Petey

I have a 1975 XS500B. Would I be able to fit all the parts into a 1976 XS500 frame?

It's a 1981 XJ750RH Seca...

From the pics it looks pretty decent. A lot better looking than my xs500 project bike when I first got it. If you want to get rid of the rust, there are tank cleaning products out there. I used the KREEM kit for mine. It included a tank liner too. You may be able to just use the cleaner and rinse for the amount of rust you have. Fuel line hose is easy to replace and I ordered a packet of clips off ebay that had a variety of different sizes. Perhaps cleaning the linkage on the carb where the cable connects will loosen it up. Mine was very sticky at first. I tried cleaning my throttle cables but it wasn't until I replaced them that it snapped back like it was suppose to. Sounds like you have a bad seal in your rear brake master cylinder.

A cheap exhaust will probably make your toy sound like one... If you need performance pipes, there is no cheap, unless you can find a a good deal on quality used ones somewhere.

Ok....a synthetic oil is better, but more expensive. Make sure you get the type for motorcycles. There should be indicator marks on your sight glass. Half way should be good. Not sure what a shite brake is but I assume it's not good. Connector may be dirty for front brake not tripping the brake light. Try adjusting the tension on the clutch lever by using the adjusting nuts by the lever.

Well, you obviously will have to have somebody do it for you. Got any friends or relatives that know how, that can help you out? One guy I know unstuck his floats by putting a lot of Seafoam in his tank, letting it run enough to get into the float bowls and then shut it off and let it stand for a number of hours. It took him a while to get it started and to get the Seafoam through the system, but it worked. Of course, I don't believe he had gas sitting in his carbs for 5 years.

I got the info after reading an old review when the '72 first came out....I copped this part out: (When first introduced on some models, the pump was driven from the gearbox. If a rider was to have this particular model with the engine running while at a standstill, clutch lever in with the bike in gear, the oil pump would not be in motion. This never amounted to any problem, but it was a disturbing fact to those who realized what was going on.) I would assume that if you idled in neutral, the pump would be in motion. In reading the article, I took it that he was talking about the 350 R5C, but I'm pretty sure now that he was noting this as being on other Yamaha 2 stroke models and not on the R5C. He was just pointing out one of the improvements on the bike....sooo...never mind.

Connect it to the gearbox is exactly what "Mr Yamaha" did on some models....clever guy that he is.

As far as the reed conversion, I have read that it improves performance, especially at the lower revs. From a general point on this two stroke, I've haven't heard/read much in the negative side. It has the oil pump that injects oil into the gas mixture and I read that when just idling, the pump doesn't run. This didn't seem to be a problem but I suppose it could be if it were to sit idling for a long time.

JC Whitney is one place that carries after market seats and luggage that will fit an xs500b. You will find the seat here

Actually, the straight seat is the normal one for that year and model. You have to get an aftermarket seat if you want a step style...or customize one to fit.

There is an adjusting wheel at the clutch lever. Turning it counter clockwise will lessen the play in the lever and the clutch will engage sooner. If you don't have a service manual for it, you can get a pdf one here: http://www.r6messagenet.com/forums/pdf/2007_R6_Service.pdf

The battery is shot so I jump started it with my rider mower using starting fluid. Sprayed some in thru the air box, pushed the starter button and it fired right up....sweet! Headlight, non broken turn sigs, brake light and indicator lights all worked. Starter sounds good too. Picked up a handle bar off ebay that was from the same model and installed that. Also picked up an instrument cluster off ebay. It is in good shape except for broken glass on speedo. Was able to get the molding off and remove the glass. I need to decide whether I want to cop a little screw off it and fix the speedo on the bike or replace the glass and swap the whole unit out. Speedo on bike has lower mileage showing and I'd have to swap the ignition key unit as well. Got some gaskets too. Was able to find a factory service manual for this model off ebay for a decent price. The Clymer one I have isn't the best The throttle doesn't work well. I pulled the carbs off and I can open and close the throttle assy on the carbs but it is very hard. I'll have to figure out what the problem is there. Sprayed some cable lube on. Maybe that will help. Adjusting the nuts does nothing to help. It's cleaning up nicely. The chrome is in really good condition. One spot on the left exhaust pipe looks like battery acid spilled on it. Too bad since both pipes are in excellent condition otherwise. I am finding no rust or corrosion anywhere yet. The spark plug wells are deep on these engines so they catch a lot of debris. My air compressor is broken so I need to get them cleaned out before I pull the plugs. I checked the oil and it was at the correct level and the oil looks clean! Almost like the oil was recently changed....the engine must not have been run much since the last change. I'll change it again anyway. Took some pics but they didn't turn out very good so I'll pull it out into the sunshine and take some more and post them.

Sorry for dropping out of this thread for so long. The picture I have as my avatar is not my bike. I just copped a pic online of the same year and model. I basically put this on hold until just recently when I pulled it out of my pole barn and got it into my little work shop. Here are some images of it right after I got it. Looks like it took damage to the tach side of the bike. It doesn't look like it was dumped, unless on grass. It's been sitting in a guy's barn for a long time and I wonder if it got backed into or something. It had a windshield at one time. Doesn't show in the pic, but the back fender was sitting on the tire. Just a couple of missing bolts, so an easy fix. No tabs on the plates so I don't know when it was last licensed. At first look I thought it had ape hangers, but the handle bars were bent up that way from impact. The seat pan looks real good, but it looks like the seat and foam got ripped from the impact rather than wear and tear. The mileage is at 10,600 +. There is a small screw missing on the speedo face that holds the odometer and trip meter in place so it's a bit cockeyed. The bike looks a little better from this angle. I wondered about the engine though. I'm not going to spend the time and money to fix it if the engine is siezed and/or I can't get it titled. I'll post progress pics and info as I tear into it.

Thanks. It has 371 in the number. I was thinking it might be a B....just wanted to be sure. I'll take some "before" pics this weekend and show the progress as it occurs.