drewpy

If I remember correctly an axle bolt fits the rotor. do it up tight and shock it off with a hammer

rebuilt a few xs400's

I would use a heat gun as there may be thread lock on there and should help undo. I've had to jump on my breaker bar in the past

sorry but this section is for form issues not bike issues. I'll move it to the relevant section.

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

https://www.motorcycleclassics.com/classic-japanese-motorcycles/classic-yamaha-motorcycles/1978-yamaha-xs500e-zmmz14ndzkel/ close

glad your bonding though, doing your own work can be very satisfying as you care more for your baby than anyone else can. If you can get those mesh covers on your seat, it should stop any pooling of water and hopefully keep you drier in the crotch area if that's what is happening

tracer sounds perfect

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

I've no idea, have a picture search on google and see what looks great then drill down into the specs

2 stokes need to back pressure to seal the incoming charge. whacking in the fuel via choke is just masking it. you need to carry out a plug chop, to ascertain the correct mixture and have a load of mains and pilot jets to change fuel delivery.

if battery is good, sounds like the starter is stalled or earthing out bringing down the voltage.