etc..and you'd have one hell of a machine.
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drifter
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PostPosted: April 30, 2009, 7:19 pm    Post subject: Re: 71 xs 650

Jayel...with regards to the "flexiframe", check out this (sorry it's a bit long):

Yamaha XS650 Road Racer
Home -> Bikes -> Road Tests and Profiles ->

Richard Cheetham wanted to build a competitive classic racer out of a Yamaha XS2. But doesn’t everyone say they handle really badly...?

The idea to build an XS2 road-racer was born out of my experience of the type many years ago, when I modified an XS650 to use in the Ultimate Street Bike competition which began in the late 1980. That bike, a scruffy non-runner XS650B, was bought for £60 after haggling the seller down from his £100 asking price, and brought home on a trailer.

Yamaha XS2 Classic Racer
The engine was enlarged in the usual ways, and tuning carried out with very basic facilities, I remember doing some porting work using hand scrapers made from scrap files. Without access to a dyno, all tuning modifications were evaluated by running against the clock over the quarter mile, but the conclusion of this work was a bike capable of an 11.6 second standing quarter and 117 mph terminal speed. This performance was sufficient to win the 1990 four-stroke twin championship, and proved the engine had the potential to match any other two-valve twin, including the air-cooled Ducatis of the period.

Yamaha XS2 Classic Racer
With this history in mind I was confident of extracting competitive horsepower from an XS2 engine. The only real problem was going to be the vibration at higher revs which is inherent in the 360-degree parallel twin engine design. As all motorcycle engineers are well aware, the 360-degree big twin is not the way to a fast, reliable or user-friendly motorcycle. The only saving grace of the design has been cheapness and ease of manufacture.

Yamaha XS2 Classic Racer
I was not sure of the capability of the standard Yamaha chassis when compared to the Seeley, featherbed Norton, or Rickman Metisse which are the mainstay of the big twin class in classic racing today. Most contemporary road test reports on the early Yamaha twins (XS1/XS2) were quite scathing in their criticism of the bikes’ roadholding and steering. This nonsense has grown in authority with the passing of the years to become one of the great bar stool legends of our time. Phrases such as ‘bendy frame’, ‘twisting swinging arm’ and ‘hinge in the middle’ can be found in any guide to the model published to this day.

My own belief is that the legend originated in the motorcycle press, who were still firmly in the pockets of the British industry at the start of the 1970s. They did their bit to dampen sales of the model, which came in as a direct competitor to the big twins which were all that remained of the dying British industry.

Since most prospective customers could not be fooled into believing the Yamaha powerplant was not a great improvement over the British offerings which remained, the only criticism which could be levelled with impunity was of that intangible quality called handling and so the legend was born.

In fact the Yamaha chassis is handicapped by a serious lack of ground clearance, and this problem must be addressed if the machine is to be adapted for racing. The standard machine has the engine and lower frame rails slung very low relative to the headstock. This makes for a low centre of mass and good stability at modest speeds and so cannot be seen as a criticism unless the bike is to be taken out of the role it was designed for.


Dave

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jayel
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PostPosted: April 30, 2009, 8:03 pm    Post subject: Re: 71 xs 650

ssssh! I was trying to scare him.......
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650skull
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PostPosted: April 30, 2009, 8:07 pm    Post subject: Re: 71 xs 650

bryant..........don't put him off till he gets all the info............these 256 cranks can be converted to run 447's and still retain the 256 cases and head. Not hard to make your own gaskets for the carbs
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mcintosh34
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PostPosted: April 30, 2009, 8:33 pm    Post subject: Re: 71 xs 650

Thanks. This bike was running when parked, The problem it had was a rusty gas tank and not enough money to repair it at the time. Then I inherited it and its set every since. 17,000 miles and good compression. I even got spark out of the old coils, once I cleaned the points. The exhaust is a aftermarket header of some sort. and The grips are not stock. Still has the old tool kit under the seat. I am not quite sure which direction to take as of yet, but your points will be taken into consideration.
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tacoswild
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PostPosted: April 30, 2009, 9:00 pm    Post subject: Re: 71 xs 650

rusty gas tank is easy, look up electrolysis here. It doesn't sound that bad. How's the paint?
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JeffM
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PostPosted: April 30, 2009, 9:28 pm    Post subject: Re: 71 xs 650

I have to join in with the crew saying, don't change it too much. I think the gold 71's are the best looking of all the xs's (and mine is not a 71).

Rusty tanks can be dealt with... lots of info on here. New exhausts are available when you have the $$.

