Bought 72 brand new. Took it to drag strip, trophiesd. Minnesota winter took it completely apart and custom painted. In 73 , wife and I rode it to west coast and put 2.5 k miles on it. Fun trip and started my love for open road on a Mc. This year was 50th anniversary for me going to Sturgis and my first was on my xs650.
Traded into XS650 & loved it. "Fast" or slow, always started, ran fine, did all the things. Even brought home a store bought frozen turkey for Thanksgiving dinner on the 6 pack rack....
I bought my 1972 XS2 when I was 19 years old summer of 1980. The bike was one loose bolt away from being a basket case. I restored it back in the 80's and then again in 2010. I rode it a few years then put it away to preserve it. I re-laced the wheels and cleaned up most of the aluminum bright work a few years ago. I decided I was going to make it road ready for this summer. Currently in about the same condition as the bike in this video. If this bike is 90%, mine is 80-85% It has about 60,000 more miles then this one does though.
I had two Yamaha 650's during this time frame. I put a lot of miles on them. They were reliable but not very fast. Today in my stable is a FJ-09 and a ZX6R. So even in my seventies I'm still addicted to speed.
I had that exact model, bought it from a private pilot that was moving up to a turbo Kawasaki 750. Rode it for 7 years year round in southern New Mexico. Ate batteries and the constant velocity carburetors were prone to holes in the diaphragm make them run like s#*%!
@@jiyushugi1085 they seldom need rebuilding. Met people with 160 to 190k miles on them. Most bulletproof bike I have ever wrenched in 50 yrs of wrenching bikes. Early ones broke crankshaft. Cured that with 17 to 18 tooth cam drive sprocket
I had a blue '76. Great ride around town & canyon cruising. You could really toss it around. Hit the brakes hard & the rear drum wanted to lock up when the weight transferred. No biggie, it wasn't that effective anyway. It would do an honest 100 but it took a while. It did vibrate enough to discourage touring.
Thanks for the video bring back memories I have I thought it was a 71 but it might have been a 72 cuz I vaguely remember a disc brake when I bought the bike that when I was riding at home this is in 1981 80/81 I bought a 71 or 72 possibly excess 650 as I was saying in the beginning and I was driving at home from buying it when I hit the front brake the bike would pull to the side and we've been before his left or right so many decades ago but yeah I paid 500 bucks for it it was my third motorcycle 19881 my first one was a Yamaha 1966 ym1 305 it was Yamahas answer to Honda's dream they looked exactly alike including the instrument panel in the head to the headlight bucket or whatever you want to call it on top I'm bringing this up because it had the huge job on the triple tree in the middle of the hand the bus that you were tightened down as a steering damper it's funny cuz I don't remember it on the XS650 I had but if it was that was that LOL in 76 or 1977 that's when I bought the 1966 Yamaha ym1 volume 130 it was 10 years old already when I bought it and the owner had just got done rebuilding it and painting it so it looked pretty niceI thought and still sick today it was on the power but a cool bike nonetheless you know I had my first two bags with two strokes the second one was in 1975 Suzuki gt550 triple two stroke both with the auto lube you didn't have the next the oil in the gas which is really nice and if you fill the gas tank up on them they lasted forever if you feel the oil tanks up they would last forever I was able to go from New York City to Providence and back or vice versa so many times and was able to go make many many trips without having to really have any oil wasn't my favorite motorcycle I always thought of it as a decent bike with lackluster though you know it was and I put some money into it too like an idiot I put a Corbin seat king queen seen on it like you see on a chopper it raised the sitting position to 5 ft off the air off the ground LOL it felt like riding a pogo stick but I kept it anyway I kept it on the bike it was so expensive it was almost as expensive as the 500 bucks I pay for italso put headers on it that the Santa Claus I didn't notice any performance difference I also put a off-road on off-road square halogen or rectangle halogen light on top of the headlight the stock had light so I had both of them I don't remember when I said I think it was some a green color originally and when I brought it home the second day I had it or managed in the same day I spray painted the side painted the side panels the side covers which I remember were metal and I am black flat black and I also painted the gas tank with a paintbrush but if it works it was fine the by giving ran faster you know you paint certain if you paint bikes a certain flat semi-gloss colors it interacts with the molecules in the air when it's hot allowing for a laminate floor to increase giving you a push from behind so to speak and if you believe that I got some guitar polish that also helped the tone if you can talk yeah two