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xs650 > > Parts Needed > > Performance Parts > > performance upgrades?


performance upgrades?
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santiablo
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PostPosted: April 15, 2008, 8:54 pm    Post subject: performance upgrades?

um yeah so i looked at all the cool stuff all you guys are doing with the xs n went out n bought one! im still trying to get in running but in the mean time im looking for ideas as to how to increase performance in a nutshell i wanna make it go fast and i wanna get the front end up. im eventually guna bob it out but i don't think im guna hard tail it iv already got k&n pod filters for it but thats about it. everything i have looked at on here about the carbs just confused me im no mechanic and have no clue what im doing. n also any one ever break of the threads of a spark plug in the motor? or at least have a good way to get it out? if not im guna timesert it as soon as i can afford it
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jayel
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PostPosted: April 15, 2008, 9:25 pm    Post subject: Re: performance upgrades?

the 650 was moderatly fast 30+ years ago, if you want a fast bike get something newer, of course if money is no object then anything is possible
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oldskoolcool
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PostPosted: April 15, 2008, 10:57 pm    Post subject: Re: performance upgrades?

i kind of agree, hell an old KZ650 will walk all over these like they are standing still.
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santiablo
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PostPosted: April 15, 2008, 11:48 pm    Post subject: Re: performance upgrades?

well yes thats true but if speed was the only thing i wanted out of it then id get a ninja or something i realy like the xs and i love some of the bobbers people have made out of them thats the route im going but i want to make it perform as well as it can with our runing the risk of blowing my legs apart! i mean come on the top speed on this thing is 115 for something out of the 70 i think thats damn good!
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jimmythetrucker
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PostPosted: April 16, 2008, 6:50 am    Post subject: Re: performance upgrades?

For something coming out of the seventies, 115 mph ain't squat. Get astride a XS1100, a KZ1000, KZ900 or even a Honda CB750 (vintage 1971 or so). You don't have to wreck any of those big fours to get yourself killed -- they're all fast enough to scare you to death.

The 650 Yamaha twin was designed to look and sound and ride like an improved Triumph Bonneville. Later models (the XS) incorporated a few lines borrowed from home-built Harley choppers.

Performance wise, the best anyone can do with a mid-size twin is make it run like a souped-up mid-size twin. Go ahead and pour a couple of grand into the engine and suspension. Have fun with your wrenches but, while you do so, remember your bike will NEVER be "fast" like a KZ900 is fast. If you want a fast bike, best get a four-banger, or at least a triple.
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bluebikerblan
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PostPosted: April 16, 2008, 8:30 am    Post subject: Re: performance upgrades?

Respectable, reliable, versatile, vintage twin. Great to work on and fun to ride. Still reasonably available. Ditto the parts and know how.

Still as much enjoyment per buck as can be had with your clothes on.

Well almost.

High performance........??? How about great performance in class?

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Buzz
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PostPosted: April 16, 2008, 8:34 am    Post subject: Re: performance upgrades?

Yeah 12.5 seconds and 106 in the 1/4 for a stock XS......Yeah that's a real toad! Rolling Eyes


1980 stock XS 650


I guess I'd better push my XS to the bone yard and buy a new crotch rocket.


Buzz
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Cooltouch
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Joined: Jan 07, 2007
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Location: Houston, Texas

PostPosted: April 16, 2008, 12:21 pm    Post subject: Re: performance upgrades?

jimmythetrucker wrote:
If you want a fast bike, best get a four-banger, or at least a triple.

Or a Ducati


Best,

ichael

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Cooltouch
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PostPosted: April 16, 2008, 12:29 pm    Post subject: Re: performance upgrades?

Umm, getting back on topic . . .

santiablo wrote:
um yeah so i looked at all the cool stuff all you guys are doing with the xs n went out n bought one! im still trying to get in running but in the mean time im looking for ideas as to how to increase performance in a nutshell i wanna make it go fast and i wanna get the front end up. im eventually guna bob it out but i don't think im guna hard tail it iv already got k&n pod filters for it but thats about it. everything i have looked at on here about the carbs just confused me im no mechanic and have no clue what im doing. n also any one ever break of the threads of a spark plug in the motor? or at least have a good way to get it out? if not im guna timesert it as soon as i can afford it

Since your mechanic'ing skills are limited, I would recommend that, first thing, you buy either a Clymers or Haynes manual for the XS650 and read it. Start with the simple stuff. Since your bike is not running, try to figure out what you need to get it running. Do this first. Get the bike running before you decide how you're going to customize it and/or enhance its performance.

Keep in mind that you will likely have maintenance and repair issues that must be handled before any performance improvements are made -- this is true with any performance enhancement project. You want a reliable base to build upon.

Once you've gotten the bike running, and you've put a few miles on it and gotten the feel of what the XS is all about, then you'll be in a better position to decide just what you want to do in the form of improvements/enhancements, or customizations.

Best,

ichael

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grizld1
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PostPosted: April 16, 2008, 1:34 pm    Post subject: Re: performance upgrades?

Buzz, I had a look at that time slip. Assumed stock wet weight of around 460 lbs and 160 lb. rider weight on that site's dyno estimator yielded a ballpark flywheel hp figure of around 60; got a feeling that motor's been breathed on some, eh? But not that much. How are your VM's working?

Santiablo, there are a lot of performance components available for the machine. IMO the best place to start is a good port job with intakes and exhausts that can breathe.

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oldskoolcool
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PostPosted: April 16, 2008, 2:24 pm    Post subject: Re: performance upgrades?

yeh, BS for a stock xs to run 12.5 in the 1/4.
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Buzz
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PostPosted: April 16, 2008, 3:57 pm    Post subject: Re: performance upgrades?

