Backon2wheels

I bought my 02 XVS650 Classic in January this year and whilst I tend to ride it only in the dry, I suspect the previous owner rode it sll yesr round as he put 28k miles on it and in some areas you can see it, like some corrosion to the chrome wheel rims, I suspect from pooling water and the switchgear housing coating peeling where water has got underneath it. These bits and pieces are slowly being replaced, rechromed, etc but the bike runs beautifully despite the obvious signs of former abuse. Whilst its never happened to me, the only thing I have ever heard of to be watchful of in the rain, is the electrics but I guess you could say this about any machine in a downpour.

Thank you one and all for all your help, advice and comments. As suggested it was an issue with the throttle slider being too wide due to the raised ridges. The supplier tried to fit a set himself and found the same issue so sent me a new throttle slider which didnt have the ridges and after some tweeking, fiddling and mild swearing I got them on and they look good, so I'm pelased with them! I've kept the old throttle slider in case I ever decide to put standard grips back on

Many thanks for all your replies. The vendor who supplied the grips tried to fit a set himself today and has confirmed that for these to fit, teh throttle slider has to be replaced also, which he is sending me, SO, any ideas how I chnage this as it doesnt look too obvious how it comes off and i cant find anything in the haynes manual. I'm always concern I'm gonna bugger the thing up so like to ask

Hi, thanks for your reply. Yeah, I got two bars in the package. A 25mm for the left hand bar and a 28mm for the right. Thanks for confirming not to try to remove the black throttle grip. That could have been a disaster! I've not done anything with the left hand one yet as I cant get the right one sorted. By the sounds of it, the grips are simply too narrow for the bike and might have to be returned, after I glue the old grip back on again. Bugger! Cheers

Hey, sounds good. I got my Dragstar in January and it's something I've been thinking about doing this year too, although time is slipping by quickly. I was contemplating riding from Norfolk where I live to Dover, getting a cheap ferry crossing to Calais, riding north through Dunkirk and into Belgium, then further north through to the hook of Holland getting the overnight ferry back to Harwich and riding back to Norfolk. Just seemed like a good round trip but have never done anything like this before so like you, just an idea at the minute. Good luck though, Pat

I decided I was competent enough to replace the ageing rubber grips on my XVS650 Dragstar. I bought a set from Vyxxn (http://www.vyxxn.co.uk/catalog/sundance-handlebar-p-2313-bm-2135.html?osCsid=0daccbcd1b6ad5f7aa1bc4025b07427b) but am having trouble fitting them and am not sure if I'm just being stupid or not. My old grips were fairly simple black rubber with a chrome end bar and collar. I unscrewed the chrome end bar, cut off the rubber grip and removed the chrome collar but whilst I can get the new grip over the screw end (where teh end bar was) I can not get it onto the throttle bar as this has long ridges down the length of it and teh bar simply isnt big enough to get over them. Should I be removing the black throttle grip too, essentially exposing the metal handlebar (if so I'm not sure how the throttle would work) or do you think the grips are simply not suitable for my bike. I've attached a few photos of the old grip, new grip an the throttle bar after the old grip has been removed. Any help would be appreciated. Cheers Pat

Here's my 650 Classic Julian I hope this posts!

Hi Julian, I bought an XVS 650 Classic in January and had the same thoughts at the time, should I go for the 650 or 1100. Needless to say I went for the 650 for two reasons really. Firstly it was the nicer of the two bikes I was looking at. The 1100 had less miles but much of the chrome was pitted and would need rechromed at some point which was going to add further cost. Partly related to cost was the second reason, I had just returned to biking after a near 20 year absence and in addition to buying my machine, had to fork out for new leathers, helmet, boots, gloves, etc, etc so didnt want to spend any more than was necessary. But the 650 was the nicer looking machine despite higher mileage (it's the classic rather than the custom). I also thought I'd be happier with the less expensive machine had I been silly and accidently dropped it! I ride mostly at 55-60 mph as I live in a rural area and dont tend to head towards motorways. Mine has no screen so anything past 60 and I feel like a wind sock but they're not made for speed. I get about 150 miles out of the tank before hitting the reserve. I'm more than happy with my 650 and whilst I do want something I can ride in poorer weather conditions I hope this to be in addition to my Dragstar and not instead of. Have fun and be safe. Pat