good products LOL yeah I told one short story because it was probably one of the and I've been in some hairy circumstances riding motorcycles to say the least but I was lived in New York City my parents lived in Providence Rhode Island I rolled the Yamaha up the Providence Rhode Island and it was 188 mi from where I was living and on the way back I had to leave early in the evening to be in Manhattan for my shift I worked at a very well-known think it was like the largest the second largest independent newsstand in Manhattan on 8th avenue and 6th I'm sorry 6th avenue and 8th Street anyway I hit the midtown tunnel coming out coming over the the rise on the Long Island expressway then down into the midtown tunnel listening at 11:30 p.m. and when I was actually when I was on my way homeremind me to Fairfield Connecticut or Bridgeport actually the bike started to make slapping noises cylinder noises and it would lose power now and then and I still had quite a way to go before I got to where I was going anywhere when I got to the midtown tunnel that's the tunnel that's one of the tunnels that allows you to go from Queens New York to Manhattan underground under the East River about halfway through the tunnel the bike finally knocked out and actually for about 20 minutes it was running on this one cylinder it's amazing it got me even into the tunnel and of course it it comes out at the right after the apex of the term very tight turn so anyone coming around what is see me until they reach that Apex in the turn so it was really kind of dangerous no cell phones back in 1980 to 81 or 82 so yeah it took a while to get to get a special truck to come in and take the bike and the whole thing that was pretty scary I tried pushing it open and make it to the other end of the tunnelthat was ridiculous too anyway this is a hodgepodge of memories and it's a hotspot of narration because I'm blind that you speech to text and let me tell you it has its own unique take on the English language and how it's written p I started to go blind in the 90s and had to stop writing or driving and let me tell you I lived and breathed motorcycles and cars anything with a motor was something I love and so it was really hard listen to TH-cam videos but I do it now because it brings back memories and I couldn't believe the technology that we have today with motorcycles and blew me away cuz for 20 some ideas I never looked or or showed any interest in motorcycles cuz it was too painful and it still hurts but I'm kind of getting into the memory lane type stuff at this age that I am 730 all about new motorcycles and how wonderful they are and how amazingly advanced technologically they are from when I was still writing and how f***** up it is that I can't use any of it LOL just kidding I'm not a kind of person like that that piece of stuff up over something you can't change anyway ride safe and have fun for me sincerely David Raphael AKA Florida
I owned one of these in the early 80’s. Also owned multiple Brit twins around that time. Imho, CS 650’s are the ultimate classic era bike to actually ride. That said, once I bought my first Moto Guzzi 850 Lemans around ‘83 or so, all the old parallel twins went bye bye. There’s really no comparison. The lemans made those parallel twins feel like little pop guns.
Mate bought that model new(Gold), within 3 months barrels came out due to high oil consumption.Later he had a drag with a Bonnie with me sitting behind both them in a Ford Falcon over 1/4 mile,Bonnie went over the line about 10-15 yards ahead.
Perhaps the most handsome of the Xs series. I've restored several of these for clients over the years. One reason you see so many 72's was I believe it was the most produced model year... over 30000 units. The Xs1 and Xs1b, 1970-71.. were faster than later models. Braking and handling were terrible on these early units. I still have 3 in my stable, 1970 (first year) 1975 Police and 1982. Bar Bet : This Xs is the only model year that had the brake rotor attached to the fork... not the wheel 😎
My dad bought a new yellow one with the front drum that had the rubber plugs you could remove for cooling that bike gleamed in the sun!!! I was 7 yrs old been ridin ever since them days, got me hooked 1st bike was purple yam ht-1 90
Had a high milage XS1 in 76. The steering damper may have been suboptimal, but I forgot to tighten it just once, and rolled it at 75mph. Blame the plastic swing arm bearings. Disc brake front end from a TX500 slotted straight in.
I bought a ‘72 XS2 in March 1972 to replace my ‘64 A65 Thunderbolt. I loved the Yamaha and would likely still be riding it now if BMW had not come out with the R90S. I traded the Yam for a new 1975 R90S in November 1975 and it’s still in use today. As good as the Beemer is, it took several thousand miles before I was convinced that it was better than the 650. It clearly is but I really regret having to lose the Yamaha in the deal.
Surprised to hear they don't handle well. So much commonality appearance wise with R5 and RD 350; which handles amazing. Agreed replace plastic swing bushes. Tapered head bearings help much too !
