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78 Yamaha XS500 C OEM Chain Guard 1A8-22310-00-00 MY124 | eBay E-Bay and Google are your friends... P.S. You wrote: 1A8-22310-00-00 It should have been: 1A8-22310-00

I finally found a downloadable service manual that covers the 1995 with the KYB USD fork and figured out how to free the spring from the damper rod. Of course it requires a special tool that can easily be improvised with some plastic pipe and a washer but since the seals can easily be replaced without disturbing the spring, I decided to simply wash everything with Maxxis Suspension cleaner and call it good. Rather than using air space to measure oil, I used volume. I put in slightly more than 16 US ounces in an effort to stiffen the compression a bit. I also used 15W oil. I won't bore you with all the work, time and money I put into this project but it was a fight at every turn. Now the bike that had been "stored" for 29 years with 162 miles on the odometer, now has 168 miles on it. Tomorrow, much more! https://www.facebook.com/bicycle.repairman.75/

Hey again, just following up as mentioned, bike is now back together and the first run has been had with no issues , ended up having to go with a straight through muffler so it could breathe (and sounds great). Looking forward to many more miles, I must say the power increase is amazing and would highly recommend doing if you have the bike and the time. Some pics....cheers Baz.

Snakebite - yes, have it already insured. Only found this forum once it was already done. Looking forward to ride and enjoy it as much as I can. One thing that really stuck to me was when my instructor said - always ride to your own expertise. Never been on bike before CBT, didn't get CBT done first try either, first experience was pretty groundbreaking for me as I managed to ride ok for most part and then at some point I had brain fart, panicked and ditched it dropping it on me just to finish my gracious manoeuvre off. Hard lesson was learned on first attempt on a bike, second time went a lot better, but boy oh boy I have lots to learn. I hope I will have lots of experiences, lessons and emotions to share with you guys and generations to come.

Two wives decided on a girlie night out. On the way home they needed a pee and nipped into a graveyard. Then they realised that they didn't have any wipes to finish up, so the first one used her knickers, and the second one found a wreath and used that. The next day one husband rang the other and said 'No more girlie nights out, mine came home with no knickers on'. The other said, 'Well if you think that's bad mine came home with a card in her crack that said 'From all of us at the fire station - we'll never forget you.''

Have you tried You tube? Lots of XS500 videos, too many for me to view, but I notice this blue one has the same size font on the side panels as your photo of the black one. it maybe a case of going through them as some may have the correct tank but not side panel and visa versa.

get these from image works http://www.bike-stickers.com/homepage.htm

My first Yamaha was a 1980 XS850 Midnight Special the previous owner had installed lower bars and a bullet fairing. I wish I still had that one. The current project is a 1995 FZR1000 EXUP with 162 miles on it. It was "stored" (neglected) for 28 years. During the year it sat (neglected) in my garage, mice had filled it with dog food and damaged some of the wires. Long story short, the last thing before it's like a new bike is fork seals but I don't have 1995 manual/supplement to tell me the factory air space/oil lever for the KYB USD forks. I assume compressed with springs out. Anyone? Thanks, Danny

Sounds like an adventure... Welcome in!

Welcome to the forum

Hello everyone, I have been interested in motorcycles and have been riding since I was 12 years old. Not very exciting motorcycles at the start but the highlight came already in 1975 when I bought a 1974 Yamaha LS2. The following year I got my license for light motorcycle and bought my second LS2 and in 1977 it became the RS100 which was a step down from the LS2. There has only been one more Yamaha, XT500 which I bought used in 1987. There have been many motorcycles over the years. Today I have four motorcycles and just bought a XS500D that needs a lot of repairs. Lives with my wife in Lillestrøm Norway and has worked with cars all my life. I'm not very good at English, but today there is help to get

Yeah, that was pretty much the only one I found on a quick search...

No, no... I have a slightly dodgy crotch seam on my waterproofs, no pond forms, it just soaks straight in! I dunno how old you are Ray, but occasionally (as you get older), you just wanna walk out the door and sit in the car. Some days, levering on all that gear is just a pain in the ass for the short commute! lol.

