Anybody race a Yamaha XS 650?

J

Jay Hodge

Well-Known Member
Hey All,

got to looking around in my hangar and found an old XS650 and got to thinking…it sure would be fun to get on the track again. I last raced in 2013, and was running an R6. I’m 60 this month, and have no desire to go that hard again. So, I was thinking a vintage bike could be fun. Well what the hell, there’s that old XS just sitting there taking up space and collecting dust. Did some research and found lots of references to people flat tracking them (you know, Kenny Roberts and all) but very little on road racing them. Was it never popular because it’s just too heavy to be fun/effective? Anyway, let me know what you think.

Thanks,
Jay
 
I"ve never owned one, but a frind of mine in the '80's did. I had a single cam Honda CB750 then.

I guess if you're interested in it, then go for it. I wouldn't, but i don't have one under dust in my garage either.

I was going to make a joke and ask, who is KR?
 
I think you could race that in AHRMA historic production heavyweight without doing much more than tossing the lights and adding safety wiring. I'm sure it would be fun.
 
Thanks guys. As it turns out, that’s exactly the plan I was working on for mine. I’ll give him a call tomorrow and see if it’s still for sale.

Jay
 
There were a bunch of XS650’s raced in AHRMA’s 750 Sportsman class. They were quite fast and dominated that class for years. Still are a few good ones out there but AHRMA really screwed up this big twin class by allowing Honda 750 single cams 4 cylinders in. All of the best XS650s were bored to 750, with cams, Mikunis, and a bunch of special parts, including a few with dirt track frames. There was at least one guy, up in Michigan I think, building those engines for folks. They were quite a bit faster than my Champion framed Triumph 750 until I put in lots of go fast parts and developed it for a bunch of years. A little bit different than what you have in mind, though.
 
You’re right, wasn’t planning on spending that much, but you know how these things go. Everything I do develops a case of “mission creep”!
 
Put some long forks and shocks on it !

You CAN drag the frame!

Discovering this will (almost) ALWAYS make for a LONG ride home,

Maybe because I was/am 230# ?
 
Hugh's Hand Built did or does rephase jobs on them. I ran a friend's relatively stock one a few times back in the day. It's a heavy underpowered bike in that form. I'm building a street tracker with a '77, and 32 Mikuni's, electronic ignition, and a larger OD pipe made a world of difference. Picked up at least 10-12hp, and much more rideable. A full 750 rephase build can easily net 80hp out of them, but it's not cheap.
 
So, in looking at the AHMRA rules for Sportsman 750, I can use a 2.5 inch front and a 3.0 inch rear. I was thinking 18 inch rims would offer the most tire choices. Having said that, what tires are most of you vintage guys running for these size wheels.

Jay
 
Jay Hodge said:
So, in looking at the AHMRA rules for Sportsman 750, I can use a 2.5 inch front and a 3.0 inch rear. I was thinking 18 inch rims would offer the most tire choices. Having said that, what tires are most of you vintage guys running for these size wheels.

Jay
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Little late to the party, but... XS650 Racer you say! Have a complete bike, its a project I will never get to. P3 Heavy Weight (VRRA Canada) across the boarder from Buffalo or 4 hours up the road from Detroit. Contact Ben Gartner - bengartner1932@gmail.com, Facebook, 905-903-0019 or PM here...
 

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ProStar said:
Little late to the party, but... XS650 Racer you say! Have a complete bike, its a project I will never get to. P3 Heavy Weight (VRRA Canada) across the boarder from Buffalo or 4 hours up the road from Detroit. Contact Ben Gartner - bengartner1932@gmail.com, Facebook, 905-903-0019 or PM here...
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I’m not even tire kicking here, just commenting. That looks like a fun bike to race. Super cool yeller Yammi!!
 
As long as nothing goes wrong, this project should be sitting in my hangar Sunday evening. My buddy offered to go pick it up for me while I’m stuck out on the road for a work trip. I had my old motor, that’s been sitting around for years, built by a guy out in Indiana who has a ton of experience with this old stuff. It’s back, and ready to go. This is exciting!
 
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