I bought an orange and black XS2 from a friend when he bought a 1976 model. I fitted 725cc Omega pistons with oversized Amal mk2 carbs and a Dunstall silencer system. After riding his old bike my friend regretted selling it to me!
@@thewatcher5271 This one does have electric start, and we forgot to point out its cool activation procedure-it's connected to the exhaust valve decomp lever! The XS1 was kick start only.
The bike vibrated slightly less than a paint shaker as did most parallel twins did at the time (European and Japanese).Honda's 450 was also vibrated badly at the time. Kawasaki two strokes triples were pretty buzzy too. I guess all these bikes were smoother in comparison to BSA 441.
Had a stock 77, fun bike. The Handling was nonexistent for my 190Ib body. Yes every mod was done to the suspension, the frame swingarm flex way too much. I did improve it but she had to go!
Surprised by the positive comments. Met a rider that had one all hopped up for power who believed it was a total pos, he was told by a dealership that some got returned with parts carried in in a bucket
Bought 72 brand new. Took it to drag strip, trophiesd. Minnesota winter took it completely apart and custom painted. In 73 , wife and I rode it to west coast and put 2.5 k miles on it. Fun trip and started my love for open road on a Mc. This year was 50th anniversary for me going to Sturgis and my first was on my xs650.
Traded into XS650 & loved it. "Fast" or slow, always started, ran fine, did all the things. Even brought home a store bought frozen turkey for Thanksgiving dinner on the 6 pack rack....
Did a 6000 mile round trip on my 74 TX. Dead battery and flat only things that slowed me down
I had a 72 650 and I loved it
Mine was a blue and gold TX 650. Damn I miss that bike.
I bought my 1972 XS2 when I was 19 years old summer of 1980. The bike was one loose bolt away from being a basket case. I restored it back in the 80's and then again in 2010. I rode it a few years then put it away to preserve it. I re-laced the wheels and cleaned up most of the aluminum bright work a few years ago. I decided I was going to make it road ready for this summer. Currently in about the same condition as the bike in this video. If this bike is 90%, mine is 80-85% It has about 60,000 more miles then this one does though.
Great story!
Good and reliable machines. I've worked on more than my share.
I had two Yamaha 650's during this time frame. I put a lot of miles on them. They were reliable but not very fast. Today in my stable is a FJ-09 and a ZX6R. So even in my seventies I'm still addicted to speed.
I had a 71 and a 75 and now have a FJ09 also among others.
One of my all-time favorite motorcycles. I love the 1972-1973 Yamaha 650's.
I had that exact model, bought it from a private pilot that was moving up to a turbo Kawasaki 750. Rode it for 7 years year round in southern New Mexico. Ate batteries and the constant velocity carburetors were prone to holes in the diaphragm make them run like s#*%!
Probably the most reliable, rugged and well-designed 650 parallel twin of all time.
People want those for bobbers,you may be right
@@paulscountry456I wonder myself if bobbers will just be a "fashion of the times"?
Compared to many other bikes. They were over engineered right up to ball bearing camshafts
@@DonMason-cv6og Yep, meaning they are infinitely rebuildable, unlike many newer engines which spin their cams directly on the head and valve cover.
@@jiyushugi1085 they seldom need rebuilding. Met people with 160 to 190k miles on them. Most bulletproof bike I have ever wrenched in 50 yrs of wrenching bikes. Early ones broke crankshaft. Cured that with 17 to 18 tooth cam drive sprocket
I had a blue '76. Great ride around town & canyon cruising. You could really toss it around. Hit the brakes hard & the rear drum wanted to lock up when the weight transferred. No biggie, it wasn't that effective anyway. It would do an honest 100 but it took a while. It did vibrate enough to discourage touring.
