Yamaha XS650 Street Tracker
We recently did a feature on the crew behind central Indiana's vintage restoration shop Hoy Vintage Cycles and their lead tech Kim Wroblewski was nice enough to fire up his Yamaha XS650 rephased big bore street legal flat tracker and we couldn't wait to hear a little more about it. When you see this bike in person it's one of those things where it certainly looks fast sitting still and looks even faster going down the road but we wanted to know all the details of what makes it such a trip to ride so we sat down with Kim in the shop and got a little backstory on this really cool piece that was the combined effort between him and one of Vance and Hines top flat track specialists.
So to start off what's the original year, make, and model of what the donor bike began as?
The engine is from a 1980 Yamaha XS 650 custom.
Would you classify the bike as a 1980 currently then?
No it's a one off handmade bike, the engine cradle is stock Yamaha but all the tubes above the cradle are 4130 Chromoly tubing. It's all been hand made, the backbone, the rear fender loop, ect, all from scratch then there are no other parts except for the gas tank that are original to an XS650, everything else is from something else.
That's amazing. Well that leads me to my next question what are all the upgrades done from stock to its present state now?
Probably the most significant things to start are the whole suspension platform being replaced with a GSXR race bike only front fork set up, it is not from a street bike it's made out of completely different material, different thinner aluminum and it has titanium nitride sliders, upgraded rubber etc. The forks weigh probably around 8 or 9 pounds less then a GSXR fork of similar appearance. The entire triple tree including stem is handmade billet that was drawn up for the correct geometry and cut on AC &c just for that bike only. The headlight ears are handmade billet because the way they mount to the tubes nothing like that had ever been built. The rear swing arm was fabricated where the axle pick up is stock Yamaha but the tubes underneath it are reinforced bridged 4130 Chromoly so the pivot point are center bronze bushings and the axle itself is all custom one off stuff. The rear end has Ohlin's suspension and it has DRZ450 hubs but the brakes are completely different they are not DRZ brakes, they are from "Braking USA" with different disks. The calipers are DRZ450 calipers front and back and it is running EBC green pads which are in organic pad better for racing. It has Sun rims on both ends with stainless spokes and the tires are Goodyear DT's, they technically are not street tires more soft dirt tires race only.
The engine is completely different than a stock 650, the crankshaft is not a normal 360ﾟ crank it is a 270ﾟcrankshaft it also has a different camshaft, the valves have been done with stainless Manly valves with S&W valve springs, ohh and the camshaft was actually made to match the 270ﾟcrank so everything in there is all custom stuff.
So just so our readers understand this correct, the 270 degree crank would then classify this as a "rephased" motor then right?
Definitely you are correct. It also has 3 pounds taken off of the stator which still generates the voltage it needs, it's just got a lot of material off of it. The motor on top of the rephase is also a Japanese 750 big bore kit that is higher compression and different pistons. The rods have also been shot peened as well, it's not really "just a Yamaha" anymore it's evolved into something very different. The bike was hand assembled at Vance & Hines by a flat track specialist who understands what it takes to get these bikes faster. The exhaust on the bike is quite special too, it is a titanium exhaust system that was handmade by Vance & Hines specifically for that bike. It also has mikuni round slide carbs that were made to match the way it runs. It has all solid state electrics, no Yamaha parts in their they've all been switch to solid state. The wiring harness and regulator rectifier is all one off components as well. It also has a combination tach/ speedometer that even monitors the engine temperature, oil pressure and several other things. It has a pick up in the tach that makes it turn on and come alive as soon as the front wheel begins to move so you don't even need the key for it to begin to work which is pretty neat.
In viewing the bike beforehand I was actually quite curious about that tach/ speedo set up, did that take a lot of effort to get that all set up correctly? I mean considering everything it monitors on an older bike like that?
That was a really long process to get setup indeed but the credit on that goes to Vances and Hines for sure because they got it all dialed in.
Another thing to note the bike also has an XR750 carbon fiber seat and rear seat housing that's actually structural carbon fiber and not just cosmetic. It's connected to the frame by Zeus fasteners so that allows it to be quick release it also has a lithium ion battery that weighs almost nothing. It has no front Fender and no brace because it was found it didn't need one due to the fact that the tubes are really large and sturdy. Hmm, well, you know that covers almost everything on the bike.
