The 1976 Yamaha XS500 ground up build

Hello All,

My name is Matt, new to the site, have been lurking for a few weeks reading, learning, and admiring others projects/work. Now that my bike is starting to take shape I am starting a build thread. This is my second bike, I formerly had an '81 SR250 that was less of a project, and sold a few years ago.


I picked up this basket case 1976 XS500 a few weeks ago, engine had been removed and half disassembled, and came with another spare 'good' engine and a few boxes of new and used parts.

In my excitement I failed to take before pictures, and we all know what happens with idle hands... sorry.

So far, anything that can fit in the oven has been powdercoated with a satin texture black. The bike came with new fork seals, so those were replaced before reassembly. I am just trying to tackle one thing at a time. New NOS oversized pistons, gaskets, and much more have been slowly showing up at my front door.


Parts and more parts.



Stripped down the frame and painted with the black epoxy spray paint.



The carbs were extremely gummed up (throttle would not budge) disassembled and cleaned with carb cleaner.



I managed to find a nicely shaped gas tank at the local graveyard for the rear seat.



Narrowed and reinforced the stock seat pan.

I am hoping to have this bike done this summer, but I don't want to rush anything.

Comments and criticisms are welcome, let me know how I am doing.


Thanks!

Looks great so far!

Tim said:

Looks great so far!

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Thanks Tim! I've been following your 650, it has been a great motivator/inspiration.

nice rear hump looks nice gr8 shape flows well

Hope it motivates you to move faster than I have! 25 months and counting!

Great start man. Those are probably the only vintage mags I've ever liked. The seat cowl flows great with the tank too. Looking forward to the progress.

Let me know if you need any parts. I have all kinds of spares that came with my '77.

Nice lines. Your build is looking really good.

Thanks for all the positive comments guys! I will try to keep this thread updated pretty regularly.

nice! i have a TX500 build going!

saywhat said:

I will try to keep this thread updated pretty regularly.

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Well... it's been nearly two years, and the bike is in the same condition you see in this thread, so I guess I did keep it pretty updated

I am coming back from my hiatus to finish what I started a few years ago. I finally found a timing chain master link and more motivation to finish this. I promise to take more pictures and keep you guys up to speed on this.

Cheers, Matt

Good to see some progress! long time or not.

two-smoker said:

Good to see some progress! long time or not.

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Absolutely, it has been far too long.

Successfully split the case tonight after slowly tearing down the engine , everything looks to be in order. All the gears look fresh, no bent shift forks, no debris in the case, smooth bearing journals etc...

The bike came with two engines in parts, and I was told one had a bad transmission... I guess I picked the right one to take apart :fingerscrossed: ;D

I should be taking in the cylinders this week to get bored, then slowly cleaning and rebuilding everything with fresh gaskets and some NOS OS pistons.

Cheers 8)

Well, I've been tinkering for a few days with random bits, making sure I can track down all the seals/gaskets I need. I have also been playing with the wiring harness off the bike, eliminating the automatic turn signal canceler, and replacing my current relay with one that will work well with LED signals.

It looks like a mess now, but should be cleaned up and back on the bike shortly.

Parts are slowly rolling in, I'm hoping to have the majority of the electrical buttoned up sometime this weekend.

man, nice looking build you got going. glad to hear you're getting back at it. cant wait to see it all together. keep us post (even if it takes two more years lol)

Got a call before lunch, and had enough time to pick up the bored cylinders, they are 4th OS now. Almost look brand new.

Very cool. Glad to see youre back at it. We have an XS500 in pieces in the garage as well. Itll be staying that way for awhile though Im sure. The jugs look great!

VonYinzer said:

Very cool. Glad to see youre back at it. We have an XS500 in pieces in the garage as well. Itll be staying that way for awhile though Im sure. The jugs look great!

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Let me know if you are looking for any parts, I have an extra engine/transmission, and a few other bits.

It's awesome to be able to bring this back to life (the thread and the bike )