Hi there, big welcome from me, I don't think your English is that bad, you've made a good introduction. well done.

try these guys, check out the tank and side covers https://www.cmsnl.com/yamaha-xs500-1977-1h3-europe-1h228-198e5_model37276/partslist/0038.html

xs500 is a curious bike for sure, I think by the D model the head cracking was sorted

Welcome in! And I'm pleased to see you've subbed to be a full member too! Well worth the few units of whatever currency you use... lol. We're not terribly busy here, but there's always someone around to have a poke at answering questions.

Nice one Danny, Glad you got it sorted, now you can clock those miles up. As a reward , here on the site we have a badge system, the more votes you get, progresses you up the ranking, it's only for fun! nothing elitist or special about it!! You can even get on the leaderboard for post of the week, gold silver and bronze On the bottom right of a post there is a grey heart (gray as you're in the US) you simply click on it to give someone a thanks etc, these likes put you on the leaderboard on the top right, the more you get contibutes to your profile. so I'm going to start the ball rolling and like your posts etc. and you'll see your name on the leaderboard!! All the best NE0

I believe 1995 was the last year. Thank you, Neo! That's exactly what I needed. I'm not sure what "Preload Adjuster 0 mm Range" means though. My forks have adjustable preload.

Hi and thanks for the warm welcome. I have a 2018 in blue and love riding round the Peak district in the summer on it. Photo worked so here's my Tracer.

Welcome there Wrinkly. Nice to have a new member who introduces himself, the forums a lot quieter these days, but there are a few core members who visit relatively regularly, but its not a patch on what it was ten years ago! Don't be surprised that many days/weeks can go by before seeing a new post though. There's no concern about ownership of other bikes, nobody will comment. I'm 10 years behind you and hopefully won't catch you up too quickly!! Once again, welcome in.

Hihi, welcome in! Being a full member is mainly the ability to chat in the extra members only section and getting a discount on your Bikesure insurance... But, considering the low, low price, why the hell not? rofl

Thanks for your reply. I'm on it now.

you need Paul Dawkins contact him here https://www.motorbikeregistrations.co.uk/

Hard jet washing is bad. Too many exposed or semi exposed bearings / joints to blast the grease out of! You can jet wash from a distance to get more of a 'soak' going, but be careful. There's all sorts of cleaning products out there, everyone will have a different opinion on them, you probably have to make your own choices... The big problem with cleaning bikes is all the interesting gaps & cubby holes that all the crap gets into. Young and bendy is the key to cleaning a bike well. When you get old and creaky like me, it gets a LOT harder lol.

1/ Not a clue, they don't appear to make one... 2/ As far as I can tell, if it's oily, it's ok, if it's not, it's bad... 3/ Yes, the pump WILL stop if you have the nozzle fully in the tank, however, since you're filling to almost the top of the tank you won't actually have the nozzle in the tank... So, no... 4/ Pro: Sounds good. Con: Could get you arrested...

Well RaySin, lets see.... Haynes or Clymer are the publishers of workshop manuals , unfortunately It doesn't look like they cover your bike......yet! That's not to say they won't in the future. So pdfs and USB versions of yamaha service manuals are probably all thats available at the moment. Ebay is worth keeping an eye on availability of anything, even if you don't want it!. As regards to Chains, they need to be kept oily, a dry chain will squeak and if it's squeaking you're creating wear! too much oil and it sprays all over the wheels and chrome, and too little it will squeak away. Get into a habit of putting it on, chain spray is probably your best bet, it's easy to do. Unfortunately an oily chain also attracts road dirt and sticks to it, causing grinding, you can't win.!!! Chains don't last forever, so it really is down to regular maintenance. It's worth noting that apart from a dry chain or oily chain, there is another condition that chains can get and that's clicking chains from stiff links, it might be only one link but it gives a unique sound. It also means you've not been doing your maintenance! Chains will often play up after wet weather! The other aspects of chains is that over time they stretch! so you need to move the wheel back a tad and still keep the wheel aligned!! Too slack a chain and it will clatter on the chain guard, or jump a cog!! Too tight and your gearbox and sprockets get put under too much tension leading to more wear!! it's ALL a delicate balancing act!! You'll love it!! As regards to filling her up, don't rely on the auto shut off from the nozzle. Bike tanks are not big so it doesn't take much to fill them up. The best advice regardless, is keep the fuel off the petrol tank otherwise your paintwork will suffer. Careful trigger control is the key and keeping an eye on just inside the tank would be my advice. And as you're a newbie, don't hesitate to pull off some of that blue roll all petrol stations have between pumps, and keep it handy to wipe off any spills or drips quickly. And finally, loud pipes... only you will love them. Everybody else older than you will think you're a nob. .....but we've all been nobs at least once! Enjoy...