Ok. Well who is responsible for the paint work then ?
The painting was done at "Fletches" by our friend Cary Craciunoiu. The graphic on top was my idea though.
So the Vance & Hines exhaust really stands out on the bike, especially with it being made custom there by them. What more can you tell us about that?
It was made to an ideal diameter in length and then welded into a collector that goes into a particular size can and a particular size baffle all with perfomance in mind. It's truthfully a bit "barky" for my taste but it works very well for the bike.
At Old Bike Barn we've always loved the XS650 motors and even more so the idea of a 750 cc big bore XS utilizing even more performance out of that vintage motor. What advantages do you feel this gives the bike versus whether you just did a rephase, cam, carbs, ect, with the stock bore?
I think it's a ying and Yang sort of thing, the Ying is it's very powerful and very responsive the Yang is, well, it's very powerful and very responsive but all in a very narrow power band. So truthfully it runs a lot more like a 2 stroke it's got ample power down low but when it comes on the pipe it's a very narrow power band. It makes a lot of power in a very narrow place. It's almost like it's not really powerful up to a point and then it's all of the power right there and then. So even though it is street legal, riding it on the street is slightly problematic, you can certainly do it you just have to ride within its RPM range. If you try and just lug it around town it's certainly not happy, it just wants to go. It's a great bike to ride don't get me wrong, just not long distances. Once you get on that throttle all it wants to do is go fast.
So would you basically classify the bike as a street legal flat tracker then?
Yes. I'm convinced it makes every bit of power as much as the competitive Yamahas did when racing them from the factory. Only thing is its heavier though cause it's not all 100% 4130 Chromoly. The race bikes from Yamaha were about 275 lbs and this one weighs between 325 - 350 but still it's alot less motorcycle than stock with a whole lot of engine.
What made you choose the paint color and was there anything tied to why you chose that specific theme and graphic combination?
That yellow is very similar to the Yamaha racing colors of these 70s and the graphic is the laser stripe that Yamaha put on their race bikes. The one color we chose was a little different because we mixed Lexus pearl into it so that when it's out in the sunlight it really shines and brightens up.
Honestly if you saw that bike racing you probably couldn't take your eyes off of it so that is really cool.
One thing I did stick with on the gas tank was I wanted to keep the tank emblems because I like those emblems and I like the shape of that tank to me running that tank really connects it to the family of where it came from and I like the tear drop shape of it. It's actually the same one on the bike you are building currently.
You are right! So I've gotta ask because I know our readers are wondering, what is the fastest you've gotten this bike up to?
Well the reality of the practicality of it is because of the DRZ hubs we chose it only allows a certain size rear sprocket. You can only go down so far on those so it actually has a 38 tooth rear and if you could go smaller like the stock Yamaha sprockets can, maybe a 36 or 34 tooth you could definitely go smaller in the rear to gain more Bonneville type gearing with those but I've unfortunately got the largest countershaft sprocket you can put on it in the front which is an 18 tooth and technically the smallest DRZ rear sprocket but to answer the question honestly, it only wants to run with that combination set up, about 90 to 95 miles per hour. The catch is though it will do that speed instantly. Realistically dirt bikes have large rear sprockets and smaller countershaft sprocket because they are only gonna do maybe 50 or 60 miles per hour whereas something like that I honestly wouldn't want to write it that hard anyway so the one thing I was able to do I put a ducati steering damper on it because the steering geometry on that bike especially for how quick it is needed to be just right.
So our last question and maybe one that many are curious about why did you choose to do the rephased motor on top of the 750 big bore? You usually see either one or the other in these bikes so it's not very common to see the combination of the both.
It was an experiment more than anything. I knew some people had done them this way in the past and it has just a completely different exhaust note that sounds much different and I was going after that.
It's pretty cool to see everything you've done with it while including that in the mix it really makes for one powerhouse combo you couldn't really ask for much more out of a flat track bike or a street bike. Well is there anything you would like to add?
Yes this bike was really engineered by the flat track manager from Vance & Hines he really had a vision when I saw the bike I also had my vision and we changed it a little more to my liking but the core of it is built by a guy that's a flat track race team experienced individual that knows these inside and out. You are dealing with a guy that's out there every day with a Harley race team so its neat to see him do this with an XS.