Thanks for the video bring back memories I have I thought it was a 71 but it might have been a 72 cuz I vaguely remember a disc brake when I bought the bike that when I was riding at home this is in 1981 80/81 I bought a 71 or 72 possibly excess 650 as I was saying in the beginning and I was driving at home from buying it when I hit the front brake the bike would pull to the side and we've been before his left or right so many decades ago but yeah I paid 500 bucks for it it was my third motorcycle 19881 my first one was a Yamaha 1966 ym1 305 it was Yamahas answer to Honda's dream they looked exactly alike including the instrument panel in the head to the headlight bucket or whatever you want to call it on top I'm bringing this up because it had the huge job on the triple tree in the middle of the hand the bus that you were tightened down as a steering damper it's funny cuz I don't remember it on the XS650 I had but if it was that was that LOL in 76 or 1977 that's when I bought the 1966 Yamaha ym1 volume 130 it was 10 years old already when I bought it and the owner had just got done rebuilding it and painting it so it looked pretty niceI thought and still sick today it was on the power but a cool bike nonetheless you know I had my first two bags with two strokes the second one was in 1975 Suzuki gt550 triple two stroke both with the auto lube you didn't have the next the oil in the gas which is really nice and if you fill the gas tank up on them they lasted forever if you feel the oil tanks up they would last forever I was able to go from New York City to Providence and back or vice versa so many times and was able to go make many many trips without having to really have any oil wasn't my favorite motorcycle I always thought of it as a decent bike with lackluster though you know it was and I put some money into it too like an idiot I put a Corbin seat king queen seen on it like you see on a chopper it raised the sitting position to 5 ft off the air off the ground LOL it felt like riding a pogo stick but I kept it anyway I kept it on the bike it was so expensive it was almost as expensive as the 500 bucks I pay for italso put headers on it that the Santa Claus I didn't notice any performance difference I also put a off-road on off-road square halogen or rectangle halogen light on top of the headlight the stock had light so I had both of them I don't remember when I said I think it was some a green color originally and when I brought it home the second day I had it or managed in the same day I spray painted the side painted the side panels the side covers which I remember were metal and I am black flat black and I also painted the gas tank with a paintbrush but if it works it was fine the by giving ran faster you know you paint certain if you paint bikes a certain flat semi-gloss colors it interacts with the molecules in the air when it's hot allowing for a laminate floor to increase giving you a push from behind so to speak and if you believe that I got some guitar polish that also helped the tone if you can talk yeah two good products LOL yeah I told one short story because it was probably one of the and I've been in some hairy circumstances riding motorcycles to say the least but I was lived in New York City my parents lived in Providence Rhode Island I rolled the Yamaha up the Providence Rhode Island and it was 188 mi from where I was living and on the way back I had to leave early in the evening to be in Manhattan for my shift I worked at a very well-known think it was like the largest the second largest independent newsstand in Manhattan on 8th avenue and 6th I'm sorry 6th avenue and 8th Street anyway I hit the midtown tunnel coming out coming over the the rise on the Long Island expressway then down into the midtown tunnel listening at 11:30 p.m. and when I was actually when I was on my way homeremind me to Fairfield Connecticut or Bridgeport actually the bike started to make slapping noises cylinder noises and it would lose power now and then and I still had quite a way to go before I got to where I was going anywhere when I got to the midtown tunnel that's the tunnel that's one of the tunnels that allows you to go from Queens New York to Manhattan underground under the East River about halfway through the tunnel the bike finally knocked out and actually for about 20 minutes it was running on this one cylinder it's amazing it got me even into the tunnel and of course it it comes out at the right after the apex of the term very tight turn so anyone coming around what is see me until they reach that Apex in the turn so it was really kind of dangerous no cell phones back in 1980 to 81 or 82 so yeah it took a while to get to get a special truck to come in and take the bike and the whole thing that was pretty scary I tried pushing it open and make it to the other end of the tunnelthat was ridiculous too anyway this is a hodgepodge of memories and it's a hotspot of narration because I'm blind that you speech to text and let me tell you it has its own unique take on the English language and how it's written p I started to go blind in the 90s and had to stop writing or driving and let me tell you I lived and breathed motorcycles and cars anything with a motor was something I love and so it was really hard listen to TH-cam videos but I do it now because it brings back memories and I couldn't believe the technology that we have today with motorcycles and blew me away cuz for 20 some ideas I never looked or or showed any interest in motorcycles cuz it was too painful and it still hurts but I'm kind of getting into the memory lane type stuff at this age that I am 730 all about new motorcycles and how wonderful they are and how amazingly advanced technologically they are from when I was still writing and how f***** up it is that I can't use any of it LOL just kidding I'm not a kind of person like that that piece of stuff up over something you can't change anyway ride safe and have fun for me sincerely David Raphael AKA Florida
I owned one of these in the early 80’s. Also owned multiple Brit twins around that time. Imho, CS 650’s are the ultimate classic era bike to actually ride. That said, once I bought my first Moto Guzzi 850 Lemans around ‘83 or so, all the old parallel twins went bye bye. There’s really no comparison. The lemans made those parallel twins feel like little pop guns.