Tacoswild, you posted a picture rolling down the highway once, it really illustrates all that is cool about the xs1... any chance of a repost?
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tacoswild
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PostPosted: April 30, 2009, 10:59 pm    Post subject: Re: 71 xs 650

Yeah sure, my ex took that one right after I got the bike. Couldn't find any boots right then so I have funny looking socks in the pic. It looks like I'm sitting still but I'm doing about 55mph here:




After a few years of looking for original mufflers without any luck I decided this year I couldn't stand how loud these were anymore and bought Mikes replicas so this year the pipes will look right. The engine rebuild isn't done yet. Ended up needing to go to first overbore pistons, replaced one exhaust valve the others were machinable, all new clutch, lots of other stuff. I'm going to paint the frame while the engine is out but at least for now I'm leaving the tank and covers alone. They're in much worse shape than the pics show but I kind of like the character it has.
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pumps
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PostPosted: April 30, 2009, 11:24 pm    Post subject: Re: 71 xs 650

Of course a lot of us like the older models and some are "stock freaks" , myself included. However , if you need help, no matter what you decide to do, you can find help here. I'm no expert by any means but what little knowledge I have gleaned from reading the posts of more experienced members-and there are plenty more experienced than me- I'll be glad to share with you. My suggestion would be to get the old girl running / riding and fixed up the way you like, then find a cheap beater/ basket case to convert to a street tracker. Then you'll have some experience under your belt AND something to ride while you're putting your tracker together.
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Finn51
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PostPosted: May 1, 2009, 5:26 pm    Post subject: Re: 71 xs 650

Tacoswild, if you are looking to get rid of the mufflers let me know. If they are in good shape then I am interested. John.
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oldskoolcool
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PostPosted: May 1, 2009, 7:31 pm    Post subject: Re: 71 xs 650

clean it up, put on some clubman bars and peashooter mufflers, good to go cafe racer.
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JeffM
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PostPosted: May 2, 2009, 1:40 am    Post subject: Re: 71 xs 650

Great shot, I think its the timeless quality of it I like... could be any year between 1970 and now, just rolling along in the sunshine.

Hope the rebuild goes well, keep us posted! Any odd 256 info is always welcome. When its the original paint, its okay to go scruffy. (anyway, thats my story and I'm sticking to it).
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tacoswild
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PostPosted: May 4, 2009, 6:16 pm    Post subject: Re: 71 xs 650

Finn51,

I think I'll let them hang around in case I find a little bike that needs to sound meaner.

JeffM,

Might be because the helmet and jacket are about the same age as the bike. The helmet has a DOT 1968 sticker inside. I usually wear a full-face on the highway and leave the old blue sparkles for running around the neighborhood. Jacket is an unknown, has lightning zips but I don't know enough about leather to say if it's the canadian or british lightning company. A couple 256 things that were new to me but may be old news to you:

- there's a large "intake port equalization" tube externally connecting the left and right intakes on a 256 engine. It runs across the back of the head by the cam chain tensioner. Somehow I saw it a dozen times but never wondered what it does. Now I know why sometimes when I tried to use the dead cylinder method to balance the carbs I could back the idle screw all the way out, fully closing the butterfly, but the darn thing would keep chugging right along on one cylinder... it was getting mixture from the other carb! Knowing this tube is there completely changes the game plan on tuning the carbs. Actually I think I'll just take it out when tuning. On the plus side you could use the barbs on the head to hook in a sync gauge.

- North West Vintage Cycle parts in Oregon. I almost hate to post this one because they have lots of hard to find 256 parts and I have an impulse to hoard them all to myself Cool Didn't catch the guy's name but they were great. They have stuff on ebay but tons of stuff not listed there too so he modified one of his ebay listings for me to add in the parts I wanted and bundle shipping on it all. Got here in three or four days by regular mail because they're so close to us too. Thumbs up for these guys.
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JeffM
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PostPosted: May 4, 2009, 7:51 pm    Post subject: Re: 71 xs 650

I had heard about the eq tube, mines a 72 and they eliminated it that year. Pretty interesting that Yamaha was playing around with this on their very first four strokes. The Vmax has valves that open to link two intakes together when under throttle, I wonder if it is a similar concept.

Thanks for the heads up on NW cycle parts, ebay can be such a crap shoot, it's good to hear there's some good folks out there supplying our habit.
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XSBradGA
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PostPosted: December 4, 2009, 10:35 am    Post subject: Re: 71 xs 650

I am sure the early bikes have their draw backs particularly the 256 engine if you plan to modify it. Rings and replacement pistons are available but a big bore kit, that's another story.
I will say this. I own 4 XS650s. a 78 Special, a 74 TX, an XS1B and an XS2.
Either of the early bikes is faster than the other two. The TX is decidedly faster than the Special. The XS2 that is stripped of it's lights and what not is by FAR the fastest of the lot. My opinion is that stock for stock the early bikes are quite a bit faster than the later ones. I know you can extract a lot of power from the 447 engines but as they come, the long rod motors have more poke.
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CaptDan
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PostPosted: December 4, 2009, 10:55 am    Post subject: Re: 71 xs 650

pumps wrote:
...My suggestion would be to get the old girl running / riding and fixed up the way you like, then find a cheap beater/ basket case to convert to a street tracker. Then you'll have some experience under your belt AND something to ride while you're putting your tracker together.
+1.

oldskoolcool wrote:
clean it up, put on some clubman bars and peashooter mufflers, good to go cafe racer.
And be "Period Correct" too!
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chef.tay
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PostPosted: December 4, 2009, 4:54 pm    Post subject: Re: 71 xs 650

I have the same bike with the same color scheme and i think that stock is THE way to go( with maybe the exeption of clubman bars).

I'm pretty close to stock on mine except for my mufflers which are from a harley sportster. i'm extremely pleased with them by the way.
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