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Brakes on the 81 model
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jimmythetrucker
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Joined: Mar 12, 2008
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PostPosted: March 27, 2008, 7:19 pm    Post subject: Brakes on the 81 model

Does anybody know? Can anybody tell me why Yamaha went back to drum brakes on the '81 XS650? My '79 had disc brakes on both ends. Why would they retrograde the '81? Nostalgic appearance? Dumbness? What?
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Cooltouch
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PostPosted: March 27, 2008, 7:30 pm    Post subject: Re: Brakes on the 81 model

Hey Jimmy,

I dunno, but you know what? BMW did the same thing with their 80s airheads. The guy I bought my R100 (with a drum rear brake) from had owned an earlier model with a disk rear and he claimed that it was practically useless, and that the drum worked better. Go figure. I've wondered about this, and the only thing I can think of that would cause the disk to work worse than a drum -- everything set up properly of course -- is the spooge kicked up by the front wheel, oil slowly dripping from the engine, etc., gradually contaminating the pads and the disk, so that its performance was ineffectual.

But who knows? Since Yamaha had firmly committed the XS to the Custom look by '81, maybe they just thought a drum rear looked cooler.

Best,

ichael

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5twins
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PostPosted: March 27, 2008, 8:45 pm    Post subject: Re: Brakes on the 81 model

I'm pretty sure it was a cost cutting measure. They did the same on the SR500 after the first 2 years.
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mo650chopper
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PostPosted: March 27, 2008, 10:34 pm    Post subject: Re: Brakes on the 81 model

I thought it was available as an option. I think both disc and drrum where available for a few of the later model years.
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jimmythetrucker
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PostPosted: March 27, 2008, 10:37 pm    Post subject: Re: Brakes on the 81 model

Maybe they thought disc brakes on both ends was overkill. After all: they got disc brakes on the front end, and the front brake does most of the work anyway. I never thought of that before, but it makes sense. They'd save money by puttin' drum brakes on the back and, with discs on the front, stop the bike just as quickly.
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