That's great, thanks...the wemoto ones look the ticket!

You're seriously hoping that TWINSHOCK is going to reply? He last visited the site in 2010 and his post about the luggage rack was in 2009. Good luck with that one bud!

I was thinking the same thing. edited...

I can't help, but I'm sure someone will be along who has a clue before very long... On closer inspection... If you scroll all the way down to the bottom of the main page, there's a link for a decoder. Yamaha Motorcycle VIN Decoder - Online VIN Check & Verifica - Yamaha Owners Club (yamahaclub.com)

So, as you all know, getting plastics for older bikes is a nightmare... I've been contemplating having a go at manufacturing some for my Thunderace. The obvious easy option is to go for Fibreglass, but, meh, it's tacky and quite heavy. The super expensive option is to create injection moulding equipment, but, we all know that's not going to happen! So what's left is Carbon Fibre... With the little I know about CF so far, there are numerous advantages and disadvantages to CF. But I'm interested in discussing it with anyone with a bit of knowledge... Questions/observations currently include: 1/ There are two types (as far as I can tell), one that requires an autoclave and one that doesn't. Which would be best? 2/ How the hell do you get the various metal fixings into the damn mould? lol 3/ Could I build my own autoclave? 4/ Does either type of CF shrink as they cure? 5/ What else aren't I asking? Discuss..! I figure this Thread is either going to get no interest at all, or is going to snowball...

So like all things I have decided that I'm finally done with my biking, not happy about it but I am just getting to old to do this any more. I have been riding since I was 14 and now at 71 it's time to hang my boots up. Having fallen off more times than I can mention and also having more broken bones over the years than is healthy it's time to walk away. I would like to say to you all may you all live and ride for as long as you can and stay safe out there and if you know anyone who want's a 2001 FJR1300 please let me know. I will bung an advert up on here in the near future so hope to hear from at least one of you if your interested. Good bye all. Martin.

No worries, can never hurt to ask. From what I have gathered in my ever continuing research: 4FU: Higher compression head, Nikasil plated liner, flat piston 3MB: steel liner, more aggressive porting, hole in inlet side of piston for lubing the small end Basically people tend to favour the 4FU but at the end of the day they are about the same. In a turn of events, we MAY have tracked down the original engine and are hoping to get it back next week.

Yes... Means exactly what it sounds like... A miss-spent youth, but no stealing! I bought all of them fair & square lol.

Adding pictures is easy, on reply go to add files and follow the steps

Not a clue on reliability, never heard of them before. But E-Bay is your friend most of the time for parts. Past that there's always Yambits : Yambits - Yamaha Parts

A carb problem. 1st, on the outside of the carb there will be a Philips screw with a big visible spring around it, this is an air mixture screw, turning it left or right will up and down the idle of the bike by really small amounts. Turn it right by 1/4 a turn and wait a min for the bike to react, if the revs rise a little without the bike being too reved up, it should idle. If it dies straight away try turning to the left 1/4 turn and wait for a reaction. Always remember where the screw was set at before you start turning it. If this doesn't make the bike idle probably you will have to clean the carb. Inside the carb there are 3 jets you have to clean spotless,,,, idle jet,,,,pilot jet,,,,and main jet. Obviously the idle jet is for idling and starting,,,,pilot jet is for throttle from idle to nearly 1/2 throttle and main jet is from half to full throttle. This is a rough explanation but that's what there for. Every bit of inside the carb needs to be really clean. The fact your bike dies coming to a stop, then hard to start, then won't take throttle to let you pull away tells me it's your jets BUT it's definitely worth a try first with the air screw, you might get lucky,,,,, maybe it was never adjusted from factory settings and after all the years it needs to be tweaked. Google carb cleaning before you touch the card and it's delicate setting Best of luck

Looks solid! Nice bike...