So kill the messenger!

I come up with 50hp 660lbs= 13.8

If you can't break 14 seconds in the 1/4 on your XS, you should:

1. Get a tuneup.

2. Rebuild the engine.

3. Loose some weight Fat ass! (whoops, people in glass houses.)


The VM's are working great Griz


Buzz
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jimmythetrucker
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PostPosted: April 16, 2008, 4:13 pm    Post subject: Re: performance upgrades?

There is no substitute for multiple cylinders. Take my old XS11, for example: I weigh 275 lbs. The guy on the 2000 cc big-twin Honda must have weighed 170 or 180 lbs. His was tuned perfectly. Mine was tuned kinda sorta. A 10 mph rolling start (I don't like to buy tires) and by the time I got to the top of third gear I could barely see that big new Honda back there behind my 25-year-old eleven. Talk about 12.5 seconds and 106 in the quarter on a stock XS650 (I don't believe it, and I rode one for many years), an XS11 will cruise at 110 mph all day long if you got the nerve to ride it that fast, that far. The 650 is gasping for air at that speed and will probably shake itself to pieces if you hold it there -- and I won't even discuss how it will handle at that speed. Nobody likes a 650 more than I do, people, but let's get real. If what I said actually hurts you, just shake it off.
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tracker79
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Joined: Apr 04, 2006
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Location: Indiana

PostPosted: April 16, 2008, 4:17 pm    Post subject: Re: performance upgrades?

Mine is basically stock and ran a 14.21 leaving real easy, 12's for a stocker sounds a bit out there, mid to low 13's leaving hard seems more realistic.
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jimmythetrucker
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PostPosted: April 16, 2008, 4:31 pm    Post subject: Re: performance upgrades?

tracker79 -- I'll believe 14.2. I'd ALMOST believe 13.2, especially if the rider isn't a lard-ass like me.
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xsjohn
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Joined: Jul 30, 2006
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Location: North Carolina USSA

PostPosted: April 16, 2008, 4:54 pm    Post subject: Re: performance upgrades?

How easily and happily one could get to 100,000 miles seems like more of a reasonable performance goal to me........xsjohn
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oldskoolcool
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PostPosted: April 16, 2008, 5:15 pm    Post subject: Re: performance upgrades?

agreed. although, i'll still do bigbore one day just because.
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xsjohn
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PostPosted: April 16, 2008, 6:50 pm    Post subject: Re: performance upgrades?

Know what you mean.....guess 8.5-9 to 1 and it may go the distance....only one good way to find out........and those big fins couldn't hurt it's chances.......xsjohn
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grizld1
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PostPosted: April 16, 2008, 7:09 pm    Post subject: Re: performance upgrades?

OK, Jimmy, let's do get real. My XS650 is rock-solid past the ton, and if you want to know how it fares in a roll-on against an 1100 packing your weight with the drop given to the big bike, send jetmechmarty a PM and ask him. My machine's a bit built in both motor and suspension, but nothing radical.

With the exception of the Honda F-series and Kaw GPZ's, the early fours are lead sleds; in the twisties, all you'd see of my XS650 is the tail light fading. The 4-banger sport bikes are fine--till you get 'em in bumpy corners where the front end weight bias and steering geometry lets the pavement grab 'em by the nose and shake where a well-suspended XS650 will hold the line and hammer right out of the apex (I'm not theorizing here; my old machine has left some sport bike riders red-faced and white-knuckled on the backroads).

As far as there being "no substitute for multiple cylinders," don't embarrass yourself by trying to drag race an SV1000 Zook or Ducati 90* V-twin.

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jimmythetrucker
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PostPosted: April 16, 2008, 9:23 pm    Post subject: Re: performance upgrades?

grizld1, I don't believe your "nothing radical" 650 can outrun or outpull an XS11 -- no matter who says so. And even if it would, put equivalent modifications on the XS11 and then see if your "nothing radical" 650 will still outrun it. Or put your 650 back stock and run it against a stock XS11. Either way, you'd be dog food. That's real, for sure.
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xsjohn
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PostPosted: April 16, 2008, 10:16 pm    Post subject: Re: performance upgrades?

Neighbor bought one of those faster Chinese mopeds a few months back….150 cc maybe.....Was over there and told him I could beat him to the bridge and I would start out facing the other way and have to turn around and catch him…….bridge is about 1200-1300 feet away…..Didn’t hear from him for a while but could her him over there messing with it….

Saw him go by today and I bet he was going 60 or so…maybe more….and when he pulled into the driveway he blew gravel out into the street…..the little devil has hopped it up for sure……eaten by moped he is thinking…..and me too…….better practice my burnouts….

xsjohn
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jayel
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PostPosted: April 16, 2008, 10:41 pm    Post subject: Re: performance upgrades?

set a time and date john then call the cops and tell them this guy races over that bridge every day at that time, then the day of the big race rev your engine a few times to get him all excited then just ride off the way your headed (away from the waiting cops)
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xsjohn
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PostPosted: April 16, 2008, 10:48 pm    Post subject: Re: performance upgrades?

That's a better idea than what I was thinking.....like pushing it towards the back of the farm and leaving that way so he wouldn't hear me.....

xsjohn
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grizld1
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PostPosted: April 16, 2008, 11:38 pm    Post subject: Re: performance upgrades?

Hey Jimmy, there's no way I can outrun an XS1100 in a serious straight-line drag--there's no replacement for displacement there! But in friendly horsing around, the bike delivered a bit of a surprise to the 1100 owner I referred to at last year's 650 Society Smoky Mountain Rendezvous. On a technical or even moderately twisty road, I'll outrun an XS11 pretty easily, but not by outpulling it.
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