Can you help me identify/find this bike?

[NothingClever]

You have good taste in vehicles and motorcycles....POOF!....you're no longer a dumbass.

[Project510]

That deff looks like my XS650 engine, however, the frame has been customized, those are modern inverted shocks.. modified tank and seat.. not much is left OEM..

[Ozrockrat]

Dragging up bad memories here but I am fairly sure that that is a Yamaha XS1 engine from around the early 70's maybe even late 60's.

I had one as a dirt track bike with a 52 tooth rear sprocket and no brakes. Went home more times with knobby marks over my body than trophies. Good strong engine and the only failure I ever had was a drive chain shattering and it took out the clutch pushrod.

But if you like that concept the Kawasaki W2 (I think it was W2) was built along the same lines. A copy of the british twins. 650 upright twin. Substitute and 650 BSA, Triumph and you can have a classic at the same time.

If you like that style you could also consider the new Enfield singles.

[RHINO]

hard to nail it down because its a flat tracker, most of them are pretty custom to the owner. if you like that style i say just start off searching for flat track bikes.

[STREGA]

Most likely a one off custom made bike, using a old engine and modern parts (inverted forks, disc brakes, etc.). Definately a XS 650 engine (4 stroke), not a RD (2 stroke), which Yamaha made for over 20 years, the engine in the picture appears to be a early version since it has a kickstarter on it, IIRC they removed the kickstarter after going to a electronic ignition in the late 70's/80's. Very reliable engine, darn near impossible to kill with decent horsepower for its day, but being a twin it did vibrate a lot compared to a 4 cylinder Honda of similar vintage. They were affordable, a reason they had such a long production run.

Who ever built that bike did a nice job, I like the retro look of it even though it does have modern stuff on it which would help in making it fun to ride IMO. The vintage 70's style graphics and flat track styling brings back a lot of great memories for me.

[acasper708]

Don't know anything about the yamaha's but I got 2 old Hondas a 81 gl1100 and a 78 gx500. The gl would be to heavy to load but the 500 would be doable. They are very durable engines. Only a couple problems with them like the water pump seal leaking. I picked up one the beginning of this summer for $200. It needs some TLC but should be on the road next summer.
Here's my gl

Here's my gx

And here's a couple pimped out gx500's

[Dave Stout]

It's probably a Yam SX650 they're pretty much in demand right now. This style of bike used for street is called a Street Tracker, (google it) based on Flat Track style. The SX650 is used in the Cafe Racer bikes now. My son just bought a 84 Honda VT500 maybe the first factory Street Tracker bike, I'll try to post a picture.DSC_0336.JPG

[Dave Stout]

Acasper708 I came across a CX500 for $500, Im thinking about getting it, slap on some clipons paint the wheels black add
cafe seat and instant cool bike.

[sandalscout]

Acasper708 I came across a CX500 for $500, Im thinking about getting it, slap on some clipons paint the wheels black add
cafe seat and instant cool bike.

I used to own a cx500, pretty advanced bike for being 30 years old. Did some minor work on it to get it running reliably (new fan, flushed coolant, cleaned and synced carbs) and then the stator started going out on it. It's a pain to fix on those bikes, and not really that cheap either. Sold it to a buddy who is currently in the process of chopping it up to look like an old BMW R26.

[Martinjmpr]

I don't own a motorcycle, I have never owned a motorcycle, but I have always wanted to. I grew up around Harley's but don't think that would make a good platform. I want something that I can pack around with me in the back of the truck and something I can drive on a daily basis. I just saw something like this last week and fell in love. I think that it is a yamaha xs650, but can't decide what model or year this is. Any help on identifying or suggesting other bikes would be awesome!

Yes, it's an XS650 but don't think you can go out and buy one like that. The only thing on that bike that is stock is the engine and frame. Everything else - tank, wheels, seat, handlebars, etc, - is aftermarket or custom (that tank is custom, nobody makes a factory tank that looks like that.)

There are a couple of Yamaha XS forums out there that can point you in the right direction if you're looking to customize one of your own. The XS ended production in the early 80's but there are still a lot of them around.