Well we really enjoyed everything you shared with us today and I thank you for letting us bring it to light and we hope to see this out on the track one day.
Photos and words by - Mike Vandegriff
So to start off what's the original year, make, and model of what the donor bike began as?
The engine is from a 1980 Yamaha XS 650 custom.
Would you classify the bike as a 1980 currently then?
No it's a one off handmade bike, the engine cradle is stock Yamaha but all the tubes above the cradle are 4130 Chromoly tubing. It's all been hand made, the backbone, the rear fender loop, ect, all from scratch then there are no other parts except for the gas tank that are original to an XS650, everything else is from something else.
That's amazing. Well that leads me to my next question what are all the upgrades done from stock to its present state now?
Probably the most significant things to start are the whole suspension platform being replaced with a GSXR race bike only front fork set up, it is not from a street bike it's made out of completely different material, different thinner aluminum and it has titanium nitride sliders, upgraded rubber etc. The forks weigh probably around 8 or 9 pounds less then a GSXR fork of similar appearance. The entire triple tree including stem is handmade billet that was drawn up for the correct geometry and cut on AC &c just for that bike only. The headlight ears are handmade billet because the way they mount to the tubes nothing like that had ever been built. The rear swing arm was fabricated where the axle pick up is stock Yamaha but the tubes underneath it are reinforced bridged 4130 Chromoly so the pivot point are center bronze bushings and the axle itself is all custom one off stuff. The rear end has Ohlin's suspension and it has DRZ450 hubs but the brakes are completely different they are not DRZ brakes, they are from "Braking USA" with different disks. The calipers are DRZ450 calipers front and back and it is running EBC green pads which are in organic pad better for racing. It has Sun rims on both ends with stainless spokes and the tires are Goodyear DT's, they technically are not street tires more soft dirt tires race only.
The engine is completely different than a stock 650, the crankshaft is not a normal 360ﾟ crank it is a 270ﾟcrankshaft it also has a different camshaft, the valves have been done with stainless Manly valves with S&W valve springs, ohh and the camshaft was actually made to match the 270ﾟcrank so everything in there is all custom stuff.
So just so our readers understand this correct, the 270 degree crank would then classify this as a "rephased" motor then right?
Definitely you are correct. It also has 3 pounds taken off of the stator which still generates the voltage it needs, it's just got a lot of material off of it. The motor on top of the rephase is also a Japanese 750 big bore kit that is higher compression and different pistons. The rods have also been shot peened as well, it's not really "just a Yamaha" anymore it's evolved into something very different. The bike was hand assembled at Vance & Hines by a flat track specialist who understands what it takes to get these bikes faster. The exhaust on the bike is quite special too, it is a titanium exhaust system that was handmade by Vance & Hines specifically for that bike. It also has mikuni round slide carbs that were made to match the way it runs. It has all solid state electrics, no Yamaha parts in their they've all been switch to solid state. The wiring harness and regulator rectifier is all one off components as well. It also has a combination tach/ speedometer that even monitors the engine temperature, oil pressure and several other things. It has a pick up in the tach that makes it turn on and come alive as soon as the front wheel begins to move so you don't even need the key for it to begin to work which is pretty neat.
In viewing the bike beforehand I was actually quite curious about that tach/ speedo set up, did that take a lot of effort to get that all set up correctly? I mean considering everything it monitors on an older bike like that?
That was a really long process to get setup indeed but the credit on that goes to Vances and Hines for sure because they got it all dialed in.
Another thing to note the bike also has an XR750 carbon fiber seat and rear seat housing that's actually structural carbon fiber and not just cosmetic. It's connected to the frame by Zeus fasteners so that allows it to be quick release it also has a lithium ion battery that weighs almost nothing. It has no front Fender and no brace because it was found it didn't need one due to the fact that the tubes are really large and sturdy. Hmm, well, you know that covers almost everything on the bike.
Ok. Well who is responsible for the paint work then ?
The painting was done at "Fletches" by our friend Cary Craciunoiu. The graphic on top was my idea though.