Hi all, When I bought my XVS650 Dragstar Classic back in January, it had, and in fact still has, an unsightly front brake fluid reservoir. It looks like an original, as far as I can tell but I suspect it may have been leaking or was rusting as the previous owner appears to have painted over the whole thing with silver hamerite paint (i'm sure you can imagine how lovely that looks!). As such, I want to replace it. I am sure I can get a new one from Yamaha (at what price I dont know as yet) or a bike breakers and I've seen many variants of chrome covers but I was wondering if it's possible to get a chrome reservoir itself or is there a reason why this item cant be chromed and hence why they only sell the covers in chrome. Any ideas or thoughts greatly appreciated Cheers

Hi all, I have a query and hope someone can help me. In Jan I bought an XVS650 Classic and it came with a set of leather saddlebags and chrome side mounts. I decided to remove the bags (simple enough) but am not sure how to remove the chrome mounts. For a start the bolts are stuck fast so before I start to force these off, I want to understand how it fits together. As far as I can see there is a chrome strip running from below the seat back across the rear fender which looks like is standard on the classic. Onto this a sisy bar has been bolted on and onto the strip holding the sissy bar on is two bolts holding the luggage mounts on. From what I can see though, the bolts holding the luggage mounts on go right through into nuts the other side of the fender so it looks like if I take these off, everything will come off. If so, I guess I just remove the luggage mounts and put everything else back on. However, the bolts holding it all together look quite long so if I take the luggage mounts and put everything else back on, I would imagine the bolts will stick out quite far. Maybe the bolts had to be extended by the previous owner to allow for the fitting of the luggage mount, I dont know but I'm hoping someone readin gthis might. If anyone has the slightest idea what I'm talking about and can help, i'd be very grateful.

Hi all (again). I've had my 650 Drag Star for about a fortnight now, although its yet to make it out of the garage due to the rubbish weather. However, whilst showing family and friends my new purchase, I sometimes start the bike and have noticed when I turn the ignition on, i get maybe 20 or 30 seconds of a high pitched whining noise (definitely an eletrical rather than mechanical). It stops after 20 seconds or so but it's never done it before and if there's an issue I'd rather get it dealt with whilst under warranty. As I've not taken the bike out yet and dont have the battery on a trickle charger, i thought it might be an indication that the battery is running low, although it still starts first time. Has anyone come across this before? Any assistance welcome. Cheers!

I was looking at these from custom cruisers Yamaha XVS650 Exhaust JardineTurnout Slip-on Ex. Vat £293.62 Inc. Vat £352.34 Jardine Slip-on Turnout Exhaust 650 V-Star NO NEED TO RE-JET! Every Jardine system is painstakingly made to exacting tolerances by skilled craftsmen utilizing the latest techniques. After manufacture, the pipes are polished to perfection, before finally receiving a heavy deposit of electroplated nickel and chromium to give ultimate finish and corrosion resistance. Jardine exhaust systems are designed for easy bolt-on performance. Jardine RUMBLER, that classic look combined with a great throaty sound. Includes full rear headpipe, partial front headpipe and full coverage heatshields. This item fits XVS650 Dragstar / V-Star Classic and Custom '04 & Up

Well bikes here now - hooray. One more question though. How diffuclt are these new pipes to fit. The description says something like slide on but I would imagine it's not quite as simple as that. Hamlesh mentioned that he had to fabricate some new brackets so I appreciate this may be necessary but other than that is there any particular tools or skills required to swap these. Many thanks again!

Many thanks. I found them on customcruisers.com as suggested. My bike arrives tomorrow but just had to sort the tax, insurance, etc out today so might be next month before I can look at the pipes. I know where to look now though Cheers

As you will have seen in my previous note, I bought an 02 XVS 650 Drag Star on Saturday and whilst it hasnt even been delieverd yet (roll on Thursday)I'm already thinking about some modifications, especially upgrading the exhausts. I saw some videos on uTube where the sound was wonderful, but I dont want to get pulled by the police every 20 minutes. So ideally, I'm looking for the best exhausts which I can fit which are still road legal, and by best I obviously mean the loudest / deepest sounding. Any ideas or recommendations? Many thanks

What do you mean I wont be able to sleep on Wednesday night? I've not been able to sleep since I bought it on Saturday I spend most of my time now looking at accessories, clothing and the like and that's just to take my mind off it until Thursday. Tomorrow night I'll be clearing 2 years of rubbish out of my garage so I have a nice dry home for it to live.

Hi all, just thought I'd say Hello. After being off two wheels for close on 20 years, I bought an 02 black XVS650 Classic yesterday. It's coming on Thursday and I can't wait

Hi Karen, likewise I bought a Yamaha XVS650 Drag Star Classic yesterday after being off two wheels for 20 years. It's being delivered on Thursday and I'm like a child waiting for it.