Thoughts on a 1977 Yamaha XS 750 with 1100 miles?

[exdirtbiker]

To get back on track...
My neighbor inherited it. It's not mine, nor will it be. His Brother in Law bought it new from the other B.I.L., who owner the Yamaha dealer. The family name is on the sticker on rear fender.
They want to keep it in family.
"People" are telling him it's worth THOUSANDS... that's a pretty vague term.
I warned him "everything on that bike needs $100... Front M/c bad, front calipers locked, tires 40 yr old, tank 80% full (of junk), 3 carb kits... that's already $600 into it, in my brain.
He doesn't have that kind of play money. And he's blind. An amazing mechanic, but he'll not be driving it. ( He's the neighborhood mower repair guy)
Thanks for all your assistance.

 

[850 Combat]

I think it's a pretty cool bike. You gonna strip off the fairing and bags?

Don't think it holds a candle to a GS850 but then it's older so you can't expect it to. I think it would make a very entertaining cruiser.

Good luck with the restore.

I agree with you there. A GS850 handles way better. Its been too long for me to really remember what the power was like compared to the GS850. I've owned about six 850Gs, and I still own one today. I've always thought that the low and mid range power in an 850G was pretty weak. The Yamaha might be better in that regard, but I'll bet its no quicker or faster.

 

[GS1150Pilot]

I like the fact that it's been in the family, and that does make it worth more to that family. I like the GS850, but I like these, too. Just cool, middle of the road standards.

 

[Sandy]

I bought one new back in the day, had it for 5 years or so and put about 80,000kms on it. Pretty trouble free bike but actually horribly boring. With the front suspension tweaked a bit, Koni shocks and Michelin M45 tires it actually handing pretty decent and seemed to have lots of ground clearance. Not sure about the US market but in Canada the '76 and '77 were only available in silver IIRC and the '78 was red as shown in your photo. Pull the points cover, if is got points it's a '77. The '78 had some improvements like hotter cams and electronic ignition. They're really not worth much but if gotten cheap enough could be a good project. I had a lot of good times on that bike including a 6 week, 16,000km cross Canada trip.

 

[Guest]

I've got a soft spot for the larger XS bikes. Had 2 XS11s and enoyed them both. Back in the 80s my pal had a 750 with a 3 into 1 Piper exhaust that he had repacked and it still remains one of the most glorious bike noises I've ever heard.

2nd gear has always been a weak spot on them because it's such a long throw from first to second.

 

[GS1150Pilot]

The XS I owned was a hoot. It used a bit of oil, was cumbersome at slow speed, but a total blast to hammer out on the open road. I sold it when I got the 750 Turbo, which turned out to be a kind of financial Dracula due to its potential, and I had a lot less fun on the GPz, all said and done.

 

[Guest]

There's nothing "WRONG" with it, other than the fact it's not worth much and you could NEVER restore that thing and NOT be upside down on it. It's only worth a couple hundred bucks to anyone that knows better. NO collector value whatsoever, and probably never will be. Whoever told him it was worth "thousands" is probably a good friend of Chucks! LOL!

 

[850 Combat]

I bought one new back in the day, had it for 5 years or so and put about 80,000kms on it. Pretty trouble free bike but actually horribly boring. With the front suspension tweaked a bit, Koni shocks and Michelin M45 tires it actually handing pretty decent and seemed to have lots of ground clearance. Not sure about the US market but in Canada the '76 and '77 were only available in silver IIRC and the '78 was red as shown in your photo. Pull the points cover, if is got points it's a '77. The '78 had some improvements like hotter cams and electronic ignition. They're really not worth much but if gotten cheap enough could be a good project. I had a lot of good times on that bike including a 6 week, 16,000km cross Canada trip.

That's interesting. You guys got red XJ650 Secas, and we only got silver (and only 1982). I saw a red one when we were riding along the north side of Lake Ontario east of Toronto. It looked pretty good in red.

 

[GS1150Pilot]

I've seen red Secas here (and not the Seca II).

 

[hillsy]

Those things are starting to attain "value" because they are cheap and the hipsters are cutting them up for cafe racers. A bit like the CX500 - they are now "desirable" because they have been a popular base for hipster cafe / brat / tracker things when in reality they are pieces of crap.

 

[hillsy]

BTW - you can pretty much forget about the mileage as anything but a nominal figure on a bike that has been sitting for 30 years.

 

[Jedz123]

But then, so is a Fatboy.

:lol: Hahaha

 

[Jedz123]

I had an XS750 for a little bit. Bought it from a buddy fixed it up then let him buy it back. He uses it as his daily beater bike. Runs good, not a fast machine. The primary chain drive can get loud on them but I know folks make homemade adjusters for them. I wouldn't want one again. The exhaust note does sound cool though! Watch out for 2nd gear... I know these bike are prone to losing then.

 

[rphillips]

For years & years, Yammys were known for 2 nd gear problems, have they fixed them yet?

 

[GS1150Pilot]

I know the XS/XJ series had the issue, and so did the VMax, but by the time I bought the FZ1, there was no longer any major issue with the gearboxes that I am aware of.

 

[hillsy]

Lots of bikes across the board had 2nd gear issues - I had a ZX11 (ZZR1100) that had it, amongst others.

Consensus was it was partially due to abuse and the "throw" between first to second (with neutral in between). Of course, most gearboxes are 1N2345 but some were more susceptible to damage / wear going through neutral than others (especially if we're talking big HP and high RPM).

FWIW I've had a few XJ Yammies but have never encountered this sort of gearbox issue with them. And one of the sweetest changing gearboxes I can remember was on the XJR1200.

 

[Guest]

For years & years, Yammys were known for 2 nd gear problems, have they fixed them yet?

I modified my XS11 gearbox by shifting a washer on one of the shafts that made it easier to engage the gear and reduce the tendancy to strip the gear. Don't know if this translates to other engine sizes. I had an FJ1200 (derived from the xs1100 engine) for about 12 years and never had any gearbox issues.

BTW the XS range is getting quite collectable here in the UK. As is just about everything from that era. Maybe not worth as much as other brands but still sought after.

 

[GS1150Pilot]

I could still go for a '78 XS11 in the red with gold trim. That was a great looking bike.

 

[Guest]

I could still go for a '78 XS11 in the red with gold trim. That was a great looking bike.

Like this?

https://indianapolis.craigslist.org/mcy/6208439684.html

https://indianapolis.craigslist.org/mcy/d/yamaha-xs/6225722072.html

 

[GS1150Pilot]

Bastage! Like those, but with the gold pinstriping they came with, and with more standard seats. Yes.