Buzzy's Revival: 1982 XS650SJ Heritage Special

[Boog]

I am starting this thread now though I have much research, planning, and discovery to do before I toss too much gold into the abyss I am preparing for.

Buzzy will remain stock: no Café, or chop/bobber, no dual sport. All of which would be awesome! But I want a vintage, stock Yamaha XS650 that is reliable enough for a cross country trip, or six...

The goods:

I rode it 80 miles home without any issue except for the right side panel departing the bike at speed on a very congested freeway. I could not stop safely to retrieve it. But another is already ordered. So far it gets around 35mpg.

The Odometer says 7,780 miles.

The tires appear to have a lot of life left and were manufactured in 2019.

I have two new covers for the bike.

All lights work and it is state inspected now.

My to do list thus far:

Hopefully get the title and registration sorted out tomorrow at the DMV on a walk-in basis. The next available appointment is close to Thanksgiving.

1. New brake pads in front; replace the brake fluid.
2. New brake shoes in rear. (A new adventure for me as I have never done this task).
3. New battery: clean and coat all electrical fittings. Battery cannot start the bike at all it seems.
4. Steering head feels odd, need to figure out why: retorque may be all that is needed. Hopefully not new bearings.
5. Kick start is an issue. The kicker won't catch at times. I understand this may be an adjustment of the clutch cable, I'll look into that more as I read the tech area of the forum.
6. Chain is loose. I am not sure if it is the original, but with such low miles, it is possible that the original was replaced when the bike was brought back to life sometime in the last 39 years. In any case, it will get cleaned, lubricated and tightened up soon.
7. The oil was changed 500ish miles ago, but I want to do it again now to establish a baseline. I have seen a few videos on changing the oil and filters. Why did Yamaha make their oil filter system like this?!?
8. Front forks dive way too much. I suspect a rebuild is in order. I'm not even sure the forks have fluid at the moment.
9. I want to find the two lower side covers as these have gone away long ago.

My guess is the bike has fallen on the left side. The left mirror I tightened has a bent shaft and the left front indicator stock has been replaced with chrome instead of the original black.

Other aesthetics can wait. I need to arrest some rust here and there but a full paint job will come towards the end of my mechanical updates.

Here is where I start:

 

[Boog]

The DMV line was half way around the block but Buzzy is now titled and registered in my name.

 

[atomsplitter]

Excellent choice of old school. Your starter doesn't spin, or won't engage? The drive gear is really soft and wears quickly and usually needs replaced. The thing about your head stock likely isn't your headstock, it's your swing arm pivot bushings, they are toast. Test it by putting the bike on the center stand and see if you get side-to-side play at the rear wheel. Yamaha put in plastic bushes and they wear out pretty quick. Mike's XS has brass replacement bushings you can press in easily and a harder swing arm axle that really improves the bike's handling manners. Don't forget to order new rubbers for the grommets that hold the side covers on the old ones are hard and that's why you probably lost a cover. Also consider replacing fork seals and springs before you add oil to the legs. The rear brake shoes are probably OK since it has so few miles, just likely needs adjusted. I've rebuilt a lot of those old XS's and they are a hoot to ride after you sort the worn stuff out. Mike's XS is a great resource for bits and bobs; Yamaha XS650 Parts & Vintage Yamaha Parts - MikesXS.com

 

[Boog]

Excellent choice of old school. Your starter doesn't spin, or won't engage? The drive gear is really soft and wears quickly and usually needs replaced. The thing about your head stock likely isn't your headstock, it's your swing arm pivot bushings, they are toast. Test it by putting the bike on the center stand and see if you get side-to-side play at the rear wheel. Yamaha put in plastic bushes and they wear out pretty quick. Mike's XS has brass replacement bushings you can press in easily and a harder swing arm axle that really improves the bike's handling manners. Don't forget to order new rubbers for the grommets that hold the side covers on the old ones are hard and that's why you probably lost a cover. Also consider replacing fork seals and springs before you add oil to the legs. The rear brake shoes are probably OK since it has so few miles, just likely needs adjusted. I've rebuilt a lot of those old XS's and they are a hoot to ride after you sort the worn stuff out. Mike's XS is a great resource for bits and bobs; Yamaha XS650 Parts & Vintage Yamaha Parts - MikesXS.com

My electric starter issue is a function of a poor battery, or at least I am convinced of it at present. The kick starter research tells me my clutch cable may be out of spec. If i try to kick it over in gear with the clutch lever pulled in, the bike will lurch forward. When I put the bike in neutral, the kicker doesn't want to catch. It just falls down when I try to kick it unimpeded by any connection. Eventually, after rolling it and clutching, I can get it to catch and the bike starts right away.
I will test your idea of swing arm worn bushings tonight. I have to tighten the chain after cleaning it anyway.
I will look into adjusti9ng the shoes, I hope you are correct. YouTube is my friend... As is the XS650 forum. I have been a member there now for a few years and these folks love their rides just as the Rocket mafia does here.

 

[atomsplitter]

There's a clutch adjuster screw on your pivot arm, what it sounds like to me is a worn out clutch. Not to worry there's parts aplenty for that bike. The 80's models I believe use a 7 ring basket, the early 70's units had thicker 6 ring baskets. You can try to adjust but if the clutch fiber rings are too worn it won't help.

 

[atomsplitter]

If the kickstart isn't engaging properly you'll need to pull the cover off and find the problem. Here's a really good video on proper install of the kickstarter:

 

[Boog]

Great videos @atomsplitter, thanks.

Tonight I changed the battery and the bike fired off right away.

I also found fuel slightly dripping from the pod filter. The petcock was off. It seems I have found a new issue.

On a happy note, I found the Yamaha security chain tucked into a little cubby on the right side. the lock is keyed to the ignition key.

 

[atomsplitter]

Back in the day they also included a helmet lock. I think my 79 has one......

 

[Boog]

Back in the day they also included a helmet lock. I think my 79 has one......

That is attached to the seat lock. Which confused me for several minutes after I unlocked the seat. Evidently, one has to hold the seat down so that both sides unlock.

 

[atomsplitter]

That is attached to the seat lock. Which confused me for several minutes after I unlocked the seat. Evidently, one has to hold the seat down so that both sides unlock.

Yamaha enginerds at their clever best wouldn't you say? The bike was designed from the original Triumph Bonneville and was Yamaha's most popular bike for modification. Back in 1978 I dongoed off my 74 XS650 over the hood of a Buick Electra 225 on K-18 Highway just before Stagg Hill outside Manhattan, KS. It was a whole lot of fun up until that particular adventure.