Hi, I'm Dan. I live in Poole. I currently have a 2002 Thundercat which I've owned for 3 years since returning to 2 wheels after a lengthy lay off! I have just acquired a 2001 Thunderace which I bought from an auction site for not a lot of money. 12,000 miles but I think much UNloved. It starts on the button and runs well. Unfortunately, as I don't want to get wet, (I'm far too old for those shenanigans) I didn't get to ride it for a couple of weeks. However, one Sunday morning, the sun made an appearance so I decided to take it for a little spin. 10 miles later I'm back home and well pleased with the initial run once I'd put some proper air in the tyres! I did notice when back in the garage that the clutch master cylinder bolts were literally hanging out so took the decision there and then to pull it off the road and look at it properly. I can't trust anyone else's handiwork when such a glaring error was made! I've decided to service the machine even though the seller stated that he had done it. I'm also changing all the lines for braided and all the fairing bolts for stainless steel. You should have seen the mish mash that was on it! I am hoping to find some friendly voices on here and maybe a few tips and helpful advice. My only query thus far is about mounting paddock stand bobbins on the swingarm and how they don't go tight all of the way due to the weld on the arm. Will they just be ok wound tight to the weld or do people utilise a spacer such as a split washer underneath? Any replies will be well received. Thanks, Dan

Completed. Really heavy rain going down there on Saturday, but stopped just as we landed. We were both dry apart from my boots, I really need a new pair. Pitched tent, had food, camp place is nice enough,,, then took to the roads,,,,, some really nice roads there, even the B roads are nice. Camped the night after I had 2 pints,,,, as usual I didn't sleep much at all. Sunday was lovely and sunny,,,, after breakfast we took off again. Stayed in the area for a while exploring,,,nice open countryside views. Lots of bikes around, most seamed to be in groups of 5 to 10 bikes. Eventually we started heading north for home,,, was around 1.30pm and we were still in Winchester so had to start getting my tramp on. Stopped in Goring for food, then Stoner, then West Wycombe, then Amersham, after that we turned for the M25 (only motorway we were on) and a quick blast home. Was a nice area, nice roads, great views, 428 miles total. My daughter is a natural as a passenger no matter what I'm doing on the bike. Haven't many pics,,,,, can't post them anyway. Is there no way to just add them on here from my phone? Photobucket and Imageshak do not work for me.

Nope just Nope, I want to ride the bike not some bloody computer, if I fall off then I learn to get better this fools you into thinking your brilliant right up till your not. Much better to invent a centre stand that does'nt need you to be a weight lifter.

No problem Drewpy, I might come up your direction the following month.

I have both a car and a bike with no fuel gauge. You quickly become good at working out how many miles you will do on a tank and adjusting it conservatively based on driving / riding style !

Yeah, that does look a little rough! And possibly like it's frame has been modified! lol. I like that you're apparently fixing some of it with a hammer though...

You can check out any time you like but you can never leave

Here's my XJ6 s 2012 I bought recently. Only 1,750 miles on the clock! It's a great ride, excellent condition really comfortable and pretty quick. I think I'll be keeping this one for a while...

its a bad idea m8 ! save ur money and buy a 250cc engine to put in the beast! the crank is a week point in the engine even as a 125! so boring it up to any amount is goin to put more strain on it. the problem is the bottom end of the crank where the conrods connect...its just metal on metal so is slowly grinding down which eventually causes too big a gap between the conrod and crank, this lets the conrod move side to side and knackers up the engine! with it being a 125 its not bad and will last you a fair few years (as long as the oil is good) but with the added "boom" of a re-bore it will wear down a HELL of allot faster! but by all means do it if you want but il be taking bets on how long it will last! and my bet will be 2 weeks ....if your lucky! iv put a honda cbr 125 (2004) in mine, cost about £900 all in all but iv done all the work myself including making custom mounts, air filter, and wiring. its a big job and not one to be taken lightly but i can add a 150cc bore kit to it for about £200 which wont damage the engine. (cause the engine is originally designed to be a 150cc but for the uk market they put a 125cc barrel, piston, and head on it) at the end of the day it will be cheaper (and more practical) to put a new bigger engine in there...rather than spend money on a mod that will not last 2 weeks. try this link My link they have decent engines for sale and the parts are cheep enough that you dont mind if something goes pop. it was my 1st choice for an engine but since i only have a provisional license i wouldnt get value for money (in terms of bhp) im sure if you give them a ring you might be able to get them to fit it all for you! (for a cost of course) but its probably ur best bet.