new bike

[miss alliekat]

Actually the TX nomenclature came in between XS series. The 500 and and 750 started life as TX the 750 twin died after 2-3 years and was replaced by the XS triples(the 750 twin never replaced the 650, as it was built continuously from 1969-1984). The 500 became an XS when yamaha went back to that name and continued making it until I think 77-78, other then the mentioned restyling, it is mechanically the same bike. The "X" has always stood for the 4 in 4 stroke the "S" presumably for Stroke. When they started making multiple multi-cylinder 4-strokes they tried a new alpha-numeric naming system, where the T was for Twin or Two cyl, the X for 4-stroke hence TX (the four cylinders were XS-X for 4 cyl., S 4-stroke). It didn't take as a couple of the models (500&750 twins in particular) had some teething issues. While they were ahead of their time technically, 500 had 4 valves per cyl, and the 750 used a complicated crank counter balancer system to smooth the vibes. The TX 's all got a bad rap. The 650 twin, which started as an XS1, then XS2, the TX650 A & B, XS650c,d,e,f were all the same with only slight improvements made over the course of it's life(and the addition of the Special in '78-the standard dieing off in '79). For a 500cc twin, in it's day it was reasonably quick, especially on the high end, reving better than comparable Hondas at the time. I can personally attest that other than an oil leak from the head and the typical for the era bad charging system, mine had no problems, and never lost to any twin I challenged on the back roads of Georgia. Of course my experience was on a 6 year old version with very good care, TT pipes and jetting. It was a blast! If I didn't prefer the 650, I'd have one in my garage now just for old times sake. Most of the bikes like this got undeserved reputations simply because evrything was improving at such a rapid pace back then, and the real horsepower wars of the 4cyl. big bikes was kicking off, leaving good bikes like these to be viewed as slow, underpowered dogs.

But hey, that's just my .02. If it were mine I'd clean it up, tune it up, change what ever I didn't like about it, and ride it! As for whether it's an XS or TX, or a 73 or 74, a lot of times, especially back in this day, left overs simply got titled as what ever the current model/year was. There may be a source on the web that can show manufacturing dates for it from the vin#. I have them for the 650 and 750/850 tripples, but haven't seen them listed anywhere (yet) for the 500.

Matt

errrrr..... thanks... wow! think you lost me somewhere .....LoL :-\ ;D

 

[Mortikan]

miss alliecat first time looking at your ride she's is awfully pretty.
so what does she look like now?

 

[miss alliekat]

miss alliecat first time looking at your ride she's is awfully pretty.
so what does she look like now?

Well much the same i have taken the indicators off, put new brake pads in the front, ordered a second hand headlight that is right for the bike in chrome, i have bought some air filters and a friend is trying to source some silencers for it . The weather is awful here, so wet. :'( It is my friend garage and its cold so i dont do much at the mo but think it will look good when finished. Work is busy with the aftermath of christmas, lots of depressed people so am mentally tired so tend to rest when off work. But looking forward to better weather. ;D

 

[miss alliekat]

Well i have got the head light , the jets the filters, head light brackets on the way, new dust covers for the fork seals.
These are the silencers i am bidding on at the moment, think they will suite the bike, what do you all think?

Item number: 260227144578 uk e bay

 

[NJWanker]

i have now sold my CB500F and have bought another biike, i suppose i had got bored of the honda so i bought somthing a bit different......

Ah, a TX-500 . Sweet .