So the Vance & Hines exhaust really stands out on the bike, especially with it being made custom there by them. What more can you tell us about that?
It was made to an ideal diameter in length and then welded into a collector that goes into a particular size can and a particular size baffle all with perfomance in mind. It's truthfully a bit "barky" for my taste but it works very well for the bike.
At Old Bike Barn we've always loved the XS650 motors and even more so the idea of a 750 cc big bore XS utilizing even more performance out of that vintage motor. What advantages do you feel this gives the bike versus whether you just did a rephase, cam, carbs, ect, with the stock bore?
I think it's a ying and Yang sort of thing, the Ying is it's very powerful and very responsive the Yang is, well, it's very powerful and very responsive but all in a very narrow power band. So truthfully it runs a lot more like a 2 stroke it's got ample power down low but when it comes on the pipe it's a very narrow power band. It makes a lot of power in a very narrow place. It's almost like it's not really powerful up to a point and then it's all of the power right there and then. So even though it is street legal, riding it on the street is slightly problematic, you can certainly do it you just have to ride within its RPM range. If you try and just lug it around town it's certainly not happy, it just wants to go. It's a great bike to ride don't get me wrong, just not long distances. Once you get on that throttle all it wants to do is go fast.
So would you basically classify the bike as a street legal flat tracker then?
Yes. I'm convinced it makes every bit of power as much as the competitive Yamahas did when racing them from the factory. Only thing is its heavier though cause it's not all 100% 4130 Chromoly. The race bikes from Yamaha were about 275 lbs and this one weighs between 325 - 350 but still it's alot less motorcycle than stock with a whole lot of engine.
What made you choose the paint color and was there anything tied to why you chose that specific theme and graphic combination?
That yellow is very similar to the Yamaha racing colors of these 70s and the graphic is the laser stripe that Yamaha put on their race bikes. The one color we chose was a little different because we mixed Lexus pearl into it so that when it's out in the sunlight it really shines and brightens up.
Honestly if you saw that bike racing you probably couldn't take your eyes off of it so that is really cool.
One thing I did stick with on the gas tank was I wanted to keep the tank emblems because I like those emblems and I like the shape of that tank to me running that tank really connects it to the family of where it came from and I like the tear drop shape of it. It's actually the same one on the bike you are building currently.
You are right! So I've gotta ask because I know our readers are wondering, what is the fastest you've gotten this bike up to?
Well the reality of the practicality of it is because of the DRZ hubs we chose it only allows a certain size rear sprocket. You can only go down so far on those so it actually has a 38 tooth rear and if you could go smaller like the stock Yamaha sprockets can, maybe a 36 or 34 tooth you could definitely go smaller in the rear to gain more Bonneville type gearing with those but I've unfortunately got the largest countershaft sprocket you can put on it in the front which is an 18 tooth and technically the smallest DRZ rear sprocket but to answer the question honestly, it only wants to run with that combination set up, about 90 to 95 miles per hour. The catch is though it will do that speed instantly. Realistically dirt bikes have large rear sprockets and smaller countershaft sprocket because they are only gonna do maybe 50 or 60 miles per hour whereas something like that I honestly wouldn't want to write it that hard anyway so the one thing I was able to do I put a ducati steering damper on it because the steering geometry on that bike especially for how quick it is needed to be just right.
So our last question and maybe one that many are curious about why did you choose to do the rephased motor on top of the 750 big bore? You usually see either one or the other in these bikes so it's not very common to see the combination of the both.
It was an experiment more than anything. I knew some people had done them this way in the past and it has just a completely different exhaust note that sounds much different and I was going after that.
It's pretty cool to see everything you've done with it while including that in the mix it really makes for one powerhouse combo you couldn't really ask for much more out of a flat track bike or a street bike. Well is there anything you would like to add?
Yes this bike was really engineered by the flat track manager from Vance & Hines he really had a vision when I saw the bike I also had my vision and we changed it a little more to my liking but the core of it is built by a guy that's a flat track race team experienced individual that knows these inside and out. You are dealing with a guy that's out there every day with a Harley race team so its neat to see him do this with an XS.
Well we really enjoyed everything you shared with us today and I thank you for letting us bring it to light and we hope to see this out on the track one day.
Photos and words by - Mike Vandegriff