yamaha triple

[hipshot]

has anyone here ever had any dealings with an "xs 850" Yamaha?are they worth restoring, just for around town riding?

just jt

[RandyR]

I had the 4 cylinder version XS1100. It was a great bike. I would say yes.

[McBrush]

I don't know about restoring, but I had a 1980 XS 850 special & loved it. Big enough for road trips, nimble enough for around town.

[Squidley]

I never heard anything terrible about them, if you can get it cheap enough and have it to tinker then go for it buddy. Besides if you run into trouble I'll only be about a buck and a half from you

[TEW47]

I had a '80 850G, had alot of lowend torque. It would idle in 5th on level ground. Out ran alot aof bigger bikes by taking your hand of the throttle,let it drop to idle rpms then give it full throttle, I could out run them to about 70. Most had to try several times to believe a 850 out ran them. Went under a overpass going to work one day and it sure was raining,saw a truck going through and the water was only up to its fenders, so I went. Got almost to the bottom and the water level came up to my waist, motorcycle was completely under water. Pushed the bike up the hill,punched the starter and nothing happened. Pushed it to the parking lot removed the plugs and air filter.sprayed quick start in air filter box and it crancked. rode it for annother three years. Well got home and changed the oil. Oh yea , the truck was jacked up about four feet, that why the water was onlly to the fenders.

 

tew47

[Hazenson]

I had the 750 triple, was a nice bike, actually I drove it around town and even to florida once from San Marcus Texas. Was my first street bike and I never had a problem with the ole girl

[Venturous Randy]

An 850 Triple Special was what got me back into riding. I found one in very good condition that needed a clutch cable and starter clutch. It had the Yamaha hard bags and fairing. The bike was surprisingly strong. The only problem I had with the bike was it was very tall for me. I was on that bike when I saw my first Venture in the fall of 95. I sold the 850 for twice what I paid for it.

RandyA

[PBJ]

I also had an 850G set up for touring. It was my first sidecar mule and was a great bike. always started never gave me a lick of trouble. I gave it to my brother-in-law when i bought the xs11 as the new sidecar bike. The 850 was a little small.

 

I'd say go ahead and restore the bike. you can have yourself a cheap version of a Triumph Speed Triple. They also have a very unique exhaust tone.

[Eddie Fulmer]

I had an 850 triple for about a year. I sold it about a year ago. I restored it to runnig condition and me and my daughter rode it a lot. It was a little tall for her but we did make several long rides with her and me on the RSV. I sold it and bought her a c50 suzuki. I think the 850 would outrun the c50. I rebuilt the carbs. That was the major thing. There is a yamaha site for these much like this site. If you have any questions give me a call. I'l be glad to give you some pointers.

[Tupperj]

Hipshot,

 

Like others, I'm also a triple fan. Gave my eldest daughter the 78 750 she and I resurrected together for her 18th birthday. Moved up to the XS1100, and then on to the Venture.

 

The Triples (750 and 850) community is much like the Venture community. People who really like the bikes, and just can't help themselves. There is a main site at http://www.yamah-triples.org that has as much info as you could need. Good people.

 

The triples have a unique exhaust note, and as other mentioned, a ton of torque. Fun bike to ride. Simple to work on. Three individual coils. Mikuni carbs. There's a seal on the drive shaft that holds the final gear oil in. It can fail. Bad things happen. DAMHIKT.

 

I've got several 750 carcasses and misc parts. If you pick it up and need or want something, let me know.

 

Get it, enjoy it. You can never have too many bikes!

 

Paul

[frankd]

My first 'new' bike was a 78 XS750 triple. I also bought the bags and fairing and took my first trips on this bike. It was a great bike. Back then I worked in a factory that gave 10 week vacations every 5 years and my wife and I had a long trip planned. She saw me reading about the new Ventures coming out (it was '83) and we decided it'd be great to have a new Venture for the trip. So I sold the 750 to my brother. He didn't ride it very much and let the carbs get gunked up from storage with gas in them. I pulled the carbs, cleaned them out, and re-installed them. The test ride reminded me just how great these bikes were. Great low end torque...I'd pass cars 2 up without downshifting that my buddy on his 80 750 Honda had to go down 2 gears for. The seats are a bit high, but I'm not short so it was great for me.

 

I understand these bikes also had the 2nd gear problem that the 1200 Ventures had, but I had less than 40K on mine and it was still fine. The shaft drive is just like the 1200 Venture setup, so you have to pull the shaft unit to grease the drive shaft couplings. Oh... these bikes have a great exhaust note also--way different than a 4 cylinder inline.

[CrazyHorse]

If you like and you can get parts why not.

[Tombo]

I had a 1980 850 SG Special that I kept until last year. Was the first new bike that I bought and it served me well for many years, primarily as a commuter and weekend runabout. Never did any distance riding on it and unfortunately wasn't good about keeping stabilizer in the gas tank and had to have the carbs rebuilt a couple of times until I learned. One of the last bikes with an auxiliary kick start. My choice to restore would be a TX500 like I had in 1975. Good luck!

[shouldi]

im sorry tombo, the only thing a tx750 is worth ,( golden gobbler) was a boat anchor

[hlange]

I bought a XS750SF in 1999, kept it until a year after I got my '85 Venture when I gave it to my son. He still rides it regularly. I even did a SS 1000 on it in 2003.

 

Keep good gas in it, make sure the petcocks don't leak or you will get GasOil and screw up the engine (many, like me, put a manual shutoff in the fuel line) change the fuse block, go thru and clean all of the electrical connectors, change ALL fluids, slap on a set of stainless steel brake lines and clean the caliper pistons and put an oil cooler from an 850 on it. Ride the hell out of it!