kliton Posted January 25, 2012 Posted January 25, 2012 Hello everybody, Well, I'm new to the forum so be patient and read few lines of intro and then e few question to which I hope to find the answers. I'm 29, and recently came up with the idea to ride again, and by riding I don't mean commuting but touring, some daily and maybe longer journeys, something like 200-500km/day. At first thought about a BMW K75, but because of license restrictions I changed and began thinking about e Varadero 125... BUT lastly fate came to me in the shape of a Yamaha XS360, pretty much identical to the one in the below pic. I read a bit about it and the idea I got is that this is a pretty good bike, not like K75 and the Varadero, but still very interesting. The one i got looks in a good shape, starts in a cold winter night first time, but as the previous owner says needs lots of fuel to run and that's bad, but i think I can fix if it can be done in some way. And finally to come to the questions: 1. Is this the proper bike for my purpose? 2. Is it worth to try fixing its problem with the fuel consumption? 3. If I keep it is it worth to plan trying some cheap overhauling as I can do my on mechanics, at least few, or just fix the necessary to run and go? 4. Is this bike appropriate to tour, does it break down frequently, can it be fixed on the way? 5. Has anyone tried to tour with it, how long, how far, did it break down to the point of ruining the trip and forcing to turn home? I look in a big need of help, do I Looking forward to your replies, BR Kliton
nayruf Posted January 25, 2012 Posted January 25, 2012 Hi Your XS, when new I think it was a bit of a flop in the UK, there were other bikes of smaller capacity that were more entertaining in both looks and speed, also there were bigger bikes that would appeal to far more people, Because of this most of them will be long gone, So for me this would make it a bike to keep, if it was still in good condition and most of the bike could be renovated back to standard that’s what I would do money allowing. If it was too far gone but the I would look at turning it into a dirt track or café racer type of bike, As for fuel consumption my old Honda 400 four would return around 50 mpg, so I would expect an XS 360 to do the same.
berniebee Posted January 27, 2012 Posted January 27, 2012 Hi, If you are not carrying a passenger, the XS360 will make a very good budget tourer. It has a pretty smooth engine with 6 gears, and it's straight forward to maintain and repair. It cannot be compared to a K75 class bike in terms of acceleration and speed, but parts and maintenance are certainly less expensive. And I think they look great. (But being an XS500 owner, i'm a little biased.) I agree wth Nayruf, the XS360 should easily attain 50 mpg, unless ridden really aggressively. A basic tuneup (points and condenser, air filter, valve adjustment ) may be all that's required to get gas mileage back to normal. Perhaps even just a dragging brake? But on the other hand, a vintage bike may have worn out carb slides, throttle shaft wear, gummed up jets, low compression or a host of other faults. As to reliability, that depends much more on the previous owner's care and storage than on any inherent faults in this model. Inspect it and the DPO carefully! I'm not sure how easily parts can be obtained for the XS360 in your part of the world, and that may be a consideration as well. Some questons for you: How much will you pay for it? Have you added costs for tires, tuneup parts, perhaps a drive chain +sprockets and any other obviously worn/broken components? How many miles on the odo? Has it been in storage for any extended periods? Outside in the wet or inside dry? Can you post some pics of the bike for us? Do a search for XS360 posts on this site, I'm sure you'll find good advice!
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