1976 Yamaha XS500C restomod

Been lurking for awhile, but I started getting a little done on my build so I figured I'd join in the fun and put her out here. Like the title says, I've got an XS500 that has seen much better days and is gettin some winter time lovin'. It had been sitting since 1984 under a tarp outside and was parked with a full tank of gas and the petcocks on, so you can imagine what kind of shape she's in. The engine was stuck from sitting, so a few months ago I filled the cylinders with marvel and waited. After adding oil every couple days for about two weeks I pulled the plugs and rocked her back and forth in gear and she finally broke loose! I went ahead and rebuilt the carbs and cobbled together a makeshift fuel tank so I could hear her run. After about 100 kicks it puffed a little smoke, and after about 100 more kicks she finally fired. The ensuing smoke cloud was impressive enough that one neighbor came over to make sure my garage wasn't on fire, but after running a few minutes it got much better. ;D The left cylinder was seriously stuck, so I'm sure the rings will take some time to loosen up, hopefully after a few heat cycles and lengthy runs.
So anyhow, here are some pics.
Here's how she looked when she came home. An XS500C dresser looks about as natural as the RD400 dresser that used to sit in the back of the Honda shop I used to hang out at....

After stripping off the cruiser garb-

Petcock mess and progress-




Here you can see my new tank. I ran down to Archway Int. Motorcycle Salvage here in St. Louis and found a rust free tank, and I've got $100 worth of petcock parts and gaskets coming any day now. The master cylinders and calipers have been cleaned out and are working properly, so once everything gets here I'll be able to run her around the block! As long as I still feel she's a worthy candidate after the test ride the cleaning/ painting/ modding will commence.

Re: 1976 Yamaha XS500C cafe/ restomod

Cool project man. The 500 is a neat bike. What did you end up doing with the old tank?

Re: 1976 Yamaha XS500C cafe/ restomod

Thanks! I just really like the idea of a dohc 8 valve twin that pegs at 9k. As for the tank, I still have it. It is good for a wall hanger but not much else. You can see in the pics where it rusted through and dripped on the side overs.

Re: 1976 Yamaha XS500C cafe/ restomod

I picked up one of these bikes last year and started working on it with a bang. Things died off. Hoping your build inspires me to get back on it. Going back and forth between cafe and brat styles.

Re: 1976 Yamaha XS500C cafe/ restomod

derxs500 said:

I picked up one of these bikes last year and started working on it with a bang. Things died off. Hoping your build inspires me to get back on it. Going back and forth between cafe and brat styles.

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Well, if I can stick to my plan of just cleaning and painting everything with a few well placed tasteful mods she should be done by the end of feb. I'm thinking Kenny Roberts inspired paint (black and yellow of course), some polished bits, black engine and wheels, modded seat and tail, and lower bars is probably going to be about it. I don't have the time to get crazy with it and want it ready when spring hits.

Re: 1976 Yamaha XS500C cafe/ restomod

How bad is that tanked rusted through? If it's just a couple of holes, I can weld in new metal. How much do you want for it?

Re: 1976 Yamaha XS500C cafe/ restomod

Charles said:

How bad is that tanked rusted through? If it's just a couple of holes, I can weld in new metal. How much do you want for it?

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Well it had a couple pin holes that I welded up already but it looks like it may have been leaking from under the rear support bracket too, so it would have to be cut off to get to the holes. It's pretty rough. If you are looking for a clean tank, Archway had another one that I passed on only because it had a little varnish in the bottom and this one was clean as a whistle. You could probably get it for $80-100 plus shipping. I can give you contact info if you want it.

Re: 1976 Yamaha XS500C cafe/ restomod

Love those tanks there the perfect fit and shape for the XS frame . Theres alot of small things you can do to the 500s . Keep the pics coming .....

Re: 1976 Yamaha XS500C cafe/ restomod

DreadRock said:

Love those tanks there the perfect fit and shape for the XS frame . Theres alot of small things you can do to the 500s . Keep the pics coming .....

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I agree. I love the angles and hard lines in the design. I've been looking over your XS build; if mine turns out half as nice as yours I'll be thrilled! Nice work.

Re: 1976 Yamaha XS500C cafe/ restomod

Always nice to see another 500 on the forum. Good luck on your build!

