Nothing went wrong with the machine. It was pretty reliable and cheap to run. I was borrowing it from a friend, as I was without transport at the time.
Wasn't he kind! Eight months on a borrowed death trap.
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!
Worst bike, in the world, ever, bar none. What were Yamaha thinking! The XS500, truly ghastly! It was a Harley wannabe. But who'd wannabe a Harley Davidson?
The machine was two tone, a sort of sandy gold and brown or may be green, I'm colour blind but even in my deficient eyes, horrible!
The XS was just that, XS weight and XS-ively nasty.
The bike, if that's what you'd call it, actually made you feel fat! It did, honestly, I kid you not. I was about ten stone at the time and nearly went on diet as a result of a bike induced feeling of fatness.
The performance was atrocious, I think a wheezy Superdream would have out dragged it. The shear mass and 'greased pork belly' handling made the machine a nightmare.
The semi-chopper design only added to its plethora of horrors. The wind shield wasn't standard, and flapped wildly above 40mph. Not that that mattered too much, the 'alleged' motorcycle could barely break the national speed limit, and had totally run out of steam at 85.
The riding position was classic 'Easy Rider' and oh dear, oh dear!
The engine was hewn from marble, but did actually sound quite nice 'pig PIG pig PIG pig...PIIIGGGG'
The seat was very comfortable and being low, dead easy to get on and off... fall off mostly.
I don't wish to sound ungrateful, but I used to kick the bike every time I was about get on it, and then again when I dismounted.
I was so happy when my fortunes changed for better, and I was able to return Satan's ped to it'=s rightful owner.
Totally untrue, it must have been an XS250 re-badged he was riding. I bought an XS500 in '79 and still have it in my garage with my Fireblade. The XS clocked 16,000 miles and I rode it to various race meetings in Ireland in the company of 600's and bigger and never felt slow, you can cruse at 80 mph all day.
I fitted double disks at the front and a Ducati 888 fairing and never had any problems.
It is now on my list to restore it back to the original and use it as a fun bike.
Easy rider position?? Not an XS, I owned one of the first 76 models and later bought, rode and sold a second and looking to reclaim my youth by getting a third. The bike was not like a Kawasaki 2 stroke triple, but it would do 100 mph.
The monster pig bucket I rode had been badly 'tinkered' with. An XS500 doing a hundred!! Must have been assisted by gravity.. in the form of a long vertical drop, that or a speedo was calibrated in KMPH.
I rode a 1974 XS500 for several years. The bike was reliable and not like a stone at all. The riding position was standard and nothing like that of an easy rider. It had average acceleration and was very comfortable. I rode it with larger displacement bikes and had no problem keeping up.
I had an XS500 back in the late 70's and it was a very reliable machine, which as I recall was well worth the £450 it cost me from new. I kept it till getting a car and had no problems.
This prompted me to buy a 1989 machine back in August last year, and it has reawakened my love of bike riding after stopping 25 years ago, and I now love my "new XS500"
Although there are many rumours to the contrary, I have found my 1076 XS 500 to be a very reliable and pleasant motorcycle to own. I have nearly 30,000 miles on the bike, have owned it for over ten years, and never hesitate to take it anywhere.
Anywhere includes 2 round-trip junkets from Minnesota to the East coast. It's very smooth, reasonable quick for it's displacement and weight, cruises effortlessly at 80 mph, and returns decent fuel economy in the bargain.
There has always been very slight seepage from the cylinder head gasket on the right side, but never enough to cause contamination of clothing or soiling of the rest of the bike.
Continental tires have served me well over the years, and maintenance has never been much of an issue... points and plugs now and then, and one sprocket and chain set at about 20,000 miles.
The only reservation I ever had was the singularly unattractive paint scheme... a muddy brown with horrible pin-striping in white as an accent. I remedied this problem with a lovely gun-metal grey paint on the fenders (plastic), side-covers, and tank.
Since it is the least expensive bike in my somewhat limited stable (1998 Triumph Sprint Sport, 1978 Yamaha XS 11, and a newer Kymco 50cc scooter) it will be the last to go, should the need ever arise. Long live the XS500!!! Mine rocks!!!
Just a brief update on my 1976 XS 500C... following a recent tune-up (points, timing, carb sync...) I went for a 240 mile blast with friends in the area immediately West of Minneapolis this past Sunday. 29,000 miles on the clock, and somehow I managed to hold my own against 3 BMW 1200 GS's and had a wonderful time in the all-too-infrequent sun here in the Twin Cities this spring.
The bike was running between 65 and 80 with extended stretches perched at 6200 RPM hovering right around 80. Perfect!!! No noticeable oil consumption during the day and the motor is downright symphonic at 6000 RPM and above! All this on a bike with very little maintenance and nothing open on the engine ever except and valve, clutch, and points covers. (Still original clutch too!).
I try to match RPM's well when shifting, but by no means do I baby this bike... just good clean fluids most of the time and the proper application of the throttle and clutch cables.
I have been contemplating the purchase of a 2009 Bonneville Black for a year, but am less and less enthusiastic about spending $7699 for something only slightly more satisfactory than the XS 500. Do I really need to cruise at more than 80 MPH... probably not. Long live the XS500 C!!!
I'm 50 and owned plenty of bikes when I was younger; Honda 500/4, Suzuki GS750, among others and a '76 XX500. I loved it! I worked as a motorcycle dispatch rider in London and my XS500 never let me down.
I recently returned to biking, and nearly bought a restored XS500b for £700 (about a quarter of the cost of a similar Honda 500/4, which I love as well), but decided on a modern bike, a Suzuki SV650, great engine, plenty fast enough, but SO uncomfortable. Numb bum after half an hour! Also, I didn't like the look of it, so I sold it and am now searching for an XS500b, which I should have bought in the first place!
I personally love the look of the earlier XS500b. I remember people back then asking if it was a British bike, due to the lovely sound it made and the styling. Anyone got one for sale?! Mark, now living in Wales.
Oh the memories. The XS500 was the bike I had when I met my wife, but you can't blame Yamaha for that! Yes it may not have been the most reliable bike in the world, nor the fastest, nor the most chic, but it regularly took me from London to Newcastle with no aches and pains, cruising for long stretches at 80MPH.
Don't forget how many crap bikes were around in those days. On the whole the engine ran sweetly, the brakes worked (if you gave them long enough), and when the (now) wife wasn't looking there were enough girls that thought you were the business riding one.
Excuse me while I lose myself in a sea of nostalgia...
I have owned 4 1978 XS500's. They have been nothing but fun and very durable. I have gone on long roadtrips, road raced and drag raced these old turds. Still have one, runs low 12's at the strip too.
Jim in Oklahoma/Kansas.
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