Mate bought that model new(Gold), within 3 months barrels came out due to high oil consumption.Later he had a drag with a Bonnie with me sitting behind both them in a Ford Falcon over 1/4 mile,Bonnie went over the line about 10-15 yards ahead.
Perhaps the most handsome of the Xs series. I've restored several of these for clients over the years. One reason you see so many 72's was I believe it was the most produced model year... over 30000 units. The Xs1 and Xs1b, 1970-71.. were faster than later models. Braking and handling were terrible on these early units. I still have 3 in my stable, 1970 (first year) 1975 Police and 1982. Bar Bet : This Xs is the only model year that had the brake rotor attached to the fork... not the wheel 😎
Had this exact model in 72. Rode from Baltimore to Daytona Beach and back again with full camping gear! Many great memories seeing this video today!
My dad bought a new yellow one with the front drum that had the rubber plugs you could remove for cooling that bike gleamed in the sun!!! I was 7 yrs old been ridin ever since them days, got me hooked 1st bike was purple yam ht-1 90
Had a high milage XS1 in 76. The steering damper may have been suboptimal, but I forgot to tighten it just once, and rolled it at 75mph. Blame the plastic swing arm bearings. Disc brake front end from a TX500 slotted straight in.
Lol my freind had a 80 dark blue. I rode it classic old school British clone. But actually ran good. Just a fun bike.
I bought a ‘72 XS2 in March 1972 to replace my ‘64 A65 Thunderbolt. I loved the Yamaha and would likely still be riding it now if BMW had not come out with the R90S. I traded the Yam for a new 1975 R90S in November 1975 and it’s still in use today. As good as the Beemer is, it took several thousand miles before I was convinced that it was better than the 650. It clearly is but I really regret having to lose the Yamaha in the deal.
Same here, replaced my BSA Thunderbolt (500cc single carb) with an XS2 in '72 as well. Ride a Suzuki GSX S1000F today!
Surprised to hear they don't handle well. So much commonality appearance wise with R5 and RD 350; which handles amazing. Agreed replace plastic swing bushes. Tapered head bearings help much too !
I bought an orange and black XS2 from a friend when he bought a 1976 model. I fitted 725cc Omega pistons with oversized Amal mk2 carbs and a Dunstall silencer system. After riding his old bike my friend regretted selling it to me!
@@650Tbolt wow that sounds like a real ripper!
Those were popular and sold well here in Washington state,now people want them for bobbers.
In 1970 I was having a hard time choosing between this and a BSA 650 Thunderbolt. I went with the Thunderbolt.
@@jamesschneider3828 Both are great bikes, but the beeza takes a bit more tlc
Good Video. I Always Liked That Bike. You Know, I Thought It Had Electric Start, Though. Thank You. (Like #47 - Comment #8)
@@thewatcher5271 This one does have electric start, and we forgot to point out its cool activation procedure-it's connected to the exhaust valve decomp lever! The XS1 was kick start only.
The bike vibrated slightly less than a paint shaker as did most parallel twins did at the time (European and Japanese).Honda's 450 was also vibrated badly at the time. Kawasaki two strokes triples were pretty buzzy too. I guess all these bikes were smoother in comparison to BSA 441.
4700 to 5200 rpm was the sweet spot
The bike is nice and super clean. That dog, though…
@@phinda808 He's also nice, and mostly clean!
Had a stock 77, fun bike. The Handling was nonexistent for my 190Ib body. Yes every mod was done to the suspension, the frame swingarm flex way too much. I did improve it but she had to go!
Bronze ,e bushings were a cure for that
Surprised by the positive comments. Met a rider that had one all hopped up for power who believed it was a total pos, he was told by a dealership that some got returned with parts carried in in a bucket
@@captainaxle438 I don't doubt it, but when compared to the failure rate of the British twins at the time these were still miles ahead!
Built one with a 750 kit and cam. Parked it after 1800 miles. Too fast for me Kickstart and hi compression wrecked my ankle
11.8.24. ☝🏼”The best British🇬🇧 bike … the British did not build”🇯🇵 🤔I believe they were a long rod motor until 1973 or through 1973 model year⚠️
So wish Yamaha had resurrected the XS650 in modern times if they could meet emission regs. I cant follow the sheep to RE.