Re: 1976 Yamaha XS500C cafe/ restomod

Interesting to see what you will do with this. Got one myself waiting for my other project to finnish, a FJ600 from -84.
"Bagger stile" ... not that pretty

Re: 1976 Yamaha XS500C cafe/ restomod

Pattheswede said:

Interesting to see what you will do with this. Got one myself waiting for my other project to finnish, a FJ600 from -84.
"Bagger stile" ... not that pretty

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It's amazing how many of these old jap bikes had bags and a windjammer fairing hung on them. I guess it really was the cool thing to do back in the day.

I won't be getting too crazy with her but lower bars, a reworked seat, custom tail, tidy instruments, paint, and a good spit polish are all on the list.

Petcock parts should be here today. After the tank is back together this thing oughta move under it's on power for the first time in 27 years. Once I get to run her through all the gears and check it all out I'll start with the real work.

Re: 1976 Yamaha XS500C cafe/ restomod

The plan is yellow/black on the whole bike with a few polished pieces. I've been trying to decide if I want to go yellow or black onthe wheels. I'm leaning toward black, but some of the early 80's kaws had color matched wheels and they looked pretty cool. Here's a pic of my bike with yellow wheels:

In fact, there are alot of elements of this bike that I like. Anyways, what do you all think? Would you go yellow or black for the wheels? Keep in mind the engine and exhaust will be black with a few polished details and the forks may be gloss black too.

Re: 1976 Yamaha XS500C cafe/ restomod

Had Yellow wheels on a 94 FZR600 they looked great but man had to keep clean . Black wheels even when dirty look clean lol What i did was take a good pic of my bike and throw it on paint shop or what not . Its not perfect but can give you a few ideas on how it will work and look . Think i went thou 6 or 7 diff ones befor i picked one .

One thing you want to make sure is the oil line that runs between the carbs to the valve train is open and getting oil up there. One way to do it would be crack the top bolt open and kick it over or once you get it running theres a small screw on the right hand side of the motor to crack open and oil will come out. Not sure if you said but if you havent picked up a maunal do so it will help out alot !

Re: 1976 Yamaha XS500C cafe/ restomod

fomocoguy said:

Well it had a couple pin holes that I welded up already but it looks like it may have been leaking from under the rear support bracket too, so it would have to be cut off to get to the holes. It's pretty rough. If you are looking for a clean tank, Archway had another one that I passed on only because it had a little varnish in the bottom and this one was clean as a whistle. You could probably get it for $80-100 plus shipping. I can give you contact info if you want it.

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I would like that info. Thanks!

Re: 1976 Yamaha XS500C cafe/ restomod

Charles said:

I would like that info. Thanks!

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Here is a link to there website: http://archwayintl.com/e-store/index.php
This place is awesome. There is 3 floors full of stuff plus some. Just about anything you could need, plus a lot of rare stuff.

Re: 1976 Yamaha XS500C cafe/ restomod

[quote author=DreadRock]
Had Yellow wheels on a 94 FZR600 they looked great but man had to keep clean . Black wheels even when dirty look clean lol
One thing you want to make sure is the oil line that runs between the carbs to the valve train is open and getting oil up there.
[/quote]
Thanks for the advice! I think I'm going to go black on the wheels. Also I'll check that line while I'm sprucing her up. As for a manual, I've already downloaded one. 8)

Today I went to archway again because I lost the front plate off one petcock. : I got a petcock, but also couldn't help but pick up a couple other goodies:

The tail section isn't a direct bolt on, but man it looks cool, so I'm going to try to use it. I'll probably just have to cut it back so it butts up to the back of the seat. I decided on superbike bars and they just happened to have some in black brand new for $30, so I nabbed those too.

Of course, when I got home I found the petcock piece I lost.

My parts came too, so I assembled them and got her running. It runs great and did fine on a short (very cold) test run. Here's a vid of her runnin:

http://s307.photobucket.com/albums/nn284/fomocoguy/1976%20Yamaha%20XS500C/?action=view&current=newparts_zps1c996ef1.mp4

Now the front end is totally disassembled and parts are gettin painted.

Re: 1976 Yamaha XS500C cafe/ restomod

Sorry, don't know what the hell happened on that post....

Edit: I think I fixed it

Re: 1976 Yamaha XS500C cafe/ restomod

Or mix colours... mainpart black with yellow/white stripes...

Re: 1976 Yamaha XS500C cafe/ restomod

Got some painting done; forks and front wheel look nice. I'll shoot some pics next time I'm out there. Picked up some tires too. I also came across a seat from a 78 model and it just so happens that they have a rear cowl that perfectly compliments the tank, so I think I'm gonna buy it. Looks like I'll be selling the rz350 tail section. I think I can make a few bucks on it anyway, so it's all good.